Big Bang Theory

Remember, though: Height has a greater impact on the defensive end. Ask Stanford coach Trent Johnson about the influence he expects from the Lopez twins on this year's tournament, and he talks about defense. "You'd think we'd be able to rebound and defend around the basket and challenge shots," Johnson says. "When Brook and Robin are both on the floor, there's no question it makes it tough for teams to attack the rim and shoot the five- or 10-footer."

BUT FOR all the advantages that height provides, many of this season's elite teams have found strategies that have offset their size deficit. To wit:

Extend your offense and defense to exploit your speed and quickness. They may have adopted different schemes in recent years—Memphis runs the dribble-drive motion offense, while Duke employs a Phoenix Suns --style spread formation—but the Tigers and the Blue Devils have similar philosophies when it comes to spacing out the floor for the small-ball staples of fast breaks, penetration and three-pointers. So, too, do Texas and Tennessee , and the Vols take the concept a step further by spreading out the same way on defense in their gambling full-court press.

When you have hyperquick players, explains Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl , "the only place where you don't have an advantage is in the paint. On defense you pressure the ball, you turn them over and you create offense out of your defense. Then you spread the floor offensively and use the three-point line, and you can score points without having a low-post presence."

The strategy has its pitfalls when shots aren't falling and defensive pressure isn't forcing many turnovers, but when it's working, taller (and slower) foes often don't stand a chance. "The athleticism of Memphis and Tennessee makes them play so much bigger than they are," says Calhoun , whose towering Huskies fell to the Tigers 81--70 in November. Likewise, Gonzaga coach Mark Few , whose size-rich Zags lost to Memphis and Tennessee , calls the Vols the quickest-handed defenders he has faced in his nine years as a head coach. "It's not as easy to exploit [your height advantage] as some people think because they're just flying around [inside]," Few says, "and it's harder than heck to get the ball in to somebody."

Run your undersized big men into post-ups like crazy. It's no surprise that Duke , Memphis , Tennessee and Texas get a low percentage of their points from their frontcourts, but North Carolina is relentless about inside scoring despite having a surprisingly short front line. How does Hansbrough take advantage of taller defenders in the low post? Often by beating them downcourt in the Tar Heels' aggressive fast break and secondary break. ( UConn is an exception at the other extreme, a tall team that relies on its perimeter players for scoring.)

Turn your penetrators into "posts." When Texas was lacking a low-post big man at the start of the season, coach Rick Barnes instructed his Longhorns to clear out the lane and let point guard D.J. Augustin become an all-in-one entry pass and finisher. "There are different ways to get a post game," says Barnes . "Having D.J. drive the ball to the rim and score or get fouled is no different than punching the ball inside to a post guy and having him score or get fouled." Augustin still drives with abandon, but Texas has since added a more conventional post presence in 6'7" freshman Gary Johnson , who was cleared to play in January after sitting out with a heart-related condition.

Find a gritty, undersized big man to take care of the dirty work. For much of the last four seasons Memphis has depended on 6'9", 265-pound forward Joey Dorsey to defend opposing big men and also to gobble up rebounds with manic intensity at both ends of the floor. But as he worried more about his NBA prospects and less about what made him so important to the Tigers , Dorsey swooned in February, so coach John Calipari yanked him from the starting lineup. "I don't want to put pressure on guys," Calipari says, "but if Dorsey and [6'9" forward Robert] Dozier don't really step up, we can't win this thing. When you look at Florida and all those teams that won, their guard play was unbelievable, but they had someone who could defensively anchor down the lane and then get a couple of easy baskets."

Maximize the skills and outside shooting of your undersized big men. Most teams from outside the traditional power conferences have a clear height disadvantage in the NCAA tournament. There are a few exceptions this season, including Brigham Young , Gonzaga , Oral Roberts and St. Mary's. "We're probably more equipped to match up with some of the power-conference teams because of our size," says Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton, whose Golden Eagles include three starters who stand 6'8", 6'9" and 6'10".

But more typical of the so-called mid-major realm are Butler and Drake, the two teams in the Top 25 with the shortest front lines. What their big men lack in stature, however, they make up for with their three-point shooting. Butler 's 6'7" Pete Campbell hits 44% (91 of 206) from beyond the arc, while Drake's tallest starter, 6'8" Jonathan Cox, makes 43% (40 of 94) of his treys. "We have difficulty sometimes defending on the inside," says Drake coach Keno Davis , "but teams with bigger players have trouble guarding us on the perimeter."