Not sure a zone would do any better though. Playing effective zone D takes a ton of practice, and I don't think Manning has spent much practice time working on it. UNC would also have a field day on the offensive glass if we were to go zone. If there was a simple solution to our defensive woes, I think Manning and the staff would've figured it out by now. Unfortunately I think it's more of a personnel issues. Our guards cannot stay in front of their men and lack a true rim protector. We have a few players (Dinos and Wilbekin) who just aren't athletic enough and our freshman can't defend without fouling.
With that being said, I'm all for Manning mixing it up defensively. There's nothing more frustrating than watching our guys get beat repeatedly on the same play--often on something as simple as a high ball screen. Looking back, I think our best defense so far this year was played in the Louisville game when we were picking them up full court. This at least made them work a little to get into their half-court sets and took some time off the clock, only giving them about 20 seconds to run their offense. I wonder why Manning hasn't gone back to this since. I know were not gonna wreak havoc and force many TO's, but this seems to be our best option right now. Also helps having Rondale for some extra guard depth as this full court D will cause our guards to get tired faster.
