You actually don't beat a zone defense by shooting over the top of it, you actually have to move the ball and have players who can drive around picks set against players who are in a zone defense.....drive around picks set, to set up space and isolate defenders against a zone and attack off the bounce...make their zone defense move their feet and see if they can stop Jacob Young and Mathis on the baseline drive without fouling or midrange, pass or lob for a dunk/layup....make them give up the mid range shot to Harper, Mulcahy or whomever flashes to the foul line,, who is a capable passer/slasher....
A zone defense also is VERY difficult to rebound and keep teams off the offensive glass, because you have no idea as the defense, where the ball is going and who to box out. An offensive rebound here or there, will get you points, draw fouls and get teams in foul trouble.
Cuse just plays a zone better than everyone else, because that's all they are coached to do. What good does a zone defense do, if you are Cuse and you fall behind on the scoreboard........??? You can't force turnovers from a zone, unless you are extremely sloppy on offense.....a missed shot is fine, you get a shot attempt and a chance to offensive rebound....a turnover is not good, so 3 point shooting percentage isn't a measure of success. A zone works against a Bryant or Rider that has no chance for an offensive rebound.
Crash the glass, box out and make their guards work on offense, which will wear them down and take away their legs, so they're not as good a shooting team, in the 2nd half.
I suspect that teams may decide to try and mimic the Cuse plan if it's successful in stretches tonight, but most good teams are not good at playing zone defense. ....teams need or would rather defend, rebound or force turnovers, vs allowing a team to just shoot....At the end of the day, the more RU sees a zone, the better it will become at playing it. Either way, I don't know if Cuse can keep RU out of the paint off the dribble or off the backboard for 40 minutes.