The University of California is another team that relies on two guns in the backcourt, and Veranova is experienced against this kind of team. What's more, their interior line is also not very good, in fact, there are not too many excellent interior lines in the NCAA this season, and Villanova feels very happy at this time with a strong interior line like Thomas.

The game was also Thomas' solo show, with University of California's starting center Kenyon Jones powerless to stop him from tumbling under the basket. What makes Lappers feel even more confident is that Gray, the leading scorer at the University of California, is not a reliable three-point shooter, his three-point shooting rate is only 30.2%, in other words, he must be close to the basket with the ball to score, so he will meet Thomas under the basket.

Thomas made four blocks in the first 10 minutes, three of which went to Gray. Even if he didn't cover Gray, it was a huge deterrent to him, which greatly reduced his hit rate.

The strong interior line has such an advantage, and their protection of the basket is not how many blocks they can make per game, but how much they reduce the opponent's shooting percentage under the basket, which is the most important statistic to prove their ability to protect the rim. Of course, the high-level statistics haven't been taken seriously at this time, but Gray's 4-of-14 shooting percentage alone shows how much pressure Thomas put on him under the basket.

To add insult to injury, the rest of UC players simply couldn't help, including his backcourt partner and team's No. 2 scorer, Randy Dark. Chang Wei has to admit that the 1996 rookies are justified in being called the golden generation, at least in the 1996-97 season, the NCAA did not produce a large number of excellent players at all as last year.

Gray is already pretty good, but his current draft pick projection is at the end of the first round, which is a lot lower than Thomas's. It's not just a gap between the two stars, it's a gap between the two teams. Although Villanova University was the No. 4 seed and the University of California was the No. 5 seed, it looked like they were not far apart, but Villanova still led by eight points at halftime, 47-39, and only allowed Gray to score 10 points.

At halftime, the locker room at Villanova University was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, and Rappers, who has always had a serious expression during the break, began to "have fun with the people" for the first time, and everyone thought that the victory of this game should be nine out of ten. Chang Wei also thinks so, no matter how Thomas says it, he can be regarded as a guy who once mixed well in the NBA, and he is much stronger than a fleeting meteor like Gray.

But things don't always go as planned, and at the beginning of the second half, University of California head coach Ben Braun changed the formation in time, replacing Jones, who looked bulky, and instead sent two 2.08-meter-tall interior linemen, Sean Marks and Michael Stewart, specifically to limit Thomas, as for Lawson, who missed it, then be casual......

Unfortunately, Villanova's outside shooter also had a poor feel in this game, Thomas would choose to pass the ball when he couldn't find an offensive opportunity inside, but his passes often couldn't be converted into assists, and Villanova was already 1-of-6 from beyond the three-point line in the first five minutes of the second half.

Seeing that the difference between the two sides was gradually decreasing, Rappers was anxious and called two time-outs in a row to set up tactics. He definitely didn't dare to take Thomas down at this time, even if he couldn't score, it would be good to put it on the court to grab the rebound, in other words, now Villanova urgently needs a three-pointer from the outside, as long as he can hit, this deadlock can be opened.

Fortunately, the team's captain, Erwin, stepped up and hit two three-pointers in a row to stretch the margin to double digits again. At this time, Lappers immediately replaced Lawson, putting Thomas in the fifth position, and he sent Selestend on the court, so that Villanova's outside projection ability improved again.

After a wild bombardment, the University of California reluctantly raised its hands and surrendered, the formation of a center + four shooters is very simple and crude, but as long as you can grab a rebound and then hit a three-pointer, this formation is impeccable. With 5:18 left in the game, Braun pulled off all of his main players, because by this time the difference between the two sides had stretched to 15 points, and they were not able to prevent Villanova University from continuing to score, and the outcome of the game was closed.

In the end, Villanova University defeated its opponent 75-67 and successfully advanced to the final four of the Eastern Conference, which made many experts impressed. But more people think their good fortune ends there, because next up against Jordan's alma mater, the University of North Carolina, is undoubtedly one of the traditional giants of the NCAA.

This year, they are once again the top seeds in the division, and Chang Wei was also shocked when he saw the roster of players in North Carolina, and the others were put aside for the time being, and the names of Antoine Jamison and Vince Carter alone were enough to thunder enough, and their North Carolina team is definitely the favorite to win this year's NCAA championship.

In later generations, everyone knows how strong they are, not to mention Carter, who has always been the most watched star in the NBA at his peak, and scoring forty or fifty points in a single game is like picking up something. Jamison was no slouch either, and he was one of the best helpers around Arenas during his time with the Wizards, scoring 51 points in a single game in his third season of his career.

There is no doubt that North Carolina is Villanova's toughest opponent so far this season, and Chang Wei doesn't even know who on the team can stop Carter and Jamison, and letting either go would be devastating to the team. To make matters worse, North Carolina also has Shamond Williams, who averages 14.1 points per game, and Serge Zwick, who averages 11.5 points per game, who are also lucky ones who will be drafted by NBA teams in the future. Even the team's starting centre-forward, the seemingly unremarkable Ademola Okuraja, is a good partner for Nowitzki in the national team in the future.

In a way, it's an all-star team, and Villanova will have a hard time beating them. In the face of such a strong North Carolina, the team gradually bred the mood of a little rich and peaceful, and everyone thought that it was not easy to get to this point, and it would be good to play casually against North Carolina.

It's true that any team in the NCAA will have a headache facing North Carolina, and perhaps it is best to raise your hand in surrender before the game starts, and everyone can console themselves that North Carolina is invincible. But Chang Wei is very disgusted with this kind of atmosphere, there are some things, you may not succeed if you work hard, but if you don't work hard, you will definitely fail.