Western Kentucky University is a dark horse in the Western Conference, and as the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference, they beat Drake University, the No. 5 seed, in the first round. In the second round www.biquge.info, they also had the last laugh against another dark horse in the division, the No. 13 seed from Connecticut, the University of San Diego. But this time, many media and experts do not believe that they can continue their dark horse path, because it is UCLA standing in front of them.

This is already the division semifinals, and Coach Holland's expression is very serious, but he is also vaguely glad that the other semifinal is the No. 3 seed Xavier University against the No. 7 seed West Virginia University, which is a relatively easy opponent in West Kentucky. He sat at one end of the conference table, looked at the group of players who were sitting precariously, coughed lightly, and said, "I have already sent you the information about Western Kentucky, so please read it carefully and then tell me what you think." Seeing the coach's serious expression, the players did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly picked up the papers in front of them and flipped them up.

A lot of the information that Holland distributed was devoted to one person: West Kentucky guard Courtney Lee, who was also the opponent's ace. Lee is a senior, this is his final year playing in the NCAA, and he averaged 20.4 points per game during the regular season, but correspondingly, no other teammate averaged more than nine points per game except for his backcourt partner Tyronn Brazerton (14.4 points per game). Obviously, like UCLA, they are a team with a core of defenders, and in terms of data alone, they are much better than Ye Feng and Westbrook.

But Ye Feng didn't care, mainly because the team still had Loew as a scoring point, and Shipp was occasionally able to hit a few mid-range jumpers, Bamot ...... Forget about Bamot, just be your own outside gate. In other words, the team has more firepower than West Kentucky, and UCLA doesn't have to fear anyone if the two sides play against each other. But his eyes suddenly lit up: 1.8 steals per game! It's not a very strong stat, not even in the top 20 in the league, but with an average of 20.4 points per game, it's a bit scary, this should be a player who is both offensive and defensive, but the team's strength requires him to focus more on the offensive end, but even so he can still get such steal statistics. If you go back further, Lee averaged 2.6 steals per game in his sophomore year, which shows that he is not a scorer in the traditional sense, and his defensive achievements should not be underestimated.

Just as he was thinking about it, Holland clapped his hands and said loudly, "Does anyone want to tell me what he thinks?" At this time, the captain of the team naturally had the responsibility to shirk his responsibility, Westbrook raised his hand and said with a smile: "West Kentucky is obviously similar to our style, and Ye and I can handle their backcourt." As long as you have an advantage in the backcourt, you can just play casually. ”

Originally, he thought that the coach would agree with his opinion, but Holland still tightened his face and did not smile at all. Westbrook's voice grew quieter and quieter, and finally he simply shut up. Holland looked around and said calmly, "Do everyone else think the same way as Russell?" No one answered, even if they had the same idea as Westbrook, but no one would be stupid enough to say it in public. Seeing that everyone was quiet, and a few people even buried their heads like an ostrich, Holland shook his head and directly called names: "Ye, Russell mentioned you just now, and you can also tell me your opinion." ”

Ye Feng touched his nose and said, "Uh...... Instructor...... Russell's opinion, I agree with half of it......" Holland raised his eyebrows and asked aggressively, "Which ones do you disagree with?" Ye Feng glanced at Westbrook helplessly, made an apologetic expression, and then said bluntly: "Obviously, if we get their backcourt, then we will basically be invincible, but the backcourt of West Kentucky is not so easy to beat." I haven't seen the footage of their game and I can't make any assumptions, but from their stats I suspect that the opposing ace guard, Courtney Lee, is a defensive stalwart with a knack for running, and his points average over 20 points per game is likely to be made by running a lot off the ball to get shots. ”

Holland's eyes lit up and he asked, "Then do you have any solutions?" Ye Feng smiled and said: "Coach, you know me, for me statistics are far less important than the team's victory, and I also made a name for myself in the regular season. So in this game I asked to give up the shots and focus most of my energy on the defensive side, using my runs to limit the opponent's ace play. ”

Before Holland could speak, Westbrook became anxious, and he said loudly: "Ye, even if you are right, but we still have Richard, why do you take the initiative to ask Ying to defend that Lee?" Why don't you just let Richard swap with you? Ye Feng shook his head, looked at Bamot and said: "Richard, it's not that I don't believe you, but the other party is a defender of less than 2 meters after all, and he may be very good at running, for the victory of the team, I must do everything possible." Bamot smiled helplessly, didn't say anything, but nodded vigorously.

Seeing that Ye Feng persuaded his teammates in a few words, Holland nodded faintly and said: "Ye's observation ability is really good, his conclusions are not much different from those of our coaching staff, but I didn't expect him to give up the right to shoot by himself, after all, he is the most powerful firepower point of our team." So this game," he looked at the other starters, "Russell, Kevin, and Josh, the three of you have to take on the responsibility of building for the team, and you have to be more decisive when the opportunity arises." As for Richard, you help Ye more on the outside, and if the opponent rotates, you should also pay attention to Lee's movements, and don't give him a chance to make an easy shot. ”

Several people shouted yes. After Westbrook sat down, he quietly pulled Ye Feng's clothes and asked in a low voice: "Ye, this is the division semi-finals, are you really willing not to have so many shots?" Know that your performance in tournaments largely determines your pick in the draft. Ye Feng shook his head and said, "You don't need to persuade me anymore, of course I know that it is very cool to brush data, and unless it is those top general managers or head coaches, most of the time they will choose players with more beautiful data or more talent." But as I said, I like to win more, and I can do anything to win a game, and it's just a small thing to shoot less, nothing compared to the game. Besides, I didn't say I didn't shoot the whole game, and if I'm in an open position and you can't create shots, why don't you pass the ball to me? ”

Westbrook grinned, slapped Ye Feng on the shoulder, and said, "Good brother, I know that you won't let me and Kevin score, otherwise it's a pity to waste your feelings." Ye Feng said: "Don't worry, but the two of you also have to cut more points, so that I can also relax, you must know that playing long-distance running on the basketball court is much more difficult than playing." ”

Since this match is a divisional semi-final, the media attention becomes quite a bit. In addition to UCLA, Washington State University and Stanford University also reached the semifinals of their respective divisions, but Stanford University was much more lucky, as they were the No. 3 seed in the South Division against the No. 2 seed at the University of Texas, while the University of Washington was the No. 4 seed in the East and their opponent was the No. 1 seed from the University of North Carolina.

Before the start of the game, reporters from Los Angeles began to help UCLA build momentum on their respective platforms, after all, it is the top team in the local area, and it is impossible to say that they do not support it. However, their numerous reports have provided Western Kentucky University with a lot of intel, and their head coach Darrin Horn has a deep understanding of the opponents they are up against. In his opinion, although the overall strength of the team is not as good as that of the opponent, it is not without hope of winning, because his ace player Lee's running distance per game is already comparable to that of NBA players, you must know that a NCAA game is 8 minutes less than the NBA, and in this case can still do such a long distance running, which shows how unfathomable Lee's endurance is.

In addition, Horn also designed a lot of running routes and catch-and-shoot tactics for him to maximize Lee's ability on the offensive end. As for defense, in order to reduce Lee's burden, Horn specifically asked other players to assist in defense as much as they could to minimize Lee's physical exertion, which is why Ye Feng found that no player scored more than 8 points except for the backcourt combination when he looked at the statistics of the Western Kentucky team. In fact, this tactic is a double-edged sword, if you don't do it, you will kill yourself, but Horn has absolute trust in Lee, and this style of receiving and shooting through constant cover running is extremely disgusting to many opponents, but the hatred of opponents is their own success.

As a team with a 29-7 record in the regular season, West Kentucky should not be underestimated, and they defeated the strong in the first round and another dark horse in the second round, many of the media and fans who support them want to see this dark horse continue to go on and make it to the final four, because that is what will be interesting, but as the top seed in the Western Conference, will UCLA really let this dark horse continue on the road to legend? You must know that in many cases, a dark horse means that there is a gap in its own strength!