Chapter Twenty-Four: Epic Three Overtime (I)
Yale University started the season with three straight defeats, which is unimaginable. However, last season they started with four consecutive wins, could it be that this season is going to have a four-game losing streak? In the current view, this is highly likely, as their next game will be against the University of Connecticut Huskies, last NCAA champions.
The two teams played each other last season, and that game ended up with Kemba. Walker's 26 points and a layup with 5.3 seconds left before the end of the game narrowly beat Yale University. And Sun Xiaotian didn't let it go much, cutting 25 points.
In fact, the University of Connecticut has always been a powerhouse in the NCAA, and the number of NBA superstars who have walked out of this university is simply innumerable. Thunder. Aaron, Caron. Butler, Hamilton, Ben. Gordon, Rudy. Guy ...... all walked out of this school.
Yale University ended in the NCAA round of 64 last season, but UConn made it all the way, defeating Butler University in the finals to win the championship and win the championship for the third time in the university's history.
At that time, the starting lineup of Kangda can be said to be extremely luxurious. Walker, Jemiry. Lamb, Alex Olyach, Roscoe Smith and Shahbaz Napier. It was with this offensive and defensive lineup that the University of Connecticut successfully stifled the "dark horse" Butler University in the finals.
Although this season's UConn's championship starting team is only Jamie. Lamb, but the addition of talented center Andre Drummond has left UConn with a prospect of defending champions.
Andre Drummond is known as the first person in high school in 2012, and some have dubbed him the new generation of "Monster" Howard. Not only does he have super physical fitness, but he also has skillful blocking skills and mid-range shooting, and many people have listed him as the top pick in the draft.
Therefore, there are all kinds of indications that Yale University has lost four in a row this time. However, Sun Xiaotian doesn't see it that way, you must know that the lineup changes at the University of Connecticut are much greater than those at Yale University, and they also have the problem of running-in. Moreover, their first three games were only 1 win and 2 losses, which is not much better than Yale University, and this time it is at the home of Yale University.
……
On the day of the game, there were still a lot of fans in the Yale University gymnasium, which was actually much beyond Sun Xiaotian's expectations. In fact, he has always felt that American fans are very realistic, and they will watch it again and again, and they will not be embarrassed if they don't look at it. Now it seems that Sun Xiaotian has really not completely integrated into American culture!
Before the start of the competition, the Yale University Physical Education Department invited a church choir to sing the Yale school song live, hoping to arouse the morale of the bulldogs.
In fact, Coach Heywood cares about this game more than anyone else, not because this game will be related to his work, but mainly because he wants to tell those who question him that he is still him, and he will not change his mind because of outside pressure. He thinks he's going to stick to it consistently, so he's not going to make any changes to the lineup, he's still the same lineup as he did in the first three games, and he still trusts Kevin. A newcomer like Marshall.
Both sides jumped the ball, and Andre Drummond didn't give Gulot a chance, his bounce was too good.
UConn point guard Ryan was the one who was last season's Kemba. Walker's backup point guard, after the training of the championship game, he can already take on the big responsibility, and he said before the game that he would teach rookie students a lesson.
When Ryan was holding the ball, Kevin. Marshall would have pestered him at close range. That's what Coach Haywood told him, and the coach said he should be more ferocious, have more physical contact, and not be afraid of physical confrontation. In fact, Coach Haywood has long seen that Kevin. Marshall has not yet come out of the shadow of his injury. He needs to regain his self-confidence and rediscover his omnipotent self.
Sun Xiaotian was the main defender of Lamb, whose style of play was a bit like that of Harvard's Gilman Schutt, who played lighter and more elegantly than he did. To be precise, he's more like the college version of Reggie. Miller.
Drummond covered Lamb, Lamb seemed to have wind on the soles of his feet, and he caught the ball at 45 degrees, Sun Xiaotian raised his long arm to interfere, "Bang! The ball slammed out of the basket and Goulott protected the rebound.
"This guy is really resolute!" Sun Xiaotian sighed!
Kevin dribbled the ball past half court, Sun Xiaotian sat on Lamb to ask for the ball, and Kevin passed the ball in time. Lamb and many shooters have a common problem, which is that they are relatively underweight. Facing Sun Xiaotian, who is particularly powerful this time, Lamb seems to be worried about his defense.
Sun Xiaotian was backing inside while observing his teammates' movements. He suddenly made an outside turn, Drummond came over in time to make up for the defense, Sun Xiaotian found that when the outside rotated, Kevin was already empty, but his three-point shot was not accurate! What to do? Do you want to pass it on?
In a flash of light, Sun Xiaotian passed the ball to Kevin, who didn't even think about receiving the ball, and threw it with his hand.
"Huh!"
Three points in the bag!
Throwing this ball, Kevin didn't have any expression on his face. Lately, he's been under so much pressure that all the fingers have been pointed at him, just because the expectations of Yale fans from him before the season were too high, which led to a sharp increase in disappointment!
The University of Connecticut also scored two points through Drummond's inside singles.
But before they had time to retreat, Sun Xiaotian grabbed the bottom ball, only to see Kevin like a wild horse, rushing over according to the opponent's inner line, and finally made a throw in front of Ryan, Bingo! This is the most familiar style of play in Kevin's three-year high school career, relying on his strong body to kill and injure the opponent's inside.
Sun Xiaotian was still in his own half at this time, and when he saw the dust gone, he couldn't help but yell "Yes!" ”
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Kevin exploded at the beginning, forcing the UConn coach to call a timeout. He didn't expect that this point guard, who originally averaged less than 6 points per game, would burst out with so much energy today. Seven of Yale's 14 minutes came from him. And Sun Xiaotian, who is focused on defense at Kangda, didn't hold the ball too much, he saw that Kevin was performing very well, so he simply let him do it!
14-7! Yale's opening game was exceptional, and they kept the fouls under control well and didn't give their opponents too many opportunities to counter-attack.
After the pause, Kangda's attack was still launched from the inside, after all, the inside line is their strong point. And Drummond did not disappoint, his tough style made him have a lot of containment on the inside of Yale, and Lamb on the outside frequently hit three-pointers.
Soon, Kangda responded and overtook the score 25-22!
Coach Heywood didn't call a timeout for the University of Connecticut's offense, he wanted the players to learn to adjust to the game.
Sun Xiaotian stood up at this time, he first stole Lamb and came with a heavy dunk. Then he hit a 3-pointer with Kevin's assist and scored five points in a row.
In this way, the two sides went back and forth, holding each other, and at the end of the half, Yale University unexpectedly "unexpectedly" fought with the University of Connecticut to a 41-draw!
Kevin. Marshall played his best half at Yale University, with 12 points and three assists. Sun Xiaotian scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds.
Drummond on Conda's side deserves to be an inside giant, with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, completely blowing up Gulot. Lamb hit two three-pointers to finish with six points.