With Ohio University's upset defeat to Georgetown University, the annual "March Madness" kicked off again.

This year's top 64 power list is a big change from previous years, in the case of Yale University, last season's power ranking was only outside the 30th, but this year, as the team is getting better and more consistent, they are starting to get more recognition from experts, and the ranking has also risen greatly, and it has been ranked 20th.

In particular, Sun Xiaotian, with an excellent performance of 23.9 points, 8.6 assists and 8.4 rebounds per game, was once again elected as the best player in the Ivy League and was selected for the first team in the Ivy League.

Sun Xiaotian's outstanding performance is not only on the court. In the latest draft predictions, he is already in ninth place. If he can lead the team to the next step in the division finals, his ranking is expected to soar.

But in any way you look at Yale, this season has been a success. But here comes their trouble, which threatens to halt their progress prematurely, because Yale's first opponent is the old powerhouse Duke Blue Devils.

As a seeded player, Duke has had some fluctuations in strength in the past two years since beating Butler University in 2010. Especially this year, although the Blue Devils once again won the top spot in the ACC, his quality is considered to be the worst year in recent years. Still, they had a lot of confidence when it came to Yale.

Although he is the worst Blue Devils team in recent years, he still has some talented players in his team, such as Austin. Rivers.

Although he was still a freshman, Austin. Rivers has become the team's main shooting guard, averaging 15.4 points, 4.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game this season, much to the admiration of many NBA scouts. Coupled with his father's prestige, he also ranked in the top 10 in the draft.

The threat from Duke University is much more than that, except for Austin. Rivers, Duke also has Miles on the lineup. Prary, Mason. Prary and Marshall. Prary's three brothers, Lane. A good forward like Carey, and Quinn. A quality point guard like Cook.

Although Duke University has always been known for team basketball, they have had no shortage of stars in every class. On the other hand, Yale University, although it also started with team basketball, but in addition to Sun Xiaotian, the star player in the team is Kevin . Marshall too.

Before the start of the game between the two teams, many pundits looked down on Yale. They argue that Yale lacks the capital to compete with Duke, especially interior players. At the same time, Heywood's coaching experience is far less than that of the old K, so it is only natural that Yale will be defeated.

At the scene of the game, it was blue, and many fans painted themselves blue. They want to tell the Yale Bulldogs from afar that this is the territory of the Blue Devils and that they will not allow the visiting team to go wild.

With the referee's whistle, the NCAA Division Finals Yale vs. Duke match officially began.

Duke was the first to get the ball, only to see Austin. Rivers is on the perimeter, and Kevin, who is also a freshman, is guarding him.

Rivers was unhurried and first handed the ball to interior center Mason. Prary. As the second of the three Prary brothers, Mason is more talented at basketball than the other two. In particular, his inside footwork is extremely flexible.

Mason took the ball, and it was Gulot who defended him. He glanced at his teammates on the outside, and suddenly made a sharp turn, moved to the basket along the baseline, and then rebounded with a small hook! Easy to get two points.

"Don't let him score so easily!" Heywood on the sidelines yelled at Gulot.

It was Yale's turn to attack, but Duke suddenly came to a full-court press, Kevin almost missed the ball, stumbled to the frontcourt, and handed the ball to Sun Xiaotian quickly. Sun Xiaotian dribbled the ball while observing the movement of his teammates on the court. At this time, Gulott suddenly ran back, Sun Xiaotian threw the ball to the inside, and Gulott was about to slam the dunk when he received the ball.

"Smack!" I saw a strong man jump high and give him a big hat, which turned out to be Miles. Prary, Mason. Prary's older brother. Typical interior blue-collar with a very aggressive defense.

"Foul! Hatchet man! Gulot shouted, but the referee ignored him.

Then Duke was on a fast break, and Rivers hit a three-pointer from the outside. The fans at the scene instantly erupted in overwhelming noises, which really deserved to be the home of the devil.

In the opening 5-0, Yale University seemed to be a little stunned, but it was not a big mess, after all, it had just begun!

"Don't panic! Positive positioning! We can control the situation! Sun Xiaotian held the ball while directing his teammates' movements.

Seeing the gesture, Gulot hurriedly stepped forward to cover for him. Sun Xiaotian leaned on the opponent's body, easily burst to the inside line, jumped up slightly, shook his wrist, and made a small throw, scoring two points.

However, just when the Yale people thought that the situation was stabilized. Duke guard Quinn, who has never had a chance to touch the ball, has never had a chance to touch the ball. Cook actually hit two three-pointers in a row. These two three-pointers are more horizontal than the other, and look at Quinn. Cook's expression is clear, and it seems that this player is also a nerve knife master.

11－2！

Heywood couldn't sit still and hurriedly called a timeout.

"We've given them too many open shots, and then I'm going to ask you to play a combination and prevent them from breaking through. And that's it! We're going to make a difference on the offensive end, and I want you to do the second set of pick-and-rolls. Heywood spoke tactically loudly, and Heywood was almost hysterical as the shouts of the fans in the stadium almost drowned everything out.

After the pause, Kevin regained the ball on the outside, at this time Gulot and Sun Xiaotian both stepped forward to cover, Kevin chose to break through from Sun Xiaotian's side, and at this time, the Duke players who defended Sun Xiaotian went to make up for it. Seeing this scene, Kevin turned around and passed the ball to Sun Xiaotian not far behind him, Sun Xiaotian grabbed the ball with his right hand, and looked fixedly, the defender in front of him became Rivers. is a lot taller than him, Sun Xiaotian decisively chose to eat alone, and the best way to eat him alone is to play alone with his back. At this time, the other Yale players also ran away and took their defenders with them.

Sun Xiaotian pouted his ass twice and pushed Rivers away, and then made a step-back jumper, and his movements were chic and free!

"Huh!" The ball hollows into the net.

Coming back to defense, the sudden joint defense also caught Duke off guard, and three consecutive attacks were fruitless. Yale University relied on Sun Xiaotian's sudden pass to score the ball three times in a row!

10－11！

Yale University is closing the score!

－－－－－

In this way, both sides found their form, and this form started from defense. Duke's aggressive defense greatly reduced Yale's success rate. And Yale University relied on joint defense, which also caused very big problems for Duke University, and Rivers' shooting percentage plummeted after Yale University implemented joint defense.

A tough defense must bring physical exertion, and the corresponding offensive efficiency will also decrease. At halftime, the score between Duke and Yale University was 35-31! Neither team scored in double figures, Yale's Sun Xiaotian reached 8 points and 3 assists, and Kevin Brown. Marshall scored seven points. Duke University's Rivers scored eight points on just 3-of-13 shooting in the half.

The intensification of the defense will inevitably lead to more physical confrontations, and the frequent physical contact will also increase the number of fouls. At halftime, several of Duke and Yale University players had already received more than two fouls in the first half.

……

The Blue Devils are really difficult to deal with, but the pit bulls are not as vulnerable as the outside world says. On the contrary, they caused a lot of trouble for Duke.

However, in such a stage, accidents are commonplace. And in the second half, an accident completely changed the balance of the two teams, and the balance of strength was slowly tilting.