Chapter 33: The performance in front of the "Flash".
The historic run to the round of 32 of the NCAA Division Finals is a memorable moment for fans at Yale University and the City of New Haven. The mayor of New Haven has also publicly stated that he will hold a grand celebration for their team, regardless of Yale's next grades.
The joy is currently only for the fans, but the bulldogs can't relax. They must prepare for the next game as soon as possible, because their next opponents will not make the mistake of Duke University, and they will definitely take Yale University seriously, including their next opponent, Marquette University.
As a traditional powerhouse in the "Great Eastern League", Marquette University finished third in the league this year, ranking 11th out of 64 schools in terms of team strength.
Not many people may know about Marquette University, but that doesn't stop Marquette University from having a history of winning NCAA championships. And there are a lot of great players and even stars in the team. Among them, the biggest name is "The Flash" Wade, of course, there are also such as Novak, Dominic. Role players like James. If you go a little further, you have to count the first NBA superstar produced by Marquette University, Morris. Lucas too.
Although Marquard's results have fluctuated a lot over the years, and he can reach the final four in good times, he is only a round in bad times.
However, this year's Marquette University is back strongly. They defeated Brigham Young University in the last round with a clean 88-68 to easily advance to the round of 32. As the soul of the team, senior Zheng. Claudel scored 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting, plus 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, becoming the best player of the first round.
As the leader and soul of the team, Zheng. Claudel is 198cm tall and weighs 102kg, and he is a swingman for the striker on the field. Last season, Claudel was considered by many to be one of the most well-rounded players in the NCAA. This season, Claudel was undisputed as the First Team of the Year and was named the Great East Player of the Year. He averaged 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, which is comparable to Sun Xiaotian.
However, due to Zheng. Claudel has average physical fitness, a soft style of play, and even more sadly, he suffered a major injury that threatened his basketball career. Therefore, his draft pick is predicted to be very low, and he will even lose the draft.
In addition to Zheng. In addition to Claudel, Marquette University's other core is their two-way defender Darius Johnson-Odom. Although he is only 188cm tall, his weight is 95 kg, which is simply a small steel cannon. This season, he is averaging 18.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Although his statistics are good, his style of play is unique, so his draft market is not favored by experts.
However, not being recognized by the NBA does not mean that they cannot dominate the NCAA arena. Do we see few such examples? So, Yale's desire to beat such a team is not just lip service.
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For Sun Xiaotian, he couldn't find his form at all on the offensive end in the last game, and although his school won in the end, his poor performance almost dragged his teammates back. Fortunately, he defended well at the last moment, so he didn't have any regrets.
How to adjust his state has become Sun Xiaotian's task after the game. And coach Heywood is not idle, while analyzing the situation of his school's next opponent, he is also actively helping Sun Xiaotian relieve pressure and adjust his state. Because he knows that the team wants to go further, Sun Xiaotian is crucial.
But just when the team was actively preparing for the game, a slightly bad news came. Because the last game was too fierce, Kevin. Marshall's right thigh was painful, and the doctor diagnosed it as a slight muscle strain. Although it does not affect his next matches. However, such an injury must have affected his condition. Therefore, Sun Xiaotian has to concentrate more in the next game.
The game between the two sides is played at the home of the Milwaukee Bucks. On the day of the race, the local temperature was only 3 degrees. However, the cold weather did not dampen the enthusiasm of the local fans, who poured into the stadium to witness the battle between the two teams.
However, the appearance of a fan completely ignited the emotions of the audience. There were cheers and boos at the scene. That fan is the Miami Heat's core guard Dwyane. Wade.
I saw Wade dressed in casual clothes, leading his son, and sitting in the audience with a smile on his face. There is no doubt that his arrival must have been a cheer for his alma mater. It seems that it is really difficult for Yale University to win this game!
……
After the game began, Yale University got the first offensive possession.
Kevin brought the ball to the front court, Sun Xiaotian came out to catch the ball, he held the ball with both hands, watching the running position of his teammates. Claudel.
Sun Xiaotian decided to test the defender by himself first, so he made a move to break through. Zheng. Claudel is indeed not an idle person, his excellent judgment blocked Sun Xiaotian's route at the first time. Sun Xiaotian saw that there was no chance, so he handed the ball to Gulot, who was inside. Gulot didn't stick to the ball, and at the same time he knew that he couldn't play, so he handed the ball back to Sun Xiaotian on the outside. Sun Xiaotian glanced at the timer, there was still enough time to attack, and suddenly, he pulled it out and made a move. Claudel didn't have time to seal.
"Huh!" The ball made a perfect arc and fell into the basket.
3-0!
Looking back, Sun Xiaotian smiled, he seemed to feel something in his heart! This ball is not blind, and it seems that I will feel good today.
When he came back to defend, Darius Johnson-Odom was facing the Yale team's defense, and he didn't even think about it, so he lowered his head and killed inside. Gulot, who is on the inside, is not a good stubble, he raises his hands high, jumps high, and uses his strong body to block him in mid-air.
"Smack!"
I saw Darius Johnson-Odom fall heavily on the floor.
"Foul!"
But the referee ignored him and motioned for the game to continue. Yale University, who got the ball, quickly attacked, and Kevin hit the ground and passed to Sun Xiaotian, who was quickly inserted, just after halftime. At this time, there were already two defenders in front of Sun Xiaotian, and everyone would have thought that Sun Xiaotian would directly make a foul, but something unexpected happened.
I saw Sun Xiaotian throw the ball to the rebound, causing the defender to hurriedly turn back.
"Does he have to cooperate with his teammates in the air?"
But they didn't have any other Yale players behind them! At this time, the basketball hit the rebound and rebounded quickly, but Sun Xiaotian drilled through the middle of the two people, jumped high, hugged the ball in the air with both hands, and then smashed his arm into the basket.
"What?" The Marquette University players were stunned.
When Sun Xiaotian fell to the ground, there were bursts of exclamations at the scene, and even Wade at the scene was shocked by this young man.
"Isn't this Maddie's miracle on top of the All-Star List? I didn't expect to see it again today, I love this young man so much, he has a great future......" The commentary at the scene was also excited and overwhelmed.
5-0!