The NCAA has put a lot of thought into the Crazy Three round of 64 grouping, trying to arrange the teams that have entered the Crazy Three in the right position, with 9-12 places in each group and 13-16 places, and the gap in strength may be quite large.

The most intuitive statistics show that every year there are 9-12 teams on the list, but the 13-16 teams are upset, which is already a matter of the late 70s of the last century.

Seeing the current situation of the teams in the same league that have been competing for several months, Li Ao is deeply sympathetic and very sad.

Squeezed it, but didn't squeeze out tears.

Then express the sadness in your heart with a wry smile.

With the experience of the first game, Li Ao and his teammates have a better understanding of how to make the most of the current game.

Winning is definitely going to be won, and while these games don't get noticed, they're still official in the NCAA stats, and now they're on a winning streak, and they're sure to continue to do so.

But the mentality of the game relaxed, and he focused more on exercising his own ability, polishing the team's tactics, and forming a better tacit understanding with his teammates.

Li Ao now has three strengthening directions, one is to continue to strengthen defense, one is the receiving and shooting style as the main point of attack, and the other is the way of running as the main point of attack.

Against the Aztecs, he relied on his awareness, using stops and turns to create shooting opportunities, but after the game he looked back on the game and felt that his movement was not good enough.

You can't just think about fast, but you need to be fast, and you need to grasp more details, which is a different rhythm from the running position of containment + strategy.

In addition to the aspects he personally wants to improve, the coaching staff has also arranged a new direction for him to strengthen - rebounding.

As a mainstay of the forward line, he has just too few rebounds.

It has to do with his style of play, he floats on the outside for a long time, and his defense is also a perimeter pitcher.

But it also has a lot to do with ability.

After today's team training, the coaching staff specially arranged several sets of training for him to grab the board.

On the 23rd, Wednesday, the Trojans defeated the Idaho Broncos with a score of 95-87, a small difference, but the Idaho Broncos players collapsed after the game.

They have always seen hope, and the margin has fluctuated around 10 points, but they just can't close the score any further.

After this game, Li Ao's basic skills of emergency stop and emergency stop catch-and-shoot both reached the passing line and increased to 60!

In addition, the CIC has been increased to 79, and the comprehensive evaluation has come to 72!

Time passed, and Li Ao and his teammates were getting better little by little.

Hard training and the right opponent are perfect for him at this stage.

However, what he is most happy about is not the improvement of the basic skills of CIC, it is a matter of time.

With the evaluation of his ability to catch and shoot the ball increased to 60, his 'mid-range fixed-point catch-and-shoot training method' was successfully upgraded to the 'mid-range catch-and-shoot training method', and his level reached level 3!

DeRozan's mid-pitch bag, experience bracelet, level 1 mission, and level 3 training method, his mid-pitch training efficiency has exceeded 200%! Reached 205%!

On the 25th, the Trojans narrowly defeated the Gauchos 74-69, the 27th slaughtered the Western Broncos 96-69, and the 29th defeated the Walkers 84-71, winning all 5 games at this stage!

Each of the five teams in the Pacific Sports League, after playing against the Trojans, was doubting their lives and feeling that their basketball dreams had been shattered.

They are all the top teams in the division, and the difference in strength is also a little bigger.

Each of them came to Los Angeles with high ambitions, only to meet the top of the top flight, and except for the Gauchorians, who broke out in the final moments to close the gap to five points, the other four teams did not even have the ability to close the difference.

They're really quasi-professional, and they're really an amateur team.

On Li Ao's side, every time he saw his opponent's expression of doubting life, he couldn't bear it.

So, at the end of each game and every time the winning streak increased by 1, he and his teammates celebrated wildly, trying to use a joyful atmosphere to drive the opponent and make the opponent happy.

Although he didn't succeed, he worked hard, and his merit was immeasurable.

…

After 5 games at home, a new month has arrived.

On March 1st, after a day of training, on March 2nd, the Trojans left Los Angeles for Dallas.

From Dallas' Fordworth International Airport, the bus drove for about ten minutes to reach the destination - the University of Dallas in Irvine.

Arguably the most athletic and festive state, basketball fans at the University of Dallas gave the Trojans a warm welcome — a parade of cheers and shouts.

It's been a natural instinct for the Texans, even if it's the first time they've played against the Trojans in franchise history.

Li Ao saw this organized and disciplined welcome ceremony, and couldn't help but sigh:

"It's a beautiful sight."

That night, the Trojans players were all resting in their dorms, not even Shelby Jordan.

It doesn't matter if it's in other states, but in Texas, it's really possible that there are fanatical fans waiting for them outside, and these people can really do it.

This time, there are 3 teams from the minor league Southwest Athletic League, ranked 4-6.

It is also a minor league, and the Southwest Athletic League is much stronger than the Pacific Sports League, and the first place is locked in the crazy three.

Before coming to Dallas, Li Ao learned about the Southwest Athletic League, a league of 12 members that are all universities in the Southwest region of the United States, and this division has 2-3 teams entering the Crazy Three every season.

The fourth team is from the American Athletic League, the Texas Broncos of Southern Methodist University.

The basketball level of Southern Guards University is average, and this season it ranks 13th in the strongest league, the American Athletic League, and it is at the level of the Sun Demons or the Dukes.

But the university's football is very good, and the team has won three American championships, 11 league championships, and two consecutive national championships in '81 and '82.

Compared with the previous five opponents, the four opponents this time are obviously much stronger, but they are within the range that the Trojans can easily deal with.

After Li Ao analyzed this wave of schedules, the NCAA is black, but he also did some things, the purpose must be to make the crazy three games more exciting and make more money, but it does help potential teams.

As for what happened to teams that were deemed 'not potential'...... Thankfully, their Trojans have been doing well this year.

After a night's rest, on March 3, the Trojans began a new wave of fixtures, and their first opponent was the Texas Broncos.

Facing the Texas Broncos, who are about the same strength as the Dukes and the Sun Demons, the Trojans will have to play better against those two teams in the final stage of the tournament play!

The Texas Broncos play unrestrainedly, and they really deserve the name of the Broncos, much better than the two lame horses in the Pacific Sports League, interspersed with sharp running, strong counterattacks, and some peripheral shooting ability.

The Trojans didn't defend very well.

However, even if the Cardinals come, it is estimated that they will not be able to prevent it too well, and it is possible to be upset, and perhaps the Dukes' team, which moves extremely fast, can prevent the Texas Mustang.

The progress of the past ten days has been reflected in this game.

The Trojans' style of play was adjusted very smoothly, from the integration of offense and defense to the priority of offense, there were not too many discomforts after the adjustment, and they quickly increased their firepower and suppressed the Texas Broncos.

In the end, the Trojans defeated the Texas Broncos 99-91 to extend their winning streak to 24 games.

This match is more difficult than the previous five games, but the opponent has been appropriately strengthened, which is just in line with their current crazy three preparation schedule.

…

Training, games, game after game.

On March 9th, the Trojans defeated the Texas A&M University Farm Kids 68-57, winning all nine of their training games and bringing their winning streak to 27!

After the game, the Trojans players were so excited that they celebrated on the spot, scolding them and booing their away fans for days.

The whole process was booed, all 4 games were played, all the games were over, and they were still booed.

It can be said that this is a very local sports concept for Texas fans, but as an opponent, it is not happy.

However, winning the game itself also made the Trojans fans happy.

This kind of relatively easy game is equal to a winning streak for nothing.

Every win they have now is setting a new team record.

In order to leave a big record for the future students and give the students the motivation to work hard.

There is absolutely no other reason, as a kind and friendly senior, what bad intentions can they have?

Back in the locker room, everyone was still very excited, and Li Ao was also very excited, but when he was excited, he suddenly worried: "It's about to be a crazy three, we will play against the 63 strongest college teams in the United States, I hope to continue to win, but don't play a 27-1 loss." ”

These words undoubtedly poured a basin of cold water on everyone's excitement.

Sam Clancy complained, "You're so slight, how can we lose!" ”

Bai Mamba stood on Li Ao's side: "I also think we can't lose, but we can't be careless, the next opponent is completely different from these 9 games, we have to be prepared that every opponent is stronger than the Cardinals and the Wildcats!" ”

Sam Clancy opened his mouth twice, but neither could make a sound.

He just habitually wanted to do it again, but he already agreed with what the two said.

Even Sam Clancy is like this, and the alarm bells are ringing in the hearts of others.

27 consecutive wins to enter the crazy three, if you go out early, it will be even more humiliating than not entering the crazy three!

Henry Bibby, who was watching from the sidelines, was unsettled, and he also noticed that the players were too excited, but they didn't think about how to deal with the problem.

That kid, at this time, will definitely stand up, this kind of dirty work that offends people, just let that kid do it.

The coach is always serious about that, he says the same thing and it's hard for the players to empathize with it, and as a player, he knows that very well.

Seeing the vibe gradually depressing and about to go from one extreme to the other, Shelby Jordan stepped up.

He said with a grin: "Leo, you're right, we're going to work harder and harder, but tonight, we're the winners, get high!" ”

"Oh......"

The teammates immediately chimed in.

The little handsome guy has a point, but 'Little Ranbill' says that they like it better.

Usually 'Little Ranbill' is very annoying, but at this time it is still very cute!

…

On the morning of the 10th, Li Ao returned to Los Angeles with the team.

The coaching staff gave the players two days off and gathered at 9 a.m. on the 12th.

For the rest of the day, their Trojans players will not need to continue attending classes until the end of the season.

After that, the school will give a small lesson to the participating players to prepare for the exam in mid to late May.

Although there are performance requirements to play in NCAA Division I games, you only need to score a D or 2 points...... After all, Einstein could only score 5 points on the exam.

This kind of performance requires that even some black players whose brains are really stuffed with muscles can make a little effort to read more books, and there is no problem.

Li Ao made an appointment with Vivian and Liam at noon, and this Friday, there was no class in the afternoon, so he and Liam went to the arcade hall for an afternoon to relax.

After a day of delay, on Saturday morning, he arrived at the Memorial Stadium at half past eight and shook the old man over at nine o'clock to practice.

First, I carried out the level 2 training task of mid-distance catch and shooting, and once I got it, the system returned 100 achievement points.

During his time in Dallas, he had successfully completed this training assignment and is now able to complete it consistently.

The old man sighed: "Leo, you have made too fast progress, I remember that you carried out this training half a month ago, and the completion was very low, and now you can complete it quite well." ”

"The team has given me a lot of opportunities to attack in the past nine games, and it's normal to combine training and improve quickly."

"No, no, no, it's mainly talent, there are so many players in college, who has improved faster than you?"

"That's right, I'm a genius......"

Li Ao reflected on the past nine games, and he did get the opportunity to perform like never before.

He averaged 19 points per game against five opponents in the Pacific Sports League, shooting higher and higher from the field, and at the end of the five games, the total shooting percentage was 46%.

When it came to playing the Southwest Athletic League, the score slipped to an average of 14 points per game, but the shooting percentage stabilized!

The opponent is stronger, the team's style of play has changed, although he is still the main point of attack on the bench, but he is not as infinitely firing as before, his personal strength has improved, and his shooting options have become better.

After another day of hard training, Li Ao returned to the apartment, used the 'body physiotherapy' function, and after receiving professional physiotherapy, he returned to his small suite to take a shower and lay on the bed.

I have a lot of distracting thoughts, and I can't sleep for a while.

I don't have so many distractions during the day, I just know that I can finish my work hard.

But in the evening, it starts to be cranky.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the NCAA will announce the Crazy Three's matchup, and their Trojans will begin preparing for the Crazy Three.

Who's next? Is it strong or not? What kind of opponents will you meet? Will you meet a future NBA star like Arenas?

What is the number one Trojan team? It should be the first, right? How embarrassing it would be if the first one lost in the first round......

How far can you go if you win? It's maddening to have a knockout game! But it's also exciting......

He wanted to sleep, but his head was getting clearer.

He quickly stopped his distracting thoughts, took the initiative to think about other things, and diverted his attention.

He turned on the system, looked at the comprehensive evaluation of 74, and his expression became strange.

(End of chapter)