The Steamer Workers team was already in the quarterfinals last season, which is where it is now, with 4 of the 5 starting lineups, 3 of the 4 main substitutes, and the strength of the additional players is also online, and the strength of this year is even further.

The Trojans players and coaches agree that this opponent may be the strongest they will face this season.

The Cardinals and Wildcats, who fell in the second round, were not as strong as this opponent.

When the 16-8 opponent was released, Henry Bibby had already led people to study how to deal with the Steam Cooker team, a little contemptuous of the War Tigers, but at that time, the only division opponent in their eyes was the Steam Cooker Team.

So the preparation before the game, the Trojans did a very good job.

With well-prepared coaches and engaged and motivated players, the Trojans are fully focused on preparing for the next regional finals.

Li Ao's training task is the heaviest, after a long season of gradual progression, he has become the real tactical core of the team, whether it is the starting lineup or the rotation lineup, whether he is present or not, will determine the offensive fluency, scoring efficiency, rhythm and other aspects of performance.

In targeted training, he naturally needs to appear the most.

But he never tired of it, and he had been waiting for this day for a long time.

In addition to training, he got to know the other six quarter-finalists.

It's hard to predict which teams might meet in the final four.

The Bruins unsurprisingly fell under the iron hooves of the Spartans, with a score of 58-70, and the difference in strength was more obvious.

However, the Spartans' road to dominance in the Midwest is about to hit a roadblock.

Atlantic Coast League's University of Maryland Turtles, led by Steve Blake and Juan Dixon, a super-backcourt, made it to the elite quarterfinals, winning by an average of 23 points per game in three games, ranking first among all the top eight teams.

In addition to the super backcourt, the Terres also have Terrence Morris and Lonnie Baxter, two first-class forwards who have been on the radar of professional teams since high school.

Compared to the Spartans, the Turtles are no worse than the Turtles.

In the most competitive Southern Division, North Carolina and the Tulsa Hurricanes of the Western Athletic League, the top of the minor league, came out on top and met in the division finals.

North Carolina won only 13 points in 3 games, and Tulsa only won by 18 points, showing that the strength is not much worse.

In the Eastern Division, Li Ao once thought that he wanted to play against Duke and get the Final Four, thinking that it was impossible to happen.

It turned out to be even worse than he thought, as Duke fell straight to the round of 16, and the University of Florida Gators narrowly defeated Duke Duke 102-97 in overtime.

Li Ao didn't expect that he couldn't fight with the Duke's team, and it was the Duke's team who fell first.

The other top 8 team in the Eastern Division is the University of Oklahoma Cowboys, the giants of the Big Twelve League in recent years, after persuading Desmond Mason, who wanted to go to the Academy of Fine Arts, to join in 96, he became a regular of the Crazy Three, and reached the top 32 in the past two years, and this year he went further to the top 8, and his strength is good.

As a member of the strong team, looking forward to the happiness of an unknown opponent, Li Ao felt it!

…

On March 27, 2000, the first game day of the NCAA Basketball Tournament 8-4 arrived.

At half past two in the afternoon, the Trojans entered the stadium after warming up.

This time, there were more than 40,000 people in the stadium, and the Trojans fans and the Steamer Workers fans were about the same in terms of numbers.

Purdue University, a total of 7 campuses, distributed in major cities in Indiana, and closely connected with each other, every time a Purdue University team goes to participate in a competition, all campus students are collectively dispatched, there are many campuses, and there are many students who graduate, which is called a huge momentum.

And this year's NCAA Basketball Tournament Final Four and Finals will be held in Polis, Indiana, and all basketball fans in Indiana want to see the Steam Oven Workers play the Final Four and win the championship locally.

The players of the Steam Oven Workers are naturally extremely eager to win, if they fall in the round of 32 and the round of 16, it will be fine, but they have all reached the elite quarterfinals, only 3 games away from the championship, and they are only one win away from playing the final four in Indiana, if they fall here, they are even more unwilling than the first round out.

As soon as they entered the field, the Steamer Workers looked at each player opposite them with hostile eyes.

The object of hostility - Li Ao, who has been in the limelight recently!

But after seeing Li Ao enter, he ran to the opposite side of the technical table and chatted with the two beauties.

Originally, they were jealous of Li Ao's headlines, but now their faces are distorted......

On Li Ao's side, he felt that today's atmosphere was very different when he entered, and he didn't feel 'home' for the first time after the crazy three fights.

It's very special.

But this is not important, compared to the atmosphere of Poly Arena, this is still a little worse.

Don't look at the Poly Arena with only 8,000 seats, but the space is very well designed, and the boos of 8,000 people can make 80,000 people feel like it.

He looked at the three people in front of him, and the corners of his mouth twitched: "You three, what is this thing you are wearing?" ”

"Your cartoon character! How's that, isn't it cute? ”

Vivien shook her head as she spoke, and the little cartoon stand on her head with a hat attached to it swayed with it.

Li Ao: ()

Cute is cute, and the cartoon image is still well designed.

But why did he have that enduring BGM in his head?

Li Ao looked at Liam: "I'm not surprised that Aunt Vivian wears this, but you actually wear it too?" ”

Vivien replied, "This is what he bought it." ”

Li Ao exclaimed in surprise: "Oh? ”

Vivien complained: "When he saw a group of girls gathered around, he immediately squeezed in, and when he came out, he had these three more hats in his hand...... Although the purpose is dirty, the thing is still good. ”

Liam didn't bother with Vivian, no matter what she said, anyway, she was going to get the phone from the young lady who sold the merchandise.

He said to Li Ao: "Come on, Leo, you must take us to the final four!" ”

Li Ao guessed: "It must be that you met a fan of our team you like, and if you win, you can find her to celebrate together?" ”

Liam smiled: "You still know me, but if I accidentally lose, I can also comfort her...... Of course it's best to win, double the happiness. ”

"......" Li Ao ignored the goods, turned his head to the beautiful woman wearing a long skirt and asked, "But why are you here too?" ”

"I spent money on a ticket, why can't I come? Originally, I wanted to wait for you to win and give you a gift, but if you don't want it, I'll go? ”

"Tickets are expensive, don't waste them."

“……”

Jessica is furious and begs God to make this bastard dumb!

It's mainly the slightly disgusted tone.,It doesn't seem to have pajamas yet.。

Hmph, I dislike it now, and I don't have to work hard for her when the time comes!

Not to mention, in addition to the shortcoming of not being dumb, this product is also very good in other aspects, not only the face and figure are strong, but also the outstanding points, do not get along for a long time, and occasionally interact......

She remembered the taste...... Can't think about it! Public!

Liam whispered to Vivien, "Leo said he had nothing to do with Jessica, I don't believe it!" ”

"I also think, oh ho ho, our Leo has finally grown up!" Vivien covered her mouth and smiled like a behind-the-scenes villain.

Liam: Convex (艹益艹) convex.

I asked the young lady to be SP, and this appointment star has grown up?

After chatting with the three of them, Li Ao returned to the bench, and the task came!

"The Ultimate Battlefield:

Goal: The host needs to lead the team to the final four.

Rewards: 5,000 achievement points, 1 level 4 skill upgrade card, and 1 gold gear upgrade card. ”

The rewards are getting bigger and bigger!

Li Ao took a deep breath and calmed down.

Crazy three quarterfinals, such rewards are normal.

To become an elite quarterfinalist, in addition to strength, you also need luck.

In college, they were as strong as O'Neal and Duncan, and after playing for three and four years, they didn't have any chance to get close to the elite quarterfinals, and they fell in the top 32 at most.

This year, their Trojans have a well-structured lineup, a tacit understanding, and individual ability is also online, plus an indomitable momentum...... It's only come to this point.

It's hard to say what will happen next season, and the fact that Shelby Jordan is about to graduate from college alone makes it difficult to find a freshman to make up for it.

He has such a good opportunity, but he can't fall here.

Then another task came.

"Opponents set foot on the court with the big goal of reviving basketball in their hometown, and big dreams inspire every player on the Steamer Workers...... Mission: Go to the basketball dream of stepping on the horse to trigger. ”

"The basketball dream of stepping on a horse:

Goal 1: Lead the team to end the opponent's campaign for the season.

Goal 2: Host at least three of the five main stats in this match to be above the season average. (The host averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per game this season.) ）

Reward: Cheer Up (Level 1).

Optional Target: Score the highest in the field in any of the host's five primary stats.

Rewards: 1,000 achievement points for each major stat reached. ”

This task, as if he is a big villain, has a dream on the other side, and they don't have it on their side?

The road to accomplishing dreams is always full of thorns, such a difficult thing, do not let others suffer, let them be willing to help and sacrifice themselves Trojans to bear the suffering!

Li Ao nodded-sure enough, I'm a good person!

…

At 3 p.m., the first game of the 8-in-4 NCAA Basketball Tournament began.

The Trojans continued to start, with the Steamer Workers fielding Carson Cunningham (185 cm), Jalan Cornell (191 cm), Mike Robinson (198 cm), Brian Cardinal (203 cm), and John Allison (208 cm).

Charles beat John Allison to win the jump ball, and the Trojans took the lead.

Granville, Li Ao, and Bai Mamba cooperated in a small area, and Li Ao took a quick stop outside the free throw line to receive the ball, and turned to face Cardinal to make a two-point shot......

The first ball felt hot, the shooting action was complete, and it also triggered the role of 'abort level 3' core power control and shooting power control.

Hit!

Li Ao's goal kicked off the opening offensive of the Trojans, and they quickly took the initiative and played a wave of 9-5.

After Li Ao scored a goal at the beginning, he didn't shoot later, the white mamba scored 5 points, and Granville gave Charles a main attack with a close-range shot, during which Li Ao only got 1 rebound.

However, when the Trojans' offensive slowed down, the Steamers immediately turned on the play mode, the offensive end was extremely active, the defensive end dared to confront, and returned a wave of 6-3, chasing the score to 11-12.

It's time for the Trojans to attack again, and the Steamer Workers players want to seize the opportunity to overtake the score in one fell swoop, and they are defending very hard, focusing on the White Mamba.

When Bai Mamba received the ball from Li Ao Ce Ying through Trepagnier's cover, he was caught by the two, and he wanted to give the ball to Trepagnier at the first time, but when he saw Li Ao cut in and the opposite center was on the left side of the three-second zone to defend Charles, he immediately passed the ball over.

Li Ao received the ball on the right side of the three-second zone, turned around and carried Mike Robinson to the basket, jumped up, and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand!

Not only that, but John Allison's block, who pounced back, also slapped on Li Ao's arm, and the referee's whistle blew, and the goal was effective and a penalty had to be added!

Mike Robinson was extremely annoyed, he had tried very hard to stop the other party from turning around, but his strength was average, although he had a weight advantage of 95 kilograms, but the handsome guy who looked slender on the other side couldn't stop him with brute strength.

Henry Bibby on the sidelines watched Li Ao walk to the free throw line and breathed a sigh of relief.

The ability to resist pressure on the opposite side and seize the opportunity to fight back is too strong!

Luckily they have a key player.

However, seeing that the inside scoring method developed by Li Ao in the past two months can be used in the finals of the crazy third division, he is both happy and painful, and genius can really do whatever he wants.

Especially the offensive awareness, Li Ao drilled under the basket as soon as he passed the ball, and obviously rushed to catch the ball and attack the frame, and was full of confidence in the tacit understanding of his teammates.

What was he doing in his first season in the NCAA? It's like she's messing up a national championship with Abdul-Jabbar.

Vaco!

At the end of the season, I have to train this kid to vent the imbalance in his heart.

His arm was beaten a little painfully, and Li Ao adjusted it and threw the ball at the last minute after the referee counted down a few seconds.

The moment he was hit didn't affect his feel, and he was punished with a hollow hit!

At 15-11, the Trojans stopped the bleeding and withstood the onslaught of the steamer workers.

The first wave of counterattacks was frustrated, but it did not affect the resilience of the steam of steam oveners, and then they launched wave after wave of attacks.

As for the Trojans, they attached great importance to the opponent's ability to fight back and the spirit of not being defeated in the preparation stage, and after the opponent's fierce counterattack at the beginning, they did not dare to be careless and went all out to deal with the steam oven workers.

Both teams played to their best in the game.

Li Ao's shooting, strategy, and seizing opportunities to cut into and bully the three point guards who are shorter than him on the opposite side, Granville's breakthrough small toss and points, Bai Mamba's three-point shooting, Trey Pagnier's all-round response ability, and Charles's wing blocking, close range and eating cake under the basket, are all in full play.

Cardinal's three-point and wing singles, Carson Cunningham and John Allison's pick-and-roll offense, Mike Robinson's wing cut-in, and Jalan Connell's outside singles and catch-and-shoot threes were all on full play.

The game was very intense, and both sides tried their best, but neither could open up the difference or overtake the score in one fell swoop.

Both sides enjoyed the game though!

When encountering an evenly matched opponent, the players on both sides have ignored the off-field factors and want to blow up the opponent!

To personal ability, there is!

To be tactically coordinated, there is!

To joint defense, assist defense, there are also!

To have wonderful highlight goals, there are too!

The fans at the scene saw such a fierce and wonderful game, cheering and boos did not stop, giving the players on the field a strong motivation.

At the end of the first half, the Steamer Workers trailed by two points, Cardinal received the ball from the outside, and hit a three-point shot against Li Ao's defense, 39-38, and the Steamer Workers were ahead by 1 point!

When it came to the Trojans' offense, the white mamba was not to be outdone, received the ball and turned around and hit a three-point shot, returning the tribute to Cardinal.

The stars are coming!

But after Cardinal received the ball in the confrontation with Li Ao, he turned around to avoid Li Ao and made a quick three-point shot...... Again!

Li Ao snorted and ran to the front court, this ball, he has done it to the extreme, and the confrontation that should be given has been given, which also made the opponent make more shooting moves, increasing the difficulty of the opponent's shooting.

But the other party still entered!

Big pitcher!

Unlike Capono's inexperience and thin body, Cardinal is a senior, with mature skills, rich competition experience, and a weight of 108 kilograms, explosive power is poor, and the strength is average overall, not like a 108-kilogram inside, but such a weight can maintain the stability of his movements after confrontation.

42-41, the steam oven workers overtook the score again!

When the Trojans attacked, Li Ao and substitute Brosenthal fed the white mamba again.

When the white mamba received the ball, the two people on the opposite side pounced on him, and he jumped out without fear...... I threw it very bravely, but it was disturbed and crooked!

"Bang"

The ball hits the rim and opposite bench small forward Rodney Smith shields the defensive rebound.

There are 20 seconds left in the first half!

Jalan Cornell received the ball and quickly advanced to the front court, and his teammates did their best to keep up, and immediately began to run tactically when they got to the front court.

Three points!

And shoot three points!

The Steamer Workers want to extend their lead to 4 points! In that way, they will attack first in the second half, and they will have more initiative! Maybe we can open up the difference at the beginning of the second half!

The steam of steamers, nicknamed 'coal power' by their fans, fought back like an old-fashioned train, accelerating and jumping towards their goal every time they were refueled.

Their tactical goal is clear – keep feeding Cardinal!

The tactics ran smoothly, John Allison split the ball in one step inside the free throw line, led the man with the ball, Cardinal just arrived at the position, the ball flew right in front of him, the passer and the receiver were very excited, but just as Cardinal received the ball, he didn't hold it yet, and took the ball away with one hand!

Li Ao said "three buckles" to start, hit the ball forward, chase the ball, and then shoot the ball after catching up with the ball...... This counterattack propulsion action, seeing the angry chasing Cardinal almost stumbled!

(End of chapter)