The invincible kryptonite of basketball

But I have to blame Cajon, leading them by 20 points and letting them play for so long.

The game had already been concluded, and the photographers on the scene began to capture the sidelines. The picture of Tang Tian and Walker eating cake appeared on the large LED screen at the scene again.

When Walker saw that he was taking pictures of himself, he was not as shy as last time, and greeted the camera with a smile.

And this time the photographer gave enough time, and the fans at the scene were all amused by them.

In the end, after 5 minutes of garbage time, UConn beat the University of Texas 71 to 46 and successfully advanced to the final four of the tournament.

Although the result had already been known, when the final whistle sounded, the slogan of "Connecticut Huskies" still resounded over the stadium.

Before the start of the regular season, no one thought that Kang Daneng, who was dominated by recruits, could achieve anything, but they suddenly became the champions of the Big East League!

In the first round of the tournament, they were expected to be upset, but they bloodbathed their opponents!

Against Arizona, it was completely treated as a supporting role, but they still beat their opponents!

In the case of not being favored by everyone, in the almost away situation, it even knocked off the championship favorite North Carolina!

Until tonight, the final four!

This is an incredible season that can even be written into history!

And they have a chance to go one step further.

After the UConn players shook hands with the University of Texas, they also began to cheer with the fans.

It's really not easy to get to this point after a season of hard work.

After interacting with the audience, they moved the ladder with the staff, and then started the "net cutting" session.

As a championship tradition, the championship team can cut the net after the final as a souvenir.

This champion, in addition to the final champion of the championship, the champion of the division also has this right.

The order of net cutting starts from the highest to the lowest age.

Walker cut off the one that belonged to him, followed by Oriachi, and then the first grader. Tang Tian also cut off the one that belonged to him after Lamb, and put it away carefully.

This is the first reward he received after crossing.

After Cajon cut the last one, the net-cutting ceremony officially ended.

But this is not the last part of tonight.

After the net-cutting session, an awards ceremony was held on the spot.

According to NCAA rules, originally only the final champion and runner-up would receive a gold national championship trophy and a silver national runner-up trophy, but since 2006, each division champion will receive a bronze division championship trophy.

When the UConn players lifted the division championship trophy together, the cheers of the UConn fans reached a peak.

They've seen the dawn of this franchise's return to its former glory.

Now, they want to work with this team to turn this dawn into reality.

Chapter 95 Defending Champion

While UConn won the championship in the Western Division, the champions of several other divisions also came out one after another. Butler University continued its dark horse quality last year and became the champion of the Southeast Division. Kentucky and Duke lived up to expectations. Champions of the Southwest Division.

In this way, the final four of the tournament have been determined, namely UConn, Duke, Kentucky and Butler.

With the championship determined and the semifinal matchup, Butler University will compete with Kentucky, while UConn will have to play against defending champion Duke University.

First fight against Arizona, then North Carolina, and now Duke. If it weren't for the accidental killing of Kansas by the University of Texas, the experience of the University of Connecticut this year is really a hell that can no longer be hell.

But from another point of view, this is also a kind of luck for Kangda.

There are NCAA championships every year, but there are not many impressive ones. If UConn can finally win the championship in this hell mode, it will definitely be remembered by history and become a topic that fans talk about after dinner.

As the defending champion, Duke University is not only the No. 1 seed in the Southwest this year, but also the No. 1 seed in the entire NCAA tournament. It has Irving, the MOP of the last championship (the most outstanding player in the final four) Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Miles Plumlee, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly, Seth Curry and many other talented NBA players.

It is no exaggeration to say that even Curry, who is on the bench, can become the absolute core in ordinary schools.

This is a shameless lineup, but who calls it Duke!

And Duke, there's a guy named Mike Krzyzewski!

The famous Coach K!

The biggest difference between the NCAA and the NBA is the right of the head coach, because there is no management, the head coach basically has all the power.

Your future, your basketball life is basically all decided by the head coach.

And a good coach can bring players to a bigger stage, provide them with more exposure opportunities, and then get a better future and life.

This is a complementary relationship.

The reason why Duke can have so many top players is because they have Coach K, a legendary coach who can be as famous as Dean Smith!

Therefore, the top high school students in the United States all squeezed their heads into the gate of Duke.

Coming to the final four stage, the attention of the tournament is rising rapidly, and the competition venue is also further upgraded.

The Final Four includes two semi-finals and one final, a total of three games.

The venue for these three games has already been decided, in Houston's Ryland Stadium.

As the first professional football stadium with an openable roof in the United States, this old stadium is famous far and wide. Its roof is made of highly transparent fiberglass material, which makes people feel completely open even after it is closed.

Of course, the number of seats in this stadium is also considerable, and it can accommodate 7.2 people watching the game at the same time, which fully meets the requirements of the NCAA Final Four.

There are more than 7 people watching the basketball game at the same time. Such a scene is really unique in the world. This is the charm of the NCAA.

Even in the finals, even the NBA will choose to suspend the game to make way for it.

The day before the game, the top four teams arrived in Houston one after another.

Tang Tian is very familiar with the city of Houston. The Chinese giant Yao Ming spent his entire career here. He also lived in this city as a coach in his previous life.

The game between UConn and Duke will start first. In order to let the players relax, Calhoun did not arrange daily training on this day.

"Are you nervous? Go against Singler." In the hotel, Walker asked while playing 2K with Tang Tian.

Kyle Singler is a legend in the NCAA. He scored 13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in his freshman season and became the best rookie in the Atlantic Coast League. Zhong scored 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks, helping Duke win the championship.

"I'm not nervous. Have you ever seen me nervous?" Tang Tian said with a smile. You can handle it with Barnes, but you're still afraid of Singler?

"You don't need to be nervous. Irving just came back from injury not long ago. He can't beat you." Tang Tian knew Walker well, knowing that he was worried about his game, and then said.

"Well." Walker didn't explain anything this time, just nodded.

It is a good thing for a person to have a heart, but if the heart is too high, it is conceited. Walker is obviously not that kind of conceited person.

To say that the only guard in this class that can worry Walker, or at least allow him to recognize it from the bottom of his heart, is Irving.

How talented is Irving?

As a rookie, Irving basically didn't play much because of his toe injury. In 11 games, he averaged 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists, 59% of his two-pointers and 45% of his three-pointers.

Whether an injured rookie can score this kind of stats, or whether the firewire came back and led the team to the final four and became the top pick, these are actually very self-explanatory.

UConn did not arrange training, but Duke University did.

Coach K conducted a basic training in the training hall. The training mainly focused on warm-up and shooting. The purpose was to help the players find their status before the game.

Duke is the hottest winner of this year's championship, and their training has also attracted a kind of media visit, which even includes media giants such as ESPN and TNT.

It is worth mentioning that the semi-finals will be broadcast live across the United States. At that time, TNT's ace commentators Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, and ESPN's top players Mike Breen and Reggie Miller will all come to the scene to comment.

Irving has been talking to Coach K, and the reporters didn't get a chance to interview him, though they did catch Kyle Singler.

Singler's reputation in the NCAA is much greater than that of Irving, and their wave is not a loss at all.

"Kyle, the University of Connecticut defeated North Carolina this year and is very strong. What do you think of this opponent?"

"This is a sad thing." Singler's answer was somewhat unexpected.

"Playing against North Carolina is something that every Duke player wants to do. When the division came out, I was a little excited. You know this is my last year of college. I hope to complete the last thing I want to do as a Duke person. things, but it didn't come in the end." Singler said regretfully.

There is no problem with what he said. He won the NCAA championship, and he also won the MOP. The victory over North Carolina is indeed the only thing he has not completed.

The reporter was obviously stunned for a moment. This is true, but it seems that the answer is not what the question asked!

"What do you think of UConn, your opponent in the semifinals?" he could only ask again.

Chapter 96 A basketball game with 7 people

"They played very well in this championship, in good condition and luck." Singler then replied.

"Luck?" The reporter froze for a moment.

"Yes, I really didn't expect the guys from Kansas to be eliminated by the University of Texas. Otherwise, our opponent would probably be Kansas."

"You mean, if the University of Connecticut meets Kansas, they probably won't appear here?" The reporter thought for a while and said.

"Yes, I watched the North Carolina game against them. That guy Barnes played terrible in the first half. If he played a little better, North Carolina wouldn't have to spend a second half chasing points, and it wouldn't Killed." Singler was still bitter about not being able to play against North Carolina.

"But now the University of Connecticut has won." The reporter reminded, and he found that Singler had been answering irrelevant questions.

"That's why I say they are really lucky." Singler nodded.

Now, the reporter finally heard the meaning behind what Singler said. He didn't pay much attention to Kangda!

But this is completely normal. Duke is the defending champion, and Singler was the MOP last season. In addition, as Singler said, UConn's promotion seems to have a lot to do with luck.

Here Singler finished the interview, and Owen had a similar conversation with Coach K there. He was about to leave, but he was surrounded by reporters.

"Will your toe hurt the game? It's not fully recovered as far as we know."

"What do you think of UConn's opponent tonight?"

"You will play against Kemba Walker, who is in hot form now. Are you confident to beat him?"

……

There are a lot of problems. Compared with Singler, the handsome Irving is obviously more popular with the media.

"I don't have a problem with my toe. It's fine. It won't affect the game. The University of Connecticut's strength is very good. I will work hard to beat Walker. I know he is in good shape." Irving's smile is very charming, and Singler In comparison, he speaks with a lot of humility.

"Are you worried about Don's defense? And are you worried about being killed by Tang like North Carolina?" The reporter continued to ask.

"Don? Yes, his defense is great, one of the best defensive players I've ever seen, but he is a four, so he shouldn't come to defend me."

The reporters who Owen said this burst out laughing.

"As for being lore, hey man, I can't say for sure about lore."

Owen's words continued to amuse the reporter.

"However, one thing I can be sure of is that the coach will not give Don a chance like North Carolina." Irving finally said seriously.

Tang Tian was able to kill North Carolina, and Roy Williams' strategy was blown up at the last moment. Coach K obviously would not make that kind of mistake.

Owen's words hit the point.

The Ruilante Stadium, which can accommodate more than 7 people, is already full of seats.

What is the concept of 7 people watching a basketball game?

It's different from a football game, because the basketball court is only one-twentieth of the football field, and if 7 people watch football, it's considered the outermost seat, and at least you can get a rough look at it, but this, the outermost seat is not at all Only a few small black dots can be seen.

But in this position, what you watch is not the game, but the atmosphere. Many people even put on binoculars.

The madness of the NCAA Final Four is unique.

Of the 7 people, 4 are fans of Duke University, 3 are fans of Concordia University, and the remaining fraction are some neutral fans in Houston.

In the finals, the fans are also very particular about their attire.

The name of Duke University's team is the Blue Devils. Fans wear dark blue T-shirts. Looking at the dark blue scene at a glance, it is like being in the deep sea. It is a little more blue than North Carolina. Suffocation.

On the other side of the University of Concordia, there are all white T-shirts, which are on par with Duke's blue ones.

When it came to the semi-finals, many super alumni of the two teams came to the scene. On Duke's side, "Jordan's successor" Grant Hill came to the scene.

On the UConn side, Ray Allen, who played for the Celtics, also came to the scene. As the most famous player in the history of UConn, his arrival made UConn fans extremely excited.