Chapter 1 They Were Seriously Underrated

"They were seriously underrated." The commentator couldn't help but sigh after watching UConn's opening performance.

The media placed UConn in the third tier, after teams like the University of Arizona and Kansas, mainly because the media saw UConn's players as having limited talent. But now it seems they underestimated Walker, and also underestimated Lamb and Thabeet, and even Oriakhi.

Two scoring threats, a defensive stopper, plus a fundamentally sound big man in the paint, that's the standard configuration for a strong NCAA team.

San Diego State University's offense, Franklin's jump shot after a pick-and-roll, still missed.

Oriakhi continued to secure the rebound.

A burst of noise came from the San Diego State University fans.

The game was almost three minutes in, and their home team hadn't scored yet.

At this time, Calhoun on the sidelines had a smile on his face.

Although it was their first match, as a 40-year veteran coach, he had much more experience in these kinds of games than the average coach.

San Diego State University's two forwards were the core of their offense, one good at low-post power attack, and the other good at penetration, with the common point being that they liked to attack the basket.

Based on this characteristic, his pre-game plan was to have UConn play a pseudo 2-3 zone defense.

The so-called pseudo 2-3 zone defense is to play man-to-man normally, and once the opponent breaks inside, they immediately shrink to the basket and change to a 2-3 zone defense, not giving the opponent a chance to score inside.

This defensive method, which is between man-to-man and zone defense, was invented by the Pistons in the late 90s to deal with Michael Jordan, and it's still quite practical for UConn to use now.

UConn's offense in the frontcourt failed to score, and coming back, Leonard's breakthrough was also blocked by Thabeet and Oriakhi together. Thabeet seized the opportunity to grab a defensive rebound.

UConn was putting on a textbook-like defense.

San Diego State University's fans were restless, they would never have thought before the game that UConn would suddenly pull out such a move.

If they continued to play at this rhythm, San Diego State University wouldn't have the slightest chance of winning.

In UConn's offense, Lamb's penetration caused Franklin's shooting foul again.

After he made one of two free throws, UConn had a dream start of 8-0.

UConn's fans were cheering constantly, they could already see the scene of their team advancing to the Round of 32.

Leonard, standing on the edge of danger, came out and caught the ball after a screen from Wright and made a mid-range shot, finally helping San Diego State University break the scoring drought.

"That's it! That's it!" Wright roared at Leonard after he scored.

In UConn's frontcourt offense, Lamb broke through to the basket after a screen from Thabeet, and shot after a physical contest with Wright.

Wright fell backward in response, and the referee blew his whistle, indicating a defensive foul on Wright.

"What? A defensive foul? Are you sure?!" Wright sat there and punched the ground directly with his hand, shouting loudly.

His teammates came over to pull him up, but he was still talking non-stop.

Lamb's two free throw opportunities, this time he made both of them despite the boos, UConn continued to lead 10-2.

In San Diego State University's offense, Leonard shot again after a screen, Thabeet interfered with the shot this time and it went wide.

Oriakhi wanted to force a defensive rebound, but Wright had a small move underneath, Oriakhi lost control and didn't get the rebound, Wright grabbed the ball and then shot again, Oriakhi blocked the shot again and hit him on the hand.

The referee blew his whistle, indicating a shooting foul on Oriakhi.

"He pushed me!" Oriakhi shouted at the referee after being called for a foul. Wright had been making small moves since the beginning of the game, and he was already a little unable to bear it.

"No, a shooting foul, two free throws." The referee ignored Oriakhi's protest and turned directly to the technical table.

Wright clapped his hands directly at this time.

Oriakhi was a little furious and wanted to rush up, but Thabeet quickly grabbed him.

"Calm down, we're leading by a lot, he's just trying to anger you." He loudly reminded Oriakhi.

After this segment, he had basically figured out Wright's style of play. He was a lot like Draymond Green of the Warriors, both players who had a lot of points in mental attributes.

You don't feel anything when the team is playing well, but when the team is playing against the wind, his presence is very strong, whether it's yelling at Leonard earlier, or trying to draw an offensive foul on Lamb, including those small moves, they're all his methods.

This kind of player is very good at using the referee. Although he was called for a defensive foul earlier, his reaction was very big, giving the referee enough pressure, and all those actions weren't directed at the referee, so he wouldn't be called for a technical foul.

Oriakhi stopped his impulsive actions after being pulled by Thabeet, but it was still obvious that he was very unhappy with Wright.

Wright's free throws, his free throws were pretty good, he made both of them despite the boos from UConn's fans, helping the team close the point difference.

Back on his own half, he shouted at his teammates again.

In UConn's offense, Walker's pull-up jump shot after a screen missed, Oriakhi grabbed the offensive rebound and prepared for a strong attack.

Wright's block didn't hit the ball, and slapped Oriakhi in the face.

Oriakhi was furious on the spot, and directly flipped Wright over.

The players on both sides came to the two of them to confront each other, and the atmosphere on the court was full of gunpowder.

Both sides' fans were also booing.

The referee separated the players on both sides, and after watching the replay on the sidelines, ruled that Wright's defense, although unsuccessful, was going for the ball and not the person, giving Wright a normal defensive foul, while Oriakhi's action was obviously malicious, and almost caused a conflict, so he was directly ejected from the game with a flagrant foul 2.

UConn's fans booed, while San Diego State University's fans cheered non-stop.

Looking at Oriakhi leaving the court wrapped in a towel, Thabeet and Walker exchanged glances, and both saw the worry in each other's eyes.

Oriakhi was able to suppress Wright in terms of ability, but substitute Forsythe was hard to do. UConn lost this inside screen, and the situation would definitely not be as easy as it was after the opening.

With the opportunity for two free throws and a possession, Wright had a smile on his face after making both free throws.

In this one possession, UConn lost 4 points plus a possession inside and out (Oriakhi missed both free throws before leaving).

With San Diego State University's possession, Wright pulled up to the high post to screen for Franklin. Franklin broke through to the basket and matched up with Forsythe, directly forcing a shooting foul on the latter.

After he made both free throws, San Diego State University closed the point difference to 8-12 at once.

Walker scored a goal after a screen from Thabeet in UConn's frontcourt, and Thabeet defended against Franklin's continuous attacks on the return, but Leonard got the offensive rebound over Forsythe and made a put-back, and the point difference between the two sides was still 4 points.

It could be felt that after Oriakhi left the court, even if UConn still shrunk towards the basket, the defensive strength under the basket was obviously weakened.