Chapter 1 The Start

It was 7 p.m. that day, and after a rest, the University of Connecticut (UConn) team took a bus from the hotel to the competition arena.

In an hour, their game against San Diego State University would begin at the Riverside County Sports Arena.

On the way, they heard news that in a game that had just ended in New York, Georgetown University was defeated by No. 14 seed Morehead State University 62-61, the first upset of this year's NCAA Tournament.

Monroe didn't play well in this game, contributing only 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Performance is really important in this single-elimination tournament.

With Georgetown University out, there were only four Big East Conference teams left, and the pressure on UConn's shoulders increased.

Inside the Riverside County Sports Arena, the 40,000-seat stadium was already packed.

On one side were UConn fans, and on the other side were San Diego State University fans, surrounding the entire stadium in a large oval.

There was a gap between the two schools in terms of history and status, but the number of fans at this game was evenly matched.

When Tang Tian and Walker walked onto the court, they could feel the enthusiasm from both sides of the fans, which was much more intense than during the regular season or even the championship game.

This was a real life-or-death battle.

Unlike previous games, because there was no home or away advantage, the players from both teams were introduced one after another.

At this time, the opening ceremony became much more interesting than usual.

The UConn players were introduced first. Smith, Oriakhi, Tang Tian, and Lamb were booed almost all the way, all from San Diego State University fans. Only when Walker was introduced did the cheers from UConn fans drown out the boos from the other side.

When the San Diego State University players came out, the situation was completely reversed. Leonard's appearance made the cheers and boos evenly matched.

This was a classic scene of the NCAA Tournament. Whether it was the booing side or the cheering side, they were all holding their breath. This pre-match contest was also a way for fans to cheer for their respective teams.

"Connecticut Huskies!"

The UConn players formed a circle before the game, overlapping each other and shouting their slogan.

"Beep!"

A long whistle came from the sidelines, and the starting players from both teams took to the court one after another.

The fans in the audience couldn't sit still at all and stood up to watch the game.

In such a big atmosphere, it was impossible to sit still.

Oriakhi and Wright jumped for the ball, the former tapping the ball back to UConn's half, officially opening the curtain of the game.

Walker dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Leonard directly marked him.

Although one played point guard and the other played power forward, Leonard, like Tang Tian, was a four-man swingman at the three spot, and his speed was not slow.

Walker tried to break through with continuous changes of direction, but Leonard's wingspan and big hands basically blocked his path.

Tang Tian stepped up to give a screen, but Leonard directly grabbed the position, not giving him a chance.

Walker took a step to accelerate towards the basket, with Leonard chasing closely behind him.

Walker jumped up to shoot under the basket, and Leonard reached out to block, so he pulled the ball back for a reverse layup.

But at this moment, Leonard's big left hand covered it for a second interference, and Walker's shot obviously lost its angle.

The ball slid out of the hoop after being shot, and Leonard successfully defended Walker's breakthrough.

The fans of San Diego State University cheered.

Walker was the core of UConn's offense, and if Walker was defended, UConn's offense would be more than half wasted!

After watching this round, Tang Tian basically had a good idea in his mind that even the current Leonard was stronger than him in terms of defense alone.

This was also expected. Peak Leonard's defense was a red skill in the system, two levels higher than his individual defense, and also the strongest defensive skill.

UConn retreated quickly, not giving San Diego State University a chance for a fast break.

Tang Tian marked Leonard in the frontcourt. Leonard held the ball with his back to the basket, relying on Tang Tian to force his way in.

The two were close in height, but Leonard was 4 kilograms heavier than Tang Tian, and he obviously wanted to take advantage of this.

However, Tang Tian's resistance was stronger than he imagined, and his continuous hard hits failed to push him in as expected.

This was also one of the reasons why the NCAA had the most upsets. You had to determine the outcome of the game with your opponent in one game, but you were playing against most of your opponents for the first time, and your understanding of your opponents could only rely on the coaching staff's data analysis, which was a completely different concept from actually facing them.

He couldn't get in with a hard hit, so he chose to turn around and lean back.

His offensive skills were more diverse than Butler's.

Tang Tian also knew this, judged the situation accurately, and rushed out to provide interference.

"Bang!"

Leonard's lean back shot went wide.

Tang Tian also defended Leonard's attack!

This time it was UConn's fans' turn to cheer.

It was a give-and-take situation, not only were the players on the court competing against each other, but the fans on the sidelines were also competing every inch of the way.

Oriakhi protected the defensive rebound.

During the scramble, Wright made a small pushing movement. Oriakhi controlled the ball and looked angry, but Wright had already quickly retreated to his own half.

In UConn's offense, Walker faced Leonard again in the frontcourt. This time, he didn't attack forcefully, but controlled the ball while making tactical gestures.

Tang Tian moved up to the three-point line to screen, and Leonard defended closely. His defense was clean, but the pressure was full.

Walker continued to speed up and take a step to break through, with Leonard chasing behind him.

Similar scenes, the cheers from the San Diego State University fans were about to burst out.

But at this moment, Lamb on the weak side took advantage of the screens from Smith and Tang Tian to get an opportunity. Walker flicked the ball back, and Lamb caught the ball and made a sudden stop jump shot.

"Swish!"

The ball went into the net.

Just like Walker said last night, he was not fighting alone!

The cheers of the San Diego State University fans were stifled, and a burst of cheers erupted from the UConn fans.

In San Diego State University's offense, Leonard and Franklin made a screen, and after the screen, Leonard cut to the basket, and the guard passed the ball.

"Pa!"

This ball was successfully predicted by Tang Tian, who directly intercepted the guard's pass.

UConn launched a fast break. Walker caught the ball and attacked to the frontcourt, had a physical confrontation with Franklin, and then pulled the ball in the air and sent it into the basket again!

4 to 0!

Although UConn didn't score in the first round of the opening, they quickly got into the game.

This ball also completely mobilized the emotions of the UConn fans.

Although the San Diego State University fans were right in front of them, their small universe couldn't be stopped.

"Defense! Defense!"

Amid the cheers of the audience, Lamb assisted in defending Franklin and successfully stole the ball again!

UConn's fast break.

Leonard retreated quickly on this ball, sealing off Walker's layup angle.

Walker didn't think about forcing it either, turned around and passed the ball to Lamb, who was following up, and Lamb flicked the ball to Tang Tian, who was following up on the other side.

A wide-open shooting opportunity.

Tang Tian caught the ball and shot directly.

"Swish!"

With a flick of the wrist, Tang Tian steadily hit UConn's first three-pointer of the game!

7 to 0!

UConn had multiple points of attack and the offense was like a tide!