Chapter 1 Providence College's Adjustment

Providence College's adjustments were cracked by Tang Tian's high-pressure defense, and the second half of the game became almost his personal show.

Brooks tried hard to get rid of him, but Tang Tian was like chewing gum, impossible to shake off.

For the first time since he started playing in the NCAA, he looked particularly embarrassed on the court.

This was the effect of Tang Tian's full defensive effort. With seventy to eighty percent of his one-on-one defensive skills, it was impossible for NCAA players to deal with him calmly.

What's more, Brooks was the kind of player whose passing was broken.

Steals after forced breakthroughs, missed shots after forced shots, blocks after forced turnarounds.

Brooks, who had previously been able to get whatever he wanted on the court, was miserably suppressed by Tang Tian.

Actually, Tang Tian didn't need to go this far, but Brooks' provocative words at the beginning of the game made him unable to bear it.

He could be quite vindictive sometimes!

With Brooks completely shut down by Tang Tian, Providence College's offense was completely unable to open up.

In the end, UConn bloodbathed Providence College 81-61 at home, taking a thorough victory and welcoming an eight-game winning streak!

For UConn, Lamb had 20 points and 4 rebounds, Walker had 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, Oriakhi had 11 points and 12 rebounds, Napier had 10 points and 3 assists, and Olander and Smith each had 8 points.

Facing Providence College's not-so-good defense, they played with a multi-point scoring feel.

Tang Tian's focus in this game was entirely on defending Brooks. He took three outside shots and made one, getting 3 points, 3 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks!

Brooks, his counterpart, and the absolute core of Providence College, made 7 of 26 shots, scoring 15 points and 3 rebounds, and had 6 turnovers!

After watching the second half, the fans all had only one feeling in their hearts: Tang Tian's full defense was so terrifying!

At the post-match press conference, Calhoun attended with Lamb and Tang Tian.

"He is the key to our victory," Calhoun said, unsparing in his praise. Even he hadn't expected Tang Tian's performance on the defensive end to be so good.

"What do you think of Brooks' performance? We know he said before the game that you couldn't defend him, but in the end you did." After asking Calhoun, the reporter continued to turn to Tang Tian.

"Marshon is a very good scorer. He can shoot, he can break through, and his playing style is also very similar to Kobe." To the surprise of the reporters at the scene, Tang Tian immediately praised Brooks as soon as he opened his mouth.

"But Kobe also has times when he misses shots, and I believe he will adjust his state soon. I also look forward to playing against them again in the championship game."

The reporters below were waiting for a turning point, but after listening to the whole thing, they realized that Tang Tian was really praising Brooks, showing a considerable degree of generosity!

However, Calhoun on the side couldn't help but laugh at this time.

Tang Tian's words had a deeper meaning. Kobe also has times when he misses shots, which was a mockery of Brooks' terrible shot selection in the game!

These reporters didn't react at first, but when the report was published and discovered by fans, it was estimated that it would be another wave of criticism.

No one could match Tang Tian's art of speaking.

After taking down Providence College, UConn's record came to 10 wins and 4 losses, and its ranking in the Big East Conference also rose to fourth place.

The top eight in the league advance to the championship, and the top four are in the upper bracket, with home-court advantage, and the higher the ranking, the weaker the teams they face.

With them in the upper bracket, their hopes of advancing to the NCAA tournament naturally increased by one point.

The team's next game was at home against Georgetown University. In the previous game, Greg Monroe dominated the interior, scoring 30 points and 21 rebounds and thoroughly ravaged UConn's interior.

Tang Tian's strong defense, but also his ability to swing between the three and four positions, made this game a considerable test for UConn.

However, in the training session the next day, Calhoun announced an important message.

Tang Tian would enter the starting lineup in the next game!

This was actually completely within the expectations of the other players.

If Tang Tian had started in the last game, Brooks' performance might have been even worse.

Moreover, his defense, his pick-and-roll with Walker, after so many games, had become an indispensable part of UConn's tactics!

But what was surprising was that Tang Tian replaced not Smith, but Olander, and would serve as the team's starting power forward.

Olander was 2.11 meters tall, a full 10 centimeters taller than Tang Tian. This adjustment was equivalent to reducing the height of UConn's interior all at once.

But Calhoun obviously had his own considerations.

In the last game against Providence College, Brooks' touch was completely gone because of Tang Tian's defense, but Providence College still scored more than 60 points in the game.

UConn's current starting lineup has enough height, but its mobility is relatively poor. Facing opponents who play fast, the transition defense is a big problem.

Although he was a bit old-fashioned, he could still understand the trend of basketball. Now the pace of the game was getting faster and faster, and mobility would become more important.

He used Olander before because he had no choice. Now that he had Tang Tian, he naturally needed to change.

Tang Tian's height of 2 meters was completely enough to play power forward in the NCAA, and he was strong in confrontation and fast, which could complement Oriakhi well.

"Tang, congratulations!"

"Tang, you have to treat us to dinner!"

…

Tang Tian had a good relationship with the UConn team, and all the players came up to congratulate him at this moment.

"I have to treat you, no one can be missing," Tang Tian wasn't stingy either.

In his previous life, he had so much money that it was just a bunch of numbers, so he didn't care much about money. Before, he was short of money because he didn't have a scholarship. Now that he had a scholarship, treating people to dinner was definitely not a problem.

After agreeing to have dinner tomorrow night, Tang Tian went back to his dorm to rest after the training session.

But he received a call not long after he lay down.

It was Olsen calling.

"Are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you to see a movie."

The last time the two had dinner together, Olsen seemed to be a little reluctant at the end. He didn't expect that she would take the initiative to invite him to see a movie at this time.

This development speed seemed a bit fast.

But that was the charm of Tang Tian now, which couldn't be explained by just being handsome.

Olsen had a good family background, and there must be many people around her who were more handsome than Tang Tian. It could only be said that Tang Tian's mature man's charm attracted her.

"I have to do extra training tonight," Tang Tian replied directly.

He wasn't resistant to Olsen, but after so much experience in his previous life, he knew what was more important.

"Then I'll buy tickets for a later show. What time do you think you'll be done?" To Tang Tian's surprise, Olsen was very understanding.

"9 o'clock, maybe." Tang Tian gave a time. Since Olsen had already said so much, it would be inappropriate for him to refuse again.

"Okay, then I'll pick you up then," Olsen said directly.