Chapter 1 Smith's Three-Pointer

"Swish!"

Smith's three-pointer goes in!

The point difference reaches 14.

Kyrie Irving has made UConn's defense completely clueless.

Under his leadership, Duke University launched a high tide before the end of the first half, leading UConn by a full 20 points with a score of 47 to 27.

"Kenny, what did I tell you? They'll finish the game in the first half!" Barkley said, patting Smith's shoulder hard. He finally won against Smith.

Smith spread his hands. Irving changed the situation on the court single-handedly, which was something he hadn't expected.

The atmosphere in UConn's locker room was a bit depressing.

Trailing by 20 points, they had never encountered this situation in the tournament.

Moreover, the opponent was Duke. Twenty points. It was really unrealistic to turn it around.

After all, this team's talent was much worse. Reaching the Final Four was already considered an overperformance. It wouldn't be shameful to be eliminated here.

However, Kemba Walker and the other core players still had some unwillingness on their faces.

Coach Calhoun didn't know what to say at this time. In the face of absolute talent gap, the role of tactics was very limited.

The silent locker room had an unspeakable oppressive atmosphere.

Calhoun let the players adjust their mentality before leaving the locker room with Ollie first.

The players were either resting on their chairs or sitting there in a daze.

"We shouldn't lose the game in this way," Tang Tian said.

The locker room was originally quiet. When he spoke, all the other players looked at him.

"We may not be able to win the game, but we shouldn't lose the game in this way," Tang Tian continued.

"Tang, we've tried our best..." Smith said.

The other players acquiesced. They were so far behind not because they were in bad shape, but because their talent was really suppressed.

"Yes, maybe we've tried our best, but look at the more than 30,000 fans on the scene. Some of them are students, some are children, some are families, and even some are elderly people. They traveled thousands of miles from Connecticut to come here. Are we really worthy of them by losing the game in this way?"

The answer was obvious, but no one spoke.

"This is the only opportunity in our lives. Kemba, it took him three years to have the opportunity to come to the Final Four stage. And a student only has four years in college. Maybe we will all stay on campus next year, but what if we don't make it to the Final Four? Kemba will never have this opportunity again in his life. The others are the same. Alex, Jeremy, Roscoe, Tyler, ask yourselves, besides tonight, do you have any other opportunities to be so close to the final championship?"

Everyone was silent, but you could still see a lot of unwillingness in their eyes.

Who would be willing!

"There won't be any more! This is our only and last chance! Yes, we have tried our best, really, but can't we do a little more? We have already shown 100% of our state in the first half. Let's show 120% of our state in the second half! Not only for our only chance, but also for the fans who have supported us since the regular season! More investment, give everything, not to win the game, just to have no regrets!" Tang Tian's decibels continued to increase as he spoke.

"Yes, we can lose, but we must never lose in this way!" Oriakhi said, raising his head.

"Damn! I just don't believe that our strength is so much worse than them!" Smith said, slamming the bench.

"That's right! Overthrow those Duke guys!" Olander shouted, standing up.

...

Tang Tian's speech was very infectious and touched the heart. It could be clearly felt that the UConn players' fighting spirit had returned.

Walker got up at this time and pulled Tang Tian out of the locker room.

"Tang, let's go to see the old man." After leaving the locker room, Walker pulled Tang Tian directly to the coach's office.

Tang Tian looked puzzled, not knowing what Walker wanted to do. He didn't say anything when he asked him.

When they arrived at Calhoun's office, they knocked on the door and went in. Calhoun and Ollie looked at them with puzzled expressions.

The last time Tang Tian came alone, this time Walker and Tang Tian came together, and looking at Tang Tian's expression, it seemed that Walker had pulled him here.

"Old man, it's difficult for me to have an advantage against Irving. My strength is below him," Walker said.

When Walker said this, all three people, including Tang Tian, looked at Walker in surprise.

This was the first time they had heard Walker say such a thing.

"But I want to win, so I want to put all my energy into defense in the second half and try my best to limit him," Walker continued firmly.

Tang Tian's words just now touched his heart. He stayed until his junior year to win the championship, and this was indeed his only chance. He wanted to win, he just really wanted to win.

"But the team needs you to score," Calhoun said.

Walker was the best defender among UConn's guards. He averaged nearly 2 steals per game this season, which was among the best in the entire NCAA. But as Calhoun said, UConn needed Walker's offense even more. After all, the team with more points wins the game. Even if they really defended Irving, it was impossible to recover the 20-point difference.

"No, it's not needed." To Calhoun's surprise, Walker shook his head.

"My performance on the offensive end in the first half was terrible. Yes, maybe I can adjust back in the second half, but that takes time. We don't have much time left. Instead of doing that, it's better to leave the offensive matters to Tang. Tang's open three-pointers are our most stable scoring point, and we are so far behind that using three-pointers can also quickly close the point difference," Walker continued.

If it had been him in the past, being so far behind in the first half, he would definitely want to continue trying to score and then lead the team to reverse the situation, but he remembered what Tang Tian had said when he struggled to perform after recovering from his injury. True strength is to overcome oneself. In order to win, he must become more rational.

Calhoun nodded thoughtfully after hearing what Walker said. What Walker said was indeed very reasonable.

"Kemba, you're wronged." Calhoun finally nodded in agreement, but did not forget to comfort Walker.

If he performed poorly in the first half and then went all out to defend Irving in the second half, Walker's stats in this game would definitely not be very good.

It would be okay if they won the game, but if they lost, it would definitely have a big impact on his draft prospects in front of so many scouts on live national television.

"No, coach, I just want to win," Walker said firmly.

Tang Tian also looked at Walker at this time.

Walker's desire to win had really reached a point close to paranoia, and this paranoia was infectious.

After a 15-minute break, the starting players of both sides entered the arena one after another.

"Go! UConn Huskies!"

Although the team was 20 points behind, UConn's fans did not give up. As soon as the second half started, they cheered for UConn in unison.

Walker dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. Unlike in the first half, he didn't call Tang Tian for a pick-and-roll, but held the ball at the top of the arc and made tactical gestures.

The UConn players began to shuttle back and forth.

The arrangement of the basketball court's bench area would switch sides between the first and second halves, but the bench area would always be on the defensive half. When Coach K saw UConn's tactical adjustments at this time, he also became vigilant.