Walker easily made a layup, and UConn had widened the point difference to 13 points.

Roy Williams looked solemn on the sidelines.

This favored disciple of legendary NCAA coach Dean Smith was, in fact, playing a game of chess with the veteran coach Calhoun at this moment.

Tang Tian's tactical suggestions to Calhoun were very targeted, but because UConn's inside strength was limited, this tactic couldn't exert its full potential. On the contrary, after Tang Tian was forced to play power forward, no one could match up with Barnes. The two-guard tactic was actually a disadvantage on the defensive end.

Plus, with the height advantage of the inside Twin Towers, North Carolina wasn't actually afraid of this tactic.

It was just that, for some unknown reason after the start of the game, neither Barnes, nor the inside players Henson and Zeller, were playing well.

On the other hand, on UConn's side, Calhoun finally found a relatively suitable lineup after continuous substitutions, and whether it was Walker, Tang Tian, or Napier, Oriakhi, or even Smith, they were all performing significantly better than North Carolina.

The chess game was between him and Calhoun, but the performance of the pieces on both sides wasn't up to them to decide.

Now, UConn's players were all like chariots advancing relentlessly, while North Carolina's players had all become pawns that had crossed the river, struggling to move forward.

Bullock's sudden stop jump shot missed, and Henson used his long arms to make a put-back.

But coming back, it was still Walker, facing Henson's sudden stop jump shot after a change of direction, and he made it again.

Williams made a tactical gesture, signaling a weak-side double-team.

Zeller scored a basket with a low post backdown on Oriakhi, finally regaining some face for himself.

Coming back, Walker was double-teamed and passed the ball to Smith. Smith didn't dare to shoot, and the ball was passed to Napier, who reorganized the offense.

Walker ran off-ball, pulling the defense, Tang Tian used Smith's screen to find an open spot in the corner, Napier flicked a pass, and Tang Tian caught the ball and fired.

27 to 13.

After Tang Tian made this three-pointer, the point difference had reached 14 points.

The North Carolina fans in the arena were silent.

Compared to the fiery enthusiasm at the start of the game, the team's performance had gradually extinguished their passion.

Just like Tang Tian had said to his teammates when he gave them a pep talk at the beginning of the game, UConn was using its performance to forcefully suppress the cheers of the North Carolina fans.

Fortunately, the two sides were now entering the rotation phase, and both sides were bringing on their rotational lineups one after another.

After Walker and Tang Tian went off the court, Lamb came on and became UConn's main offensive point.

Lamb's condition was difficult to maintain, and his performance wasn't good, but North Carolina's condition hadn't been good either.

In the final stage of the first half, Zeller found some form inside, and his consecutive scores helped the team maintain the point difference.

At the end of the first half, the score on the court was fixed at 41 to 26, with UConn maintaining a 15-point lead.

...

"These guys are young after all, their performance is too unstable." After watching the first half, Carter put away his tablet and couldn't help but say.

Nash smiled and didn't say anything. As a legendary point guard, he understood the game very well, and he could see the tactical contest between the two sides in the first half.

In terms of performance alone, UConn was indeed much better than North Carolina, but in terms of tactics, Roy Williams was still a bit too superstitious about his own tactics. In the first few minutes of the game, he should have been confident that his big men had an advantage inside, but it was really a bit stubborn to not make any adjustments after playing a whole half.

But this was also the common problem of famous coaches, they wouldn't make changes unless absolutely necessary, UConn's tactical adjustments before the game were really amazing.

...

In the locker room during halftime, UConn's players were shouting excitedly.

They never dreamed that they would be able to beat North Carolina like this, it felt absolutely amazing.

"Calm down, the game isn't over yet." Calhoun didn't forget to remind his players.

Because they were all college players, their performance was prone to fluctuations, so comebacks of ten or twenty points in the first or second half were very common in the NCAA. He had seen countless of them in his 40 years of coaching, so his precautionary shot at this time was very timely.

In North Carolina's locker room, the 15-point deficit made the atmosphere in the locker room a bit沉闷 (chen men - heavy).

Head coach Roy Williams was analyzing the first half there, and the players below all had a dazed look in their eyes.

"Michael's here." Just then, the assistant coach at the door called out.

The players all turned their heads to look at the door, and Roy Williams also put down the chalk in his hand and walked towards the door.

"Hey, Roy." Jordan smiled and reached out his hand.

"Hey, Michael." Williams also reached out his hand.

The two hugged and greeted each other.

When Jordan played for North Carolina, Williams was the team's assistant coach, and the two were both teacher and friend.

Jordan's coming to the locker room at this time was nothing more than to say a few words to boost morale.

"...Coach Smith told me more than once that being behind in a game is a good thing, because only when you're behind can you unleash a stronger version of yourself. Winning or losing the game is important, but whether or not you can unleash a stronger version of yourself is even more important. Now each of you has a half to do it."

Jordan told the North Carolina players what Dean Smith had taught him back then. These words were considered heartfelt.

"I have a meeting and probably won't be able to watch the second half of the game, but remember what I said, I look forward to hearing good news from you." After Jordan finished speaking, he chatted with Williams for a few more words before leaving.

As soon as Jordan left, several core players, including Barnes, breathed a sigh of relief, as if a burden had been lifted from their hearts.

After a 15-minute break, the players from both sides returned to the court one after another.

North Carolina's lineup remained unchanged, and UConn replaced Olander with Smith, which was also the most used lineup in the first half.

Just before the game started, some fans noticed that Jordan was missing from the front row of the audience.

Jordan's departure caused a commotion among North Carolina fans.

Although they didn't know why, this action was considered abandoning North Carolina.

The game started, and UConn attacked first.

Walker broke through to the basket after a pick-and-roll with Tang Tian and was double-teamed. He passed the ball to Napier, who then sent the ball to Oriakhi under the basket, who scored despite Zeller's block attempt.

After resting for a half, the UConn players on the court didn't lose their momentum.

Bullock's attempt to single out Napier in the frontcourt missed, but North Carolina didn't rush for the offensive rebound this time, but retreated to defend as quickly as possible.

After insisting for a half, Roy Williams finally made a tactical adjustment.

Walker's sudden stop jump shot in the frontcourt missed, and Zeller secured the defensive rebound.

Coming back, Barnes actively asked for the ball to single out Smith, and his sudden stop jump shot after the breakthrough hit steadily.

Although it was just one goal, it could be seen from the smoothness of Barnes' technical movements that his condition was obviously better than in the first half.