Central Connecticut State University is also a university from Connecticut, a century-old institution with a long history.
But in terms of basketball level, it is a bit far behind the University of Connecticut.
Therefore, it is unlikely that this game will be an upset. What they mainly focus on is Oden.
Durant had already ordered takeout before the game started, and pizza and Coke were already on the table.
It's a pity that this is in the United States, otherwise Lin Ying would have ordered melon seeds, peanuts and eight-treasure porridge...
All in all, this day was the most enjoyable day for both of them since they entered the University of Texas.
The game started soon. In addition to watching Oden, Lin Ying was also observing Ohio State's playing style.
He quickly discovered that Ohio State's offense was similar to Preston's post-up game.
Oden takes position inside, and then tries to feed the ball in from the outside.
If the ball cannot be fed in, the player holding the ball on the outside will break through and hit the basket, or pass the ball to the outside player on the wing.
After being fed in, Oden holds the ball and plays when there is a one-on-one opportunity. If double-teamed, he will use the weak side or the player who cuts at the top of the arc.
Or, after holding the ball, his teammates go directly to the back door to receive his pass and attack the basket.
Then during this process, Lin Ying discovered that Oden in the NCAA was completely different from the "rough brother" in his impression.
In addition to showing strength, the NCAA invitational tournament system also plays a key role in understanding your opponents.
Because the ways to learn about NCAA teams in this era are very limited.
It's a pity that with the level of the University of Texas, I haven't had the opportunity to play an invitational tournament with an opponent of Ohio State's level before.
So this was the first time he had such a close understanding of Oden.
Low-post moves, turning hooks, pick-and-rolls, hand-to-hand passes...
Except for the lack of mid-range, Oden's skills can be described as "low-post kaleidoscope"!
Sure enough, there is a big difference between the NCAA and the NBA.
Many of the skills that players are good at in the NCAA cannot be used in the NBA.
This is the difference between confrontation and defensive environments.
Of course, we are in the NCAA now, and Oden's dominance is there.
Based on Oden's strength seen so far, Wendell will definitely be beaten, and Lin Ying will basically be unable to defend himself.
If this happened to the University of Texas later, the scene would definitely be very sour.
There was no suspense on Ohio State's side, and they cut to other games halfway through the game.
There is basically no suspense in several games between the University of Florida and the University of Kansas, including the University of North Carolina.
Although Crazy Three is prone to upsets, the strength gap between the teams in the first round is relatively large.
Especially for those popular teams, as long as they play steadily, the chance of overturning is not high.
But when they cut to Georgia Tech, what was supposed to come came!
Georgia Tech is a traditional powerhouse in the NCAA and is rich in NBA players. The representative is Chris Bosh.
Also familiar to fans are Matt Halprin (familiar to Jazz fans) and Jarrett Jack (the legendary Jack who made the team's starting point guard tremble).
Especially in recent years, it has been mass-produced.
In 2005, they exported three players to the NBA: Jack, Will Bynum and Luke Hinschel.
This year, four people on the team who have the chance to enter the NBA include Thaddeus Young, Anthony Morrow, Gavaris Christian, and Mario West.
Moreover, Morrow is a third-year player, and they are also a team with a combination of talent and experience.
This can be seen from the fact that they defeated Georgetown University and the University of North Carolina to become the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region.
Their opponent in the first round is the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV for short).
UNLV is also a traditional powerhouse in the NCAA. "Aunt" Larry Johnson and "Hacker" Marion both came from here.
It's just that their strength was only in the last ten years.
Now they can only be regarded as a second-tier team, ranked lower than the University of Texas.
3rd vs 14th, this seems to be as no suspense as the previous teams.
But the fact is that UNLV, led by star star Joel Anthony, has been keeping the score tight with Georgia Tech.
Then at the last moment of the second half, relying on a wave of excellent defense, they took the lead and were upset!
Durant screamed while watching this game, and Lin Ying couldn't hold back her excitement.
No upset, no "crazy"!
As a fan, seeing an upset is very exciting.
And this game is more meaningful than all the previous games.
The most direct thing is self-confidence!
In terms of lineup and strength, UNLV is worse than the University of Texas, but now it is directly ranked as the No. 3 seed.
The Georgetown University they will play tomorrow is the No. 4 seed, and they also have a chance!
After a night of tossing and turning, there was a wave of basic training in the morning of the next day, and at 1 p.m. they took the bus to the stadium.
The game is at 3 p.m., and they have to go to the arena a little earlier to prepare.
There was already a sea of ​​people outside the Georgia Dome.
A total of nearly 60,000 people from both sides watched the game together, and the attendance alone lasted a long time.
When the bus arrived outside the arena, there were already crowds of people outside the window.
Although due to the number of people, they don’t all wear uniform T-shirts like the previous big12, you can still tell which team they are players from their style.
The guy wearing a cowboy hat and red and blue Lone Star clothes looks like he's from Texas.
And those who walk like politicians must be from Washington...
Just kidding, you recognize the Texas fans, and the rest are the fans from Washington who came to support Georgetown University.
Of course, in addition to their clothing, what makes them easier to distinguish are the signs they hold and some waving team flags.
As the bus passed through the crowd, Texas fans kept cheering at them.
As the only Texas team to enter the "Crazy Three", they are now the hope of all Texas fans!
Feeling the atmosphere outside the bus, the University of Texas players were already eager to give it a try.
When they got to the locker room, Barnes first mobilized the players.
"Winning is our goal, but no matter whether we win or lose, I want you to give your best.
A lot of things can happen, but not again.
Give it your all and leave no regrets!”
His mobilization sent the most direct message: We have no retreat tonight!
This is also the mentality they must have. There is never a way out in the "Crazy Three" game.
After Barnes was mobilized, the players walked out of the locker room shouting and then rushed out of the tunnel.
Tonight, they are gladiators ready to fight to the death!
Then, after they went out, they all froze.
Although they had been mentally prepared in advance, they were still shocked when they saw the endless fans outside.
Most of them have watched college football games.
But standing at the top of the mountain and looking at the valley bottom, and standing at the bottom of the valley and looking towards the top of the mountain, are completely two different feelings!
Not to mention Lin Ying, his body was shaking uncontrollably.
He had never seen such a posture before.
If this group of people makes noise, it can directly pierce people's eardrums, right?
It’s really stressful to perform well in such an environment!
It wasn't until Springman called them that they recovered from the shock and prepared to warm up.
"They don't seem to have experienced such a scene?"
Georgetown University arrived earlier than the University of Texas and was already warming up on the other side.
After seeing the reaction of the University of Texas players, Hibbert said jokingly to Green standing aside.
Green said nothing.
Although they are both juniors, their minds are not at the same level at all.
If Hibbert is still a child, Green is already a very mature man.
So unlike Hibbert, he didn't feel any contempt for the University of Texas' move.
On the contrary, because there was Durant on the opposite side, he knew that the first round would not be easy.
Especially since Georgia Tech turned the tables yesterday.
You must know that Georgia Tech is an Atlanta team and they are playing games in Atlanta now. It is impossible not to notice.
Seeing Green still looking serious, Hibbert suddenly felt a little bored.
Green's gentle and low-key temperament is exactly the same as that of Grant Hill, not like their black people at all.
However, he still recognized Green's strength, so he was not angry.
"Relax, I will teach them a lesson inside."
Hibbert continued.
He didn't know anyone else at the University of Texas except Durant.
Although the head coach also focused on the opponent's insider named Lin during the pre-game arrangements.
But a Chinese player?
It's a pity that he is not playing against himself, otherwise he will definitely make the opponent regret coming to the United States to play.
"Roy, don't underestimate your opponent."
Green spoke at this time.
Although Hibbert has few opponents in the NCAA, he will not fall behind even if he competes with Oden.
But the opponents they encounter on the stage of "Crazy Three" are all unknown. If they underestimate their opponents, they will be the next ones to be upset.
Hibbert chuckled lightly and didn't pay attention to what Green said.
Both teams were doing their final warm-ups before the game, and the camera was shown to the audience.
There are fanatical fans on both sides. In the eyes of the fans, there is no strong or weak distinction after they have reached the stage of "Crazy Three".
In a game, the probability of winning by both sides is 50%.
Among these spectators, there were many scouts.
This year is a rare draft year. Tonight's game brings together two lottery picks and even top five rookies, Durant and Green. Teams who have the opportunity to select them are naturally eager to try.
You must know that in terms of strength, there is a huge gap between the University of Texas and Georgetown University, and they are likely to be eliminated in the first round.
In other words, this may be their only chance to see Durant's strength on the "Crazy Three" stage.
Scouts from the Celtics, Grizzlies and Bucks are all eager to try.
This year’s draw will not be held until late May.
Although the draft has not yet been decided and the season is not over yet, the three of them are basically determined to be the three with the worst records.
The only uncertainty is which one of them shows off more thoroughly in the end, and which one has a higher probability of winning the No. 1 pick.
So naturally, they are also the team with the best chance to get Durant.
Even if the back of the hand is not drawn into the top three, they still have a good chance of picking Green.
In addition to these three, there are three other teams that are also paying close attention to tonight's game.
Spurs, Rockets and Mavericks.
The top three in Texas.
Of course they can't be here for Durant or Green.
They have basically locked up a spot in the playoffs this year, and they have a first-round pick among the bottom.
So their target is some other players tonight, such as Hibbert and Lin Ying.
If you know how eager the Thunder were to get Griffin in 2009, it's not surprising that the top three teams in Texas would be interested in Lin Ying.
Because they are in the same state, they have access to the most player information.
If there are good players, they will naturally be the first to pay attention.
The first is the rocket.
Because they have Yao Ming, they are now the most popular in China.
If we can select another Chinese player, that would definitely be the icing on the cake.
Moreover, Lin Ying's style of play can open up space for Yao Ming and help Yao Ming defend, which is also very suitable.
Although Lin Ying hasn't announced his candidacy yet, so we don't know his draft status yet, but we estimate that he will probably be in the middle of the second round.
Even if this pick is not picked, the loss to the team will not be huge.
Next is the calf.
What is easily overlooked is that the Mavericks have always been very invested in the development of the Chinese market.
From the earliest Wang Zhizhi to the later "Silver Fox" Harris, these are the most direct examples.
So it's very normal for them to be interested in Lin Ying.
Finally, there's the Spurs.
If you want to say that the team in the NBA that loves low-post treasure hunts the most, it has to be the Spurs.
Moreover, their draft estimate for Lin Ying is higher than that of the Mavericks and Rockets.
They have confidence and experience in training players like Lin Ying who have outstanding advantages and disadvantages.
On the court, the warm-ups on both sides were almost complete, and the opening ceremony began.
There is no distinction between home and away games in neutral arenas, but when playing, the team with the worse record goes first.
In other words, the University of Texas played first.
Augustine, James, Durant, Lin Ying, Wendell.
As he said when communicating with Springman before, Barnes chose a relatively safe starting lineup.
After the University of Texas, Georgetown University is closely followed.
Jonathan Wallace, Jesse Sapp, Jeff Green, Dajuan Summers, Roy Hibbert!
When both teams took the field, the fans used their loudest voices to support their teams.
When Georgetown University played, the decibel level was obviously louder.
They all have the same chance of winning. Everyone knows that the University of Texas is the No. 13 seed, and they are the No. 4 seed!
Hibbert was the last one to appear, raising his hands high to greet the cheers of his fans.
Chapter completed!