Junior Basketball says

Chapter 146
Every year in the NCAA National Championships, several dark horses emerge, but the top-seeded teams generally do not overturn in the first round.Arizona State University, sixth in the Southern District, is certainly one of the strong teams. Many experts believe that their ranking is far below their normal strength. It should not be difficult to beat the 11th seed in the Southern District, Temple University. challenge.

The venue for this game is American Airlines Arena, the home of the Miami Heat, which is still far away for Arizona State University.The only good news is that the game is on March 3, and they have enough time to adapt and adjust.

Arizona State made it to the tournament last season and went all the way to the third round before losing to the Florida Gators, so Evans isn't concerned that the rest of the team isn't used to the intensity and pace of the tournament.In other words, the only thing he worries about is Xu Hao and Hayward. Both of them are playing in the NCAA game in their first year, and naturally they are also playing in the championship for the first time.

After arriving in Miami, Evans called Xu Hao and Hayward to his room as soon as he put his luggage away. As the head coach, he must pay attention to the mentality of these two rookies, not to mention that they are still members of the core team. a member.

The three of them sat on the chairs and stared at each other. Evans pondered for a while before he said bluntly: "Well... what do you two think of the room? Do you have any strange feelings? If not, let the hotel Give me another room."

No one spoke, a blush slowly appeared on the face of the old man, and suddenly Xu Hao burst into laughter: "Coach, I know what you want to say, but there is no need to call me over, right? You can find Gordon Just talk."

Evans smiled coquettishly and said: "Well...if you know what I want to say, then I will say it directly. You two are both in the first year of playing in the championship, so you have to pay attention to the rules of the championship. Games and even playoffs are different. You two are very important to the team. I must know your mental state. If you feel stressed, I will provide you with guidance. But since Xu said so, then I only have to ask one person. Gordon, tell me how you feel!"

Hayward scratched his head and said blankly: "I don't have any special feelings, isn't it just playing hard?"

"It's impossible!" Evans said loudly, "I believe Xu said he's fine, but you're still a rookie!"

"But haven't we always maintained a winning streak? I think we can beat any opponent..."

What else did Evans want to say, Xu Hao said with a smile: "Coach, don't waste your time, I believe everyone is already full of confidence, so nervousness does not exist for them, and there is no need for us to be so nervous Right?"

Evans snorted: "It's best like this, if you go home after the first game, see how I deal with you!"

A light flashed in Xu Hao's eyes: "Hehe, don't worry, Coach, we'll show our opponents some color."

After a few days of rest, Xu Hao and the others finally faced off against Temple University.It makes sense that this team is only placed in the 11th seed. The team relies entirely on guard Christmas. As long as he can keep an eye on him, it won't be a problem to win Temple University. And because of Xu Hao's presence, For this reason, the Sun Devils' perimeter defense is almost the best in the league.

The Temple University team is full of confidence. Although Arizona State is famous, they still believe that they have a chance to win.In their view, winning the championship of the Pacific Ten Schools League is only the first step on their dark horse road.

But they quickly saw the gap between themselves and the top teams in the major leagues.Christmas, the absolute core of Temple University, felt tremendous pressure from the beginning of the game. The Chinese man responsible for guarding him looked faster than a cheetah, and his big hands were so mysterious that sometimes he didn't even know what was happening. He was intercepted because of something, and when he wanted to chase back, he could only watch the opponent Yiqi Juechen succeed in a layup. He couldn't even hope to catch up, so how could he play this?
After the head star was defended to death, Temple University had almost no power to fight back, and their inside core, Lavoy Allen, also died down. They could only let Arizona State University's players roar on the court, dominating both offense and defense.

In the second half of the second half, Evans even had the mood to replace the main players in advance, so that the substitutes could come on stage and feel the atmosphere. From this, one can imagine how relaxed Arizona State was.Their strength also made Temple University see the facts clearly, and they could only accept the defeat obediently. This attitude made Evans very satisfied. In the end, the score between the two sides was fixed at 88 to 80. Although it seems that the difference is only one digits, but Arizona State was in control of the situation from start to finish and didn't give the opponent any chance.

In the locker room after the game, Evans praised all the players. Although the opponent was not strong, a good start obviously further improved the team's morale, and every player who played played in line with expectations. Performance.

"I have to say that your performance exceeded my expectations. Of course, I didn't believe that you would fail from the beginning to the end, but you did play the effect I wanted to see in the game. Children, I think You are proud."

Just when everyone was about to continue to accept the praise, Evans' expression became serious, and he continued: "But beating the No. 11 seed is not something to be proud of, and we will face a powerful enemy next, That's the No. [-] seed, from Syracuse University in the Big East Division, I don't think I need to introduce you to the history of this school, right?"

Everyone's expressions changed slightly. Syracuse University is indeed a strong team, as long as they can become the No. [-] seed in the Southern District.If it is not strong enough, how can it be favored by the committee?Obviously what follows is bound to be an uphill battle.

Seeing that everyone was facing a formidable enemy, Evans nodded slightly and said: "The opponent is very strong, but we are not weak, and the most important thing is that their advantage is also in the backcourt combination. Jonny Flynn added Eric Devendorff's back line is already very good. But I still have full confidence in our team, because this is also our strength."

Speaking of which, Evans looked at Xu Hao and Harden: "You two have to remember, as long as you can beat Syracuse University's backcourt combination, then this game is basically won. If you fail to gain an advantage, it is very likely You have to accept the outcome of losing.”

Xu Hao smiled and said, "Coach, if we can do it, just watch from the sidelines!"

(End of this chapter)