From sparring to superstar

Chapter 80 78. Leave such a difficult matter to us
The Steam Furnace Workers team was already in the top eight last season, which is the current position. The starting lineup retained 5 out of 4, and the main substitutes retained 4. The strength of the supplementary players is also online.

The players and coaches of the Trojans agreed that this opponent may be the strongest opponent they have encountered this season.

The Cardinals and Wildcats who fell in the second round were not as strong as this opponent.

When the 16-to-8 opponent came out, Henry Bibby had already led people to study how to deal with the Steamer Workers, a bit contemptuous of the Tigers, but at that time their only opponent in the division was the Steamer Workers.

Therefore, the Trojans did a very good job of preparing for the battle.

The coaches are fully prepared, the players are engaged and active in training, and the Trojans are working hard to prepare for the next division finals.

Li Ao's training task is the heaviest. After a long season, he has gradually become the real tactical core of the team. Whether it is the starting lineup or the rotation lineup, whether he is present or not will determine the fluency of offense, scoring efficiency, rhythm, etc. aspects of performance.

In the targeted training, the number of times he needs to appear is naturally the most.

But he is never tired of it, and he has been waiting for this day for a long time.

After training, he got to know the other 6 top eight teams.

This time it's really impossible to predict which teams might meet in the Final Four.

Not surprisingly, the Bruins fell under the iron heels of the Spartans. The score was 58 to 70, and the strength gap was more obvious.

However, the Spartans' road to dominance in the Midwest Division is about to encounter obstacles.

The University of Maryland Terrapins of the Atlantic Coast Conference, under the leadership of Steve Blake and Juan Dixon's super backcourt, reached the Elite Eight at a rapid pace, with an average win of 3 points per game in 23 games. points, ranking first among all the top eight teams.

In addition to the super backcourt, the Turtles also have Terrence Morris and Lonnie Baxter, two first-rate forwards who have attracted the attention of professional teams since high school.

Compared with the Spartans lineup, the Terrapins are not bad at all.

In the most competitive southern division, North Carolina and the Western Athletic League, the top-ranked Tulsa Hurricanes of the minor league, broke through and met in the division finals.

North Carolina only won by 3 points in the 13 games, and Tulsa only won by 18 points. The strength shown is not much worse.

In the Eastern Division, once, Li Ao thought that he wanted to play against Duke and won the semi-finals. He thought it was impossible.

The result was even worse than he thought. Duke fell directly to the top 16. The University of Florida Gators narrowly beat Duke Duke 102-97 in overtime.

Li Ao did not expect that he would not be able to play against the Duke team. The Duke team fell first.

Another top 8 team in the Eastern Division is the University of Oklahoma Cowboys. In recent years, the tyrants of the Big 96 League, after persuading Desmond Mason who wanted to go to the Academy of Fine Arts to join in 32, became The crazy three regulars have reached the top 8 in the past two years, and this year they have made it to the top [-]. Their strength is not bad.

As a member of a strong team, looking forward to the happiness of an unknown opponent, Li Ao felt it!

...

2000年3月27号，NCAA篮球锦标赛8进4的第一个比赛日到了。

At 2:[-] in the afternoon, the players of the Trojans entered the court after warming up.

This time, there were more than 4 people at the scene, and the number of fans of the Trojans and the fans of the Steamer Workers was about the same.

Purdue University has a total of 7 campuses, distributed in major cities in Indiana, and they are closely connected with each other. Every time a school team of Purdue University goes to participate in a competition, students from all campuses are dispatched collectively. There are many campuses. There are also many graduate students, which is a huge momentum.

And this year's NCAA basketball tournament final four games and finals are held in the city of Indianapolis, all basketball fans in Indiana hope to see the Steam Furnace Workers play the final four games locally and win the championship. They are very enthusiastic .

The players of the Steam Furnace Workers team are naturally extremely eager to win. If they fall in the top 32 or 16, that's okay, but they have reached the elite eight, and they are only 3 games away from the championship, and they will go back to Indiana to play the final game. The semi-finals are only one victory away. If they fall here, they will be even more unwilling than being eliminated in the first round.

After entering the field, the players of the Steam Furnace Workers looked at every player on the opposite side with hostile eyes.

The target of hostility - Li Ao, who has been in the limelight recently!

But after seeing Li Ao entering the arena, he ran to the opposite side of the technical stage and had a heated chat with the two beauties.

Originally, they were jealous of Li Ao's limelight and headlines, but now his face has been distorted...

On Li Ao's side, as soon as he entered the arena, he felt that the atmosphere was very different today. For the first time since the crazy three games, he didn't feel like a 'home court'.

Just very special.

But this is not important, compared to the atmosphere of the Poly Arena, this is still a bit worse.

Although the Poly Arena only has 8000 seats, the space is well designed, and the booing of 8000 people can give the feeling of 80000 people.

He looked at the three people in front of him, and the corner of his mouth twitched: "You three, what are you wearing?"

"Your cartoon image! How about it, isn't it cute?"

Vivienne shook her head as she spoke, and the small cartoon stand on her head that was connected to the hat by a spring also shook.

Li Ao: ()
Cute is cute, and the design of the cartoon image is still good.

But why did the enduring BGM sound in his mind?

Li Ao looked at Liam: "I'm not surprised that Aunt Vivienne wears this, but you also wear it?"

Vivian quickly replied, "This is what he bought."

Li Ao said in surprise: "Oh?"

Vivian complained: "He saw a group of girls gathered together, and immediately squeezed in. When he came out, he had these three hats in his hand... Although the purpose is dirty, the things are still good."

Liam ignored Vivienne, no matter what she said, anyway, she was about to get a call from the girl who sold goods.

He said to Li Ao: "Come on, Leo, you must lead us to the final four!"

Li Ao guessed: "It must be that you met a fan of our team you like. If you win, you can ask her to set off cannons to celebrate?"

Liam chuckled: "You still understand me, but if you accidentally lose, I can also go to comfort her... Of course it's best to win, double the happiness."

"..." Li Ao ignored this guy, turned around and asked the beautiful woman in a long dress, "But why are you here?"

"I paid for the ticket, why can't I come? Originally, I wanted to wait for you to win and give you a gift. If you don't want it, I'll leave?"

"Tickets are expensive, don't waste them."

"..."

Jessica was out of breath and begged God to make the bastard dumb!

The main reason is the slightly disgusted tone, it seems that he hasn't slept yet.

Hmph, I hate it now, and then I have to work hard for her!

Not to mention, apart from the shortcoming of not being dumb, this guy is quite good in other aspects. Not only is his face and body strong, but he also has something special about him. He doesn't get along for a long time, and interacts occasionally...

She recalled that feeling... Can't think about it anymore!Great crowd!
Liam said quietly to Vivian: "Leo said he has nothing to do with Jessica, I don't believe it!"

"I also think, oh, huh, our Leo has finally grown up!" Vivian covered her mouth and smiled like a villain behind the scenes.

Liam: Convex.

When I date a young lady, I am an SP. Is this guy who has grown up by dating a celebrity?
After chatting with the three of them, Li Ao returned to the bench, and the task came!

"The Ultimate Battlefield:
Goal: The host needs to lead the team to the final four.

Rewards: 5000 achievement points, 4 level 1 skill upgrade card, 1 gold equipment upgrade card. "

Mission rewards are getting richer and richer!

Li Ao took a deep breath to calm down.

In the Crazy [-] Finals, such rewards are normal.

To become the elite eight, in addition to strength, luck is also required.

In college, their personal abilities were as strong as O'Neal and Duncan. After playing for three and four years, they didn't have any chance to get close to the elite eight. They fell in the top 32 at most.

This year, their Trojans team has a good lineup structure, tacit cooperation, online personal abilities, and an indomitable drive...it's only now.

It's hard to say what will happen next season. It's hard to find a freshman to make up for the fact that Shelby Jordan is about to graduate from college.

He has such a good opportunity, but he can't fall here.

At this time, another task came.

"The opponent set foot on this court with the grand goal of revitalizing the basketball in his hometown. The lofty dream inspired every player of the Steam Furnace Workers... Mission: The basketball dream of going on a horse was triggered."

"The basketball dream of riding a horse:

Goal 1: Lead the team to end the opponent's journey this season.

目标2：宿主本场比赛五项主要数据中至少三项需高于赛季平均。（宿主本赛季场均13.5分3.2板3.7助攻1.3抢断0.9盖帽。）
Reward: Pumper (Level 1).

Optional goal: Any one of the five main data of the host gets the highest score in the game.

Rewards: Each major stat reaches the highest level, rewarding 1000 achievement points. "

This task, as if he is a big villain, there is a dream on the other side, but they don't have it?
The road to fulfilling dreams is always full of thorns. For such a difficult thing, don’t let others suffer. Let the Trojans, who are willing to help others and sacrifice themselves, bear the suffering and torture!
Li Ao nodded—as expected, I am a good person!
...

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the first game of the 8-to-4 game of the NCAA Basketball Championship kicked off.

特洛伊人队首发依旧，蒸汽炉工人队派出了185公分的卡森-坎宁安、191公分的贾兰-康奈尔、198公分的迈克-罗宾逊、203公分的布莱恩-卡迪纳尔、208公分的约翰-艾利森。

Charles beat John Allison for the jump ball and the Trojans went first.

The trio of Granville, Li Ao, and White Mamba cooperated in a small area. Li Ao made an emergency stop outside the free throw line to receive the ball, turned around and faced Cardinal with a two-point shot...

The first ball feels hot, the shooting action is complete, and it also triggers the functions of "stopping level 3" core strength control and shooting force control.

hit!

Li Ao's goal kicked off the Trojans' opening offensive. They quickly took the initiative and played a wave of 9-5.

After Li Ao scored a goal at the start, he didn't shoot any more. Bai Mamba scored 5 points, and Granville sent Charles a main attack from a close-range shot. During this period, Li Ao only got 1 rebound.

However, when the Trojans' offensive slowed down, the Steam Furnace Workers immediately started to play their lives. The offensive end was extremely active, and the defensive end dared to fight. They returned a wave of 6-3 and chased the score to 11-12.

It was the Trojans attacking again, and the players of the Steam Boiler Team wanted to seize the opportunity to overtake the score in one fell swoop. They defended very hard, focusing on marking the White Mamba.

When Bai Mamba received the ball from Li Aoce under the cover of Trey Pagnier, he was caught by the two. He wanted to give the ball to Trey Pagnier immediately, but when he saw Li Ao cut in, the opposite The center defended against Charles on the left side of the three-second zone and immediately passed the ball.

Li Ao received the ball on the right side of the three-second zone, turned around and carried Mike Robinson to the basket, took off, and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand!

Not only that, John Allison's block shot back was also slapped on Li Ao's arm. The referee whistled and a penalty was added if the goal was valid!

Mike Robinson was extremely annoyed. He tried very hard to prevent the opponent from turning around, but his strength was mediocre. Although he had a weight advantage of 95 kilograms, the slender and handsome guy on the opposite side had all his brute force and couldn't stop him at all.

Henry Bibby on the sidelines watched Li Ao walk to the free throw line and heaved a sigh of relief.

The opponent's ability to resist pressure and the ability to seize opportunities to counterattack are too strong!

Fortunately, they have a clutch player.

However, seeing that the inside scoring method developed by Li Ao in the past two months can already be used in the crazy three-division finals, he is both happy and pained. A genius can really do whatever he wants.

Especially the offensive awareness. After passing the ball, Li Ao went to the basket immediately, and he was obviously rushing to catch the ball and attack the frame, and he was full of confidence in the tacit understanding of his teammates.

What was he doing in his first NCAA season?It seems to be mixing up a national champion for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Vaco!

After the end of the season, we have to give this kid extra training to vent his imbalance.

His arm hurt a little, Li Ao adjusted and threw the ball at the last moment when the referee counted down the countdown.

The hit didn't affect his touch, and he made a hollow hit with an extra penalty!

15 to 11, the Trojans stopped the bleeding and withstood the impact of the Steamers.

The first wave of counterattacks was frustrated, which did not affect the resilience of the steam furnace workers, and then they launched wave after wave of attacks.

As for the Trojans, they paid great attention to the opponent's counterattack ability and unbeatable spirit during the preparation stage. After the opponent's fierce counterattack at the beginning, they did not dare to be careless and went all out to deal with the steam furnace workers team.

Players from both teams gave their all.

Li Ao's shooting, support, and seizing opportunities to bully the three point guards who are shorter than him on the opposite side, Granville's breakthrough small throws and points, White Mamba's three-pointers, Trey Pagnell's comprehensive response ability, Charles's wing pick-and-roll, close range and pie eating at the basket are all at full strength.

Cardinal's three-pointers and wing singles, Carson Cunningham and John Allison's pick-and-roll offense, Mike Robinson's wing cuts, Jalan Cornell's outside singles and catch threes, also All performed to the fullest.

The game was very fierce, and both sides tried their best, but they were unable to widen the point difference or overtake the score in one fell swoop.

But both sides enjoyed the game a lot!

Encountered an evenly matched opponent, the players on both sides have ignored the off-court factors, and want to blow up the opponent!
If you need personal ability, yes!
Tactical cooperation is required, yes!
Joint defense and cooperative defense are also available!

If you want wonderful highlight goals, there are also!
The fans at the scene saw such a fierce and exciting game, and the cheers and boos never stopped, which gave the players on the field a strong motivation.

At the last moment of the first half, the Steam Furnace Workers trailed by two points. Cardinal received the ball from the outside and defended against Li Ao and hit a three-pointer. 39-38, the Steam Furnace Workers went ahead by 1 point!
When it came time for the Trojans to attack, the White Mamba, not to be outdone, caught the ball and turned around and hit a three-pointer in return for Cardinal.

The stars are coming!

But after Cardinal received the ball in the confrontation with Li Ao, he turned around from the outside to avoid Li Ao, and made a quick three-point shot...and hit again!
Li Ao let out a muffled sigh and ran to the frontcourt. He had done his best with this ball. He gave the confrontation that should be given, and also made the opponent make more shooting moves, increasing the difficulty of the opponent's shooting.

But the other party still entered!
Big pitcher!
Unlike Kapono who is inexperienced and has a thin body, Cardinal is a senior with mature skills and rich game experience, and has a weight of 108 kg. His explosive power is poor, and his overall strength is average. The 108kg inside line, but with such a weight, can maintain the stability of the action after the confrontation.

42 to 41, the Steam Furnace Workers once again overtook the score!
When the Trojans attacked, Li Ao and Brusenthal, who came off the bench, fed the White Mamba again.

When Bai Mamba received the ball, two people on the opposite side rushed towards him. He jumped up and shot without fear... The shot was very courageous, but it was disturbed and crooked!
"bang"

The ball hits the rim, and the opposite backup small forward Rodney Smith protects the defensive rebound.

20 seconds left in the first half!
Jalan Cornell received the ball and quickly advanced to the frontcourt, and his teammates followed up with all their strength, and immediately started tactical moves after reaching the frontcourt.

Three points!

Still have to shoot a three-pointer!
The Steam Oven Workers want to extend their lead to 4 points!In that way, they who attack first in the second half will have more initiative!Maybe the point difference can be widened at the beginning of the second half!

The counterattack of the Steam Furnace Workers team is dubbed "coal power" by their fans, just like an old-fashioned train, every time after adding coal, it will speed up suddenly and move forward towards the goal.

Their tactical goal is clear-continue to feed Cardinal!

The play went well, John Allison made a step inside the free throw line, led the ball, Cardinal just got into position, the ball flew right in front of him, the passer and the receiver were excited , but just as Cardinal had just received the ball, before he could hold it, he took the ball away with one hand!

Li Ao said "three buckles" and started, kicked the ball forward vigorously, chased towards the ball, and then shot the ball after catching up with the ball... This counter-attack and forward movement made Cardinal, who was chasing and defending angrily, almost sprained his ankle!

(End of this chapter)