After the opening ceremony, the starting players of both teams came on the field one after another.
Hibbert and Wendell jump ball at midcourt.
The cheers at the scene have already begun.
Even though the cheers hadn't reached their peak yet, they were already causing pain in the eardrums.
The players from the University of Texas all frowned in unison.
This really makes them feel a little uncomfortable!
"beep!"
Just then the referee blew his whistle and the ball was thrown straight into the air.
Hibbert jumped and pushed the ball back to Georgetown University's half.
Compared to the University of Texas, Georgetown University is obviously more adaptable because they play games of this scale several times a year.
Wallace took control of the ball and steadily advanced to half court.
Seeing that the University of Texas was playing man-to-man defense at the beginning of the game, he stretched out his hand and made a tactical gesture.
Under his command, Georgetown University began tactical running.
Hibbert drops to the post, then two players on the strong side and two players on the weak side.
This is the most common 2-1-2 formation in Princeton's system.
This position is very similar to the triangle offense, or it should be said that most low-post offenses are played like this.
Hibbert backed up Wendell and Wallace lobbed the ball in.
After getting the ball, Hibbert didn't rush to attack. He glanced at Lin Ying's position behind him, and then started to back down.
At this time, Samos's presence is very important.
Because he and Lin Ying both have shooting range, Lin Ying doesn't dare to let him go to assist in defending the basket.
The result was that Hibbert leaned against Wendle and then slowly turned around and scored a layup.
It's impossible to dunk. With Hibbert's explosiveness, he can dunk over people while standing still. Do you think he is the real Yao Ming?
But it was this kind of layup, facing the absolute height and strength difference, Wendle was completely powerless to resist.
Barnes saw it and shook his head.
Although it was only the first round, the University of Texas's disadvantage in the interior was fully exposed.
Fortunately, the University of Texas felt good at the beginning of the offense. Durant faced Summers in the low post and turned around to shoot a fade away.
This ball was played very easily.
Georgetown University did not arrange a one-on-one defense, but instead let Summers, who played power forward, defend Durant in a mismatch.
This is not surprising, as Durant's height still suppresses others even when he plays the power forward position.
In games like the one between Kansas and Texas, the power forwards Arthur and Wright defended Durant most of the time.
Moreover, Georgetown University's small forward is Jeff Green, and the team has to rely on his firepower on the offensive end.
Back to Samos, his technical characteristics are very similar to Lin Ying, but his talent, especially his arm span, is a level lower than Lin Ying.
Not to mention how terrifying Durant's arm span is, he often engages in offensive and defensive battles with Lin Ying in the training hall.
So he has adapted to the kind of defense that Lin Ying has with his wingspan, so defending against someone at Samos' level is naturally no problem for him.
Moreover, Hibbert is too slow to provide assistance on defense.
So after Durant made this shot, Barnes smiled again.
I am at a disadvantage in the interior, but you can't defend Durant in the low post!
Even if they keep fighting like this, the University of Texas will not lose.
Wallace continued to control the ball to the frontcourt, and Hibbert continued to fall to the low post.
And this time he reached for the ball before he was fully in position.
The previous ball was just a test of his skills, he will have to exert his full strength next time!
But at this moment, Wendel adjusted his defensive strategy, removed the bench from behind and went around!
Although his abilities are not particularly outstanding, as a veteran player who has played in the NCAA for three years, he still has a wealth of experience.
But his trick didn't work.
Because the one who is controlling the ball at this moment is Wallace, who is also a junior.
Hibbert was a little , but fortunately Wallace did not choose to pass the ball, but turned around and gave the ball to Green on the wing.
After Green got the ball, he faced James and grabbed the ball with one hand like McGrady. The next second, he suddenly accelerated and broke through.
James, didn't keep up.
Green is known for his versatility in the NCAA.
Generally speaking, such players can easily become totally useless in the NBA and become mediocre.
But Green is still doing well in the NBA.
He would have likely been an All-Star caliber player if not for a devastating aortic aneurysm.
So you should be able to understand that he is really all-powerful in the NCAA!
Green's second acceleration after the breakthrough gave James no chance to chase and defend.
After seeing this, Wendel could only come out to assist in defense.
When Green saw this, he threw the ball into the air without saying a word.
Hibbert had already adjusted his center of gravity at this time. When he saw the ball coming, he jumped slightly, held the ball with his left hand and smashed it into the basket.
“Bang!”
There was a huge muffled sound.
Because he is tall, this kind of alley-oop does not require him to have much explosive power, but the effect of the alley-oop is shocking!
And the key is strength.
Although Hibbert is slow, he is big and strong enough, and his hit really exploded the rim.
This alley-oop also ignited Hibbert's emotions, and he turned around and glared at Wendell fiercely.
The stadium was instantly filled with the cheers of Georgetown University fans.
If the offense in the first two rounds of the game could be described as smooth, then this dunk was like a sudden huge ups and downs, jumping to the highest point in an instant.
The emotions of Georgetown University fans were ignited early!
"Defend! Defend!"
Just two rounds into the game, the stadium began to echo with deafening cheers.
The sound waves kept exploding in their ears like a sonic boom, and the players from the University of Texas were a little dazed.
Amid the cheers, Georgetown University's defense was also very active.
Augustine and James had no chance to create the weak-side triangle, and their intention to turn around and pass the ball to Lin Ying was too obvious and was predicted by Green.
After a steal, Green grabbed the ball and ran forward.
Under the gaze of more than 60,000 spectators in the stadium, Green looked back to see that no one was catching up with him, then took a step inside the free throw line and jumped into the air.
“Bang!”
A flat-frame one-arm gliding slam dunk!
This time, the emotions of Georgetown University fans were completely ignited.
A large number of fans stood up from their seats and waved their fists vigorously.
This is a rhythm they are familiar with.
In the past season, Hibbert and Green led them all the way.
Tonight, Durant and his University of Texas will become another stepping stone on their road to winning the championship!
The cheers at the Georgia Dome continue.
This time, Lin Ying got the ball early and then passed it to Durant steadily.
Durant continued to single out Summers in the low post.
Samos also learned from his failure and this time he went to defend outside in advance.
Durant reacted quickly as well, almost turning around and shooting towards the basket.
This shot also showed Durant's most flawed talent.
His height, wingspan, and shooting are not actually his most terrifying qualities. His most terrifying quality is his coordination.
Never before has there been a player of this height who is still so agile.
but!
Unfortunately, it was Hibbert standing under the basket.
Before Durant could shoot, Hibbert directly pressed the ball down!
Compared to offense, Hibbert was able to get a maximum salary contract in the NBA because of his defense.
Because of his existence, the NBA even considered revising the rules on vertical cylinders.
His defensive ability in the penalty area is really too abnormal.
Even though Durant tried to dodge, he was still ruthlessly blocked in the end.
And the ball finally landed on Durant and went out of bounds.
Georgetown University has the ball!
After seeing the ball penalty, Hibbert roared this time.
That's it!
That’s the feeling!
The feeling of dominating the penalty area!
The live camera then cut to the University of Texas bench and focused on Barnes.
Barnes' expression was solemn.
At first he thought it was a good thing for the two teams to go back and forth.
Unexpectedly, Hibbert's sudden outburst completely turned the situation in favor of Georgetown University.
After hesitating for a while, he stood up and walked to the sidelines and shouted to his players.
The University of Texas adjusted its defensive formation.
Barnes mentioned how to defend Princeton when he was mobilizing in Austin.
Now he is taking action.
Texas switched from man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone.
The focus of this zone defense is to protect the basket, or to be more specific, to limit Hibbert's power under the basket.
Some people may ask why Barnes knew this tactic would work but didn't use it at the start of the game.
First, they had never played against each other before, and he did not expect Hibbert to be so destructive in the paint;
Second, zone defense has its pros and cons. Setting up a zone defense means betting on the opponent's outside shooting .
Wallace does have experience. After seeing the University of Texas switch to a zone defense, he stretched out his hand and made a new tactical gesture.
Hibbert still fell to the basket to attract defense, but the ball was not fed in.
It was Summers who mentioned the high pick-and-roll at this time.
After the ball led the University of Texas to form a zone defense, Wallace made a pick-and-roll and passed the ball to Green on the opposite side.
As mentioned before, Green is versatile and of course has three-point shooting range.
Because the double team defense couldn't come back at this time, his ball was basically open.
He even adjusted his posture before attacking.
Green's three-point shooting speed is not fast, but his posture is very standard.
If I have to make an analogy, he is very similar to Lin Ying.
The trajectory of the ball after it is released also looks very straight.
Barnes' heart sank when he saw Green's shot.
The basis on which the zone defense can limit Princeton is that the opponent's outside shooting is average.
But it's Green's shot.
“Swish!”
A crisp sound.
Barnes' heart sank.
Fortunately, Augustine and Lin Ying made a corner attack, and Augustine hit a life-saving three-pointer from the outside!
He let out a long breath.
Fortunately, it’s not completely cold.
7 to 5.
Although the situation was very passive, this three-pointer prevented them from falling too far behind in the score.
But in the next round, Wallace broke through and took away Lin Ying, then knocked the ball back to Summers on the outside.
Samos shot directly at Augustine!
This ball was very bold. Even Hibbert under the basket didn't think he could make it. He tried hard to squeeze past Wendell to grab a better position under the basket.
“Swish!”
But a very penetrating voice came through the loudspeaker.
Samos' three-pointer actually went in!
Georgetown University made two consecutive three-pointers from outside!
This outside shot feels so hot!!
10 to 5!
The score difference came to 5 points again.
Well, Barnes is done for.
The Georgetown University fans at the scene were completely excited.
A large number of fans stood up and shouted and waved the signs in their hands.
From the beginning to now, Georgetown University's shots have been accurate!
This performance not only met their expectations, but far exceeded them.
They are increasingly confident that the team will recreate the glory of 1984 and top the NCAA again!
"Rick?"
Springman called out to Barnes at this time.
Barnes didn't react at first, and only turned around after Springman repeated it.
Barnes knew what Springman was going to say without him saying anything.
"not the right time yet."
But Barnes still had no intention of using that tactic.
It’s not that he doesn’t trust Springman, but as a head coach he has more things to consider.
The most important thing is not that Lin Ying is likely to be unable to defend against Hibbert in this state, but that there is not enough time for tactical training.
You should know that the strongest point of Princeton tactics is not Hibbert, but its most well-known "back door".
The meaning of the back door, as the name suggests, is the door at the back.
Which one is behind? Of course... it's not the one you think!
It refers to when the ball handler, usually the center holding the ball, faces his teammates and uses quick hand-to-hand passes and pick-and-rolls to create a direct scoring channel to the basket behind him.
And this backdoor is not only initiated by the ball handler. If you set a pick-and-roll on the off-ball side and then let the ball handler pass the ball, it can also trigger the appearance of a backdoor.
There is also a classic saying about this backdoor: Don’t turn your head, otherwise you will open the back door!
What it means is that it happens all the time, and it is the most direct embodiment of Princeton's tactics of "people moving, ball moving, and coordination".
Especially when the defender's defensive position is not clear, or there is a mistake in defensive movement, the opponent will immediately score through the back door.
Using a tactic that is obviously not well-trained, once there are frequent defensive positioning errors, the problem the University of Texas will face is not falling behind in the situation, but... collapse!
However, the current predicament is also visible.
Georgetown University has such a good touch from the outside that if he doesn't make some changes, he will most likely be shot through and then defeated.
He then walked to the end of the bench and motioned for Pittman to get up and play.
Pittman looked incredulous when he saw Barnes calling him.
Because he had very little playing time during the regular season, he didn't expect to get a chance on the "Crazy Three" stage this time!
"Get him out of the paint, don't try to block shots or anything, just protect the rebounds."
After Pittman stood up excitedly, Barnes did not forget to give him some instructions.
Until he came on the court, he was still looking at Pittman's huge back in deep thought.
Although Pittman's weight loss effect is significant, he has lost almost 40 pounds this year, which is inspiring.
But he is still slow, too slow, just like his name "extremely slow".
This is also the reason why he usually doesn't have playing time in the team, because as soon as he goes up, he will be caught and beaten by the opponent.
But tonight, facing Hibbert who is also not very fast, Pittman may be able to play the role of a "surprise weapon".