Chapter 9: An Easy Regional Final
On March 24, 1996, the NCAA Championship welcomed the regional finals.
In the East Region, the University of Massachusetts, with Marcus Jordan, finally met Georgetown University in the regional final. Allen Iverson lived up to expectations, achieving his phased goal.
In the Midwest Region, the outcome fans had been hoping for finally materialized, as Wake Forest University narrowly defeated Louisville to successfully advance to the regional final.
In the final, they would face the formidable Kentucky University, with Tim Duncan and Antoine Walker drawing significant media attention.
However, Kentucky University's dominance this year was simply too strong; in the semifinals, they defeated Utah 101:70, a 31-point difference, once again demonstrating their absolute strength.
In the Southeast Region, Connecticut and Cincinnati advanced to the regional final. Similar to the other two regions, this was a showdown between a No. 1 seed and a No. 2 seed.
Many University of Connecticut fans arrived, as the team had never reached the Final Four before, and everyone wanted to witness history together.
In the West Region, No. 2 seed Kansas and No. 4 seed Syracuse met in the final, which was the only upset.
Top seed Purdue University was eliminated in the regional quarterfinals by No. 8 seed Georgia, and fans were eagerly anticipating whether Syracuse could continue their underdog run.
CBS would continue to broadcast the four Elite Eight games. As the NCAA Championship approached its climax, attention grew increasingly intense.
Although the NBA has increasingly emphasized talent in drafts in recent years, most Head Coaches are from an academic background, and college players with poorer physical conditions but strong tactical execution still have a chance to be drafted.
The Connecticut team only rested for just over a day. At 2:04 PM on the 24th, they welcomed the regional final at Rupp Arena.
Danny Fortson was Cincinnati's star inside player. Despite being only 2.01 meters tall, he had performed exceptionally well in previous series thanks to his soft shooting touch.
After the game began, Connecticut, with its significant height advantage, frequently fed the ball to their big man, Nate, inside.
With high-post play, the opposing 2.06-meter Damon Flint had no answer.
Cincinnati Bearcats Head Coach Bob Huggins stood on the sidelines, looking helpless.
He had expected the opponent to give the ball to star player Ray Allen, but after the game started, Ray Allen mostly played as a shooter.
Coach Calhoun looked very pleased. Ray Allen didn't care about his statistics; to make history and reach the Final Four, statistics were no longer important!
After the big man, Nate, scored again with a high-post hook shot near the basket, the score became 6:16.
The University of Connecticut fans in the arena cheered excitedly; this game was easier than they had imagined!
Sitting on the bench, Li You once again experienced the immense role of big men in this era.
The 2.13-meter Travis Knight hadn't performed exceptionally in the previous rounds, but as long as the opponent didn't have a star inside player, he could easily dominate them with his height advantage!
What made Li You even more speechless was that Cincinnati's players had clearly exaggerated their heights!
Keith Legree and the substitute Darnel Burton were listed as 1.85 meters and 1.88 meters respectively, but Li You felt they had at least added 5 centimeters to their actual height.
His own height was 1.91 meters barefoot, with no exaggeration; measured with shoes, it was 1.93 meters. Sitting on the bench, Li You unconsciously touched his hair and muttered to himself:
“If I got an afro, I could also be 196!”
After gaining a double-digit lead, Coach Calhoun also began making rotations.
Their strategy for this game was to feed the ball inside; the guards' job was Defense.
Waving Li You over, Coach Calhoun briefly instructed him before he entered the game:
“Be physical with their smaller players; don't let them get easy shots.”
Dorent Marshall was about the same height as Li You, but this handsome white guy specialized in organizing and controlling the tempo, lacking aggressiveness on both ends of the court.
Li You nodded, indicating he understood. He liked this era where Defense could be hands-on, as it compensated for his lack of explosiveness.
In the battle for the Final Four, both teams chose to rely heavily on their starters, further shortening their rotations.
With 7 minutes and 22 seconds left in the first half, Connecticut made an adjustment, and Li You came off the bench again.
Soon, Cincinnati's two smaller backcourt players felt the sudden increase in defensive pressure.
After their star inside player, Danny Fortson, repeatedly missed shots, the team was forced to shift their offense to the perimeter.
In the previous possession, the smaller Keith Legree, who had just scored on a drive, was already struggling to get past half-court under Li You's lead Defense.
Especially the sudden in-and-out dribble, which almost caused him to lose the ball, forced this smaller guard to awkwardly arch his back to get past the mid-court line.
This clumsy display made the University of Connecticut fans cheer happily again. Arriving at the right wing, Keith Legree quickly turned to protect the ball, saw his teammate run to the top of the arc using a screen, and immediately sent a cross-court pass.
Forced to pass with his left hand, the ball speed was very slow. Li You, who had been guarding him closely, suddenly darted forward, and the moment the ball left his hand, he immediately completed the steal.
Keith Legree almost got pulled to the floor by Li You. The smaller guard angrily threw his hands up at the sideline referee and yelled:
“That was definitely a foul!”
Not hearing a whistle, Li You, after completing the steal, charged forward. It was a 1-on-0 fast break, and he quickly took off inside the paint.
Quickly spinning the ball around in front of him, Li You grabbed the ball with his right hand, extended his body in the air, and threw down a powerful dunk!
“Oh!!”
The powerful windmill dunk made the entire crowd cheer loudly.
After landing, Li You spread his arms in a gliding posture, smiling as he quickly retreated on Defense. Against the unexceptional smaller guards, he was going to hit them hard on Defense!
The scouts on site quickly discovered another of Li You's qualities: his extremely keen judgment of passing lanes.
However, considering the weak backcourt of their opponents, this quality was dismissed by some scouts.
Difficulty in getting the ball out from the backcourt led to Cincinnati Bearcats' offense becoming increasingly stagnant.
Darnel Burton was forced to take a last-second shot, missing a contested three-pointer over Ray Allen's Defense.
The rebound was easily secured by the big man, Nate, who passed it to Li You, and Connecticut's offense suddenly accelerated.
Dribbling with his left hand, Li You accelerated continuously against the Defense of the smaller Keith Legree beside him, reaching the left wing outside the three-point line.
Stopping abruptly near the three-point line, Li You quickly dribbled the ball behind his back to his right hand, lowered his center of gravity, and faked a drive.
Keith Legree instinctively slid quickly to the left. The next second, Li You quickly changed direction with a cross-over dribble, switched to his left hand, and immediately lowered his shoulder to accelerate.
The smaller guard was quick on his feet and tried to block Li You again, but after body contact, he was still powerfully squeezed past under the pull, watching Li You drive straight to the basket.
The moment he approached the paint, noticing the opponent's help Defense coming, Li You, dribbling with his left hand while on the move, casually tossed the ball towards the upper right of the basket.
The ball sailed over Darnel Burton's fingertips, and the quickly following Ray Allen leaped high, grabbing the ball with both hands in the air, and powerfully slammed it into the hoop!
“A brilliant aerial connection! Connecticut's backcourt has shown their dominance!”
From the commentary booth, Jim Nantz loudly praised this fast break. Compared to the methodical pounding inside, the beautiful alley-oop completely ignited Rupp Arena.
8:20, the difference was 12 points!
Hearing the huge cheers erupting from the arena, Coach Calhoun also showed a relieved smile. They were about to make history!
Happy Dragon Boat Festival, fellow readers~
Remember to dip your zongzi in sugar ￣﹁￣