Standing pretty old

Chapter 23 West Division Champions
With the end of all the games on March 3, the NCAA's elite eight-final list was also produced one by one. On the whole, this year's NCAA did not have any huge upsets.

Midwest Division: No. 1 seed Florida vs. No. 3 seed Oregon
Western Conference: No. 1 seed Kansas VS No. 2 seed UCLA
East Division: No. 1 seed North Carolina vs. No. 2 seed Georgetown
Southern Division: No. 1 seed Ohio State vs. No. 2 seed Memphis
The top-seeded teams have basically entered the elite eight, which also means that the subsequent games will inevitably be the most tragic strong confrontation, and there is no room for any fluke victory.

It can be said that any NCAA player who is interested in the NBA wants to get a higher pick in the subsequent draft, and he must work hard every game.Of course, if it's a genius like Kevin Durant, it's a different matter.

At this moment, UCLA is taking advantage of the last time to prepare for the game. Their opponent is the No. 1 seed in the West, the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Judging from the overall record in the regular season, the opponent is better than their own.

Ruan Erniu looked at the matchup, his opponent was Julian Wright, he was the same short PF type, but judging from the video, he always felt that his skills were a little rougher than his own, which should be wrong Difficult to deal with.

The center Sasa Cowan is from Russia, and Mata can basically handle it. Erniu thinks that if he pays attention to the defense, there will be no problem at all.

What really worries him is Kansas' outside line. Brandon Rush has just completed a magical performance of 6-for-6 in the last game. In contrast, Averola's state is not stable enough.Mario Chalmers on the back line is also not an easy guy. This guy called Super Mario is also a strong player, and he must put enough defensive pressure on him.

Aaron Averola was under the most pressure. His unstable performance in key games has always affected the outside world's evaluation of him. Most people ignored the help he gave UCLA on the defensive end.The battle with Kansas is also his chance to prove himself.

Coach Ben Holland made one last adjustment before the game, and this time he made up his mind, starting Josh Shipp and moving Luke Richard Mbah a Moute to the small forward position.Change the offensive player and strengthen the defense in the frontcourt.This is actually telling Efflalo clearly, I believe in your scoring ability.

On March 3, it was still HP Arena in San Jose.

Lorenzo Mata and Sasha Cowan jumped at the same time, the ball was picked up by Kansas defender Russell Robinson, and the game started.

Brandon Rush continued his good touch in the previous game. He fired first from beyond the 3-point line and scored for Kansas.

Darren Collison dribbled the ball upfield, Afflalo immediately demanded it, and then made a determined drive inside.When facing Julian Wright's help defense, he did not directly distribute the ball as usual, but faced the opponent, with a smart pull, sent the ball into the basket, and caused a foul by the opponent, and an additional penalty!

When Afflalo made a free throw, Ruan Erniu stood on the side, ready to grab the rebound at any time.The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, appearing full of confidence.Because he felt that 80% of today's game had been won, and Afflalo's tough posture had already explained everything, and he added a free throw.

The game gradually fell into a see-saw, and the two teams came and went, exhilarating.Ruan Erniu took the top spot in the confrontation with Julian Wright and his substitute Darrell Arthur. Although the offensive focus of this game was not on him, he still worked hard to complete every defense And attack without giving the opponent the slightest chance!

At 31:40, UCLA ended the first half with a nearly double-digit lead.

Darren Collison has been unable to fully recover from a wrist injury, and Westbrook also got a lot of playing time.

Although he hasn't gained much on the offensive end for the time being. (Ben Holland will not give him this opportunity. If he dares to hold the ball too much, he will take a rest immediately.) But on the defensive end, he still restrained Mario Chalmers very well.Super Mario couldn't jump up, and Ruan Erniu locked up the inside line, and Brandon Rush alone was far from enough to recover the points.

Halftime, the UCLA locker room.

"How does it feel to get so much playing time?" Ruan Erniu said to Westbrook, who was still shaking his body excitedly.

"Great! I can play the whole game anytime!" Westbrook said without hesitation.

Mata heard this and said from the sidelines: "Hey, that's not okay! If you play the whole game, we and the opponent will go crazy together, because at least 20 minutes or more, the ball is stuck to Lasse. In your hands alone!"

UCLA was filled with laughter. Westbrook rolled his eyes and sat alone on the side. He never wanted to talk to these bad guys again.

Ben Holland stopped everyone's laughter and said seriously: "Okay, gentlemen, the joke time is over, now let's talk about the tactical arrangement for the second half, we must put enough pressure on the opponent in the opening stage!"

With Ben Holland's strokes on the tactical board, a whole set of defensive plans appeared in the players' minds, which are all things that are constantly rehearsed in normal training.As for offense?Give the ball to Afflalo, give the ball to Kraft Nguyen, give the ball..., well, it's really not that complicated, it may be possible to sum it up directly with the legendary tactic X**D (pinyin).

Ben Holland's tactical arrangement received miraculous effects at the beginning of the second half of the game.

UCLA, which further tightened its defense, completely choked Kansas. With Ruan Erniu and Afflalo scoring consecutively, and the strong pressure on the defensive end, a wave of 13:3 attacks opened the score to a desperate situation. status.

In the NCAA, the general score difference is more than 10-15 points, and the possibility of recovering again is very small.Faced with a gap of nearly 20 points, Jayhawks coach Bill Self still asked his players to play every ball well and not to give up during the timeout.

Coach Self is right, playing hard does not necessarily win, but giving up the game will definitely lose.Kansas gradually chased the score back.

Brandon Wright once again used his precise long-range shots to lead the team forward.Chalmers also took advantage of the opportunity of Westbrook being substituted and scored consecutive points. Darren Collison's injury still affected his performance to a certain extent.

Looking at the approaching Kansas, UCLA is also not to be outdone.Efflalo broke out completely, repelling Kansas' counterattack with key answerballs time and time again.

Soon, Ruan Erniu also showed his strength in the low position. He used a beautiful turn to trick his opponent.Among them, there are even wonderful buckles that are destined to be selected as the top five of the day.And it was the Russian insider, Sasa Cowan, who served as the background board.

This tank center with a height of 211cm and a weight of more than 110KG is obviously too slow to move.His most sensible choice should be to finish the game hand in hand with Mata, who is also slower.But he wanted to help prevent Ruan Erniu who rushed up, so the tragic ending was basically predictable.

78:55, UCLA completely defeated their opponents, won the Western Conference Championship, and reached the NCAA Final Four!
(End of this chapter)