Opportunities, both teams were actually good after the opening, but Marquette University did perform much better than UConn.
Walker was double-teamed in the frontcourt. This time he forced his way through with his speed, broke into the paint and drew a defensive foul on Allen.
Two free throws made, and UConn finally got some points on the board.
The atmosphere among the fans at the scene was stirred up again.
But soon after, Butler got past Smith and scored before Oriakhi could help defend.
UConn's defense was a bit of a joke.
"Get close! Get close!" Ollie shouted anxiously from the sidelines at this time.
The newly recruited Smith and Olander were barely okay on offense, but their defense was really unbearable.
The game continued on the court. Thirteen minutes into the first half, UConn was trailing 26-35, and the point difference was about to reach double digits again.
Butler posted up Olander with a mismatch in the low post, squeezed past him with a sudden acceleration after a series of probing steps, and then finished with a dunk.
The fans at the scene were in an uproar.
Double-digit point difference, the air seemed to be filled with a scarlet color, another night to be bloodbathed.
Calhoun reached out and called a timeout.
After calling the timeout, he rested his chin in his right hand and was silent for a while, then walked to the end of the bench and called Tang Tian up.
"You play the four, defend Butler, remember his shooting is not stable, you have to try your best to keep him out of the key." Calhoun specifically told Tang Tian.
Tang Tian nodded.
Butler's offense was not actually good during his NCAA period, it can only be said that UConn's defense was really a bit poor.
"Be patient, remember you are a member of the Connecticut Huskies, any difficulties can be overcome!" Before going on the court, the old man raised his voice as much as possible and shouted to the players.
"Let's go!"
"Connecticut!"
The players shouted the slogan again, and then returned to the court.
The team was 11 points behind, although the situation was unfavorable, the fans at the scene still shouted loudly for the home team with the lead of the on-site DJ.
Walker stepped up again, breaking through Butler's defense and scoring a layup.
In fact, with Walker, UConn's offense is not bad.
What is really worrying is their defense.
Marquette University's possession, after the ball reached the frontcourt, it went to Butler's hands.
Butler is 2.01 meters tall and plays as a swingman at the three and four positions in the NCAA. At this moment, he is playing as the four on the court.
Seeing that the person in front of him had changed, a player he didn't recognize at all, and even the coach hadn't introduced him during the pre-match preparations, Butler's first reaction was a bit dazed.
Did UConn want to give up halfway through the game? Or did they have a secret weapon?
Judging from the previous performance, the former possibility was obviously greater.
"Who is he?"
At this time, let alone Butler, most of the fans at the scene were a little dazed.
The NCAA team roster is not limited, which leads to frequent personnel changes in the team. The players who can be remembered by the fans are the core of the team or at least rotation-level players. It is normal for them not to know players like Tang Tian who are at the end of the bench.
"Isn't that Tang Tian?" Someone said in the audience.
"Who is Tang Tian?" This sentence immediately attracted strong attention from the people around.
"My roommate!"
"..."
"Wait, isn't he a work-study ball boy? Why is he playing on the court?"
No one except the team knew about Tang Tian joining the school team, including his roommate.
However, this roommate's words immediately caused a commotion among the fans in that area.
UConn, actually put a ball boy on the court?!
And this ball boy is defending Marquette University's trump card Jimmy Butler?!
Is Calhoun getting old and his brain short-circuited!
Of course, they didn't say it, just thought it in their hearts.
But just thinking about it in their hearts was enough to drive people crazy.
Olander's defense in front of Butler was like paper, this ball boy going up would probably be wider than the wide road in the morning.
Just as they were complaining inwardly, Butler had recovered and launched an attack with the ball.
Dribbling to the right, relying on Tang Tian's body to break forward.
This trick is Butler's specialty in offense, and it has been tried and tested against Olander before.
This time it seems to be coming easily.
But soon there was a burst of noise at the scene.
Because Tang Tian, stuck to the defensive position, always prevented Butler from going into the restricted area.
After a few steps, Butler was forced to stop the ball!
This happened so suddenly!
Even because the expected value in his heart had fallen to the bottom, this made the fans feel an unspeakable surprise.
Butler also completely didn't expect that this never-before-seen substitute player would grab the defensive position so well.
And after he stopped the ball, the opponent stretched out his hands and pressed up against his body as soon as possible, not giving him space to easily shoot.
He was forced to pass the ball.
"Pa!"
Just as he raised the ball, the opponent suddenly burst out and snatched the ball from his hand!
Defense, forcing Butler back, and then stealing the ball.
Tang Tian abruptly played the smoothness that only offense could have on the defensive end!
After Tang Tian stole the ball, he gave the ball to Walker as soon as possible. Walker killed to the frontcourt in a one-stop attack from the backcourt. After encountering a double-team, he passed the ball to Lamb, and Lamb quickly scored a layup.
UConn launched a small climax of 4 to 0!
"Who the hell is he?!" At this time, the fans next to him couldn't help chasing Tang Tian's roommate and asked.
"My roommate!"
"... Your roommate is a ball boy?"
"Yes!"
"Are you kidding me? Can a ball boy play? And defend so well?"
"I...how would I know!"
……
The fans couldn't ask why, but Tang Tian's name gradually spread in the audience.
It turned out that the person who defended Butler just now, the yellow-skinned person, was called Tang Tian.
Because of his skin color, Tang Tian seemed to have made most of the fans at the scene remember his name in just one round.
"Defense! Defense!"
The fans at the scene started cheering for the home team again with the lead of the DJ.
After a small climax, the fans at the scene were in high spirits, and the shouts were particularly loud at this time.
Butler reached out to the guard for the ball in the frontcourt, and then chose to post up Tang Tian.
As a senior, he is still very experienced. After playing against him head-on for one round, he knew that he couldn't take too much advantage.
A sudden turn after the back attack, Butler turned around and was about to kill to the basket.
"Bang!"
But the moment he turned around, he collided head-on with Tang Tian, and the ball in his hand almost got lost.
Tang Tian, who should have been left behind by him, actually appeared directly on his breakthrough route!
As a top defender, he immediately realized that this substitute player who didn't know where he came from might not be worse than him in defense!