Chapter 190 Overwhelmed

Two consecutive three-pointers stunned the University of Arizona.

The point difference was immediately stretched back to eight points.

"Pay attention to the defense! Pay attention to the defense!" Miller shouted at his players from the sidelines, then couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.

The tense situation had completely soaked through the new shirt he’d changed into at halftime.

Williams chose to break through straight on after receiving the ball, but Tang Tian forced him to stop, nearly stealing the ball in succession.

Williams was forced to pass the ball to Fogg, who broke past Lamb, but his jump shot after a sudden stop was interfered with by Lamb's long arms and missed.

Oriakhi didn't give Perry a chance this time, directly grabbing the defensive rebound.

The University of Arizona had failed to score on four consecutive possessions.

On UConn's offense, Tang Tian continued to run a pick-and-roll with Walker.

University of Arizona fans were starting to feel hopeless. UConn had been using this one tactic since the second half started, and it worked every time!

Still the pass after the screen. This time, Williams rushed out fiercely. Seeing Tang Tian leap up, he was determined not to let Tang Tian shoot again.

Seeing Williams rushing towards him, Tang Tian still chose to shoot, but his shot was noticeably slower than normal.

A change of pace.

*Pa!*

Williams didn't have time to pull back and hit Tang Tian directly on the arm.

The referee blew his whistle, signaling a three-point foul.

Tang Tian fell backward to protect himself after being hit. Lying on the ground, he couldn't help but laugh as he watched Williams hopping around in place, holding his head.

It turned out that being a player and forcing the opponent into desperation was a different feeling from being a coach. The former was clearly more enjoyable.

Walker and Lamb came over to help Tang Tian up, a little confused by the smile on his face.

Although drawing a three-point foul was great, Tang Tian's smile was a bit exaggerated.

Tang Tian walked to the free-throw line, smiling, and made all three free throws amidst the booing from the crowd.

Having seen countless big scenes as a coach in his previous life, he was definitely top-notch when it came to mental fortitude.

After these three free throws, UConn had a 13-0 run, pushing the lead back to 11 points.

Miller called a timeout. If he didn't, the game would be over early.

UConn's players came off the court, and the bench erupted. They had put together an incredibly strong start to the second half.

Calhoun looked at Tang Tian with admiration. If Tang Tian hadn't "recommended himself" at halftime, UConn would have been the ones trailing by a large margin with Williams in the state he was at the start of the second half.

"Keep up the intensity, hold on for another 15 minutes, and we'll go to Charlotte together!" The team had a tactical advantage now, so he didn't need to say much more on the tactical level. It was more about encouraging the players mentally.

(Note: Charlotte is the site of the West Regional Semifinals, one of the Sweet Sixteen venues of the NCAA tournament.)

When play resumed, Hill broke through and scored a basket for the University of Arizona, temporarily stabilizing the situation.

Back on the other end, Tang Tian and Walker continued to run the pick-and-roll.

This time, Walker's pass was a bit early, and Tang Tian had to take a step to catch the ball.

But the purpose of Walker's early pass was to screen Williams. The University of Arizona didn't switch, and Williams was blocked by Walker. Tang Tian was wide open again!

He caught the ball a step outside the three-point line, dribbled once to the line, aimed, and shot again.

Some University of Arizona fans couldn't bear to watch and covered their faces.

*Swish!*

But they covered their eyes, not their ears. The sound of the basketball hitting the net was amplified and transmitted throughout the arena.

Tang Tian's third three-point attempt in the second half, and it went in!

Three consecutive three-pointers!

The point difference was back to 12 points!

Even Olson, sitting on the sidelines, was a little excited, waving his hands and screaming with the UConn fans.

"Haha, I like this kid too much, he's changed the game!" Ben Gordon couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I think the school really has a chance to recreate our glory from back then." Okafor nodded in agreement.

UConn's last championship was in 2004, when the team's two core players were Okafor and Ben Gordon. The two were drafted second and third overall into the NBA that year.

It wasn't just them at this point. Scouts were also talking to each other, clearly they hadn't known about Tang Tian before.

This was the purpose of the NCAA tournament stage. Some school's core players might be able to attract the attention of NBA teams with impressive stats, get some tryout opportunities, and then land in the NBA, but for role players, the tournament was their biggest stage to show themselves.

Tang Tian's performance had even overshadowed Williams and Walker on the court, making it hard for scouts not to notice him.

The University of Arizona's offense was still led by Hill, who hit a pull-up mid-range jumper.

With Williams contained by Tang Tian, Hill stepped up to keep the University of Arizona alive.

During this stretch of role players stealing the show, the scouts' pens never stopped moving.

On UConn's offense, the same tactic, Walker still screened for Tang Tian, Tang Tian received the ball and shot again.

*Swish!*

Another shot!

The fourth three-pointer of the second half!

UConn fans had completely exploded.

Just then, a series of rapid whistles sounded. It turned out that Williams, eager to squeeze past Walker, had directly knocked Walker to the ground and was called for a technical foul.

He was clearly getting frustrated.

The three points counted, and UConn also got a free throw and possession.

Miller called another timeout.

When Tang Tian came off the court, he was greeted with a completely heroic cheer from his teammates.

In this stretch, he had scored 4 three-pointers and three free throws, for a total of 15 consecutive points!

"Outstanding defense, extremely high basketball IQ, very consistent open three-point shooting, top 3&D player in the NCAA, has a high probability of gaining a foothold in the NBA, potential for a second-round pick."

On most scouts' tablets, there was already a large paragraph of notes about Tang Tian.

Although Tang Tian had shown some bright spots in the regular season and championship games, the scouts wouldn't pay attention to those games. Only games like this, playing one well was better than playing ten.

Tang Tian had become famous in one battle.

When play resumed, Walker made the technical free throw, and UConn had increased its lead to 14 points!

Still UConn's possession, Smith's catch-and-shoot layup also went in, and the point difference continued to widen to 16 points.

Back on the other end, Hill's breakthrough was also interfered with by Oriakhi. Williams was boxed out by Tang Tian and couldn't jump, Tang Tian took the defensive rebound.

As the game was about to lose its suspense, the University of Arizona's defense changed again, with Hill defending Tang Tian and Williams switching to Smith.

This was a good adjustment. Hill was much faster than Williams, and his wingspan was excellent. He reached out and interfered with Walker's pass back.

Walker circled around without a chance, and his own forced attack was defended by Perry.

The camera panned back to Miller. Although the young coach's white shirt was as wet as it could be, it had to be said that he had performed quite well in his battle with Calhoun.