The point difference was still 15.

Walker, double-teamed in the frontcourt, passed the ball to Smith, whose open jump shot missed.

Zeller secured the defensive rebound, and Marshall advanced to the frontcourt. Barnes and Bullock ran a screen play. The ball went to Barnes, who faced Oriakhi's defense and took a mid-range shot after a crossover.

"Swish!"

He swept away his sluggish performance in the first half, scoring on two consecutive shots in the second half!

This performance also made North Carolina fans temporarily forget about Jordan's departure and instead cheered enthusiastically for Barnes.

Barnes was the "Black Eagle" of North Carolina and their absolute core. This was the time for him to step up.

Walker passed to Smith again in the frontcourt. This time, Smith faked a shot and drove to the basket, but his shot was blocked by Henson, who flew in for the help defense.

Olander's performance was not as expected, and Calhoun was forced to use Smith, which had worked in the first half, but Smith's offensive ability was a bit inferior to Lamb's.

Back on the other end, after Barnes screened and switched onto Oriakhi, he made a beautiful straight pass to Zeller, who spun around after catching the ball and laid it in past Smith.

4 to 0!

The point difference came to 11!

The cheers of the North Carolina fans in the arena exploded instantly.

This was the beginning of momentum!

At a crucial moment, Tang Tian ran out an open opportunity in the frontcourt and steadily hit a three-pointer after receiving Walker's pass.

But in return, Barnes immediately answered with a three-pointer off a screen on the outside.

Barnes' performance in the first and second halves was completely different.

Roy Williams couldn't help but turn his head to look at the right side, where the front row seat was empty. Even though Jordan had left, no one dared to sit there.

Barnes' performance in the first and second halves seemed to be related to Jordan after all.

As a coach, he knew his players well. Barnes was excellent in all aspects, but his mentality was the biggest factor limiting his performance.

With Jordan on the court, he was under a lot of pressure.

Now that Jordan had left, it was like the dark clouds above his head had dissipated, and the sky had finally cleared.

Walker's jump shot in the frontcourt was interfered with by Barnes's desperate help defense. Back on the other end, Barnes singled out Smith and made a turnaround jump shot.

He scored 9 consecutive points after coming on in the second half!

North Carolina narrowed the point difference to single digits!

Calhoun called a timeout.

"Coach, they're not crashing the offensive boards anymore," Tang Tian said to Calhoun as he walked off the court.

Calhoun nodded, acknowledging that North Carolina's narrowing of the score was related to Barnes' performance, but also inseparable from North Carolina's tactical adjustments.

Tang Tian's reminder was timely.

After the timeout, UConn made a substitution, with Lamb and Olander replacing Smith and Napier, returning to the starting lineup.

"Tyler, pay attention to boxing out," Calhoun repeatedly instructed Olander before he went on the court.

Even though North Carolina hadn't been crashing the boards recently, if Olander didn't box out properly, they might start again.

"Tyler, Henson is very thin and weak in confrontation. Don't worry about his wingspan. Push him out of the paint. Unless it's a rebound bouncing outwards, his wingspan won't matter," Tang Tian also lectured Olander before going on the court.

Although Olander's ability was a bit lacking, his height and weight were there, and he shouldn't have such a big gap with Henson.

Olander nodded seriously. Although his strength was average, his attitude was good.

After the timeout, UConn's offense saw Walker pass to Lamb after being double-teamed, and Lamb shot directly after receiving the ball.

The shot was on target, but unfortunately, it spun around the rim and rolled out.

Zeller secured the defensive rebound.

North Carolina attacked the frontcourt, and Tang Tian was now guarding Barnes.

This was the biggest change in UConn's lineup adjustment.

Previously, in order to resist North Carolina's frantic rebounding, Tang Tian was forced to play power forward, which meant no one could defend Barnes. They really had to thank Barnes for being in poor form for how the first half went.

Now that Barnes was back in form, Tang Tian naturally had to match up against him.

This was also why Calhoun and Tang Tian repeatedly instructed Olander.

If Olander's performance was still like the beginning, North Carolina would continue to crash the boards, and with Barnes' hot state, this point difference really wouldn't be enough to chase.

Barnes was feeling hot at the moment, and he directly singled out Tang Tian after getting the ball.

However, Tang Tian wasn't Smith and gave him almost no room to break through. After stopping the ball, Barnes chose a difficult turnaround jump shot, and Tang Tian provided the interference.

"Swish!"

Barnes' difficult shot went in.

His continuous scoring in this segment of the second half had been fueled by Smith.

The cheers of the North Carolina fans exploded. This was already Barnes' 11th point in the second half, and he was on fire!

Tang Tian didn't care at all. He had already defended properly on that shot. Even with a 20% reduction in shooting stability, Barnes didn't miss, indicating that he was indeed feeling good at the moment, but he couldn't be this accurate all the time.

Even Kobe couldn't consistently make difficult shots under Tony Allen's defense.

In UConn's attack, Walker isolated Barnes, using continuous crossovers and a flash layup to draw a blocking foul on Barnes.

After making both free throws, UConn continued to maintain a 9-point lead.

Back on the other end, Barnes continued to force the attack with the ball in the frontcourt, taking advantage of his hot streak to attack more.

Tang Tian directly marked him closely at this time.

Barnes posted up with the ball, then turned around for a step-back jump shot.

Tang Tian jumped almost simultaneously to interfere, nearly getting a block.

"Clang!"

Barnes' shot was severely interfered with, hitting the front of the rim and bouncing high.

Rebound scramble.

This time, Olander completely listened to Tang Tian's words, putting his arms up and pushing Henson out of the paint.

Henson's confrontation ability was poor, and he couldn't squeeze in. Oriakhi boxed out Zeller and grabbed the defensive rebound.

Calhoun, watching from the sidelines, breathed a sigh of relief. Olander had finally gotten it.

North Carolina retreated quickly after not crashing the boards, and UConn's fast break didn't materialize.

After a half of tactical wrestling, the two sides were now engaging in a bayonet-to-bayonet positional attack.

"Defense! Defense!" The tense situation on the court made the air seem to be filled with the smell of gunpowder, and the North Carolina fans shouted to cheer on the team.

Olander set a screen for Walker, and Walker's breakthrough attracted Barnes from the weak side to double-team.

At this time, Tang Tian took the initiative to set an off-ball screen for Lamb, and Lamb ran out an open opportunity, receiving Walker's pass and shooting again.

"Swish!"

This time, he seized the opportunity, and the mid-range shot went in cleanly.

The point difference was widened to 11 points again!

The cheers and whistles of UConn fans rang out in the arena.

After the lineup adjustment, UConn finally stabilized the situation on the court again!