After entering the finals, the University of Kentucky has become significantly more cautious.

After the opening, Antoine Walker received the ball frequently, not only in low-post offense, but sometimes also in the elbow area on the left and right of the free throw line.

Despite the high- and low-post coordination, they were never able to penetrate Connecticut’s inside line.

The big man Knight’s height advantage was fully utilized. Although Walter McCarty was very flexible, he missed several attempts to finish at the basket.

This time, Walter McCarty’s shot hit the rim again and bounced out, but Antoine Walker overpowered Connecticut’s big man Rudy, grabbed the frontcourt rebound, and then made a layup!

The fans of the University of Kentucky shouted happily. After 5 minutes and 21 seconds of the game, they finally took the lead.

At 8:12, Connecticut was trailing by 4 points.

Coach Calhoun made a downward gesture and stood on the sidelines loudly reminding his players not to panic.

But in the next round, big man Knight was double-teamed in the low post and made a mistake. After the opponent successfully cut the ball, Tony Dirk received the ball and rushed forward.

The small black guard seized the opportunity of transition offense and made a layup!

“oh!!”

The score difference widened to 6 points, and the arena was filled with cheers from University of Kentucky fans.

The opponent suddenly changed their defensive strategy, and the big man Knight had difficulty passing the ball in the face of fierce double-teaming.

Fortunately, Ray Allen broke into the basket before the offensive time ended, causing the opponent to commit a foul.

“I have to praise Antoine Walker’s rebounding and defensive awareness, which makes up for his lack of height!”

Commentator Jim Nantz saw Antoine Walker’s effortless performance on the court and immediately praised him.

“Kentucky’s big win was really due to Antoine Walker’s rebounding and defense.”

“Connecticut is in trouble in the interior. Oh! Coach Calhoun actually took Lee early!”

Commentator Billy Parker noticed that Clay Lee had replaced starting point guard Marshall and exclaimed in surprise.

“Speed up the offensive tempo and make the opponent run after us!”

Coach Calhoun briefly reminded Lee that the current score difference was already somewhat dangerous!

Kentucky beats its opponents by at least 7 points in every game, so the coaching staff naturally made contingency plans, and Lee was their first choice to change the rhythm of the game.

Ray Allen made both free throws, making the score 10:14.

After coming on the court, Lee looked calm. After making a tactical gesture, he immediately took the lead in defending the opponent’s point guard Anthony Epps.

Coach Pitino stood on the sidelines and loudly reminded his players to control the tempo of the game. Whenever they were ahead, they would wait for their opponents to make mistakes!

The ball was handed over after half court, and then quickly passed from the outside.

Antoine Walker no longer attacked from the low post, but came to the free throw line more often to receive the ball.

After two laps, noticing that Connecticut’s defense was still very tight, Antoine Walker received the ball again and forced his way into the paint at the right elbow, causing Rudy to commit a hand foul.

With a smug smile, Antoine Walker seemed to think that they had already taken control of the tempo of the game.

As he walked toward the free throw line, he raised his hands high, signaling for louder cheers.

“Shhh!!”

The fans of the University of Connecticut booed wildly. They felt cold in their hearts when they saw this forward who could swing between the three and four positions and had exquisite skills.

Perhaps the booing worked, as the second free throw hit the rim and Antoine Walker cursed inwardly. Knight grabbed the rebound and immediately passed the ball to Lee.

After receiving the ball, Lee immediately accelerated, put the ball in his right hand and went behind his back, dodging Anthony Epps’ cut ball, holding the ball in his left hand and continuously accelerating, quickly rushing across the center line.

Anthony Epps, who lost his defensive position, chased after him and defended Lee again. The two of them entangled and came to the three-point line on the left wing.

Lee did not slow down, but continued to break through the opponent’s defense, moving to the left blocking area, and suddenly dribbled the ball between his legs.

Anthony Epps immediately lost his balance after the sudden stop.

Without waiting for the opponent to react defensively, Lee immediately gathered the ball and quickly made a jump shot!

“Swish!” A steady mid-range shot!

12:15, in less than 10 seconds, Lee had completed the attack.

Antoine Walker just retreated to the paint area and then served the ball from the baseline.

“Damn it! Guard him, don’t lose your defensive position easily!”

After the ineffective shuttle run, Antoine Walker was in a bad mood and loudly reminded his teammates.

Anthony Epps had no words to say and could only raise his hands to indicate that it was his problem.

“Defense! Defense! Defense!”

After cheering, the fans of the University of Connecticut also perked up, and their defensive cheers drowned out the noise at the scene.

Continuing with the tactic, Tony Dirk tried several times to use his teammates’ off-ball screens to get rid of Ray Allen’s pursuit but failed.

With 8 seconds left on the offensive clock, Tony Delk took advantage of Antoine Walker’s hand-to-hand pass at the top of the arc to briefly break free from the defense.

Facing Rudy who was switching defense, he went straight to the basket with the ball in his left hand.

Under the interference of big man Knight, Tony Dirk twisted his body and shot with his right hand, but the ball hit the rim and went out.

The Kentucky players no longer wanted the frontcourt rebounds and hurriedly retreated.

Ray Allen received the pass at the top of the arc and quickly dribbled across half court.

Anthony Epps chased and defended in time, and Ray Allen at the top of the arc slowed down and immediately passed the ball to Lee who was following up.

At the same time, the big man Knight also stopped outside the three-point line and made a high-post pick-and-roll for Lee.

The moment he received the cross pass, Lee, with the ball in his right hand, dribbled the ball behind his back twice in a row at an extremely fast speed. While lowering his center of gravity, he grabbed the ball with his right hand and jumped forward.

Tony Delk, who was chasing, was delayed by big man Knight, and Walter McCarty, who was forced to switch defense, stepped on the three-point line with his arms open, trying to delay Lee.

In just a blink of an eye, Lee quickly changed direction while moving forward and instantly passed the big guy who delayed the defense.

Walter McCarty stood there in a daze, without any reaction, watching Lee scoop up the ball with his left hand and rush into the paint area.

Lee passed two people in a row, and all the audience exclaimed, then rushed to the inside.

Facing Antoine Walker who came to assist in defense, Lee jumped with both feet and took the initiative to move towards his opponent.

The two collided in the air, Lee grabbed the ball with his left hand, leaned forward to avoid the block, and when he heard the referee’s whistle, he threw the ball onto the backboard!

“Bang!”

Lee lost his balance and fell to the floor. He saw the basketball hit the backboard and went into the basket. He raised his upper body, yelled and punched in celebration!

“Ahh!!”

The wonderful goal gave the fans of the University of Connecticut a boost, and everyone jumped up and shouted with joy.

“OH——! What a show!”

Commentator Jim Nantz was still immersed in Lee’s wonderful pass, and he shouted a few times but still felt unsatisfied.

“Lee’s appearance really changed the tempo of the game, and the University of Kentucky was in trouble.”

When Billy Parker saw Lee hit the free throw, he suddenly felt that the University of Kentucky was in trouble .

The score was 15:15 and the two teams returned to the same starting line.

Coach Pitino just felt that UConn’s game tempo was getting faster and faster, and the opponent didn’t seem to care about the missed shots at all, and the offense was completely dominated by the outside line.

Tony Delk, the undersized guard who had been playing very well in previous series, became hesitant on offense.

Ray Allen kept chasing and defending him, but he failed to make several breakthroughs to the basket.

This time, Rudy failed to switch defense in time outside the three-point line, and Tony Dirk hesitated in his shot, but was interfered by Ray Allen who was chasing and defending him.

“Bang” missed another shot!

The long rebound bounced out and was picked up by Lee on the right wing outside the three-point line, and the offense started again in transition.

Antoine Walker kept running back and forth for several rounds, shouting in frustration at his teammates to defend.

On the left wing outside the three-point line, Lee suddenly stopped, quickly passed the ball behind his back with his left hand, switched to his right hand, and broke through into the paint again despite the defense.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the Kentucky team when they were defending.

As a result, Lee made a circle inside and then suddenly swung the ball hard.

Using his teammates’ screen to run to the right corner, Ray Allen caught the ball and there was no one in front of him. After a slight adjustment, he calmly jumped and shot!

“Swish!” The three-pointer went into the net.

After several rounds of missed shots by both teams, Connecticut’s three-pointer broke the deadlock.

Cheers rang out again. In the next few minutes, Lee continued to speed up the offensive rhythm, taking advantage of the opponent’s declining hit rate and directly launched a 9:2 climax.

At 24:17, coach Pitino couldn’t hold it anymore and immediately requested a timeout.

There might have been some tension in the previous few minutes, but under the leadership of Lee, the teammates had no time to hesitate and threw the ball whenever there was an opportunity.

“We will definitely win! We will definitely win the game!”

Ray Allen, who rarely showed excitement, returned to his seat and kept shouting loudly.

Coach Calhoun patted Lee on the shoulder excitedly. He made the right bet!

In the following games, the University of Kentucky gradually lost its offensive rhythm.

The players on the court had different ideas. Some wanted to slow down, and some wanted to run.

Antoine Walker couldn’t even catch the ball for several rounds and could only run back and forth with his teammates.

At 32:39 in the first half, Connecticut completely controlled the game.

After the second half of the game started, the fans of the University of Kentucky were still shouting, but Tony Delk couldn’t find his touch and missed three consecutive shots.

The three-pointer hit the rim and bounced out. Lee grabbed the long rebound again, and Ron Mercer, who came on as a substitute, chased and defended him immediately.

Using forward players to match up with Lee was the adjustment made by the University of Kentucky in the second half.

Lee, holding the ball in his right hand, kept accelerating, while Ron Mercer on his side slid quickly and did not cut the ball easily.

Approaching the right wing outside the three-point line, Lee immediately slowed down, completed a crotch dribble along the three-point line, and while looking up, pretended to pass the ball with his right hand.

A simple fake move, but Ron Mercer reacted to the pressure and jumped subconsciously!

Pushing the ball and changing direction, Lee easily shook off the defense, scooped up the ball with his right hand, dribbled forward two steps, and quickly shot a mid-range jump shot without anyone defending!

“Swish!” Another two-point shot!

The fans of the University of Connecticut were going crazy and everyone was cheering.

“Damn the game!”

Head coach Pitino on the sidelines could no longer remain calm. He cursed twice and loudly reminded his players again to pay attention to defense.

38:51, Kentucky University’s only points came from free throws and sporadic shots in the paint.

Antoine Walker loudly signaled to his teammates to slow down, but Tony Dirk felt that there was not enough time in the game and subconsciously ran after him.

Antoine Walker made a rare mid-range shot from the free throw line. He tried to retreat, but less than ten seconds later, Ray Allen received a cross pass from Lee and shot from the right wing outside the three-point line despite Tony Delk’s block!

This completely unreasonable attack made the atmosphere at the scene explode, and all the audience exclaimed.

Coach Pitino requested a timeout in annoyance. He knew that his players were already panicking.

At 38:54, Connecticut, which was leading by 16 points, began to slow down.

The University of Kentucky did make targeted defense against Lee, and was particularly strict in guarding against three-point shots.

But Lee is not only good at three-pointers, several clean mid-range pull-up jump shots are also impressive.

As the final time got closer, Kentucky’s offense became more and more urgent.

Eager to complete the defense, facing a double defense, Lee easily assisted the big man Knight to complete the aerial relay!

In a hurry to complete the offense, Tony Delk’s three-pointer missed again. In the transition offense, Ray Allen got two more free throws.

Coach Pitino called the final timeout, but no miracle happened.

In the final moments, Tony Delk finally found his touch and made two consecutive three-pointers, but the Kentucky fans at the scene fell silent as they looked at the 10-point difference.

No one cared about their score anymore. On the bench of the University of Connecticut, everyone stood up, raised their hands, and began to jump and celebrate the victory!

There were only 30 seconds left in the game. Lee stopped attacking after crossing the half court, and waited for the game to end with a smile.

The moment the final buzzer sounded, Lee threw the ball into the air, laughed and hugged his teammates who rushed to the center of the field.

Head coach Calhoun and his coaching staff rushed to the center of the field, and the media at the scene also rushed up with heavy cameras, they wanted to record this historic moment.

The young people from the University of Connecticut in the audience also huddled together and shouted happily.

On the other side of the court, Antoine Walker put his hands on his hips, looking lost.

He didn’t rest for a minute in this game, and he almost collapsed from exhaustion due to a lot of back and forth running.

57:68, the University of Connecticut, whose shooting percentage was not high, finally won the finals!

“Congratulations to the University of Connecticut for making history, the first championship in team history, this year they fully realized their talent!”

Commentator Jim Nantz found it difficult to describe this game, as it was very different from his previous impression of the NCAA.

Ray Allen made 7 of 19 shots, 4 of 10 from beyond the three-point line, 6 of 6 free throws, 24 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover.

Clay Lee made 6 of 15 shots, 1 of 3 from beyond the three-point line, 3 of 3 free throws, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 turnovers.

Looking at the technical statistics, commentator Billy Parker smiled and shook his head, then sighed:

“In a decisive game, hesitation will lead to defeat. Hit rate is not important. Congratulations to the boys from Connecticut!”

…..

By the way, don’t forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me 🙂

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep