On March 9, 1996, Madison Square Garden in New York City ushered in the NCAA Big East Conference Championship Game.
The No. 2 seed Georgetown Hoyas and No. 1 seed Connecticut Huskies met in the finals.
After the kick-off at 21 o'clock that night, cheers resounded throughout the arena. In addition to die-hard fans of the two teams, local fans also bought tickets to support the game.
Reporters from the New York Times hyped it up before the game, and ESPN, as the broadcaster, even sent two well-known commentators, Deere Vital and Sean McDonald.
The reason why this Big East Conference final has attracted much attention is mainly because both sides have popular star players.
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
Fans of the Georgetown Hoyas, who have reached the Big East Championship four times in six years, are shouting with excitement. They are getting closer and closer to victory!
Li You, who was sitting on the bench at the University of Connecticut, looked normal on the outside, but he was a little depressed in his heart.
The cheating Chosen One can't stand up to the whistle with a stand!
Tonight, he faced Allen Iverson and fell into a foul crisis prematurely. At this time, he could only sit on the bench.
Allen Iverson, who was wearing a black jersey on the field, had a crew cut, and thick eyebrows and big eyes, was in high spirits. When he saw Ricky Moore on the opposite side advancing quickly through half court, he immediately chose to step forward to defend.
On the left wing, Ricky Moore protected the ball sideways and approached the three-point line against Iverson's defense.
In the right corner, Connecticut Huskies star player Ray Allen was entangled with the opponent's new player Victor Page. The two pulled together and quickly cut from right to left to reach the three-second zone.
Ray Allen, who looked anxious, quickly bounced out of the center with the help of center teammate Travis Knight's screen.
The 2.13-meter tall frame worked. Ray Allen got rid of the defense, came to the top of the arc, and successfully received the pass from his teammate.
At this time, Allen Iverson pounced on Ray Allen's left side to help defend. At the same time, rookie Victor Page also chased up.
Facing the double-team defense of the two men, Ray Allen did not hesitate. He released the ball with his right hand and broke through smoothly. With his excellent explosive power, he rushed to the inside while hanging on to the defense.
"oh!!"
Madison Square Garden suddenly burst into exclamations. Surrounded by three people, Georgetown Hoyas center Austa Tiger slapped Ray Allen to the floor in the paint.
The referee immediately blew the whistle, but the 2.08-meter, 113-kilogram fat black man Aosta Tiger didn't care. He even pumped his fists, roared, and laughed in celebration.
Such a move allowed a few UConn Huskies to break the defense a bit.
A conflict broke out immediately between the two sides, yelling, pulling, and pushing each other. When the referee saw that something was wrong, he immediately rushed to separate everyone.
The score was 60:47 at this time, with the Georgetown Hoyas leading by 13 points.
With only the last 4 minutes left in the second half, the game seemed to be losing suspense.
The University of Connecticut fans in the arena stood up subconsciously, and everyone looked at Ray Allen, who had just gotten up from the floor.
Ray Allen rubbed his wrist and looked in pain and shook his head at his teammates before taking a deep breath and standing on the free throw line.
The cheers started again. Jim Calhoun, the head coach of the University of Connecticut on the sidelines, restrained his ferocious expression. After he stopped complaining to the referee, he turned around and shouted to the bench:
"Lee! Get ready to play, we need to score! The game is not over yet!"
Li You, who was sitting on the bench, immediately threw away the towel on his shoulder and walked to the technical stage calmly.
In the commentary box, Dill-Vital saw the University of Connecticut preparing to make substitutions, touched his bald head, and immediately said loudly:
"Is Cool boy going to save the team again? I like Lee's performance this season, but it's a little too late."
"Head coach Calhoun is still a little conservative. He should make substitution adjustments earlier."
Sean McDonald also felt that there was not enough time:
"Time is on Georgetown's side, Iverson completely controlled the game tonight!"
Allen Iverson saw Li You playing and immediately curled his lips. He didn't like this sophomore player at the same level as him at all.
In the two years since he entered college, the two men from the Big East Conference have frequently faced off, and he has never won once...
The noise in Madison Square Garden grew louder as Georgetown fans tried to interfere with Ray Allen's free throw shooting.
"Hey! Man, are you ready to watch us win the championship live!?"
Standing outside the three-point line, Iverson raised his voice, held his head high with a proud smile, and showed off to Li You the championship he was about to win.
"Crybaby still hasn't learned his lesson!"
After taunting in a low voice, Li You ignored Iverson. Taking advantage of Ray Allen's two free throws, he immediately rushed to the court to show tactical gestures to his teammates.
As if recalling the unlucky days of his freshman year, Iverson immediately lost his smile.
The small crew cut unique to this era has not diminished Li You's appearance. His bright eyes, youthful face and mature temperament are impressive.
After seeing the tactical gestures of his old partner, Ray Allen felt completely at ease. While retreating quickly, he also loudly called on his teammates to pay attention to defense. He believed that there was still a chance in the game.
Although the NCAA's offensive time, which insists on pure basketball, has been shortened from 45 seconds to 35 seconds, the rhythm is still very slow.
Amid the cheers of the Georgetown fans, Iverson moved through the half slowly. They currently lead by 11 points, and the initiative is on their side.
Head coach John Thompson on the sidelines loudly reminded his players to calm down.
Iverson heard the coach's instructions, came to the top of the arc, and immediately gave the ball to George Butler on the right wing outside the three-point line.
The 1.88-meter-tall senior black defender has richer game experience. After receiving the pass, he immediately signaled center Osta Tiger to take a position in the low post on the right side.
The Georgetown Hoyas have played this same play many times.
The moment Osta-Tiger caught the ball, Li You, who was originally chasing Iverson and cutting in without the ball in the middle, suddenly gave up on his defender.
Taking advantage of his teammate center Knight's opponent, he quickly came to Osta-Tiger's side and cut the ball with his right hand.
"Snapped!"
The ball bounced to the floor and was taken away by Li You. The University of Connecticut fans at the scene screamed excitedly. If the opponent was allowed to grind for another 35 seconds, the game would really be over.
The loud noise in Madison Square Garden did not affect Li You, holding the ball in his left hand and advancing quickly along the left sideline.
George Butler, who was chasing the defender, kept making small moves. Li You, who was 1.91 meters tall, did not have a size advantage, but his physical agility was even better.
Approaching the left wing, Li You began to bend his hips and slow down. While lowering his body's center of gravity, he circled the ball with his left hand under his hip, changing his dribbling rhythm, and leaned forward to the left.
Although Li You's explosive power is not outstanding, the sudden stop and start during the transition attack still caused George Butler beside him to subconsciously slide to the right and rear.
Noticing the opponent's defensive movements, Li You immediately crossed and pulled back, and instantly returned to the three-point line. George Butler, who wanted to change the focus of defense, was staggered and completely lost his defensive position.
"oh!!"
The garish shake sent a gasp through Madison Square Garden.
What made New York fans even more outrageous was that Li You did not take advantage of the opponent's loss of center of gravity and choose to break through to the inside. Instead, he quickly connected the ball from outside the three-point line. The ball was just raised above his head and he threw it away!
Iverson, who had just retreated to the three-point line, watched the ball fall straight into the basket and into the net. He couldn't help but cursed:
"Farke! Another damn three-pointer!"
