In a game like the national semifinals that determines the outcome, Syracuse University's head coach Jim Boeheim chose to fight the main force.
Li You came on as a substitute with 8 minutes and 34 seconds left in the first half, but the opponent had no intention of making a substitution.
The Syracuse University fans at the scene were a little anxious. They couldn't rush inside and couldn't make shots from the outside. They could only watch Connecticut's big man Knight getting better and better.
In his first attack after coming on the field, Li You faced Lazarus Sims' leading defense and passed half the game steadily.
Syracuse University is short of height inside, and its starting center is only 2.03 meters tall. However, except for the point guard, all five players on the court are about two meters tall.
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
The City fans shouted hard, but their voices were quickly silenced by the cheers of the University of Connecticut fans.
A simple pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, the big man Knight faked a screen and quickly moved down. The opposite center Otis defended for a moment, and Li You, holding the ball in his left hand, suddenly lowered his center of gravity and accelerated the breakthrough.
Instantly attracting the defense of the two, center Otis was still sliding backwards, but found that Li You, who was walking, threw the ball towards the basket with his left hand!
The ball flew to the top of the basket, and the big man Knight jumped up easily without any interference. After catching the ball in the air, he slammed the basket with both hands!
"oh!!"
A beautiful alley-oop dunk, and the University of Connecticut fans at the scene screamed with joy.
Syracuse University's defensive shouts could no longer be heard at all, and the fans could only watch the 2.13-meter big man keep scoring points in the paint.
John Wallace took advantage of his physical strength to always break through Kirk King's defense, but after missing several pull-up jump shots, he started to drive towards the basket again.
This time the referee finally blew the whistle. Coach Jim Boeheim breathed a sigh of relief, and then loudly reminded the players on the field:
"Pay attention to defense!"
According to the game plan formulated before the game, after Li You comes on the court, three-pointers must be strictly guarded against.
But at this time, Knight inside was going crazy, and head coach Jim Boeheim immediately made a gesture to help defend.
After making one of two free throws, John Wallace cursed secretly, and then retreated quickly. They couldn't get the rebound...
At 11:16, UConn had another chance to expand the score.
After receiving the pass, Li You quickly rushed across the half court with the ball in his right hand. The right wing was close to the three-point line. He immediately stopped and dribbled the ball behind his back twice very quickly. His body swayed left and right in accordance with the rhythm of the dribble.
Lazarus Sims, who was facing off, couldn't predict Li You's offensive options at all. He followed his body's instinct and subconsciously slid to the left, while pulling with his overhand.
Li You, who had just switched to his right hand, immediately changed the direction of his hips and at the same time lowered his shoulders to speed up the breakthrough.
There was a physical confrontation between the two, and Lazarus Sims' pulling on the defense only caused Li You to slow down slightly, and then he was squeezed past.
At this time, big man Knight had already rushed to the basket, and everyone at Syracuse University focused entirely on the two of them.
Li You broke into the paint area and made a hidden pass from behind. With a flick of his left wrist, the ball flew straight to the right corner.
Ray Allen, who had just used the cover of his teammates to run out of the open space, did not make any adjustments when receiving the pass. He jumped up and completed the shot with a slight drift.
"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net!
At 11:19, the score difference suddenly widened, and everyone on the UConn bench jumped up and cheered!
Ray Allen also showed a smile, hit the shot on his first shot, and immediately gave Li You a thumbs up.
Li You quickly retreated with his teammates, and then loudly reminded the big man Knight:
"Stay at the basket, don't guard out!"
There is no three-second zone, so all Knight, who is 2.13 meters tall, has to do is protect the basket.
Just as Li You predicted, the opponent began to frequently play pick-and-rolls at the 5th position, trying to get Knight away from the basket, thereby stretching Connecticut's defensive formation.
But Knight just retreated from the defense and kept hanging around the basket, making everyone at Syracuse University extremely uncomfortable.
With 5 seconds left in the attack time, center Otis took a step forward from the free throw line and was unguarded. He succeeded in throwing the ball and scored 2 points.
This kind of offense is not what coach Jim Boeheim expected. Core player John Wallace has only scored 3 points so far, and there is a problem with the offensive rhythm.
When the University of Connecticut fell into a positional battle, it was very simple to play against a small lineup. Li You saw Knight successfully blocking the position in the left block and immediately sent a lob pass.
Then Li You cut in from the left wing without the ball, took away the defender and quickly ran to the right corner.
Everyone in Connecticut rotated in turn, with Ray Allen running from the top of the arc to the left corner, and Dorrent Marshall moving to the left wing.
Kirk King pretended to cut in at this time, but stopped suddenly at the free throw line. The five players on the court completely opened up the offensive space. Tonight's lineup of one player and four players made it impossible for the opponent to double-team the inside easily.
Knight, who has a height advantage, arched into the paint and threw the ball toward the basket against the opponent's block.
The moment the ball hit the frame, he once again used his height advantage to grab an offensive rebound.
At this time, everyone at Syracuse University, who retreated to fight, cursed secretly. Knight, who grabbed the rebound, threw the ball directly to the right wing beyond the three-point line.
Li You caught the ball and feinted, and immediately hit forward Todd who was rushing to defend him.
Li Youxing moved a step laterally from the three-point line. While moving, he exerted force with his feet and quickly completed the shot!
Todd, who had just landed, had no time to block the shot twice and could only watch the ball fall into the basket.
At 13:22, the point difference widened again.
In the Aviation Arena, University of Connecticut fans stood up to watch the game and jumped and cheered loudly. They were going to the finals!
Commentator Jim Nantz looked calm after watching Li You score, and also sighed:
"Lee doesn't look like a sophomore player at all. Connecticut used two point guards in the rotation tonight and completely controlled the rhythm of the game."
Head coach Jim Boeheim reluctantly asked for a timeout. He looked at the players walking to the bench with disappointed expressions and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
Syracuse's current lineup cannot solve the interior defensive problem. Compared with the top-seeded team, they do have lineup flaws.
The entire first half of the game almost became a personal performance of the big man Knight, attacking the basket in the low post, missing the basket, and grabbing rebounds.
On the defensive end, Knight also has a strong presence, constantly interfering with the opponent's frame attack.
At the end of the half, at 27:38, Connecticut already led by 11 points.
Li You started the second half of the game and continued to partner with Marshall.
John Wallace, who didn't rest for a minute in the first half, still couldn't find his touch in the second half.
Although the inside player Otis hit the floater in several consecutive rounds, Connecticut always responded quickly.
John Wallace's breakthrough was interfered by Ray Allen jumping up beside him, and he raised the arc and hit the basket. Knight collected the rebound, and Marshall received the pass and immediately accelerated.
Everyone at Syracuse University quickly retreated. Marshall came to the top of the arc and noticed that the opponent had completed the defensive position. He passed the cross ball to Li You who was following up.
The right wing received the pass outside the three-point line. Seeing that his opponent Lazarus Sims was still inside the three-point line, Li You raised the ball and threw it!
After completing the shot, Li You immediately turned around and returned to defense. In the surprised eyes of everyone at Syracuse University, the ball hit the net again!
"oh!!"
Li You's performance of pretending to retreat completely ignited the atmosphere of the scene.
The young people from the University of Connecticut screamed, and the spectators in the front row who were close to him stood up involuntarily, raised their hands and cheered.
At 31:45, the score difference came to 14 points.
Head coach Jim Boeheim didn't give up yet. He stood on the sidelines and kept shouting loudly, asking the players to pay attention to defense.
However, the inaccurate outside shooting made Connecticut's defense shrink smaller and smaller. Relying on Knight's excellent frame protection ability, Syracuse University's offense was completely misfired.
In the following games, Li You and Marshall firmly controlled the rhythm of the game. As the speed continued to slow down, the point difference became wider and wider.
At the end of the game, the ecstatic Calhoun head coach pumped his fists wildly in celebration, and everyone on the bench hugged each other.
The University of Connecticut fans at the scene took off their white jerseys and threw them into the air. Everyone was shouting excitedly.
At 51:69, Connecticut defeated Syracuse and crushed its opponents to reach the finals!
Li You also laughed and hugged Marshall next to him. The handsome white guy was so excited that his eyes were red:
"We're in the finals! We have a chance to win the championship!"
This is considered the highlight of life, Marshall shouted happily.
Commentator Jim Nantz has witnessed many such moments. The veteran sports reporter simply commented on the game:
"The top-seeded University of Connecticut has realized their talent. They are one step away from winning the first championship in team history!"
"No one cares about statistics in this game. All they want is victory. This is pure basketball!"
Li You made 4 of 7 shots, 2 of 4 from behind the three-point line, and scored 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists;
In the second half, Ray Allen, who was constantly guarding the opponent's core, made 4 of 9 shots and 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, scoring 14 points;
Big Knight scored a team-high 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.
Billy Parker in the commentary box looked at the technical statistics in his hand, felt the joyful atmosphere at the scene, and also sent his blessings:
“Maybe UConn will make new history this year, good luck to the boys!”
