There are less than four days until the start of the national semifinals. According to the schedule, this season's March Madness semifinals and finals will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, that is, in Memphis. After a night's rest, we headed to Indianapolis the next day.
Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana and the largest city in the state. Naturally, its prosperity is not comparable to those of previous cities.
As for the competition venue, Lucas Stadium also has a great background. It is sponsored by Lucas Oil Company and covers an area of 170,000 square meters. What is even more amazing is that it also has a retractable roof, which means that it can be adjusted according to whether the game is in progress. It is open to the open air to decide whether to open the roof or not.
The entire huge stadium can accommodate more than 60,000 spectators to watch the game at the same time. Coupled with the magical function of the retractable roof, it has naturally become the home of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). Home field.
At this point in March Madness, all of America's attention is focused on the only four remaining teams, so various pre-match analyzes on team lineups and tactics are also in full swing.
ESPN also struck while the iron was hot and invited the famous New York fan and big-mouthed commentator A. Smith to start warming up the game between Memphis and Butler. In fact, it meant inviting several players and commentators to come on the show to talk about their thoughts on this matchup. the opinion of.
A. Smith has made no secret of his optimism for Butler University, even if he is the host.
"I don't disrespect the players in Memphis. They were able to get all the way here, which was completely beyond my expectation. I take my hat off to them, but now they encounter Butler, a group of bulldogs who eat people without spitting out bones." (Note: The Butler University men’s basketball team is also called the Bulldogs), I really can’t imagine how they can win?”
Today's guest is also a heavyweight. Former NBA player Matt Bullard also nodded in agreement, "I agree with you. There is no doubt about Memphis' strength. I absolutely believe in them, but their opponents are too powerful." , so powerful that I feel that losing would be a shame for them.”
Another heavyweight guest, the slam dunk king Dominic Wilkins, nicknamed "The Essence of Human Movies", smiled slightly, and what he said shocked the other two.
"Are you all optimistic about Butler University? I am more optimistic about the University of Memphis."
A. Smith said bluntly, "Dominique, you didn't say that because Li Kaiming also suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury, right?"
Wilkins still kept smiling, "Yes, and no, the fact that Li Kaiming suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury is a reason, but it is not the most direct reason!"
Brad on the side asked curiously, "What's that for?"
Among those present, Wilkins is undoubtedly the most accomplished person in the basketball field. A. Smith is not a professional player. Matt Bullard has played in the NBA for a few years, but he is only a role player. But Wilkin Scott was different. The latter was selected to the All-Stars 9 times in his career, had seven All-NBA teams, and also won the scoring title in the 1985-1986 season. He was a man who rivaled Jordan in the slam dunk contest.
So both A. Smith and Brad want to know why Wilkins is optimistic about Memphis.
Wilkins saw that the other two people were looking at him eagerly, so he said, "If you ask me why I am optimistic about Memphis, I can only say that it is because of intuition." After seeing the disdainful expressions on the faces of the two people, he said He quickly said, "I can read something different from the Memphis game, their hard work and unity on the court..."
A. Smith interrupted him unceremoniously, "Please, Dominic, which of the teams that can reach the semi-finals doesn't have these qualities you mentioned?"
Brad on the side also nodded in agreement.
A. Smith continued, "Dominique, I don't believe in your so-called intuition. Let's talk with numbers. Before the semifinals, Butler University's opponents had already had six consecutive teams whose scores were suppressed below 60 points. Do you know what this means?"
Wilkins was silent for a while, "This shows that Butler University may have the most terrifying defense in the NCAA!"
A. Smith continued, "Not bad! In addition, they also have this year's high draft pick Gordon Haywood, and head coach Brad Stevens is the second youngest person to lead the team into the NCAA. The coach of the top four in the country, and what about Pastner? Ah, no, the second-youngest record now belongs to Pastner, but would you say that Pastner's tactical level is higher than Stevens? "
Wilkins was speechless.
Although Pastner is one year younger than Stevens, no one would say that Pastner is better than Stevens.
Most people who know football can see that Pastner can only be regarded as a qualified coach at best. If Memphis can reach this point, the biggest contributor is still the Chinese boy.
Stevens is different. In 2007, as the second youngest rookie coach in history, he led the team for the first time and ranked first in the Horizon League with a regular season record of 27 wins and 3 losses, and entered March Madness. Championship, although he ultimately lost to the University of Tennessee in the second round, this did not hinder people's appreciation of Stevens.
Last season, even though Butler University lost four starting players, Stevens still led Butler University to a record of 15 wins and 3 losses in the regular season, defending the first place in the regular season and beating countless predictions. Butler's declining record is in the person's face.
This season, Stevens and Butler's performance is even more terrifying. They maintained an impressive record of 18 wins and 0 losses against the remaining Horizon League teams in the regular season, and continued to maintain a winning streak in the league playoffs. Victory, finally completed the second unbeaten record in the league in history, and won the regular season championship for three consecutive years.
Such an experience is like cheating by the hero of a cool novel here. No one would think that Stevens and Pastner are coaches of the same level.
Comparing these two is like comparing a wolf to a husky.
Stevens and Butler have been almost devastating in the past three years, grinding the remaining teams in the Horizon League to the ground.
Stevens, who is only in his early thirties, has already shown the style of a Hall of Fame coach.
The strategizing Stevens, coupled with the strong Butler University, faced a real rookie coach and short-handed Memphis, no matter how you look at it, it was a one-sided massacre.
Moreover, what is even more disappointing is that the host of this NCAA finals and semifinals is Butler University!
In other words, what Memphis faces this time is not just the gap in lineup and coaching. Whoever plays against Butler University is equivalent to an away game! Perfect location.
Of the three, the right time, the right place, and the right people, Memphis fell into the inferior category.
In ESPN's latest online poll, more than 80% of people are optimistic about Butler University. After all, people like Wilkins are only a minority.
Maybe what he said about hard work and mental strength is true, but compared to the illusory spirit, the vast majority of materialistic people still believe in data.
After all, math doesn’t lie.
[Young Marshal appears, where is the applause? 】
