Defeating UCLA was the Devils' most exciting game of the season.
Moreover, the influence of this game is no longer limited to Arizona. It is covered by mainstream sports media such as ESPN and TNT.
"The first Chinese striker to land in the NBA? Why not!"
In the latest episode of TNT, "Big Mouth" Buckley introduced Xu Yong in a very topical way.
It can be seen from the simultaneous selection of Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue in last year's draft that the NBA at this time, under the leadership of Stern, is vigorously expanding the Chinese market, and talented Chinese players will receive extra attention.
And since Sun Yue became the first point guard selected, the only five positions left for Chinese players in the NBA are forwards and guards, that is, SG/SF.
No, Xu Yong plays exactly this position.
In fact, it's not just the United States. On the second day after the game, Yang Yi flew from Houston to Tempe to conduct an exclusive interview with Xu Yong.
Xu Yong was very cooperative with Yang Yi's arrival at first. He knew that his reputation in the country was closely related to these media people.
But when Yang Yi excitedly took out the newspaper he had prepared and told him that his reputation in the country had greatly increased, especially when he saw in the newspaper "world-class small forward", "Harden is assisting him", " After these words, his expression changed.
Then he rejected Yang Yi, even though he could clearly feel Yang Yi's unhappiness.
Even as a colleague in his previous life, he could imagine that Yang Yi would definitely complain about him in private after returning. After all, in this era, there are Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, and even Sun Yue, all of whom are more famous than him. Yang Yi's His bowl of food doesn't have to be on the table.
But he still did it because he knew all too well the consequences of such flattery!
When Yi Jianlian landed in the NBA, it was exactly the same as this. "Easy to fly to the sky" and "Easy to make a splash", these new idioms created by these media people were all the rage.
But what happened next?
When Yi Jianlian encountered difficulties, the atmosphere of the domestic media, such as "a slight smile", "three points and two rebounds to win the coach's trust", and Prime Minister Guda appeared on stage one by one, performing a living clown stage play.
The farther you blow, the more sunspots you get.
The higher you hold it, the harder it falls.
Although he has [injury immunity] and is currently playing smoothly in the NCAA through his own efforts, who can guarantee that he will not encounter difficulties and perform poorly?
He didn't want what Yi Jianlian had experienced to happen to him again.
…
In the blink of an eye, January passed quickly. After two months of invitational matches and two months of regular season, the 2007~2008 regular season came to an end.
The top six teams in the Pac10 are: UCLA (15 wins and 3 losses), Stanford (14 wins and 4 losses), Arizona State (13 wins and 5 losses), Washington State (11 wins and 7 losses), and Southern California (11 wins) 7 losses), Arizona (9 wins and 9 losses).
After losing to the Devils, UCLA seemed to be awakened. After that, it won consecutively until the end of the season, still occupying the top spot.
The Devils also had some ups and downs at the end of the season and ended up in third place.
After the regular season, the league playoffs follow.
There are four rounds of playoffs to compete for the final league championship. 【Note 4】
According to regulations, the champions of the NCAA's 32 first-level leagues can get a pass to the championship, while the remaining more than 200 teams have to compete for the remaining 36 spots through "wild card" methods.
Therefore, although there are not many games in the playoffs, the championship is still the focus of competition for these eight teams.
In the end, after four game days, Arizona State University defeated the University of Arizona and Stanford University, but lost to UCLA.
UCLA's overall talent is there. The loss in the second game of the regular season was due to the Devils playing well, but also due to Howland's own formation problems.
Come on, it will be very difficult for the Devils to win.
But despite the loss, this performance was enough for them to advance to the tournament.
As for how far they can go, it depends on their seeding in the division and their subsequent performance.
…
"Come out?"
"Not yet, just wait."
"Not yet? It's been almost half an hour!"
"Is this kind of thing urgent?"
In the Devils locker room, the players gathered around the TV, waiting for the NCAA broadcast to announce the division and seeding rankings.
At this time, the rankings of the Central and Western Districts were being announced on the TV.
The 32 championship teams, plus 36 wild card teams, will be divided into four divisions, with a total of 17 teams in each division.
These 17 teams will be seeded from 1st to 17th based on season performance.
The four divisions are East, Central and West, South and West.
A total of six Pac10 teams have qualified for the championship this season, namely UCLA, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington State, Southern California and Arizona.
At this time, the Eastern and Midwestern teams have been divided. They haven't seen their names yet, so the team members all look a little nervous.
Xu Yong was sitting in his seat with the calmest expression among everyone.
Soldiers will come to stop them, and water will come to cover them. They have even beaten UCLA, and they have a chance to beat anyone.
The seeding of the South Division has also begun. There are currently 34 teams in the pool, and there are still four teams in the Pac League.
There is a high probability that they will be in the same district as another Pac10 team.
The ordering is in reverse order, starting from the 17th at the end.
When No. 9 appeared, everyone couldn't help but breathe because the word "Arizona" appeared on the text.
But fortunately it is not followed by "state".
Because according to the schedule, No. 1 will play No. 16 in the first round, and the winners of the two teams in the second round will play the winners of No. 8 and No. 9.
If they were ranked 9th, they would have to play the No. 1 seed in this region in that round, and they would easily end up in the top 32.
After working hard all season, they don't want to go home so early.
Then, they couldn't help laughing again.
Because if the University of Arizona can be ranked 9th, their seeding will definitely not be lower.
Although the No. 1 seed is unlikely, No. 2? 3rd?
The division continues, and when it reaches No. 4, Arizona State's name begins to appear.
Seeing this ranking, some cheered and others sighed.
No. 4 seed, who would have dared to think about this pick before the start of the season!
But once people's expectations are raised, they want the best.
Because if you are ranked 2nd or 3rd, the best situation is to wait until 8 to 4 and then take first place in the division, but if you are 4th, you will have to encounter 16 to 8.
Especially when the No. 1 seed came out and it was the University of Memphis, most people were shaking their heads.
The University of Memphis, which has been at the top of the survey list for more than a month...
"Why do you think we have to fight Memphis tomorrow?" Xu Yong said at this time and stood up.
His words stunned the others, and then they all laughed.
They do seem to be thinking a little too far ahead.
"Study our opponents in the first round. I don't want to buy a ticket back to Tempe too early." Xu Yong continued.
The championship, like the league playoffs, is a one-on-one game. The one-on-one game itself has a high probability of upset based on on-the-spot performance.
The league's playoffs are slightly better because they have played against each other in the regular season.
But the championship is different. Except for a few who have met in the invitational tournament, most of them are unfamiliar opponents who have never played against them before. The probability of upset has skyrocketed.
In other words, they don't have no chance even against the University of Memphis.
Even because the University of Memphis doesn't know them, they have a better chance than playing UCLA.
Of course, who can guarantee that they will reach the top 16?
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the No. 13 seed in the Southern District, their first-round opponent.
Roberts Golden Eagles, which state is this team from?
…
ps: Congratulations to the Chinese women's basketball team for winning the Asian Cup and qualifying for the Olympics. I laughed the whole time when I was young and couldn't laugh anymore in the end. Awesome!
