74 to 43, 69 to 58. After adjusting their mentality, Arizona State University defeated the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Texas A&M University and successfully advanced to the Sweet 16.
DeRozan's absence has an obvious impact on the Devils' offense. They have not scored more than 80 points in two games.
But they didn't allow their opponents to score more than 60 points in two games.
In these two games, Harden scored 26 points in the first game and Xu Yong scored 25 points in the second game. The two completed a "relay match" on the offensive end.
And they gave their opponents an absolute sense of pressure on the defensive end.
They fulfilled their previous rhetoric in the locker room and kept the team winning until DeRozan returned.
After reaching the Sweet Sixteen and ending the first stage of the game, they returned directly to Tempe.
Just as they were taking the bus back to school, there was already a man carrying a bag at the entrance of the arena, and a dusty crowd was waiting for them.
The team members saw him before they even got out of the car, and then there was a commotion.
As soon as the bus door opened, the team members cheered and rushed towards it.
DeRozan has lived up to their trust and is back!
DeRozan was also very moved after seeing the reaction of the players. The apology he was about to blurt out ended up being a fist bump and a hug.
Xu Yong was at the back of the team. After DeRozan and Harden hugged tightly, he stepped forward.
He was originally going to fist bump with DeRozan, but he didn't expect DeRozan to take the initiative to stretch out his hands towards him.
When he saw this, he immediately opened his arms.
DeRozan patted him on the shoulder and said thanks.
While taking care of his mother, he also stopped paying attention to the team, and the information transmitted during this attention came from text messages between him and Harden.
Harden told what happened after DeRozan left in a text message, and DeRozan had red eyes at the time.
For a person who is in darkness and needs to push through the dark clouds to find light, Xu Yong's approach is like a beam of sunlight penetrating the clouds from top to bottom, very bright and warm.
"How is your mother?" Xu Yong asked with concern after the two of them finished hugging.
"She has improved a lot, but she is still in the hospital. My aunt is taking care of her." DeRozan replied.
"It's good to have someone to take care of you. Now that you're back, relax and everything will be fine." After all, Xu Yong is an adult mentally and knows how to comfort people.
"I originally wanted to stay there, but my mother said she didn't want me to have any regrets because of her, so..." DeRozan choked up unconsciously as he finished speaking.
It was a very difficult decision for him to leave his mother when she needed him most.
Seeing this, Xu Yong reached out and patted DeRozan on the shoulder.
Azan, don’t cry, you have us now, and you have Lori in the future.
Although the world is dark, there are always people who can light up the world for you.
…
DeRozan's return is the best shot in the arm for the Devils. The players' enthusiasm in training suddenly increased, and the familiar Devils team is back.
After two days of rest, the second stage of the championship began immediately.
Arizona State University faced its old rival the University of Memphis at the University of Phoenix Stadium, which can accommodate more than 60,000 people.
Originally, when it came to the championship, the number of fans watching the game was basically half and half, but this night, more than two-thirds of the fans at the scene were all Arizona fans!
Is this fair?
fair enough!
Although it is not as exaggerated as applying to host an international competition, this competition venue was determined before the start of the NCAA season. After all, it still requires a lot of preparations to be used as a championship venue.
So the fundamental reason for this result is that Arizona State University played too well this season.
If they don't play well, they won't be the top seed; if they don't play well, they won't be able to advance to the top 16 without a core scorer.
Therefore, one needs to be strong in order to forge iron, and the strong will be favored by God.
In the second stage, scouts are naturally indispensable, and this time there are many scouts from lottery teams.
In addition to Harden and Xu Yong, there is Tyreke Evans from the University of Memphis.
After making his first splash against the Devils in the invitational opener, Evans' season has been out of control.
As a freshman, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game with a 51.4% shooting rate. He led the team to a total record of 33 wins and 4 losses, including 16 wins and 0 losses in intra-league games, without a single loss. defeat.
If it weren't for the weaker conference they were in, they would have had a better seeding.
With this performance, Evans basically booked a top-five pick in the 2009 NBA draft in advance.
Moreover, the University of Memphis at this time has gone through the season and is much stronger than it was during the invitational tournament.
DeRozan had just returned, and Sandeck did not arrange for him to start.
Led by Harden and Xu Yong, the two teams played back and forth.
Then when the game reached 9 minutes, DeRozan and Xu Yong, who was replaced early, appeared together.
What greeted them was overwhelming cheers.
There is no airtight wall in the world, not to mention that stories like DeRozan's are worth publicizing, and they have already appeared in Arizona Sports Weekly.
So after seeing DeRozan's deeds, they were naturally moved to see DeRozan come back.
DeRozan also showed a strong desire to attack as soon as he came up.
He knows that watching his game are not only the tens of thousands of fans in front of him, but also his parents who will definitely be waiting in front of the TV.
His desire to attack quickly turned into scoring.
DeRozan's outside shooting is unstable, but his mid-range and breakthrough abilities are still very strong.
Xu Yong saw that he was in good condition and had strong desire, so he also worked hard to help him play.
When Harden came back, Harden was doing the same thing.
DeRozan also proved that he is a serious pie-eater, the kind without vomiting.
DeRozan's performance has also become the key for the Devils to open up the score and even win the game.
In the end, the Devils defeated the University of Memphis 72-60 at "home court" and successfully advanced to the Elite 8.
DeRozan scored a team-high 24 points. The moment the final whistle blew, the audience burst into applause. He squatted on the ground and covered his face with his hands, unable to control himself.
Xu Yong walked up to DeRozan and patted him on the back.
Harden also came over, and the two reached out and pulled DeRozan up.
At this time, DeRozan's eyes were red and he had really cried.
But these were not tears of sadness, but tears of happiness.
This performance means a lot to him.
Because of his parents, his family's financial pressure is extremely huge.
For him, the only way he can help his family is to become an NBA player, so he has long decided to run for the draft after his freshman year.
He did make it to the first round, and things are looking good.
However, after missing the first stage of the tournament, other rookies performed well and moved up in the rankings. He stayed where he was and his rankings naturally dropped down.
But tonight, a battle of redemption was fought.
He is now grateful that he listened to his mother and chose to come to Tempe and the Devils.
Because here are his best teammates and best friends.
