After halftime, the score was 48-38, with the Tar Heels leading.
Although under the leadership of Xu Yong, the Devils played very hard, there is a gap in the strength of the two teams. You must know that the Tar Heels still have Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller sitting on the bench. A future NBA lottery player.
Of course, more important than the difference in strength is the fact that the Tar Heels were so good from the outside in the first half. They made 6 of 12 shots from beyond the arc, and their 50% three-point shooting rate prevented the Devils from shrinking on the defensive end. .
The result of being unable to shrink is that it cannot form a good protection for the penalty area, which has been reflected in the opening.
Xu Yong's continuous blocks are very beautiful and enough to boost morale, but he cannot do it every round.
Of course, the team's lagging behind cannot cover up Xu Yong's outstanding performance in the half.
He scored a team-high 10 points in the half, plus 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks and 1 steal.
This performance that filled up the data column made him interviewed by reporters at the end of halftime.
The interview didn't last long, the team was lagging behind, and Xu Yong wanted to go back to the locker room early.
However, during this short interview, the answer to one of the questions elicited cheers and whistles from the audience.
That's when the reporter asked Xu Yong why he played so well and acted so actively in the first half.
"Because Michael Jordan is my idol, I feel very motivated to see him live." Xu Yong said honestly.
When Xu Yong finished saying this, the live camera immediately showed Jordan.
Jordan smiled, then shook his head.
From the moment Xu Yong's consecutive blocks caught his attention, he knew that the little guy wearing No. 23 was his fan.
Now Xu Yong said it directly in front of reporters, and said that he played well because of the motivation he gave him. This is tantamount to bragging about him in a different direction, and he must be happy.
But the problem is, Xu Yong is now at Arizona State University!
He was the key for the Devils to hold on to the score in the first half. Without him, the score difference would have been 20 points.
If he still plays so well in the second half, there's really no telling who will win in this game.
Others may not react so quickly, but as the god of basketball, how could he not know about the feel.
North Carolina's outsiders were so hot in the first half, who can guarantee that they will be hot in the second half?
So Xu Yong said that he was his idol, and he was very happy, but if Xu Yong led the team to really defeat North Carolina in the end, he wouldn't like it!
"Magic, do you think Arizona State has a chance in the second half?"
Over in the commentary box, Kenny Smith asked "Magic" Johnson a question.
The commentary guests for this game had been decided before the start of the Final Four, and Johnson was one of the guests.
"Of course, they have proven their ability to come to this stage. If they can maintain the state of the first half, they have a good chance." Johnson replied without thinking.
He had to say this because Arizona State University eliminated Michigan State University to enter the finals. If he said there was no chance, wouldn't it mean that Michigan State University was very weak?
This was actually the reason why he advised Jordan not to come to the scene. He knew that with Jordan's character, the other party would definitely be unhappy if he said this.
"Of course, North Carolina has a greater chance. After all, they are still leading by double digits." However, he immediately added that he really didn't want to have a relationship with Jordan because of the commentary of a game.
Of course, he didn't go into details. After all, things like three-point shooting depend on God. Who's to say that North Carolina will be cold in the second half?
Fifteen minutes passed quickly. After the intermission, the main players of both sides continued to return to the court.
The 80,000 fans at the scene continued to get agitated. The ten-point difference was not big even in the NCAA. It was hard to say who would win.
And it can be seen from the facial expressions and body language of the Devils players under the camera that as a lagging team, they are still high in spirit.
The second half of the game continued with the cheers of the fans.
When the Tar Heels' offense came up, they didn't get a good chance to break through the Devils' tight defense.
Lawson gave the ball to Ellington after a failed attempt.
Ellington and Thompson played a pick-and-roll similar to the one in the first half. He used the pick-and-roll to quickly take three-pointers from the outside.
"Dang!"
The trajectory of the ball was good, but in the end it hit the edge of the basket and then hit the frame.
Jordan's brows furrowed, and Johnson felt his heart being knocked.
Although theoretically speaking, it is possible for North Carolina to continue to feel better or become colder, in fact, these two possibilities are not subconsciously 50-50.
Because the matter of feeling hot is a small probability event.
This means that the probability of North Carolina getting colder in the second half is much greater than continuing to be hot.
Ayers successfully protected the defensive rebound.
In transition between offense and defense, the Tar Heels' defense remained airtight.
Although the three-point shooting feels cool, it does not affect their defensive performance.
And they are now the leading side and can definitely score two points one after another with the Devils.
There was not much attack time left, and the ball finally went to Xu Yong.
At this time, Jordan's eyes unconsciously looked at Xu Yong.
One of the things he was worried about had already happened. If the other thing happened again, tonight would be a carnival night for the media.
The one guarding Xu Yong was Thompson, who stood slightly behind.
In the first half, Xu Yong only made one mid-range shot, and the remaining goals were all at the basket.
Seeing this, Xu Yong immediately changed direction to the left, as if he wanted to break through from the left, and Thompson's center of gravity quickly tilted to the left.
Among North Carolina's five starters, only Thompson failed to enter the NBA in history, and finally played for the CBA Liaoning team.
It's not because of his poor talent. His height of 2.03 meters and wingspan is a top-notch 2.20 meters. He is a serious gibbon.
His problem is similar to Draymond Green, which is that his rate is too slow.
Green relied on his physical fitness and organizational talent to become a second-round pick, so he naturally had no choice but to lose.
Back to the present, the speed is so slow that Thompson can only rely on swinging his center of gravity to maintain his defensive position.
This gives Xu Yong a lot of room to play. His current ability to control movement is very easy to deal with this type of player.
I saw him dribbling the ball from his hip and quickly pulling it back to the right side. While pulling it back, he directly made a drop step and then jumped up.
Thompson was completely stunned, but his consciousness was good and he jumped up and jumped out.
Although, this obviously late save will not actually cause much interference to Xu Yong.
After Xu Yong reached the highest point in the air, he exerted force on his forearms and made a three-pointer with open hands.gif.
There was already a sound of admiration at the scene. Let’s not talk about whether he scored or not. This ball is called a handsome shot.
After the basketball passed over Thompson's head, it drew a perfect parabola in the air.
"Uh-huh!"
Accurately hit the basket!
"beep!"
The red light on the sidelines also lit up. Just now this was a buzzer-beating goal!
"Hey, you're the only one who still defends Xu Yong? It's a six-pointer inside and outside here!" Zhang Weiping said with a laugh in the Yangwu live broadcast seat.
48 to 41.
With Xu Yong's three-pointer at the buzzer, the mentality of both sides on the court began to change.
Especially for the Devils, as the lagging side, they were able to narrow the point difference in the second half, which has a strong psychological implication.
They can catch up with the point difference, they can turn the game around!
And at this time, Sandek quickly made tactical adjustments on the sidelines.
At his signal, the Devils retreated to the defensive end and directly launched a 2-3 zone defense.
He caught the Tar Heels' cold feeling on the outside and responded quickly.
Of course, he did this as a gamble. If the Tar Heels threw in a three-pointer, it would be counterproductive and would have a huge blow to morale.
The Tar Heels also have a very high level of tactical literacy. When they saw the Devils setting up a zone defense, Lawson quickly fired from a 45-degree angle on the left after passing back and forth from the outside.
Cooksix's hard-fought defense was a little slow, and the interference caused by this ball was very limited.
"Dang!"
But Lawson failed to hit the shot!
The North Carolina fans at the scene were restless.
An NCAA game lasts 40 minutes. During these 40 minutes, there will be at least 70 or 80 rounds of offense and defense, and 50 or 60 shots. Among them, some rounds and shots will be called "critical moments."
This is why sometimes when we watch a game, we have an intuitive feeling that a certain team lost because a certain ball was missed.
This kind of rounds or shots are not limited to the decisive moment, because not every game has a decisive moment.
Lawson's three-pointer just now belongs to this kind of critical moment.
Sandek's excited fist-pumping reaction also illustrates this point.
If Lawson makes this three-pointer, he will give up the zone defense directly because his stakes are not much.
But now that Lawson has failed to make a shot, the zone defense will become a "weapon of mass destruction" for the Devils. Not only the defensive effect, but also psychological pressure will be put on the Tar Heels players.
In the transition between offense and defense, Harden signaled the weak side to open up and directly passed the ball to Xu Yong to form the strong side.
The Devils are a team. In the past, when DeRozan was in good form, more balls would be fed to him. Tonight, Xu Yong feels hot, and the ball will naturally be given to him more.
And from the previous buzzer-beater, it can be seen that Thompson cannot guard Xu Yong one-on-one.
Xu Yong caught the ball and had plenty of time this time. He did not rush to attack, but first held the ball with one hand and observed the defensive formation.
After seeing that the Tar Heels had no intention of flanking, he quickly started with a drop step.
Thompson immediately pounced forward after seeing it, fearing that Xu Yong would make another three-pointer.
When Xu Yong fell, he kept his eyes on Thompson's shoulder. After seeing Thompson's reaction, he did not join the ball. Instead, he kicked the ground with his right foot and passed Thompson with a direct burst.
"Hey! Look, it's like crossing a wooden pile!"
Following Zhang Weiping's explanation from Central Five, Xu Yong went straight to the Tar Heels' penalty area.
At this time, Ayers smartly moved a little further to the bottom corner. Hansbrough originally wanted to come over to help defend, but Xu Yong faked a pass in the direction of Ayers and directly forced him back.
The next second, Xu Yong kicked off the ground with one leg and rose into the air...
"Bang!"
A direct tomahawk dunk to complete the finish.gif!
The Arizona fans at the scene instantly burst into overwhelming cheers.
5 points!
Xu Yong scored 5 points in a row in the second half, and the Devils were only 5 points behind!
Live footage once again showed Jordan.
Jordan looked up at the score at this time, his expression serious.
The sense of crisis was already very strong, but there was nothing he could do. Both Barkley and Johnson advised him not to come, but he finally chose to come.
Because he has such a personality, it’s okay if you don’t persuade him. The more you persuade him not to come, the more he will come.
