Champion, please stay!

Chapter 57, Section 56: The Ultimate Individual Showdown! A Genius Witnessed by the Whole World!

Thabeet stumbled a couple of steps with Meno before regaining his balance.

He really wanted to curse, but he held back, silently retreating in defense, until some oblivious two-meter-tall man swatted a fly at him.

He was just going to grab a bite when he saw the opposing center pushing up.

Who knew that guy who was about the same height as him would be such a coward and back down! He ended up getting detained too!
Hearing the wild cheers of the fans in the stadium and thinking about the live broadcast cameras that were constantly pointing at the stadium... Thabeet, who had retreated to the backfield, became angrier and angrier. The ruthless and taciturn Thabeet went straight for Mayo and engaged in a physical confrontation.

Mayno was ashamed and annoyed by his own weakness and felt guilty for letting the team's morale suffer because he was dunked on. He didn't hesitate to fight back when faced with physical contact and vented his emotions.

The two were of similar height and weight. The junior had more explosive power, while the senior lacked explosive power but was more aggressive in static combat. Neither of them gained an advantage. As they got heated, their actions became more and more aggressive. They went from pushing each other, to trying to push each other behind their backs, and then to directly swinging their elbows at each other... It looked like they were about to fight!

The referee quickly stopped the game, separated the two players, and controlled the players from both teams who surrounded them after the ball was stopped. After discussing the matter, the referees decided to give both sides a foul.

When two players who are 2.2 meters tall and weigh over 120 kilograms fight, it looks like two giants are fighting, and the fans in the stadium are going wild!

This is Auburn Hills!

Detroit fans were jeering wildly, while Husky fans were shouting insults at the opposing team and the referee's calls.

However, the referees were completely unaffected by the conflict or the fans' shouts. They were used to it; this was always the case in the Third Madness games. It was not surprising that things were fine one round and then started fighting the next. They signaled that the game should continue and that the Wildcats still had possession of the ball.

The atmosphere of the game has changed significantly, with both teams' players making more aggressive physical contact.

Suddenly, the smell of gunpowder filled the air!
However, neither Curry nor Yi Shui, the core players of both sides, felt troubled or scared because of this; on the contrary, they were even more excited.

A one-sided surge in momentum doesn't necessarily translate into an advantage. Last night, the Tigers started with such high spirits, but they couldn't suppress the equally confident Pine Eagles.

But the current situation is different; neither side is calm, and they have entered a state of ebb and flow!
If the core scorers falter, this situation will be very troublesome.

Yi Shui/Curry: This is an opportunity! If we can outmaneuver this guy in a one-on-one fight right now, we can quickly seize the initiative!

Unable to win? That's not on their radar!
Richards received the ball again, and after receiving Curry's tactical signal, he initiated an attack with a pick-and-roll with Lofdale.

Curry made a run around the cones, used a screen to get to the left sideline to receive the ball. The opportunity wasn't great, as Price had already switched onto him, but it was enough for Curry. He received the ball, turned, and launched a three-pointer over Price... and it went in!
8-6, the Wildcats lead by two points!

The Husky team is on the attack.

Knowing he would definitely be called out, Curry stopped wasting his time. Switching to defend Robinson required him to stick close to him and run up to switch pick-and-rolls... which took extra effort.

This time, Curry didn't choose to stick close to him because he couldn't stop him; instead, he chose to defend from half a step away, creating some space to block.

Yi Shui received the ball and, without hesitation, straightened his body and pulled up for a three-pointer... The all-time three-point king, the perfect shooting setup, the 'tower sniper' technique was triggered with a hot hand!

A clean shot! A successful return!

9-8, the Huskies have regained the lead by one point!
In the following rounds, Curry and Yi Shui both gave it their all and led their teams in a fierce attack.

Curry has an exceptional sense of rhythm, can drive and shoot, and has an extremely wide shooting range, making him virtually impossible to defend one-on-one.

The Davidson Wildcats have a skilled and well-coordinated team. Although their players are not as physically strong as their opponents, their age, being mostly seniors and a year or two older, is crucial, allowing them to hold their own in physical confrontations.

Like the Kansas Wildcats, Georgetown, and Wolverines, the Huskies couldn't defend against the Wildcats' team offense when Curry was on fire.

But even the Wildcats couldn't stop the team attack of the Husky team led by Yi Shui!

Led by the two players, the score went back and forth between the two teams, making for an extremely intense situation.

The fans in the arena went wild, with intense clashes, physical battles, and star player duels... Even though the tickets for this game were much more expensive than those for the 05 NBA Finals against the Spurs, Detroit fans still felt it was worth every penny!
The fans watching on TV were equally excited, but being geographically distant, they lacked the immersive experience of being there in person. They had more to say than the fans in the stadium, such as – "That number 30 player is amazing! He actually managed to go toe-to-toe with Yi Shui!"

This is none other than the genius 'BIG' Brook, who suppressed Derrick Rose and beat up OJ Mayo!

Gold will always shine eventually. In the first three rounds of the competition, Curry was overlooked because of the outstanding performances of other more popular players. Tonight, he showed his strength in front of basketball fans across the United States! This sudden visual impact left a deeper impression on the fans!

Moreover, Curry emerged seemingly out of nowhere, and fans didn't have an "extra good impression" of him, but they also didn't have a "bad impression" of him.

Yi Shui is different. He has been famous for quite some time and has a solid fan base, but he also has a lot of haters, especially during the third phase of his career.

Fans who were hostile and hateful towards Yishui placed their hopes on Curry.

Hopefully, Curry can defeat Yi Shui and stop Yi Shui and his team from reaching the quarterfinals again!
I hope to see another unknown small-city team defeat the powerhouse Husky team and nail Yishui to the pillar of shame!

But among the fans who hate Yishui, there is a special group. A few days ago, when the Husky team played against another Wildcats team, they cheered wildly for the Wildcats. Tonight, they were also cheering for the Wildcats, but when they saw Curry actually going head-to-head with Yishui, they switched sides... Go Brook!

The Husky team can lose, but the Yi River team cannot lose!

If they lose to the number one team, their favorite star player is still 'tied for second'; if they lose to a loser, they don't know where they'll be ranked.

The intense tug-of-war is a test of focus, patience, and perseverance.

These are all strengths of the Wildcats. As a team with limited resources, to become an elite NCAA team, they naturally have no shortage of focus and patience. Their teamwork has been honed to perfection, and their consistency is also excellent. They even managed to beat the Wolverines in a head-to-head battle.

However, tonight's back-and-forth battle based on star players greatly weakened the Wildcats' consistency, as this style of play relies entirely on Curry's performance.

Curry isn't the type of player with incredible stamina, and as the season dragged on, his performance began to decline.

Yi Shui's stamina is already better than Curry's, and more importantly, his playing style is simple!
He pulls up and throws when there's space, drives and passes when close to the basket, straightforward and direct! His energy expenditure is much lower than Curry's!

In terms of focus and patience, they are no less than the Wildcats. Moreover, unlike the Wildcats, who took off and became the Southern Conference champions after acquiring Curry, they are a team that has climbed out of hell and has an even stronger will!

As the battle lines stretched out... Yi Shui and his teammates fought with increasing ferocity!
Midway through the first half, Yi Shui broke through and passed the ball back to receive it, then hit an open three-pointer from the left 45-degree angle.

Curry's attempt to respond with a three-pointer was too short. Yi Shui then circled around to Sander, grabbed the defensive rebound, and launched a fast break. During the fast break, he passed the ball to Price, who then lobbed it to Yad for an alley-oop dunk.

At 12 minutes and 58 seconds, the Wildcats called a timeout!

哈士奇队抓住机会打了野猫队一个5比0！将比分从28比26打成33比26，领先优势扩大到7分！
Seeing the score, the Wildcats players' belief in victory began to waver. At this moment, their thoughts were similar to those of the Tigers players at the beginning of the month.

They haven't lost a single game since the start of this season.

More importantly, no player has ever been able to gain the upper hand in a head-to-head matchup with Curry this season. In every game, Curry has been dominating the opposing team's star player.

Even Michael Beasley, who is known as the 'strongest swingman in the NCAA,' is no match for Curry.

But tonight, Curry actually lost the battle and was gradually suppressed!

Fortunately, Wildcats head coach McGillop noticed this and rallied the players with his loud voice, temporarily maintaining their morale.

After helping his teammates calm down, McGillop adjusted the game plan, switching to a pure team offense, allowing Curry to take a break.

He judged that even if the opposing Eastern Star had less energy than Curry, he couldn't keep playing like that forever. He could wear down the opponent first and then have a showdown in the second half.

McGillop's prediction was... half right. On the other hand, Calhoun did make adjustments to stop Yi Shui from continuing their fierce attack, conserving energy for the second half, but unlike McGillop, he didn't only have one card to play.

"Jerome, go up there and blast them! Whether we get to Indianapolis depends on your performance!"

Indianapolis is the city where this year's NCAA Final Four will be decided.

Dyson is a very simple-minded person; he either loves or hates. He was instantly ignited when the head coach entrusted him with an important task.

After the timeout, Dyson took over from Yi Shui and led the team to continue their fierce attack!
Dyson had a terrible performance against the Villanova Wildcats; he couldn't handle those players who were particularly good at one-on-one defense.

But the Davidson Wildcats, with their strong team defense but mediocre individual defense, are exactly the type of team he's good at dealing with!
Led by Dyson, the Huskies dominated the Wildcats, who relied heavily on team offense, and quickly widened the gap to double digits, forcing Curry to step up and launch another fierce attack before the gap was reduced to single digits by the end of the first half.

The Huskies led the Wildcats 49-40 at halftime!
...

Although they couldn't maintain their double-digit lead, they wore down Curry, and the Huskies have completely taken control of the game.

However, when the Husky players returned to the field after halftime, they showed no signs of carelessness or ease; their expressions were more serious than at the end of the first half.

Elite quarterfinals, a 9-point margin, control of the game, opponents skilled in long-range shooting... This scene is all too familiar to several junior and senior "veteran" players.

Two years ago on the same day, they were overturned in the same situation!
During halftime, veteran players such as Yi Shui, Yad, Frostowski, Spencer, Ostri, and Omocaro repeatedly warned their teammates not to be careless.

On the Yi River side, besides the shadow of the past, they are also particularly wary of Curry as an opponent.

上半场结束时，库里一个撤步三分3+1、一个突破分球给替补中锋丹-内尔姆斯喂饼，以一己之力打了个6比2，把分差从13分缩小到9分。

那个3+1过后，库里的数据提升到了22分5助攻，超过了他逼格易的19分！
This is a player who can score 40 points in a single game during Third Madness!

The second half began with the Wildcats attacking first.

Curry immediately hit a long two-pointer off a screen, bringing the score to 42-49, narrowing the gap to 7 points!
Yi Shui had anticipated this; this guy would never give up or waver just because he was at a disadvantage, he would only fight even harder.

When it was the Huskies' turn to attack, Yi Shui immediately called for the ball, blew past Curry and drove straight to the basket. Facing Lofdale and backup center Nelmes coming over from the wing, Yi Shui made a strong floater... and it went in! He also drew a foul on Nelmes and made the free throw!

The Huskies are now leading 52-42, a 10-point advantage. Yi Shui has also surpassed 20 points! 22 points, just two points behind Curry!
In transition, Curry continues to dribble and isolate!
Without needing to exchange glances, Yi Shui and Curry both had only one thought in mind right now—to crush the other!
The two started another round of star battles, and this time it was even more direct than in the first half, with both players opting to shoot rather than pass!
This thrilled the fans in the stadium. After watching the first half of the duel between the two, they were certain that these two were the two most offensively capable players in the NCAA today. Even if "Big Bird" Harlan Godzilla came, he wouldn't be a match for them!

Without a doubt, this is the pinnacle of individual matchups in this year's NCAA!
Neither head coach intervened. McGillop's only hope now is Curry; if Curry can dominate the opponent, they still have a chance. Calhoun didn't intervene for the same reason: the opponent's only hope is Curry; if Yi Shui can dominate Curry, they can crush the opponent!

The point difference hovered around 10 points, while Yi Shui and Curry's scores soared, breaking 30+ and heading towards 40+... But as the one-on-one challenge lengthened, the difference in physical condition began to show in scoring efficiency.

Yi Shui has advantages in height, wingspan, and mobility, and his playing style is less physically demanding.

When Curry faces Yi Shui's one-on-one defense, he needs to use his rhythm to break through or take quick shots after screens, making it more difficult for him to score and pass.

Yi Shui's defense against Curry was incredibly simple: drive, shoot, and pass as needed.

The two players battled it out until the middle of the second half, when the balance was broken...

Curry only scored 1 goal in 4 possessions, he couldn't hold on any longer!

Meanwhile, Yi Shui was still on fire! First, he hit a three-pointer over the defense, then drove into the paint and made a floater, and then grabbed two defensive rebounds in a row while Curry missed a shot and scored on a fast break... forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout!

The fans cheered wildly, and the Husky players also gathered together to celebrate after the timeout.

大屏幕上贴出了数据，易水打了库里这波9比2后，从34比36落后库里两分，到以43比38领先库里5分！
Yi Shui has broken the single-game scoring record for this season's Madness 3!

哈士奇队的领先优势也从71比63领先8分拉开到了80比65领先15分！
Fans at the stadium and watching on TV only learned from the posted single-game scoring leaderboard that the young Wildcats player wearing jersey number 30 had not only broken Glen Rice's three-point record but was also the first player this season to score 40 points in a single game...

Stephen Curry? They remembered that name!

During the timeout, Curry, panting heavily and drenched in sweat, did not immediately return to the bench. He looked up at the big screen, his heart filled with resentment, yet he also felt so powerless.

Looking at Curry's expression and sensing that the other players had clearly lost confidence, McGillop on the sidelines didn't seem too frustrated.

Faced with such an opponent, what could he do? Their lineup was completely unable to stop that 'BIG-YI'.

No, it should be 'BUG-YI'!
The main reason is that getting this far has already exceeded McGillop's expectations. When the groups for the 3rd Division were drawn, he felt like the sky was falling when he saw that he was on the same path to the next round as the Kansas City Wildcats, Georgetown, and the Wolverines. He thought he would be eliminated right away like last year, which was just too unlucky.

Unexpectedly, they made a remarkable comeback and made it all the way to the elite quarterfinals!

For them, who are in the minor leagues and whose teams are short of funds, it is already a dream journey!

At this moment, McGillop felt sorry for Curry, but he was also happy for his beloved student.

With that popular player on the opposing team in tonight's game, Curry's talent will definitely be seen by the whole world!

(End of this chapter)