professional shooting guard

Chapter 115 Sweet Top 16

Chapter 115 Sweet Top 16

The Duke locker room at halftime.

Leading the score, the Duke University coach and players are naturally more relaxed.

In the first half, the players performed well, and the old K just emphasized strengthening the defense during the break, while maintaining the state of the first half.

In the locker room of the University of Utah, the score was behind at halftime, making the University of Utah coach Larry Chris Kowiak frown.

How to solve Duke University's core Zhang Zifeng is obviously the primary problem for the University of Utah in the second half of the game.

But Wright, who was facing Zhang Zifeng, was in a very bad state today.

Not only did Zhang Zifeng not be involved, but the whole team was dragged down.

In the second half, if the University of Utah wanted to make a comeback, it would naturally require Wright to recover, and even perform exceptionally well.

After all, several of their insiders have done their best in rebounding.

But the team is still behind so many points, naturally it is because of the poor performance of outside players led by Wright.

Chris Kowiak shouted, "Wright, you guys don't feel good today. In the second half, we have to attack the inside with all our strength, especially in terms of power forwards. We have an advantage!"

After arranging the offensive tactics for the second half, Chris Kowiak told Wright, "We must closely guard the opponent's No. 14 Chinese. Whether it is offense or defense, Duke University's rhythm is controlled by him. Wright, You go on the field and defend with all your strength. As long as you crucify that damned Chinese, we can hope to turn defeat into victory!"

Wright nodded and said, "I understand, coach. I will do my best to keep an eye on him, and I won't let him do it again!"

After a 15-minute break, the two sides returned to the court.

Duke University had possession of the ball, and after Cook took over his teammate's baseline serve, he quickly crossed the half court.

As soon as Zhang Zifeng received the ball from beyond the three-point line on the wing, Wright sank down and stared at the ball.

"Boy, I'm going to mark you with all my strength now, you're finished!"

Facing Wright's defense, Zhang Zifeng did not rush to attack.

At this time, Okafor has already got stuck in the penalty area and is holding out his hands for the ball.

Zhang Zifeng held the ball high with both hands, as if passing the ball.

Wright immediately stood up, stretched his hand, and interfered with his pass.

Zhang Zifeng quickly collected the ball and cut in from the right.

Wright quickly slid to keep up, not giving the opponent a chance to directly rush into the penalty area.

Zhang Zifeng suddenly took a step back and turned his body upwards.

When Wright saw it, he stopped abruptly and jumped up to block the shot.

Zhang Zifeng sneered, leaned forward and broke through, reached the inside line and made an emergency stop for a jumper, and succeeded.

25: 35.

While running back, Zhang Zifeng yelled at Wright, "Dude, are you sleepwalking!"

Hearing Zhang Zifeng mocking himself, Wright gritted his teeth and shouted, "Just wait, I will definitely lock you up!"

Zhang Zifeng shrugged and said, "You are talking in your sleep!"

Utah dribbled the ball past half court and Wright held it high.

Wright tried several times, but failed to break through.

He gritted his teeth and asked Kuzma inside for a high pick-and-roll.

Wright just broke through Zhang Zifeng and went inside, and was jumping up to face Jefferson, ready to shoot.

Zhang Zifeng suddenly rushed out from behind, slapped the ball hard and sent it out of the field.

After landing, Zhang Zifeng shouted, "Hey, buddy. Are you awake?"

Seeing Wright fighting with Zhang Zifeng, Chris Kowiak yelled at him angrily, "Deron, fight according to tactics! Fight according to tactics!"

Hearing the roar of the head coach, Wright woke up. Now is not the time to fight against the opponent.

On the re-kickoff, Wright lobbed the ball inside.

Kuzma leaned back with the ball in front of his chest, and his upper body was completely leaning against Jefferson behind him.

Kuzma's inside offensive skills are not good, but he has height and strength.

The impacts made Jefferson retreat a little bit. When Kuzma hit the basket, a sudden shake successfully tricked Jefferson's center of gravity, and he turned and hooked halfway.

The ball missed and the basketball bounced off the front edge of the rim.

Jefferson jumped up hard, the moment the ball was about to touch his fingers.

A big hand appeared below the basketball and patted the ball with one hand. Jefferson just wanted to jump up again. When he was fighting for it, Kuzma had jumped up first and snatched the ball away.

Duke's defense is in shambles for rebounding.

Kuzma throws the ball out, and Brighton Taylor catches it and dribbles it for a jumper.

27: 35.

The University of Utah has a high center Poeltl and a power forward Kuzma who can jump and grab, and the inside has an advantage.

Relying on the performance of the two insiders, the inside drives the outside, and the University of Utah launched a counterattack.

Kuzma successfully beat Jefferson inside again. With the joint efforts of Poeltl and Kuzma, the University of Utah played a wave of 11-4, and the score became 36:39. Duke University only led by 3 points.

Seeing the momentum of the University of Utah, the Blue Devils fans were tense, fearing that Duke University would be defeated.

The opponent grabbed offensive rebounds one after another, and the head coach K was very dissatisfied with the team's rebound protection.

No team's head coach would be willing to see himself lose so many backcourt rebounds, which means that the opponent can get more opportunities.

Old K called a timeout.

Old K yelled at his players, "Protect our rebounds, don't let the opponent grab the rebounds so easily. Strengthen the fight, strengthen the fight, understand! Jack, you guys should also strengthen the frontcourt press, We want to block their links inside and outside, and strengthen support for inside players!"

"Yes, Coach!" Duke players shouted in unison.

Jefferson went off and was replaced by Vince Law, a backup power forward with excellent jumping ability and good rebounding ability.

The game restarted. After halftime, Cook handed the ball to Zhang Zifeng who was standing in a high position.

Zhang Zifeng stretched out his hand towards Wen Slaw, and Wen Slaw came over and made a high pick-and-roll for Zhang Zifeng, and Zhang Zifeng took advantage of the momentum to break through to the inside.

Kuzma came up to him, Zhang Zifeng seized the gap before he came up, and immediately stopped to shoot a jumper.

Swish!

36: 41!

Zhang Zifeng's goal helped Duke stabilize the situation and opened the point difference to 5 points.

The University of Utah's possession of the ball, when Wright just received the ball in the backcourt.

Zhang Zifeng stepped forward to mark, and Wright, under the interference of Zhang Zifeng, struggled to pass halftime.

Kuzma reached for the ball at the card number on the inside. When Wright raised the ball and wanted to pass it to the inside, Zhang Zifeng stepped up to grab the ball from the opponent. The most important thing is not to allow the opponent to easily pass the ball into the inside.

Zhang Zifeng and Wright entangled for a few seconds.

Kuzma was afraid of a three-second violation and walked out of the penalty area.

At this time, Wright finally passed the ball.

The position is not good, Kuzma got stuck on his back and pushed Winslow into the penalty area.

Although he reached the penalty area, there was not much attack time left, and Kuzma could only make a hasty shot.

Kuzma, who was not good at offense, hit the iron without accident.

Wen Slaw grabbed the rebound and immediately passed it to Zhang Zifeng to launch a fast break.

Zhang Zifeng dribbled forward with the ball, followed by Winslow and Cook.

After reaching the penalty area, Zhang Zifeng didn't layup directly, but passed the ball from behind, avoiding Wright's block.

Winslow got the ball on the run and made a layup.

36: 43.

Duke University has re-stabilized the situation. Seeing this scene, the tense mood of the Duke Blue Devils fans relaxed, and some fans were still in the mood to joke.

The fans of the University of Utah did not have a good life. Their hearts were jumping and worried.

Duke University's outside defense line connected by Zhang Zifeng cannot completely lock the University of Utah's offense, but it can well limit the University of Utah's outside players.

Without the delivery of shells from outside players and opening up space, the University of Utah's inside advantage has been weakened.

The University of Utah finally scored a goal inside, and Duke University immediately responded.

The two sides scored alternately, but the more efficient Duke University slowly expanded its lead, and the point difference reached double digits again.

Utah tried to fight back late in the game as Brighton Taylor and Delon Wright picked up the pace and scored.

But their efforts were too late, Duke University has been in charge of the situation.

The University of Utah grabbed as many as 18 offensive rebounds in this game, which also gave them 14 more shots than Duke.Even so, under the defensive front led by Zhang Zifeng, they made mistakes again and again, only one more open goal than Duke University, and the poor shooting percentage (34.4%) made them lose the game.

When the full-court whistle sounded, Duke University beat Utah University 63-57 and advanced to the Elite 8. Their opponent in the next round will be the Gonzaga University Bulldogs.

For the University of Utah, top star Deron Wright played poorly under the defense of Zhang Zifeng. He scored 14 points and 4 rebounds on 10 of 6 shots.

布莱顿·泰勒得到了全队最高的15分，另有5篮板2抢断。雅格布.珀尔特尔得到10分9篮板3盖帽。

Kuzma scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

For Duke University, Okafor was limited on the offensive end. He only scored 5 points in 6 shots, but also scored 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Another freshman Winster played well, scoring 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Cook scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Although captain Zhang Zifeng didn't score many points, only 11 points, but everyone knew that he was the number one player in the game.

Whether it is limiting the core of the University of Utah Wright and making the opponent's performance poor, he also contributed a record 13 assists, which is a good connection with the team's offense.

After the game, as the best player in the game, ESPN reporter Irene Andrews conducted a live interview with Zhang Zifeng.

"Congratulations, Jack! You had a great night and you helped Duke win this game and head into the Elite 8."

"Thank you, but it was the hard work of all the teammates that allowed Duke University to beat the strong enemy University of Utah. If there is no Okafor to contain the opponent in the interior, Jefferson and Winslaw are fighting for rebounds, Winslow and Cook's Goal, it's hard for us to win the University of Utah." Zhang Zifeng wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and panted.

Irene Andrews continued, "Jack, I saw that your desire to attack in this game is not very strong, and more is to help the team by passing the ball. Excuse me, this is the old K who wants to train you to be a combo guard. direction development?"

Zhang Zifeng shrugged and said, "No, Wright is a good opponent. Under his defense, my offensive efficiency cannot be guaranteed. What's more, there are excellent players like Winslow and Cook in our team. Since they are more Sure, they should get more shots, of course."

Eileen Andrews Chen Zan said, "Well, Jack, it can be seen that you are a team-oriented player. I hope you will continue to perform well in the next games!"

"Thank you!" Zhang Zifeng said, ending the interview.After signing autographs for several Blue Devils fans, he walked into the player tunnel.

"Jack, I'm waiting for you alone. Hurry up!" Winslow shouted immediately when he saw Zhang Zifeng walk into the locker room.

Looking at Okafor and the others who were expecting, Zhang Zifeng nodded hurriedly and said, "Wait for me, it will be ready soon!"

When old K returned to the locker room after the interview, he saw Zhang Zifeng dressed neatly just about to go out.

Old K immediately understood that they were going there, "Jack, you performed well today, keep going."

Zhang Zifeng replied affirmatively, "I will!"

Looking at Okafor and the others who were anxious, Old K smiled and said, "Jack, you are the captain, take care of this bastard when you go out to play. If anyone is late for training tomorrow, he will be punished for an extra 8000 long-distance running. Jack, you are the captain ,double!"

"What!" Zhang Zifeng shouted like a bolt from the blue.

These orangutans are in heat, who can stop them!

(End of this chapter)