Volume 1: I Came, I Saw, I Conquered!

Dark Horses Are Rare. After the playoff champions from each major conference automatically advanced to the main tournament, the NCAA selection committee also announced the other schools that had qualified for the tournament via livestream—the so-called "wild cards," including two teams that would have to play in the preliminary round. Zhang Yu was looking forward to it. Compared to them, Butler University could at least say, "We used to be somebody!" Of course, Butler was a perimeter player, so his impact on defense ultimately could not compare to that of an interior player. Next, after one preliminary game, the NCAA Tournament's field of sixty-four was finalized. Several contingency plans Zhang Yu had specifically prepared before the game, such as how the team should adjust if Boise State University had been concealing its strength, went completely unused. In the first round, Butler University faced Boise State University, the East Region's No. 14 seed. The Bulldogs feared interior players with freakish physical gifts the most; even double-teaming them made them hard to contain. Would they come watch Butler University's game? Click! Boise State University's performance in the game was also mediocre. Just like its name, the school was utterly unremarkable. Thanks to its excellent showing in last year's March Madness and its dominance in the Horizon League this season, Butler University had been named the East Region's No. 3 seed, the highest ranking in school history. In his previous life, Griffin and Curry had once staged an earth-shaking showdown. Zhang Yu had deliberately found the game footage online and watched it, leaving a deep impression on him. "Let's go. Have everyone head to the gym and loosen up." The Bulldogs would not be able to train at the University of Alabama at Birmingham gym until the afternoon, and even then, they would