"Little Kobe"

After the pregame warm-ups ended, the starting players from both teams took the court one after another to the cheers of the crowd.

Providence College was led by Shabazz Napier.

UConn went with its Regular lineup: Walker and Lamb on the perimeter, Smith and Orland at forward, and O'Riaqi at center.

At the Tip-off, O'Riaqi tapped the ball back into UConn's half, giving the home team The chance for the first offense.

Walker was double-teamed while holding the ball in the frontcourt and passed to Lamb. Lamb used a Holding the Ball Breakthrough to get to the basket and finished the Driving Layup, giving UConn the first points.

Unlike the teams they had faced before, Providence College focused almost entirely on the Offensive End, with relatively weaker defense.

On Providence College's possession, their point guard used a Dribble Push into the frontcourt and immediately gave the ball to Napier.

Lamb guarded Napier. Their builds were quite similar, though Lamb was a little lighter.

Without hesitation, Napier took the ball and used a One-step acceleration to drive straight at Lamb.

Lamb defended while backpedaling, controlling his defensive area very well.

Under the basket, Orland was ready to provide help defense at any moment.

But when Napier drove to a step inside the free-throw line, he suddenly pulled up for a Stop and Pop Jumper.

His body control was exceptional, and Lamb was a little too slow to react while retreating.

Swish!

Napier's Stop and Pop Jumper dropped cleanly.

His shooting form looked remarkably like Kobe's, and the picture-perfect motion drew gasps of admiration from many fans on the sideline.

Napier clearly enjoyed the feeling, smiling toward the sidelines as he retreated on defense.

"Jeremy, stay closer!" Ollie shouted from the sideline, reminding him.

On UConn's possession, Walker was double-teamed again in the frontcourt.

Providence College's defensive strategy was clear: force the ball out of Walker's hands.

Lamb's Driving Layup failed to go in this time. After grabbing the Defensive Rebound, Providence College immediately launched a Defensive Counterattack.

Napier caught the ball in transition and fired a Chasing Three-Pointer.

Swish!

It went in again!

Generally, players needed time to get Warming Up after entering the game, but Napier seemed to need none at all, scoring repeatedly from the moment he stepped on the court.

Ollie could not help spreading his hands at Lamb, clearly dissatisfied with his defense.

On UConn's possession, Walker was double-teamed again. This time, he Drove forcefully and made the layup.

4–5, UConn trailed by 1.

On Providence College's possession, the point guard again gave the ball to Napier after crossing half court.

"Double-team! Double-team!" Ollie shouted directly at Smith.

Smith came over for the double-team.

Seeing it, Napier passed the ball back to the point guard, then began curling around his teammates' screens. He came free off the center's screen at the right elbow, caught the ball, and rose for a Catch-and-shoot Pull-up Jumper.

Swish!

It went in again!

The crowd stirred.

That was Napier's strength, and also the biggest difference between him and Walker. He could run Isolation Offense or play off the ball, and he was outstanding at both.

On UConn's possession, Walker's drive drew a double-team, so he kicked the ball to Lamb. Lamb's Outside three-pointer missed.

O'Riaqi grabbed the Offensive Rebound and passed to Walker, but Walker's floater also failed to go in.

Providence College secured the Defensive Rebound and launched another Defensive Counterattack.

Napier caught the ball in the frontcourt, and Lamb stayed with him this time.

Napier chose to post him up directly.

"Get up there! Get up there!" Ollie shouted at Smith as he came over.

Smith brought another double-team.

This time, Napier did not pass. Instead, he spun toward the Baseline and shot over both defenders.

It was an extremely difficult shot.

Lamb's leaping block nearly got to it.

But the ball still slipped past the block.

Swish!

The ball went through the net without touching the rim.

Napier had made four straight shots to open the game, scoring 9 consecutive points—getting whatever he wanted!

Whether UConn used single coverage or a Double Team, it was completely ineffective!

Cahoon called a timeout.

As Brooks headed to the bench, he raised a hand, signaling for the crowd to cheer louder.

He was treating an away game like a home game!

The arena erupted in boos.

But Brooks did not care. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Tang, get ready to check in." Cahoon called for Tang Tian at that moment.

The reason he had not started Tang Tian was that he wanted Smith and Lamb to wear Brooks down first, while also seeing what kind of form Brooks was in tonight.

Now, it seemed that had not been a good decision.

When the timeout ended, Tang Tian replaced Smith.

The On-site fans immediately broke into enthusiastic cheers when they saw Tang Tian take the court.

After watching Brooks score at will, they desperately missed Tang Tian's defense.

"Hey, Marshon, your opponent is here." Before taking the court, a Providence College player called out to Brooks.

Brooks simply smiled dismissively.

UConn's possession.

The moment Tang Tian reached the frontcourt, he set a pick for Walker, giving Providence College no chance to Double Team.

Walker drove inside with the ball. The defender guarding Tang Tian did not dare help directly, and only after Walker penetrated into the paint did the interior defenders come over to help. Walker dished the ball to O'Riaqi under the basket, and O'Riaqi finished with an easy layup.

The possession flowed as smoothly as clouds and water. This was a scene that had often appeared in UConn's past games—Tang Tian's Open Three-Pointer had brought new changes to the team's Offensive End.

"Thump, thump!"

"Defense!"

"Thump, thump!"

"Defense!"

That possession ignited the atmosphere in the arena, and led by the DJ, the fans began cheering for the home team as well.

Brooks brought the ball into the frontcourt and faced Tang Tian.

UConn did not Double Team him, letting Tang Tian defend him One-on-one.

The fans' eyes were filled with anticipation.

Brooks was scorching hot right now. The question was whether Tang Tian could be like he had been against Thompson before—a refrigerator that could cool him down.

Seeing that UConn was not sending help defense, Brooks was in no hurry to attack.

"I know they're all expecting you to stop me." Brooks held the ball in a Triple Threat stance. Before his offense began, his mouth did.

Tang Tian ignored him.

"But they're all wrong. I didn't play well in the First Half last time, but that won't happen this time."

After saying that, Brooks immediately dribbled once, muscled past Tang Tian, and drove inside.

He was incredibly quick, on par with Walker.

After gaining unlimited freedom to shoot this season, his offensive ability had improved by leaps and bounds.

But after taking only two steps, he was forced to stop, because Tang Tian was just as fast as he was!

Before his astonished eyes, Tang Tian reached out and completely cut off his path!

The arena suddenly exploded with cheers.

That familiar feeling—familiar Tang Tian was back!

The improvement in his physical conditioning was far more than just endurance. As his suicide sprints had shown, Tang Tian's speed, agility, and explosiveness had all improved dramatically.

If he had still been the same as before, he probably would not have been able to keep up with Brooks's current speed. But now, he absolutely could!

Brooks was getting stronger, and so was he!