The on-site fans were all dumbfounded.
Brooks's attack had been beautiful, but Tang Tian's defense had been even better.
That monstrous block had practically gotten them wet!
Only after blocking the shot did Tang Tian coldly glance at Brooks.
It wasn't that he wouldn't respond to provocation. He had merely been waiting for an opportunity, and now was the best one!
The instant they saw Tang Tian's reaction, cheers erupted from the crowd.
Tang Tian was truly tough!
That block completely ignited the atmosphere, and defensive cheers swept through the arena.
Providence College inbounded the ball from the sideline, but UConn's defensive intensity rose so sharply that their point guard had no chance to get the ball to Brooks.
In the end, Providence College was forced into a 35-second shot-clock violation!
They had now gone scoreless on four straight possessions!
Tang Tian had lived up to expectations. Just as he had shut down Thompson before, he had now shut down Brooks as well, and UConn had completely seized control of the game.
At halftime, they held their opponents firmly in check, leading 46 to 31.
Under Tang Tian's defense, Shabazz Napier had completely lost his touch. He went 5 for 15 in the first half and scored only 11 points, including the four straight shots he had made at the start before Tang Tian entered the game.
Looking over the entire first half, Tang Tian's defense was already top three in the NCAA, on the same level as Butler and Leonard. But Providence College's poor showing had a great deal to do with Brooks.
Brooks was nicknamed "Little Kobe," and his style resembled Kobe's, but his Shot Selection was even worse than Kobe's.
After the 15-minute halftime break, both teams returned to their locker rooms to rest.
"Shabazz, stay confident. His stamina won't hold up in the second half. You can find your form again like last time, understand?" Providence College's Head Coach encouraged Brooks in the locker room.
Brooks nodded. He had played terribly in the first half, but his Head Coach had not blamed him. He needed a better performance to prove himself.
"Tang will start at small forward in the second half." In UConn's locker room, Cahoon adjusted the starting lineup for the second half right away.
Tang Tian nodded upon hearing that, in rather good spirits.
He had been with the team for more than four months now, and he had finally squeezed into the starting lineup.
After the 15-minute break, the starters from both sides took the court one after another.
When Tang Tian came out as a starter, a huge wave of cheers suddenly erupted from the stands.
Brooks had made four straight shots at the beginning of the first half and directly forced UConn to call a timeout. With Tang Tian starting now, he would no longer have that kind of opportunity.
Providence College had the ball first in the second half.
At the top of the key, Brooks backed Tang Tian down. After receiving the pass, he turned around but did not attack immediately.
Providence College ran a Double screen up high. Brooks moved right, used one screen, and rose for a Mid Range Pull-up Jumper over Orland.
Swish!
Brooks hit the two-pointer.
Providence College's bench erupted in cheers. Brooks's scoring, which had been cut off for most of the game, had finally resumed.
"Watch the help defense. Don't give him room to shoot." Cahoon rose from the bench and shouted a reminder to his players.
Providence College had made an adjustment at halftime.
In the first half, Brooks had gone One-on-one against Tang Tian, with extremely low efficiency. They had now acknowledged that Brooks could not beat Tang Tian One-on-one and had switched to creating mismatches.
It was a very simple adjustment, but it was working well. After all, Tang Tian was UConn's only real defensive standout.
On UConn's possession, Walker answered with a Stop and Pop Jumper after using Tang Tian's screen.
His scoring ability was not much worse than Brooks's.
Providence College ran the same play on offense. Tang Tian got around the first screen, but another screen immediately came, and Brooks shot the instant the screen was set.
Bang!
Though he missed the shot, the tactical intention had already been revealed.
A stir ran through the arena.
Though there had only been two possessions, Providence College seemed to have found a solution. If they kept playing like this, the outcome remained uncertain.
Cahoon rested his chin on his hand and pondered.
This was only the Regular Season. Once the tournament arrived and their opponents grew stronger, there would be more and more strategies targeting them like this.
If they wanted to go further in the tournament, this team still had a long way to go.
On UConn's possession, Lamb failed to capitalize on a three-point opportunity. Providence College secured the Defensive Rebound and immediately launched a Defensive Counterattack.
Tang Tian stayed close to Brooks. Seeing no good opportunity, Brooks did not force the issue. Once his teammates came up the floor, he waited for a screen before preparing to attack off the dribble.
But this time, he suddenly realized he had no space to begin his dribble.
Tang Tian had gone straight into body-to-body defense!
Brooks found the pressure extremely uncomfortable and had to turn his back to create room to dribble.
But the moment he began dribbling, Tang Tian shifted from bodying him up to suffocating pressure, constantly trying to strip the ball from his hands.
Under the intense pressure, Brooks's dribbling became somewhat unsteady.
Seeing this, Providence College's players pulled out to the three-point line to set a screen, but Tang Tian was crowding him too tightly. There was simply no room to set one.
Brooks dribbled for seven or eight seconds and still could not shake Tang Tian.
The two seemed to be glued together!
With no other choice, he forced his way inside the three-point line and pulled up for a Stop and Pop Jumper. Under Tang Tian's interference, he threw up a complete Airball.
Cheers broke out across the arena.
The change seemed to have happened in an instant!
Cahoon was stunned as well.
The problem he had just been worrying about seemed to have been solved all at once?
Tang Tian had solved it himself?
But thinking it over, he really had solved it.
Providence College used screens to force switches, creating mismatches for Brooks and reducing the defensive pressure when he shot. In Cahoon's subconscious, the only way to break this was to switch faster, deny Brooks easy Shooting Opportunities, then look for a chance to switch Tang Tian back onto him.
But there was actually an even simpler way. If they wanted to force a switch with a screen, then simply refuse to switch!
In theory, though, that was very difficult to accomplish, because the side initiating the screen and switch held the initiative. No matter how hard you tried to avoid it, you could not, just as Tang Tian had done earlier—he got around one screen but could not avoid the second or third.
But Tang Tian had changed his approach. He stuck directly to Brooks and gave him absolutely no space to set a screen!
Without space, how could they set a screen? They could not possibly squeeze straight between two people!
It was the most brutal way to break the tactic, but only Tang Tian could do it. An ordinary player could never pressure Brooks that tightly while never allowing him to break free!
After understanding this, Cahoon could not help but smile.
Tang Tian really did know how to solve his problems for him automatically.
Before you continue