Unstoppable Momentum

The eyes of the fans in the arena were filled with anticipation.

"Swish!"

The sound of crispness echoed in response to their expectations.

Tang Tian's second open three-pointer, and it went in!

The deficit was now only 2 points!

The arena erupted in cheers.

These consecutive three-pointers felt amazing!

Georgetown University finally reacted, and the head coach immediately called for a timeout.

Tang Tian received enthusiastic cheers from the crowd as he walked off the court.

"Tang! Tang!" some fans even shouted his name from the sidelines.

Tang Tian felt a sense of long-lost passion.

Originally, as a coach who had transmigrated, he had only chosen the path of playing because of the system and the opportunity presented by his body, which belonged to a ball boy.

But this atmosphere, this feeling, made it hard for him not to get immersed.

He found himself starting to like this feeling, not just as a coach, but also as a player.

"Good job. The opponent will definitely target Tang with their defense after the timeout. Jeremy, you take the other side. If you have a chance, shoot boldly, don't worry about missing. Alex, you need to crash the boards more," Cahoon demonstrated the ability of a veteran coach, anticipating the opponent's tactics and making arrangements.

Tang Tian remained silent at this moment; Cahoon's arrangements were already quite thorough.

"Alex, if Monroe drives, I'll foul to stop him. It's 1-and-1 free throws now, so we have an advantage. If he posts you up low, you need to front him. You have the height advantage, and their guards won't dare to throw easy lobs inside." As Tang Tian headed back onto the court, he pulled O'Riaqi aside and instructed him. Although there was a significant difference in skill between the two centers, they could limit Monroe to the greatest extent possible through certain strategies.

O'Riaqi nodded repeatedly. He had absolute trust in Tang Tian now.

After the timeout, Georgetown University's offense began. Monroe was posting up O'Riaqi in the low post, demanding the ball. The opponent's perimeter players had made consecutive three-pointers, and he desperately needed to get his team back on track with scoring.

However, at this moment, O'Riaqi suddenly changed his defensive strategy, opting for a fronting defense.

O'Riaqi lacked Monroe's wingspan and strength, and wasn't as fast, but he was taller. With this fronting defense, it was indeed difficult for Monroe to catch the ball.

The Georgetown guard hesitated with the ball.

Monroe immediately cut towards the basket and pointed to the sky.

The guard threw the ball high above the rim, intending to go for an alley-oop.

But his intention was too obvious.

Tang Tian came over from the weak side to help defend, crowding Monroe and preventing him from jumping.

Monroe pushed Tang Tian away, but jumped too late. The ball flew out of bounds.

A turnover for Georgetown University!

The arena erupted in whistles and cheers.

"Incredible, Connecticut seems to have found a way to deal with Monroe," the commentator exclaimed, witnessing the scene.

"Tang plays so smartly. I think it was the wisest decision for Cahoon to start him at the power forward position!" the guest commentator praised.

"Go! Connecticut!"

As Connecticut gained momentum, the fans, without needing the DJ, began to chant in unison to cheer for their home team.

Connecticut's tactics shifted again. This time, Tang Tian ran off the ball along the baseline towards the basket.

Tang Tian was playing power forward, so he was naturally guarded by another power forward. After this series of cuts, Georgetown switched defenses chaotically, eventually leading to Monroe guarding Tang Tian.

Tang Tian ran out to the three-point line, and Monroe followed him out there.

An opportunity!

Walker saw this and drove to the basket with the ball. After being double-teamed, he passed to Lamb, who accelerated to the basket and finished with a two-handed dunk!

17 all!

Connecticut went on an 8-0 run, completely erasing the deficit!

The fans were going wild, their cheers washing over the arena like a tidal wave.

Georgetown University's head coach shouted anxiously from the sidelines, but it was to no avail.

On Georgetown University's offense, Monroe was orchestrating from the free-throw line, passing to an outside teammate. The teammate missed the three-pointer, and it bounced off the rim for a long rebound.

Monroe grabbed the long rebound and drove to the basket, only to be immediately fouled by Tang Tian.

Monroe went to the free-throw line again.

He made the first free throw.

According to the 1-and-1 free-throw rule, he had a second shot.

The second shot was slightly off, and O'Riaqi secured the rebound.

"Fast break! Fast break!"

Tang Tian shouted to O'Riaqi after seeing Monroe go for the rebound.

O'Riaqi passed the ball to Smith, who then passed it to Walker. Walker dribbled behind his back, got past his defender, drove all the way to the frontcourt, and scored on a layup.

19-18, UConn had taken the lead!

"Old man, why do I feel like Tang is like a coach on the court sometimes?" Ollie asked Cahoon, excited but also unable to help himself.

"Is that a bad thing?" Cahoon replied with a smile.

Ollie was stunned for a moment, then nodded. It was definitely a good thing, but if that was the case, he, the assistant coach, seemed a bit redundant!

"Winning is a good thing. You're my successor, you need to know how to get along with the players," Cahoon said, sensing Ollie's thoughts.

"I understand," Ollie nodded. What was he thinking just now? He actually felt like his job was being taken by a player.

The game on the court continued. Monroe attacked O'Riaqi at the free-throw line, then finished with a brutal spin and dunk in the paint. O'Riaqi couldn't even foul him.

The spectacular dunk drew cheers from the Georgetown University bench.

However, UConn came back with a brilliant play.

Tang Tian's cut and run created an open opportunity. Walker's pass faked out the defender, and he then took the shot himself from the perimeter.

"Swish!"

It went in!

The crowd erupted in cheers again, with many fans excitedly raising their hands and shouting.

When one thing goes well, everything else follows!

UConn had completely seized the momentum, and even Monroe's dunk couldn't stop it.

At halftime, UConn had erased an 8-point deficit and was now leading Georgetown University by 8 points, 31-23!

That was a 16-point swing in total!

Tang Tian's suggestion during the timeout had an immediate effect.

"Connecticut! Connecticut!"

As the players walked towards the locker room, they chanted non-stop in the player tunnel.

"Tang, do you think Georgetown will make adjustments in the second half?" Walker was also very excited at this moment, but compared to the other players, he had more experience and was relatively calmer.

"Of course, they will. If they're not stupid, they'll definitely expand their defense, and might even have Monroe anchor the paint alone," Tang Tian replied.

"Then what do we do?" Walker had unconsciously begun to trust Tang Tian.

"One-on-one, can't you beat Monroe?" Tang Tian said with a smile.