Simpler! Rougher!

After two days of rest, UConn played at home against the University of Notre Dame.

The team had previously crushed their opponents during a ten-game winning streak, and for UConn, this was a great opportunity to boost their morale.

However, Lamb disappointed the UConn fans once again.

He was completely lost throughout the game, shooting 3-for-15 and scoring only 8 points. He was blocked twice in a row by the opposing center and even made a low-level mistake like dribbling out of bounds.

Ultimately, UConn lost to their opponents 53-56, suffering their third consecutive defeat.

The continuous losses caused them to drop directly from second place to fourth, and they were on the verge of falling out of the top half of the rankings.

During the training session the next day, no one spoke. Even Walker, as agreed with Tang Tian, sat on the sidelines without smiling.

The atmosphere was exceptionally oppressive. The dark cloud that had originally dispersed began to loom over the UConn arena again.

"Jeremy, come on, one-on-one me. Let me see what the hell is wrong with you!" Tang Tian suddenly shouted at Lamb.

The shout was so sudden that all the other players training were stunned, including Lamb.

Ollie, seeing Tang Tian's sudden action, tried to step in to stop him, but was held back by Cahoon.

In Cahoon's perception, Tang Tian had always been a steady player, and this sudden outburst made him curious.

At the same time, he also had some opinions about Lamb. Although the NCAA wasn't as good as the NBA, it was still a place where skill mattered. If talent couldn't be realized, then one could only step aside and give the opportunity to others.

"Get out here, come on, one-on-one me!" Tang Tian stood at half-court at this point, shouting at Lamb.

"Don't tell me you don't even have the courage to go one-on-one with me now. Then you'll have truly admitted you're a coward," Tang Tian continued to shout when Lamb didn't react.

The other teammates involuntarily gasped. Tang Tian was being a bit too direct, and a bit too rough.

Lamb walked over.

Seeing Lamb approach, Tang Tian felt a little better inside.

If he couldn't even be provoked to come over, then Lamb would truly be worse than Wiggins, who drank goji berries every day.

"Come on, do you want me to give you a one-hand advantage?" Tang Tian continued to speak.

"No need," Lamb replied, took Tang Tian's ball, and prepared to attack.

At this moment, the teammates all gathered around the sidelines.

A one-on-one, especially one filled with trash talk like this, hadn't happened in this arena for a long time.

"Then prove it to me," Tang Tian said, lowering his center of gravity.

He was very serious, his gaze completely locked on Lamb.

Lamb dribbled, changed direction, and accelerated suddenly, leaning on Tang Tian to shoot.

Although his performance on the court was poor, he was doing alright on his home court.

"Bang!"

But the moment he shot, Tang Tian seized the opportunity, and after the contact, he delivered a forceful block right over Lamb's head.

"Whoa..." Napier on the sidelines opened his mouth wide. Tang Tian's move was truly ruthless, and he showed absolutely no mercy.

"Old man," Ollie couldn't help but speak at this moment. Tang Tian playing with Lamb like this could potentially break him.

"Let's watch a bit longer," Cahoon said, also a bit curious about what Tang Tian was trying to do.

Lamb panted, clearly embarrassed by Tang Tian blocking him in front of his teammates.

"Are you really sure you don't need me to give you a one-hand advantage?" Tang Tian continued to shout.

Walker couldn't help but grin at this point. Although he knew beforehand what Tang Tian was going to do, the extent of it was still a bit vicious!

Lamb didn't say anything, took the ball, and continued to go one-on-one against Tang Tian.

He couldn't get through with a frontal drive, so he switched to a post-up. After several post-ups, he turned and faded away.

Tang Tian still didn't intend to let up, and his desperate defensive effort almost resulted in another block.

The fadeaway shot, heavily contested by Tang Tian, was a complete airball.

"Hiss!" At this moment, not only Napier, but O'Riaqi and Orland couldn't help but gasp. They were really going all out.

"What, still want to continue?" Tang Tian asked.

"Again!" Lamb was a bit enraged at this point. He was, after all, a talented high school student.

Tang Tian smiled and signaled him to continue.

"Slap!"

Tang Tian stole the ball.

"Still want to play?"

"Yes!"

"Bang!"

The shot missed.

"Do you really want to go again?"

"Come on!"

"Bang!"

Another missed shot.

Under the watchful eyes of his teammates, Lamb attacked Tang Tian seven times in a row, getting blocked once, turned over twice, missing the rim completely three times, and hitting the iron three times.

But Lamb didn't give up. Perhaps he couldn't back down in front of so many teammates, or perhaps he was truly unwilling to accept defeat.

On Lamb's ninth isolation attempt, the consecutive drives had taken a toll on his stamina, and his shooting point was noticeably low.

Tang Tian swatted the ball with a fierce block, sending it straight back at Lamb, who fell to the ground.

Napier covered his face, unable to bear watching any longer.

Tang Tian's current defensive ability could even lock down someone like Brooks, making Lamb look like a little brother in front of him!

"Want to go again?" Tang Tian asked coldly, looking down at Lamb on the ground.

Lamb didn't reply. After taking a breath and getting up on his own, he grabbed the ball and walked back to the three-point line.

His 10th offensive attempt.

Ollie was already preparing to call a timeout, but Cahoon stopped him.

After all, Cahoon had coached NCAA for 40 years, and he could already see what Tang Tian was trying to do.

On Lamb's tenth drive, he took a deep breath before attacking, holding his breath and charging into Tang Tian, forcing contact before shooting.

That was a hard-fought play.

Tang Tian felt it. He had an opportunity to block, but he intentionally held back.

"Bang!"

Lamb's shot after the contact hit the backboard, then bounced into the net.

Seeing the ball go in, Lamb excitedly yelled at Tang Tian, his face filled with a fierce expression.

"Ooh~ Ooh~"

Napier saw the situation escalating and quickly stepped onto the court, positioning himself between the two to prevent further conflict.

Tang Tian smiled at this.

"Are you only strong at home?"

"You just wait! You'll see!" Lamb angrily threw out the words before turning and leaving the training facility.

Lamb's departure finally ended the trash-talking one-on-one. Most of the teammates were stunned for a long time.

"Tang, do you think it'll really work?" Walker limped over.

"I hope so," Tang Tian replied.

Lamb had actually been thoroughly outplayed by him just now. Normally, his mentality should have collapsed long ago, but it hadn't. This indicated that he had likely overcome that mental hurdle during the process.

"You're sacrificing a lot," Walker said, patting Tang Tian's shoulder.

He had seen that Tang Tian had intentionally let up on the last shot, and yet Lamb had still yelled at him.

"Am I?" Tang Tian smiled back. Compared to Walker's sacrifice, his own was negligible.