The win over UCLA was the most exciting game of the season for the Devils.
Moreover, the influence of this game is no longer limited to Arizona. It has been covered by mainstream sports media such as ESPN and TNT.
"The first Chinese forward to play in the NBA? Why not!"
In the latest episode of TNT, "Big Mouth" Buckley introduced Xu Yong in a very topical way.
From last year's draft, Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue were both selected, which shows that the NBA is now vigorously expanding the Chinese market under the leadership of Stern, and talented Chinese players will receive extra attention.
And since Sun Yue became the first point guard selected, the only two positions left for Chinese players in the NBA are forward and guard, that is, SG/SF.
Look, Xu Yong played in exactly this position.
In fact, it was not just in the United States. The day after the game, Yang Yi flew from Houston to Tempe to prepare for an exclusive interview with Xu Yong.
At first, Xu Yong was very cooperative with Yang Yi's arrival. He knew that his reputation in the country was closely related to these media people.
However, when Yang Yi excitedly took out the prepared newspaper and told him that he had become very famous in the country at this time, especially when he saw the words "world-class small forward", "Harden is assisting him", and "top eight picks" in the newspaper, his face changed.
Then he rejected Yang Yi, even though he could clearly feel that Yang Yi was unhappy.
Even as a colleague in the previous life, he could imagine that Yang Yi would definitely complain about him in private after returning. After all, in this era, there are Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, and even Sun Yue, any of whom are more famous than him. It is not necessary for his dish to be on Yang Yi's table.
But he still did it, because he knew too well the consequences of such flattery!
When Yi Jianlian entered the NBA, it was exactly the same as this. "Yi soars to the sky" and "Yi makes a stunning debut" were new idioms created by these media people at the time and they were all the rage at the time.
But what happened later?
When Yi Jianlian encountered difficulties, the domestic media's trend was to use the words "a slight smile", "three points and two rebounds to win the coach's trust", and Prime Minister Guda, one after another, to make their appearances and perform a clown stage play.
The further you blow, the more black spots there are.
The higher you praise someone, the harder they fall.
Although he is immune to injuries and is doing well in the NCAA thanks to his own efforts, who can guarantee that he will not encounter difficulties and perform poorly?
He didn't want what Yi Jianlian had experienced to happen to him again.
…
In the blink of an eye, a month has passed quickly. After two months of invitational tournaments and two months of regular seasons, the 2007-2008 regular season came to an end.
The top six teams in the Pac-10 league are: UCLA (15 wins and 3 losses), Stanford (14 wins and 4 losses), Arizona State (13 wins and 5 losses), Washington State (11 wins and 7 losses), Southern California (11 wins and 7 losses), and Arizona (9 wins and 9 losses).
After losing to the Devils, UCLA seemed to have been awakened. It won consecutive games until the end of the season and still occupied the top position.
The Devils also had some ups and downs in the final stages of the season and ultimately finished third.
After the regular season, the league's playoffs will follow.
There are four rounds of playoffs to determine the final league champion. [Note 4]
According to the regulations, the champions of the 32 NCAA Division I leagues can get a direct ticket to the tournament, while the remaining 200-plus teams will have to compete for the remaining 36 spots through the "wild card" method.
So even though there are not many playoff games, the championship is still the focus of competition among these eight teams.
Finally, after four days of competition, Arizona State University defeated the University of Arizona and Stanford University, but unfortunately lost to UCLA.
UCLA's overall talent is there. The loss in the second game of the regular season was due to the Devils' good play, but also due to problems with Howland's own lineup.
If the game really starts at a critical juncture, it will still be very difficult for the Devils to win.
But despite the loss, this performance was enough for them to advance to the tournament.
As for how far they can go, it depends on their seed ranking in the division and their subsequent performance.
…
"Is it out?"
"Not yet, wait a little longer."
"Not yet? This has taken almost half an hour!"
"Is this kind of thing urgent?"
In the Devils' locker room, the players gathered around the TV, waiting for the NCAA broadcast to announce the division and seed rankings.
At this moment, the rankings of the Central and Western Districts were being announced on TV.
The 32 championship teams, plus 36 wild-card teams, will be divided into four divisions, with a total of 17 teams in each division.
These 17 teams will be seeded 1st to 17th based on their season performance.
The four divisions are East, Midwest, South and West.
A total of six Pac10 teams qualified for the tournament this season, namely UCLA, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington State, Southern California and Arizona.
At this point the Eastern and Midwestern teams have been divided, and their names haven't appeared yet, so the players all look a little nervous.
Xu Yong sat in his seat, his expression was the calmest among everyone.
When enemies come, we will fight them; when water comes, we will block it with earth. They have even beaten UCLA, so they have a chance to beat anyone.
The seeding for the South Division has also begun. There are now 34 teams in the pool, and there are still four teams in the Pac League.
There is a high probability that they will be placed in the same division as another Pac10 team.
The order is in reverse order, starting from the 17th at the end.
When the 9th appeared, everyone couldn't help but breathe heavily because the word Arizona appeared on the text.
Fortunately, there is no "state" after it.
Because according to the schedule, the first round will be the 1st team playing against the 16th team, and in the second round the winner of these two teams will play against the winner of the 8th and 9th teams.
If it ranks 9th, it will have to play against the No. 1 seed of this division in the second round and will easily be eliminated in the round of 32.
After working hard for a season, they don't want to go home so early.
Then they couldn't help laughing again.
Since the University of Arizona can be ranked 9th, their seeding will definitely not be low.
Although the No. 1 seed is unlikely, but No. 2? No. 3?
The division continued, and by the time it reached No. 4, Arizona State's name began to appear.
Seeing this ranking, some people cheered and some sighed.
No. 4 seed, who would have dared to imagine this ranking before the season started!
But once people's expectations are raised, they want the best.
Because if you are 2nd or 3rd, the best case scenario is that you can wait until the 8-to-4 match to play against the first in the division, but if you are 4th, you will have to face it in the 16-to-8 match.
Especially when the final No. 1 seed was announced, which was the University of Memphis, most people were shaking their heads.
The University of Memphis has been at the top of the survey list for more than a month...
"Why does it act like we're going to play Memphis tomorrow?" Xu Yong said as he stood up.
His words startled the others, and then they all started laughing.
It seems like they are taking it a bit too far.
"Study our first-round opponent. I don't want to buy a ticket back to Tempe too early." Xu Yong continued.
The championship, like the league playoffs, is a single-elimination tournament, which depends on on-the-spot performance and has a high probability of upsets.
The league playoffs are slightly better because the teams have played against each other during the regular season.
But the tournament is different. Except for a few who I have met in the invitational tournament, most of the opponents are strangers who I have never played against before, so the probability of an upset soars.
In other words, they are not completely without a chance even if they face the University of Memphis.
Even because the University of Memphis doesn't know them, their chances are even greater than playing against UCLA.
Of course, who can guarantee that they can make it to the round of 16?
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their eyes to the No. 13 seed in the South Region, their first-round opponent.
Roberts Golden Eagles, what state is this team from?