Psychological research shows that people will fall into a state of tension when they encounter one of the following situations:
1. Places with many people;
2. In front of the people you care about;
3. When you are not sure about what you are doing;
Unfortunately, after Xu Yong caught up with the score, the North Carolina players on the field encountered all three situations at the same time.
Ross Williams agreed to let Jordan come, on the one hand because he knew Jordan and knew that after his retirement, Jordan had always wanted to witness his alma mater win the championship; on the other hand, as he and Jordan said, the boys hoped to clear their names in front of Jordan.
North Carolina is much stronger than Arizona State, and this is just a favor and a side effect.
But he never thought that Jordan's appearance would activate Xu Yong.
After all, what coach cares who a player on the opposing team idolizes?
Besides, what would happen even if he knew?
Aren’t there countless people who wear No. 23 and regard Jordan as their idol? They are just like the hairs of the Monkey King.
But I’ve never seen anyone who would be so excited when seeing Jordan!
But no matter what, no matter what the reason, it is true that the North Carolina players were in chaos at this moment.
They originally wanted to clear their name, but now it might end up being another setback. The psychological pressure brought by the tying score became the mountain that crushed them, and the tense atmosphere began to spread among the North Carolina players like a virus.
So the fans saw a scene that was almost unimaginable before the game. North Carolina, which has always been known for its maturity and tacit understanding, and whose main players are mostly third- and fourth-year players, actually made a series of passing errors and defensive communication confusion.
On the contrary, Arizona State, which was originally at a disadvantage and was 10 points behind at halftime, became more and more courageous. They started with Xu Yong, but it was no longer just Xu Yong. Harden, DeRozan, and even Ayers began to perform one after another.
"The Devil's team played the game so reasonably today!" As the Devil's team gradually gained control of the game momentum on the field, Zhang Weiping in the commentary booth was already grinning from ear to ear.
The score difference once again reached double digits with seven minutes left in the game.
The only difference is that this time the lagging team changed from Arizona State University to the University of North Carolina.
The cheers from Arizona State fans at the scene were like waves, one after another.
Jordan didn't leave.
He wasn't the type to back down at the last minute, but his expression just didn't look good.
It’s not that he’s really afraid of what the media will say about him, and he doesn’t need the media to create any kind of persona for him.
Looking back on his entire career, it is a process of fighting against the media.
Whenever the media said he did something wrong, he would do it well enough to make the media shut up.
The media has become an invisible tool to urge him to improve himself.
To the point that later on, the media could not find any faults with him and could only rely on digging up some of his peripherals to create gimmicks.
He looked unhappy because North Carolina was going to lose, and he felt a little guilty.
He came last year and North Carolina lost in the semifinals;
He came this year and North Carolina lost in the finals.
next year……
Without next year, it’s even a question whether North Carolina can make it to the tournament next year.
Perhaps they felt Jordan's expression, or perhaps they knew this was their last chance, the North Carolina players launched a final charge.
Their strength and tacit understanding were brought into full play in these seven minutes, and the score difference was narrowed little by little.
With only one minute left in the game, they narrowed the gap to 2 points, a one-goal difference.
They still have a chance.
Just defend against the Devils' final attack.
Harden held the ball to reduce time and finally passed the ball to Xu Yong.
Xu Yong scored 18 points in the second half, and including the first half, he had a game-high 28 points.
The moment Xu Yong received the ball, the Tar Heels began to double-team him.
However, after Xu Yong created a gap for himself with a fake pass, he relied on his excellent explosive power to squeeze through the gap in one step and then went straight to the basket.
He originally had a chance to pull up, but he knew that breaking through was a safer option than shooting at this time.
Even if you can't score, you can still make the opponent commit a foul.
Hansbrough pounced on Xu Yong.
After seeing this, Xu Yong threw himself into the air.
Although the experience of being fouled by Green just happened not long ago, the pain of falling heavily to the ground is still fresh in my memory.
But at this moment, he still chose to do it.
He must choose to do that!
After seeing Xu Yong's dunk, Hansbrough gave him a push in the air.
As the longest river in North Carolina, he was not intentional, he was just slow.
Xu Yong has excellent core strength, which allows him to pause in the air for a moment before leaning his center of gravity backward.
Seizing the opportunity at that moment, he flicked his wrist and changed the dunk action into a rebound shot.
"Bang!"
It's the sound of the ball hitting the backboard.
This time, because Xu Yong was mentally prepared in advance, he did not fall down directly. Instead, after his feet landed on the ground, he stepped backwards. After retreating to the sidelines, he was supported by the audience.
“Swish!”
Before he stopped, the basketball hit the backboard and bounced into the net.
"beep!"
Finally, there was the referee's belated whistle.
This ball is a difficult 2+1!
It’s also the 2+1 that kills the game!
Hansbrough held his head, the North Carolina players on the field hung their heads, and the North Carolina fans at the scene were in despair.
Immediately afterwards, there was the sudden cheers from Arizona State fans, and the shouts from Harden and others who rushed towards Xu Yong.
Jordan was shaking his head.
His alma mater was ultimately defeated by his fans.
But compared to just now, his expression has improved a little.
Just as Xu Yong and Harden said at the beginning, there is a sentence in Jordan's life dictionary: Failure can be accepted, but giving up cannot be accepted.
If a person cannot accept failure, it is impossible for him to stand up again after failure.
If the same person keeps giving up, he is destined to fail.
The North Carolina players fought back at the last moment. Although they failed to defend Xu Yong who played bravely throughout the game, such a failure was acceptable.
Xu Yong went to the free throw line.
"MOP! MOP!"
At this moment, the Arizona State fans at the scene began to shout in unison.
There is no MVP in the NCAA, or in other words, there is no "Most Valuable Player", only "Most Outstanding Player", which is what the fans are shouting at this moment: Most.Outstanding.Player.
Xu Yong has scored 30 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals. He is definitely the most dazzling presence tonight!
Amid the cheers of the fans, Xu Yong remained calm and made the free throw.
North Carolina's timeout.
After the timeout, North Carolina tried to make a final three-pointer, but Sandek's focus during the timeout was to defend their three-pointers.
The continuous pick-and-rolls did not bring any good opportunities, and Ellington finally made a three-pointer against the defense...
"when!"
Smash the frame and get out!
Ayers protected the defensive rebound and hugged it tightly in his arms! !
North Carolina did not choose to foul again.
The final whistle sounded and the score was frozen.
88 to 83.
Arizona State University defeated the University of North Carolina and won the first NCAA final championship in school history!
Xu Yong turned around and hugged Harden, and they both patted each other's backs excitedly;
DeRozan raised his hands and clenched his fists, waving them towards the audience;
Ayers still held the basketball tightly and refused any requests from his teammates to take it away;
More players from the Devil's team jumped and jumped onto the court.
In the audience seats, fans were caught in endless carnival.
Arizona's heat ignited Detroit at this moment, and the fans' carnival swept the entire Ford Field.
Far away on the other side of the ocean, the fans are even happier than during the Chinese New Year.
Although this was just an NCAA championship, it was the first time that a Chinese player stood at the top of the top American league.
Historic moment!
Xu Yong, Harden, DeRozan, Ayres, Kuksicks, Albert, Glaser, Boateng, Shipp...
They brought Arizona State University, a little-known school, to the top of the NCAA.
They are all writers of history!