Chapter 95 Defending Champion

While Concord University won the Western Division championship, several other divisional champions were also released one after another. Butler University continued its dark horse character from last year and became the champion of the Southeast Division. Kentucky and Duke also lived up to expectations, defeating their opponents to become the Eastern Division and Southwest Champions.

In this way, the final four finalists of the tournament have been determined, namely University of Concord, Duke, Kentucky and Butler.

And with the championship confirmed and the semifinal match, Butler University will compete with Kentucky, while the University of Connecticut will have to play against the defending champion Duke University.

First fight Arizona, then North Carolina, and now Duke, if the University of Texas had not accidentally killed Kansas, the experience of the University of Concord this year would really be a hellish model.

But from another point of view, this is also a kind of luck for Kangda.

There are NCAA championships every year, but there are not many impressive ones. If Kangda can finally win the championship in this hellish mode, it will definitely be remembered by history and become a topic that fans talk about after dinner.

Duke University, as the defending champion, is not only the No. 1 seed in the Southwest Division this year, but also the No. 1 seed in the entire NCAA Championship. Nolan Smith, Miles Plumlee, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly, Seth Curry and many other NBA talent.

It is no exaggeration to say that even Curry, who is on the bench, can become the absolute core of a normal school.

This is a ridiculous lineup, but who calls it Duke!

And Duke, there's a guy named Mike Krzyzewski!

The famous K coach!

The biggest difference between the NCAA and the NBA is the right of the head coach, because without the existence of the management, the head coach is basically omniscient.

Your future, your basketball life is basically all determined by the head coach.

And a good coach can bring players to a bigger stage, provide them with more exposure opportunities, and then get a better future and life.

This is a mutually reinforcing relationship.

And the reason why Duke can have so many top players is because they have Coach K, a legendary coach who can be as famous as Dean Smith!

Therefore, the top high school students in the United States all squeezed their heads into the gate of Duke.

When it came to the final four stage, the attention of the championship was rapidly rising, and the competition venue was further upgraded.

The semi-finals consist of two semi-finals and one final, for a total of three matches.

The venue for these three games has already been decided, at the Ruillant Stadium in Houston.

As the first professional football stadium in the United States to have an openable roof, this old stadium is well known for its roof made of high-transparent fiberglass material, which makes it feel like a fully open feeling even when closed.

Of course, the number of seats in this stadium is also considerable, and it can accommodate 72,000 people to watch the game at the same time, which fully meets the requirements of the NCAA semifinals.

There are more than 70,000 people watching the basketball game at the same time. Such a scene is truly unique in the world. This is the charm of the NCAA.

Even in the finals, even the NBA will choose to suspend the game to make way for it.

The day before the game, the top four teams arrived in Houston one after another.

Tang Tian is particularly familiar with the city of Houston, where the Chinese giant Yao Ming has spent his entire career. He also lived in this city as a coach in his previous life.

The match between Concordia and Duke will be the first to start. In order to let the players relax, Kahun did not arrange daily training on this day.

"Are you nervous? Against Singler." Walker asked while playing 2K with Tang Tian in the hotel.

Kyle Singler is a legend in the NCAA. He scored 13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in his freshman season and became the best rookie in the Atlantic Coast League. He was elected to the MOP as a junior last season and was in the final against Butler University. Zhong scored 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks, helping Duke finally win the championship.

"Don't be nervous, have you ever seen me nervous?" Tang Tian said with a smile. He was just a Singler. Leaving aside his previous life experience, he even talked about Derek Williams in the past few games of the championship. You can do it with Barnes, and you're afraid of a Singler?

"You don't have to be nervous. It wasn't long before Owen came back from injury. He couldn't beat you." Tang Tian knew Walker well and knew that he was worried about his game, and then said.

"Well." Walker didn't explain anything this time, just nodded.

It is good for people to have anger, but it is conceited to be too high. Walker is obviously not the kind of conceited person.

To say that the only guard in this class that can make Walker worry, or at least let him recognize in his heart, is only Irving.

How good is Owen's talent?

As a rookie, Irving basically did not play much because of a toe injury. In 11 games, he averaged 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, while shooting 59% from two-point range and 45% from three-point range.

Whether an injured rookie can cut this kind of data, or whether he can come back and lead his team to the final four and become the top pick, these are actually very telling.

The University of Concord did not arrange training, but Duke University arranged it.

Coach K conducted a basic training in the training hall. The training mainly focused on warm-up and shooting. The purpose was to help the players find their state before the game.

Duke is the hottest winner of this year's championship, and their training has also attracted a media visit, which even includes media giants such as ESPN and TNT.

It is worth mentioning that the semi-finals will be broadcast live in the United States. At that time, TNT's ace commentators Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, ESPN's top players Mike Brin and Reggie Miller will all come to the scene to comment.

Irving had been talking to Coach K, and reporters didn't get a chance to interview him, but they caught Kyle Singler anyway.

Singler's reputation in the NCAA is much greater than that of Irving, and they are not at a loss in this wave.

"Kyle, the University of Connecticut defeated North Carolina this year. It is very strong. What do you think of this opponent?"

"It's a sad thing." Singler's answer was somewhat unexpected.

"Playing against North Carolina is what every Duke player wants to do. When the division came out, I was a little excited. You know this is my last year of college. I want to do the last thing I want to do as a Duke. things, but it didn't come in the end," Singler said regretfully.

What he said is completely fine. He won the NCAA championship and MOP, and defeating North Carolina is indeed the only thing he has not completed.

The reporter was obviously stunned for a moment, this is true, but it seems that the answer is wrong!

"What do you think of Connecticut, your semifinal opponent," he could only ask again.

Thank you, Qi, and the fool seal for the reward.