The new season will start soon, and the opponent of the University of Texas in the opening game is Texas Tech University.

Texas Tech University, referred to as Texas Tech, is another NCAA team in Texas.

That's right, the first game is the Texas Derby.

The "ancestor" of Texas Tech is even poorer than the University of Texas. The most accomplished player in the NBA is Tony Batty, nicknamed "Batman."

The nickname is quite loud, and he was the No. 5 pick in the same class as Duncan in 1997.

However, he has never been able to show the strength to match his draft position. This season, partnering with "Warcraft" Howard in the paint has been the most glorious moment of his career.

My ancestors were very poor, and now...we are also very poor.

The current Texas Tech team is basically a team composed of three-star or even two-star or unlisted players.

Moreover, most of the players are already juniors or seniors with mediocre talents.

Experience is their only advantage.

Playing against such an opponent in the opening game is definitely a good start for the University of Texas.

In the first game, the starting lineup sent by Barnes was Randy Williams, AJ Abrams, Damai James, Durant and Wendell.

Durant served as the team's starting power forward in the first NCAA game.

In this game, the University of Texas played away from home. Entering the arena, Lin Ying and Durant experienced the NCAA basketball atmosphere for the first time.

There are more than 10,000 people in the arena, flags are waving, people are crowded, whistles are blowing, and it is bustling.

Compared with high school, this atmosphere is several levels stronger.

Even compared to the NBA, it's not far behind.

The game hasn't even started yet, but the atmosphere is already so exciting that people are bursting with adrenaline.

When it started, drums were being beaten and slogans were shouted. Not to mention playing ball, the eardrums were sore from the shock.

So it's not surprising that the level of American basketball is so high.

Like a towering tree, its base is too strong.

The game started quickly. Wendell jumped to get the ball for the University of Texas. Durant caught the ball in the low post and made a turn-over jump shot.

The technical movements were very smooth, but the ball deflected a little too far after it was released. In the end, it only touched the board, which was almost a non-stick...

Some University of Texas fans who came to watch the game were stunned. Is this the third high school student in the United States who they have high hopes for?

This ball is also a microcosm of Durant's entire game.

Throughout the game, he was in average offensive condition, and he also didn't do a good job as an interior defender or rebound protector on the defensive end.

Although his confrontation has improved greatly under Wright's training, he still seems to be clearly not comfortable with the role of power forward.

And the overall defense of the University of Texas was not good tonight. They allowed Texas Tech to score 70+ points on them.

Don't think 70+ is too small. Many of the NCAA's rules are different from those of the NBA.

The biggest difference is the time and method of the game. A game is only 40 minutes, and then divided into two halves of 20 minutes each.

Moreover, the team's single attack time is not 24 seconds, but 35 seconds.

This kind of rule will inevitably lead to a slow pace of the game and low scores.

So 70 points is definitely a high score for a team that is not very good at attacking.

In the end, the University of Texas lost to Texas Tech 66-73 in the opening game and suffered a bad start.

Although there was no particularly outstanding performance from Texas Tech, four members of the team scored in double figures and played perfect team basketball.

For the University of Texas, although Durant scored a team-high 18 points and 8 rebounds, he only made 6 of 17 shots.

And except for him and Abrams, who scored 11 points, no one else scored in double figures.

Lin Ying played as Durant's substitute and only played 6 minutes. He got 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block, but did not score any points.

After encountering a bad start, although Barnes cooked a "chicken soup" for the players after the game, the feeling of disappointment is inevitable.

Especially for Durant, his performance in the first game can be described as terrible.

This is very different from his previous idea of ​​becoming the number one player in basketball.

After Barnes left, he ran to the training hall to practice more.

Lin Ying also followed.

After practicing until they were exhausted, the two of them sat on the sidelines panting.

"Am I not suitable to be a team leader?"

After Durant regained his breath, he turned to Lin Ying and asked.

The gap between reality and expectations was too big, and his morale also hit rock bottom.

"I trust you."

Lin Ying doesn't speak much, but speaks from the heart.

Whether he is a friend or a time traveler, he will say this.

Durant looked at Lin Ying blankly for a while, then nodded.

Lin Yingdu believed in him so much, why did he not believe in himself?

After three days of rest, the University of Texas returned home to face its second opponent of the season, the University of Missouri Tigers.

The strength of the University of Missouri is close to that of Texas Tech. Except for DeMarre Carroll, the talents of everyone else on the team are relatively average.

Back at home, Texas University's performance improved compared to the first game.

Although Durant still struggled on the defensive end, he rebounded strongly on the offensive end.

He scored 25 points and 11 rebounds in the game and made 11 of 18 field goals.

Carroll, who faced him, tried his best, but in the end he couldn't escape being crushed by his talent.

Under his leadership, the University of Texas also defeated the University of Missouri 71-67 and won its first victory of the season.

It is worth mentioning that Lin Ying got more opportunities in this game, and his playing time doubled compared to the first game.

He played 12 minutes and produced comprehensive statistics of 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.

And compared to the data itself, what is more eye-catching about him are the few defensive rounds on the court.

One time was a round that was somewhat similar to the team's old-freshman matchup. He successfully defended the opponent's fast break and protected the defensive rebound.

Also, when facing Carroll, he used his body to withstand Carroll's strong attack one-on-one, and then gave the latter a huge block in the head and face.

At that time, the University of Texas was still 5 points behind. His big block boosted the team's morale, and then the University of Texas overtook the score during the transition period from the bench!

After the game, there was an excited howl of wolves in the University of Texas locker room.

Although the University of Missouri is not too strong, the feeling of winning is great.

There is even a comparison from the first game, which shows their progress in this game.

Things are moving in a good direction.

After the game, Durant and Lin Ying went to the training hall to practice again.

It’s understandable if you go to practice if you lose, but why do you go if you win?

I was very excited after winning, and I was motivated to practice more!

All in all, for the two of them, the training center is like a girlfriend. If they don't see each other for a day, they feel uncomfortable.

Compared with after the last game, Durant's mood was completely different.

By the time the practice was over, he was still breathing heavily on the sidelines and was already dreaming about the next game.

"We will win the next game!"

After he calmed down, the way he spoke was completely different from the way he spoke after the last game.

Lin Ying nodded.

The University of Texas' next opponent will be the University of Kansas!

Compared with the previous two teams, Kansas is obviously one to two levels stronger.

Randy Williams made it clear at the beginning that it was definitely the strongest team in the big12.

However, Williams also said that Brandon Rush is still recovering from injury, which is the best news for them.

Without Rush, Durant would have much more room to play.

And as long as Durant plays well, the University of Texas has a chance!

The NCAA schedule is not as intensive as the NBA, with basically 1 to 2 games a week.

After nearly a week of preparation, the University of Texas players got on the plane to Lawrence.

On the plane, the team members were very excited.

The overall strength of the big12 league is average. Winning the league championship is the safest way to enter the "Crazy Three".
To be continued...