71 to 54.

With Qin Yue scoring 27 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal in this battle...

Wake Forest, who defeated the Badgers, successfully joined the Illinois Warriors (Chicago Region), the North Carolina Tar Heels (Albuquerque Region), and the Michigan State Spartans (Orchard Region) in this year's NCAA Final Four.

According to the matchups, the Devil's Deacon Team will face the Spartans Team in the Final Four.

While the Warriors Team will confront the Tar Heels Team.

These two matches will be held on April 3rd.

And the games are set to be played at the former Rams' home, the Edward Jones Dome Stadium in Saint Louis City. (As shown in the picture)

Although in a fan poll in 2008, this stadium was rated by NFL fans as the worst stadium.

For NCAA players who are usually accustomed to arenas that can only accommodate one to two thousand spectators, standing before the gigantic Edward Jones Dome...

Almost every player who went through the practice session on the 2nd instantly felt their own insignificance.

And, the impending Final Four... brought tension and excitement to everyone.

Of course...

Except for Qin Yue.

On the court, noticing Qin Yue's calm demeanor, Paul curiously asked, "The Final Four is coming up soon, why aren't you excited at all?"

In response, looking down at Paul's extremely excited face, Qin Yue said, "Because the bigger the upcoming battle, the more I want to keep myself calm."

At this moment, observing Qin Yue's eyes that were completely different from the past, recalling the scene before his college debut when he needed to be reassured, Paul said, "In these two years... you have indeed grown a lot."

The next moment, after nudging Qin Yue's waist with his elbow, Paul continued, "When we enter the NBA in the future, I will really miss this time fighting alongside you in college."

Seeing this, Qin Yue smiled slightly and placed his hand on Paul's shoulder, saying, "Two more games, and our college careers will come to an end."

Two games, one is the Final Four battle with the Spartans Team.

The other is the final against the winner between the Warriors Team and the Tar Heels Team.

On the evening of the 3rd, when the Final Four battle between the Devil's Deacon Team and the Spartans Team graced the stage as the main event, the enthusiastic cheers of the two teams' fans instantly drowned out everything in sight at the Edward Jones Dome Stadium.

Especially during the player introduction ceremonies of both teams.

Qin Yue's entrance almost immediately pierced through the eardrums of those Chinese journalists reporting the NCAA Final Four in America for the first time.

As the best player in American college basketball since Tim Duncan.

The supporters of Wake Forest lifted the dome with their most fervent noise upon Qin Yue's entrance.

In the VIP box, all the distinguished visitors who attended also focused their gaze on Qin Yue.

Then, in the center of the field, each team's starters took their positions.

On the Devil's Deacon Team's side were Ellis, Qin Yue, Reeve, Gray, and Paul.

On the Spartans Team's side were Paul Davis, Maurice Ager, Alan Anderson, Shannon Brown, and Chris Hill.

After the jump ball, Wake Forest attacked first.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is CBS Sports Television. We are bringing you the NCAA Final Four showdown of the 04/05 season, featuring the Devil's Deacon Team vs. the Spartans Team..."

On the court, after Paul dribbled past half court, the Wake Forest players in a 2-3 alignment quickly initiated the Flex tactic around Qin Yue.

Inside, Qin Yue, recalling the memory of how Davis, who would be selected fourth in the second round by the Clippers in 2006, tried to switch defense with his teammates to face him low, was blocked by Reeve.

Though Reeve was rather slender, during the cross-runs with Qin Yue, he managed to position himself right in the path of Davis and Ager's defensive switch.

Ager, who would be selected 28th in the first round by the Mavericks in 2006, was not known for his defense throughout his college career.

Although Ager, standing 198 cm, reportedly had perfect body control, capable of making unbelievable alley-oops and put-back dunks...

His signature move was actually his casual jump shots and uninhibited dribbling.

When on a roll, Ager could often blast away the opposite side on the court.

But once things went awry on the court, and he couldn't dribble past players, Ager would then commit unbearable rookie mistakes on the court.

Reeve, having extensively studied Ager before the game, took advantage of Ager's defensive habits to achieve this perfect two-in-one inside block.

On the court, seeing this, Qin Yue immediately stepped up near the arc and shot successfully after receiving a pass from Paul.

Coming back, it was the Spartans Team's offense.

As the leading scorer of the team, Ager's carelessness made the Spartans Team pay the price.

After his unreasonable three-point pull-up missed the rim, Qin Yue, towering over Davis, who was also 6 feet 11 inches, grabbed the rebound and immediately pushed a fast break.

Known as a rebounding monster on the college scene, Davis was completely stunned when he noticed Qin Yue accelerating while dribbling.

Clearly, both are 6 feet 11 inches...

Why can you charge so fast, yet be so agile?

Qin Yue dribbled all the way past half court.

Then, he took three big steps into the basket, pushing through Brown, who attempted to block him, and scored.

At this moment, the official 6 feet 4 inches Shannon Brown wasn't being unrealistic.

Because in the 2006 draft combine, he posted a vertical leap of 45 inches (approximately 114 cm).

Only, when Brown jumped to try to block Qin Yue's offense...

He was utterly hopeless.

Because not only did Qin Yue's physique not give him the chance to reach the highest point, but even if he did reach the highest point, what could he use to stop this remarkable athletic marvel?

"So you were underneath me just now?" On the court, after finishing the move, Qin Yue said to Brown, who had just come to his senses.

Brown: "..."

Next, it was the Spartans Team's turn to attack.

Since Ager's reckless shot just gave up two points to the Devil's Deacon Team, this time, after dribbling past half court, the prudent Chris Hill decisively passed the ball to Anderson.

Alan Anderson.

Another old acquaintance of Qin Yue.

In the future, Anderson will enter the NBA as an undrafted player, having played for multiple teams, and he's known on the court for his ability to both attack and defend with a height of 198 cm.

However, the reason Qin Yue is familiar with him...

It's mainly because of the CBA.

In Qin Yue's memory, Anderson will be a legend of the Shandong Team in the future CBA.

It's no accident that the Spartans made it to the Final Four this year.

Because, apart from the point guard Hill, the other four starters of this team tonight all have future experience playing in the NBA.

On the perimeter, after a hand-off with Brown, Anderson took advantage to set a screen and successfully created an open shot opportunity for Brown.

Immediately, Brown made the jump shot.

4 to 2.

And in the stands, the Spartans' fans immediately responded with cheers to those they saw as the noisy Wake Forest followers.

But coming back, the Spartans still had no answer for the Devil's Deacon Team's Flex offense.

This time, since Reeve failed to block Davis as planned, Qin Yue simply went along with it and pulled to the middle for a pick-and-roll with Paul.

The subsequent changes of the Flex offense are truly endless.

And Qin Yue, who is omnipotent on the college court, magnified the advantages of this tactic in offense perfectly.

At the top of the arc, after accelerating, Paul drove straight to the basket, completely disrupting the Spartans' defense.

Then, noticing Qin Yue following up, Paul immediately returned the ball to Qin Yue.

Bang——!

In the Spartans' restricted area, Qin Yue slammed it in with one hand, reigniting the emotions of the Wake Forest fans.

"If the Spartans keep letting Wake Forest execute such high-quality offense...

Then I think this Final Four match will soon lose its suspense," commented the CBS TV commentator.

On the sidelines, the perpetually volatile head coach of the Spartans, Tom Izzo, began yelling at his players on the court.

Meanwhile, noticing Izzo's frantic expressions on the sidelines, Qin Yue immediately recalled a funny incident about this coach in his mind.

In 2019, because of an argument with player Henry during a tactical setup, the naturally hot-tempered coach directly punched Henry in the chest.

At the time, many fans online were joking that the reason Draymond Green is so unruly in the NBA might be because he learned from Izzo.

Yes, as the legendary coach of the Spartans, Green's future college mentor is indeed Izzo.

Interestingly, after Izzo's punch at Henry, he, who was initially a candidate for the new Lakers head coach, was immediately removed from the candidate list by the Lakers.

Those unaware might think LeBron James was afraid Izzo, after coaching the Lakers, would punch him for not following tactical instructions.

On the court, after Izzo's outburst, the Spartans showed a qualitative change in both offense and defense.

Especially the defense.

The NCAA has always encouraged physical confrontations, so Izzo would be crazy to be satisfied with the Spartans' previously soft and weak defense.

However, after Wake Forest was stopped in two consecutive attacks...

The Spartans, who were supposed to gain momentum, were instead thwarted by their star player Ager.

On the court, the Spartans were on offense.

Ager, with his dazzling dribbling, broke through Gray but instead of passing the ball to Davis, he chose to force his way into Qin Yue's defensive zone.

At this moment, if Ager had passed, even Qin Yue couldn't have stopped Davis.

But this is Maurice Ager.

In the future, this guy will prove with his bleak career as cold as a winter river in the NBA that he is a kid who'll never grow up both physically and mentally.

In Qin Yue's eyes, compared to the survival of the fittest basketball world...

Ager indeed should leave basketball sooner to pursue his music dreams.

Because if Qin Yue remembers correctly, after transitioning to the music industry, Ager was even nominated for a Grammy.

Bang——!

On the court, as Qin Yue stuffed Ager's basketball dream with a brutal block, Paul, securing the second rebound, immediately launched a fast break.

Initially, Wake Forest, missing in two consecutive offensive plays, reignited the whole stadium with Qin Yue's follow-up fast-break dunk.

Upon seeing this, Izzo was anxious again on the sidelines.

There's no denying that an NCAA head coach can indeed determine a team's character in a certain sense.

Because after another round of Izzo's yelling, the subsequent defensive actions of the Spartans...

Can only be described as crossing the line.

Yet, even such Izzo couldn't save Ager, whose spirits were sinking lower tonight.

After all, if mud can stick to the wall, would it still be called mud?

Perhaps when Ager's touch is excellent, his freewheeling style can indeed collapse the opponents first.

But tonight, the Spartans are facing Wake Forest.

At the Edward Jones Dome, with Qin Yue catching a pass from Paul and hitting a buzzer-beater three-pointer from the logo before halftime, sending the whole arena into a frenzy...

The scoreboard showed, 47 to 31.

"Now, just 20 minutes away from advancing to the final, the Devil's Deacon Team is on the brink!" commented the CBS TV commentator during halftime.

...

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