The gap is even bigger than last year.

No one felt it was abnormal for the Mountain Cat Team to lead by 6 points at the end of the first quarter, not even the Knight fans watching on TV.

But the Mountain Cat Team had made it look too easy in the first quarter!

Indeed, public opinion generally believed the Knights couldn't beat the Mountain Cat Team. Even most fans of the Knights thought the chances of victory were slim, with only a small fraction of die-hard fans irrationally convinced the Knights would definitely dominate the Mountain Cat Team and had various excuses at the ready in case of a loss.

Even fans of the Mountain Cat Team didn't think it would be as easy as last year; they were certain the Knights wouldn't be as powerless as they were last season.

This match-up received the most attention out of the four second-round pairings. Its popularity was higher than the other three combined, so naturally, there were more media and analysts covering it.

The media pointed out several key factors.