Opportunity

In the middle section of the stands, ESPN reporter Jamal Khalil kept his eyes on Han Sen.

This was just an NCAA invitational game, and one of the teams was even from a second-tier league. If it weren't for Theus, he wouldn't have come at all.

After watching for a while, he looked away.

Han Sen's physical condition looked decent, and his three-point shooting during warm-up seemed fairly smooth.

But that was it.

And besides, he was Asian.

If he were a player like Yao Ming or Yi Jianlian, someone playing in the paint, maybe Jamal would be interested. But wing players like Han Sen were a dime a dozen in America.

The warm-up quickly ended, and the game's opening ceremony began. Both teams' starting lineups were announced.

Barry University: Chris Rondo, Han Sen, Will Atkinson, Dan Schiam, Aaron O'Neal.

Michigan State University: Kalin Lucas, Travis Walton, Delvon Roe, Raymar Morgan, Goran Suton.

After Han Sen got on the court, he noticed that the player he was matched up with, Walton, was at least half a head shorter than him- around 1.88 meters at most.

It seemed Han Sen and Theus's instincts from yesterday were correct: Michigan State wasn't taking them seriously at all.

At the tip-off, Suton easily tapped the ball back to his half, and the game officially began.

Suton immediately moved to the baseline, demanding the ball. Once he got it, he forcefully posted up O'Neal and scored.

"You're an insult to the name O'Neal," Suton taunted after the basket.

O'Neal's face turned red, but he was helpless.

Michigan State came out aggressively, especially with Suton dominating the paint.

They were clearly treating Barry University as a punching bag.

However, despite Michigan State's strong start, Barry University wasn't falling behind on the scoreboard because they responded well on offense.

Walton's height disadvantage made him ineffective at defending Han Sen's shots.

What was even more baffling was that, even though it was clear to everyone- even casual fans- that Walton couldn't guard Han Sen, Michigan State didn't make any substitutions or send a double team.

This clearly wasn't an issue of coaching ability. Michigan State's head coach, Tom Izzo, was a legendary figure in the NCAA. He led the team to a national championship in 2000 and had the most wins in the school's history.

The only explanation was that he simply didn't care.

The opening balance didn't affect the final outcome. The gap in strength between the two teams meant that Michigan State could widen the score gap whenever they wanted by putting in just a little effort.

For now, it seemed that letting his players blow off some steam was helping them shake off the sting of their previous blowout loss.

At halftime, to everyone's surprise, the game was tied 31-31.

Han had scored 14 points in the first half, while Suton led with 16 points for Michigan State.

During halftime, Barry University's players were buzzing with excitement.

They knew Michigan State's true strength was far beyond this, but to be tied at the half with a team ranked in the top five of the NCAA was something to be proud of.

"You'll be double-teamed in the second half. Watch your passing speed," Theus reminded Han Sen as they headed out for the second half.

Han Sen nodded and glanced at Theus, noticing a look of yearning in his eyes.

The second half began.

NCAA games are split into two halves, with each half lasting 20 minutes. Barry University had possession to start the second half.

As soon as Han reached the frontcourt, he saw that his defender had switched from Walton to Durrell Summers.

Summers was 1.96 meters tall, with both the size and mobility to match Han Sen.

Instead of attacking with the ball like in the first half, Han made eye contact with O'Neal and signaled him, moving from the baseline to the top of the arc.

O'Neal moved to set a solid screen on Summers.

Rondo saw the opportunity and passed the ball to Han Sen.

It was a classic pindown screen play.

Han caught the ball and quickly rose for a shot.

Swish!

The ball went through the hoop.

"Your speed is even slower than O'Neal's," Han Sen calmly remarked to Suton, who was late on the defensive rotation.

After speaking, he high-fived O'Neal right in front of Suton, whose face turned red in anger.

Though Han Sen was performing well, Suton didn't back down. Instead of demanding the ball in the post again, he ran a pick-and-roll with Lucas.

Lucas, though only 1.85 meters tall, was incredibly fast. He zipped through the defense off the screen and scored with a quick layup.

It was clear that Michigan State had adjusted both their offense and defense in the second half.

A clear signal: they were ready to finish this game.

When Han Sen received the ball again, Michigan State immediately double-teamed him.

Fortunately, he was prepared and passed the ball back to Rondo before the double-team could close in.

Rondo attacked the basket and scored a layup, taking advantage of Suton being out of position.

Theus, on the sidelines, stood up and shouted instructions to the retreating players.

Barry University switched their defense from man-to-man to a 2-3 zone.

Zone defense is often a tool for weaker teams to neutralize stronger opponents, as it creates situations where two defenders can cover one player, thus mitigating the disadvantage of individual matchups.

A 2-3 zone, in particular, is designed to protect the paint.

However, Michigan State, being an elite team, knew how to break a zone defense.

After some quick ball movement, Suton came up to set a screen at the three-point line, giving Lucas a clean look from 45 degrees on the right.

It was a beautiful play to break the zone, except… Lucas missed the shot.

Lucas had a 39% three-point shooting percentage for the season, which was excellent for a point guard known for his drives.

But the key issue was that Michigan State's first-half offense focused on the paint, and Lucas hadn't had any opportunities to shoot from the perimeter. Without rhythm, hitting a three-pointer was difficult.

Most players need regular shot attempts to find and maintain their rhythm.

Theus pumped his fist on the sideline.

He had waited until the second half to implement this strategy, precisely to prevent Michigan State's perimeter players from finding their rhythm.

With Michigan State unable to hit from outside and Theus's zone defense holding firm, an unexpected development occurred on the court.

Breaking a zone defense relies on three-point shooting. The more Michigan State missed, the more Barry University stuck to their zone defense, causing Michigan State to fall into a scoring drought.

Meanwhile, Rondo kept exploiting the space created by Han Sen, scoring several consecutive baskets.

As the game progressed, Barry University started pulling ahead!

About seven minutes into the second half, Barry University led Michigan State 41-34!

Izzo had no choice but to call a timeout.

As the Barry University players came off the court, Theus stood at the scorer's table, giving each of his players a strong high-five.

Han Sen could increasingly feel Theus's passion and desire, and he felt a deep respect for him.

Sure, the current situation was largely due to Michigan State's complacency, but Theus's clever adjustments were brilliant.

In this era, there was no J.J. Redick, and only the truly capable could become NBA head coaches.

During the timeout, Han sat on the bench, listening to Theus's tactical instructions.

But soon, he and the others couldn't help but turn their heads toward the other bench.

Izzo's booming voice echoed through the arena.

You could clearly feel his fury.

After the timeout, Michigan State executed a beautiful play, with Suton slamming down a dunk to end their scoring drought.

Three-point shooting is the most effective way to break a zone defense, but there are other methods, such as exploiting mismatches in specific areas.

Michigan State came back from the timeout with a targeted 1-3-1 formation designed to counter Barry University's 2-3 zone.

After moving the ball around the perimeter, they got it to Moore at the free-throw line- the weak spot in the zone.

Moore had the ability to shoot from there, forcing Barry's big men to step up and guard him, leaving Suton open under the basket.

Aside from tactical adjustments, Michigan State's players were executing with far greater intensity.

Izzo, standing on the sideline, waved his arms and shouted instructions to his players.

It was clear that they could live with a blowout loss to North Carolina- whether by 35 points or one point didn't really matter.

But losing to a Division II team they'd taken for granted? That was something they couldn't accept.

Michigan State's defensive intensity ramped up, and Barry University's offense faltered.

This continued for several possessions, and after Izzo's outburst, Michigan State finally showed their true top-five caliber.

By the 15th minute of the second half, Michigan State had gone on a 15-3 run and taken a 49-44 lead.

During this stretch, Barry University had only managed to score a single three-pointer by Han Sen, and they'd been in a four-minute scoring drought.

Theus had no choice but to call another timeout.

With only five minutes left, these five minutes were effectively a death sentence.

When even the zone defense couldn't stop Michigan State from scoring, their chances of winning had evaporated.