mountain top

Chapter 27 March Madness (New book, please collect monthly tickets and recommend tickets!)

On March 3, the NCAA selection committee announced on television the participating teams, seed rankings, and the matchups that fans were most concerned about for the 14/03 March Madness season.

Although they lost in the ACC Championship, the Demon Deacons still qualified for March Madness as expected.

Just at the moment when the match table is released.
Among the players of the Demon Deacon team who were waiting for the results in the training hall that day, except Qin Yue, Paul and Gray, the faces of the others were not looking good.

As we all know, the NCAA March Madness games are usually divided into East-Regional, South-Regional, West-Regional, and Midwest-Regional based on geography, that is, the four divisions of East, South, West, and Midwest.

Generally speaking, when allocating schedules to each conference, the NCAA selection committee makes allocations based on the schools' geographic location and seeding order.

This can not only save the participating teams from long journeys, but also save the supporters of each team from long journeys.

This season, the locations responsible for hosting the four major divisions are Atlanta, East Rutherford, Phoenix and St. Louisville.

From a geographical point of view, unless something unexpected happens, Wake Forest should be assigned to the Atlanta or East Rutherford division.

However, in the process of allocating the schedule by the NCAA selection committee, they had to try to avoid having too many teams from the same league in a certain division, and the selection committee also had to balance the strength between the various divisions. Therefore, after failing to get the top seed in the ACC, the Demon Deacons were unfortunately "exiled" to the Phoenix division, thousands of kilometers away from Winston-Salem.

In Qin Yue's previous life, in 2024, the North Carolina Tar Heels had a similar experience. At that time, they were in the ACC league and were exiled to Los Angeles, thousands of kilometers away.

And what's worse than being exiled is that Wake Forest is the No. 3 seed in the Phoenix Conference this year.

This means that according to the schedule, on their way to the Elite Eight, they must defeat Qin Yuejili, the eventual champion of this year's NCAA:
— Connecticut Huskies.

How strong is this Connecticut team historically?
In fact, even many years later, when people look at the roster of this Connecticut team, they can't help but sigh that they simply formed an NBA team to bully the weak teams in college basketball.

If Qin Yue remembered correctly, there were six players in the current Connecticut team who would play in the NBA in the future.

And two of them are top combat-ready players who can immediately become the backbone of their respective teams after entering the NBA.

They are Emeka Okafor, the favorite for the No. 04 pick in the draft and currently ranked first among all college players in the United States.

And Ben Gordon, who has never fallen out of the top ten in the draft rankings predicted by major media.

In addition, Charlie Villanueva, the "browless warrior" who will follow his two senior brothers into the NBA in the future, Hilton Armstrong, the 06 lottery pick, Marcus Williams, the 06 first-round pick, and Josh Boone, the 06 first-round pick,
It is no exaggeration to say that if the marketing element is removed, this Connecticut team with its strong men on average is even more outrageous than the "North Carolina Four" in Qin Yue's memory next year.

They have a balanced team with two NCAA superstars.

Even in the long history of the NCAA, they are a rare super team without any shortcomings.

Therefore, when the final matchup list was released, combined with the schedule, the other players of the Demon Deacon team looked embarrassed.

As for Qin Yue, Paul, and Gray.
To be honest, when they saw the matchup table, their thoughts at that moment were roughly as follows:

Now that it’s March Madness, does it matter who we play against?

……

On the second day after the selection day, before the expedition to Phoenix City, Qin Yue reviewed his recent progress through the [Mountain Top] system and made a rough assessment of his current strength in his mind.

By March, Qin Yue's barefoot height had grown to 208 cm and his arm span had grown to 228 cm.

Currently, he has controlled his weight at around 121 kilograms, and through recent strength-enhancing training, he has increased his strength attribute to 81.

In addition, Qin Yue's basic skills attributes have all increased to varying degrees over the past period of time.

However, on the whole, he is still an athletic power forward who relies on his physical talents to play.

Qin Yue didn't feel ashamed about this.

Because the dynamic talent of this body was activated bit by bit through sweat.

In fact, if we take into account the poor basic skills of the original owner of this body, which forced Qin Yue to start training from scratch, the progress he has made in the past nine months can only be described as rocketing.

Yes, you heard that right.

Since Qin Yue was unable to bring his muscle memory from his previous life into this life after traveling through time, you can fully understand that it took him only 9 months to reach his current height.

It is true that during the weight loss period, Qin Yue obtained a total of 12 potential bonuses, which made his basketball talent quietly reach a new level, but without his firm will and his unswerving love for basketball, how could Qin Yue have come this far?

Now, he is a respected NCAA inside star.

Before the start of March Madness, in the preview of Sports Illustrated, guest columnist Brian Smith commented on Qin Yue: "From November last year to March this year, we have witnessed how he has improved.

I don't know if he is ready for a big fight in March Madness, but I have to remind him that he has changed from an attacker to a defender. In the next March Madness, he must do his best to defend his throne.

Because the princes from other alliances will continue to challenge him."

After completing all the ACC games this season with the team, Qin Yue has won several titles:
ACC League Best Newcomer in the 03/04 season. (Note ①)

ACC League Best Defensive Player in the 03/04 season.

Member of the ACC All-Star Team in the 03/04 season.

Member of the ACC All-Defensive Team in the 03/04 season.

"It would have been great if he hadn't missed his freshman year." That day, before the team set off, Victor said to Prosser with a look of regret.

Hearing this, Prosser smiled and said, "But if he hadn't wasted that year, how could he have such a strong heart?"

There is no turning back in life.

In Prosser's eyes, Qin Yue at this moment is the best Qin Yue.

……

On the evening of the 15th, he arrived in Phoenix by plane and checked into the hotel smoothly. After arriving at his own room, Qin Yue opened the [Mountain Top] system again and went to the badge wall that only he could see.

After a season of hard work, Qin Yue has now lit up four badges on this wall: [Genius in the Paint Area], [I am Sakuragi Hanamichi], [Thunder Half Moon Slash], and [Iron Wall].

As the first hidden task that Qin Yue successfully triggered, he modified his shooting action since last summer. It was not until the last day of the regular season that he successfully met the corresponding conditions to obtain the [Thunder Half Moon Slash] badge.

In this regard, after completing the task, Qin Yue discovered that compared to scoring 50 goals using the new shooting action in the official game, the proficiency in the new shooting posture determined by the system was the most difficult hidden level to complete.

However, after carefully recalling his shooting scenes from November last year to March this year, Qin Yue was very clear that the [Mountain Top] system was still as reasonable and fair as ever in this judgment.

After all, Qin Yue's trebuchet-like shot at the beginning seemed to be possessed by Jokic's soul.
No matter how you look at it, it can't be connected to [Thunder Half Moon Slash].

"【Thunder Half Moon Slash】: After the host completes a certain number of shots on the court, the impact of the host's shooting caused by the cold hand can be slightly reduced."

When Qin Yue obtained the [Thunder Half Moon Slash] badge, he actually wanted to complain that this badge should be renamed the "Kobe Bryant" badge.

Because judging from the effect of this badge, it is simply encouraging oneself to commit crimes during the game.

Although Kobe has a famous saying in the NBA that even if the first ten shots are missed, the shooter must keep shooting.

But in Qin Yue's opinion, this theory is just Kobe making excuses for himself.

Because considering Kobe's ability to break through, couldn't he have chosen to break through and draw a foul after missing his fifth shot?

Haha, if you want to be a blacksmith, you have to find such a fresh and unconventional reason for yourself.

You are worthy of it, Kobe!
"【Iron Wall】: When the host performs a pick-and-roll on the court, if the host's pick-and-roll is executed impeccably, there is a certain probability that the 'Perfect Pick-and-Roll' effect will be triggered.

This effect can slightly increase the host and teammates' offensive attributes after completing a pick-and-roll."

Like the [Thunder Half Moon Slash], this [Iron Wall] badge also requires the system to determine whether one has completed a successful pick-and-roll on the court. Qin Yue didn't get it until the end of the season.

Although, in Qin Yue's memory, he has definitely completed more than a hundred successful pick-and-rolls this season, but considering the fairness of the [Mountain Top] system, Qin Yue did not choose to question it.

just
After reading the specific effects of [Iron Wall], Qin Yue discovered that the tumor badge of [Thunder Half Moon Slash] was completely opposite to the one of [Thunder Half Moon Slash].
[Iron Wall] is like a team badge.

As long as you execute the pick-and-roll well on the court, this badge will enhance both yourself and your teammates once it is triggered.

As a perfect team player, in Qin Yue's eyes, this badge was tailor-made for him.

this day
After checking all the ammunition in his arsenal like he did before going to the battlefield, Qin Yue quickly fell asleep.

And the next morning.
With the arrival of a new day, this year's March Madness has officially begun!
……

Note ①: Just like the NBA, since Qin Yue did not have any appearances in his freshman year, he can still participate in the selection of the best newcomer. (Reference case: Griffin was reimbursed for his rookie season, but was successfully elected as the NBA's best newcomer in the second year)

PS: I’m begging for collection, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets for my new book!

(End of this chapter)