Hearing the thunderous cheers, the immense sound wave in the 72,000-seat stadium made Kayce a little excited.
Taking a deep breath, Kayce silently thought, "I am the boss," and entered the court with a calm expression.
When the arena DJ called out Kayce's name, UCLA fans began to cheer loudly.
For this player who had an excellent performance last year and an amazing showing in this year's tournament, supporters certainly wouldn't be stingy with their voices.
Kayce had many fans, mostly female. With his sunny and handsome looks, sharp and well-defined features, and an incredibly athletic physique, many girls liked him.
Kayce high-fived his teammates one by one. After the opening song performance concluded, Coach Ben began to give his final instructions to his players.
"Let's take a look at the starting lineups. As expected, UCLA's interior players haven't changed. It seems the University of Connecticut will have the early advantage!"
Smith immediately started firing off criticisms after seeing the starting lineup.
"You should look at UCLA's backcourt combination. With Collison and Holiday on defense, I don't think Price will be able to effectively organize the team's offense. He'll be tightly guarded."
Reggie Miller countered sharply.
As the live commentators exchanged verbal jabs, the game officially began.
"A no-brainer jump ball, haha, Thabeet is too tall. I feel like I'm seeing Yao." Smith began to hype up the star player.
"Height doesn't win you games. Basketball requires putting the ball in the hoop." Reggie Miller retorted again.
"The University of Connecticut's tactics are very simple. Thabeet is in position, wow, an easy layup! I don't think he faced any interference!"
Smith exclaimed again.
"UCLA's defense wasn't in position. They shouldn't have let the big man receive the ball so deep!" Reggie Miller's commentary was spot on.
Kayce also noticed this. His interior teammates were too nervous when facing Thabeet, leading to a failed defense and an easy score.
The University of Connecticut's cheer squad was hyped, howling and cheering for their big man!
Kayce signaled Collison to run a standard Spain pick-and-roll. With 35 seconds on the shot clock, they didn't need to rush. A good start would help his teammates perform.
By the knockout stage, physical confrontation had already escalated. Lose and go home; no one wanted to be the opponent's stepping stone.
Kayce began to pop out after using an off-ball screen from an interior role player. The screen quality wasn't high, and there was no immediate open shot after he received the ball beyond the three-point line.
Lowering his center of gravity, he drove with his left hand, attracting the defender before passing the ball to Holiday. Holiday then dribbled and handed it off to Collison.
With the five-man setting a high pick-and-roll screen, Thabeet chose to drop back and defend the paint instead of stepping out, which created an opportunity for Collison after the screen.
Without hesitation, he shot a three-pointer directly.
"Clang!" It clanked off the rim, and Thabeet collected the defensive rebound.
"A good outside opportunity. Thabeet was deep in the paint; UCLA's perimeter players can attack that." Reggie Miller said with some regret.
The University of Connecticut's tactics were much simpler. If Thabeet got good post position, they'd pass him the ball directly. If not, they'd start a pick-and-roll.
Price dribbled, and Thabeet came over to set a pick-and-roll. Although the quality wasn't high, it successfully delayed Collison's defense.
Taking advantage of the defensive rotation not being in place, he took a mid-range jump shot, scoring 2 points.
This small guard still had some skills. Collison signaled that it was his fault, and Kayce clapped to encourage his teammates.
The University of Connecticut's cheer squad had a lively atmosphere, with various shouts rising and falling.
Collison signaled his teammates to continue the same tactic. This time, Holiday found an opportunity after a pick-and-roll.
But after a moment of hesitation, he chose to drive, and facing the tall Thabeet, he was forced to stop his dribble.
Kayce quickly took the ball, leaned into his defender, accelerated his dribble, and pulled up for a mid-range jump shot. Using his height and arm length, he shot over the interference.
"Swish!" The ball went cleanly through the net, scoring UCLA's first points.
UCLA supporters in the arena began to cheer. The team had a tough start, but as long as they scored, they were happy.
"Kayce's beautiful mid-range shot. His shooting form looks a bit like Michael's, buddy, what do you think?" Smith seized the opportunity to tease Reggie Miller.
"There are still differences. I think it looks more like mine. UCLA's tactics actually didn't succeed. You can tell the young guys are a bit nervous."
Reggie Miller watched the game with full concentration.
Thabeet successfully got post position again, backing down his interior defender and putting the ball in directly, also earning a chance for an extra free throw.
"Clang!" The free throw missed, and Kayce fought hard to secure the rebound. Fortunately, the big man's skills were very rough; otherwise, his free throws might have killed the game.
Collison signaled his teammates to speed up the offensive pace, and after a pick-and-roll, he directly accelerated past Thabeet.
"Slap!" He couldn't even dodge it. Thabeet successfully defended the play with his height advantage.
Price dribbled and accelerated, a fast break, a solo drive for a layup, and the University of Connecticut scored another 2 points.
Coach Ben looked at the situation on the court with some anxiety. They couldn't score, and the opponent was crashing the boards, limiting their offense to half-court sets.
They couldn't generate fast break opportunities; the situation was a bit bad.
Kayce knew the team needed to score first to help his teammates adapt to the game's rhythm.
Through an off-ball screen from an interior player, Collison found Li Ze, who cut along the baseline for a reverse layup, avoiding the defense to score.
"Excellent off-ball movement, and Collison's pass was great. UCLA needs this kind of offense." It was Reggie Miller's moment to praise.
Unfortunately, the University of Connecticut then resumed their pick-and-roll tactics, scoring easily.
UCLA's offense was clanking off the rim, and Thabeet was dominating the defensive rebounds, allowing the opponent to go on an 8-0 run.
With 7 minutes and 36 seconds left in the first half, Coach Ben called a timeout. The old man felt he had called it a bit late; continuous lost rebounds were too damaging to the team.
"Rebounds, rebounds! We have to secure the rebounds! Everyone has to participate! Collison, Holiday, speed up the offensive pace! Off-ball screens need to be effective! Kayce, attack more decisively! Show some energy!"
Coach Ben began to roar, trying to pump up his players. Actually, everyone was already trying their best on rebounds. The team's backup interior players had limited ability, but rotation was essential. The starting interior player had to match Thabeet's minutes.
Unfortunately, there was indeed some disparity in the strength of the two teams' interior players.
Kayce encouraged his teammates, "Pressure their ball-handler! Don't let them receive the ball comfortably! Holiday, show what you can do! Go for it, brother!"
Holiday patted his chest, indicating he understood. He was already starting to adapt to the noisy atmosphere.
After the timeout, UCLA's perimeter players began to increase pressure on the ball-handler, while also speeding up their own offensive pace.
On a fast break, Kayce received the ball beyond the three-point line. Without hesitation, he shot directly.
"Swish!" The ball went cleanly through the net, scoring 3 points.
Following this, physical contact between the two teams began to increase, and free throw attempts also rose. They frequently stepped to the free-throw line, going back and forth, and UCLA narrowed the score.
With 28 seconds left in the first half, Coach Ben signaled a full-court press.
Holiday desperately pressured the ball-handling Price. Just past half-court, Price committed a turnover, being directly stolen face-to-face. After the steal, Holiday drove straight to the opponent's basket, with the slower Thabeet just getting back on defense.
Kayce also began to accelerate at this moment. He knew that as long as he got into position, Holiday's pass would come.
UCLA's cheering section was already erupting, a fast break with numbers advantage, and they could further reduce the deficit.
Holiday made a bounce pass while moving. Kayce received the ball one step in front of the free-throw line, took a gather step, jumped off both feet, and flew directly towards Thabeet.
Thabeet jumped to block him head-on. After their collision, Kayce's left arm evaded his hand in mid-air, and he slammed it down with one arm!
"CRASH!" Kayce pounded his chest and roared after landing! At the same time, he felt a coolness in his mind.
"A crazy poster dunk! My God, Kayce dunked on Thabeet!" Smith's voice cracked directly at the commentary table!
The entire stadium immediately exploded! Everyone was excitedly shouting.
At this point, the first half ended, 40-36, with UCLA temporarily trailing, but the second half of the game was destined to be spectacular.