Chapter 27: Insatiable People
The first half of the game was perfect for Texas Tech University.
They basically achieved all their pre-game goals, with Xu Ling suppressing his matchup Brandon Rush, and no longer fighting alone like in the first game against Kansas University.
Knight designed many plays for him, letting him hold the ball a lot, and his super strong presence made the opponents double team him heavily.
However, Xu Ling’s mind stayed clear the whole time, attacking when there was an opportunity and passing when there wasn’t. Julius Jackson, Martin Zeno, and others all found their rhythm, making contributions both on outside shooting and inside drives.
The inside, which Knight was most worried about before the game, showed a good face after a poor start, thanks to Xu Ling’s encouragement and motivation.
On the other hand, Kansas University had talent but nowhere to use it.
At halftime, the Red Raiders led 44 to 36, up by 8 points.
Xu Ling’s headshot paired with his stats appeared on the big screen: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.
“Greg Oden is the most talented freshman, Kevin Durant is the freshman best at offense, and Eli…” Dick Vitale gave super high praise, “He is the freshman with the most influence on both offense and defense! In this half, he haunted the Wildcats like a ghost! He’s on offense, he’s on defense, he’s organizing, oh my god, he’s even protecting rebounds inside, he’s everywhere!”
Back in the locker room, Knight praised everyone’s performance but didn’t forget to give a heads-up: “We still have the second half, a full 20 minutes to play! We need to maintain the lead until the end. If we mess up in the second half, the first half’s performance means nothing! Keep doing the right things, stay calm!”
Knight said some absolutely correct nonsense for a coach, but while he was busy pouring chicken soup, he forgot to remind himself that he was the one most likely to lose control at TTU.
Just a few minutes into the second half, the game rhythm visibly changed.
The referee’s whistle started blowing frequently, especially on Texas Tech’s defensive end, appearing extra “sensitive.” Some physical confrontation that was allowed in the first half was now being called repeatedly. The players started holding back, not daring to stick close on defense, and the rhythm became sluggish.
Kansas University noticed this and quickly adjusted their play, repeatedly getting to the free throw line through drives and drawing fouls, shrinking the lead from 8 to 4 points, forcing Knight to call a timeout early.
After the timeout, Texas Tech tried to speed up again, but trouble followed.
During a fast push forward, Xu Ling completed a beautiful spin move drive, and just as he was about to accelerate to the basket, Brandon Rush behind him suddenly grabbed his right arm, with obvious interference that even the sideline crowd could see clearly.
But no whistle blew.
Xu Ling, losing balance, knocked the ball out of bounds, and the referee just emotionlessly signaled “out of bounds.”
For a moment, boos filled the arena. Even Dick Vitale in the analyst seat couldn’t help frowning and saying, “Whoa, that play… I have to say, if that isn’t a foul, we’re gonna have to redefine what ‘physical confrontation’ means.”
Sideline Knight completely lost control.
He stormed to the sideline, arms spread wide, voice hoarse: “Are you fucking blind? He pulled him down! That’s a foul! That’s a damn foul!”
Xu Ling was already preparing to step up and stop the raging old guy, but he was still a step slow.
Knight got angrier, pointing at the referee who missed the call and roaring, “Joseph Morris, I’ve put up with you for over a decade, why don’t you do us a favor and quit?!”
Naturally, no referee can tolerate such an insult.
Knight’s outburst didn’t bring immediate benefits; instead, the referee showed him the yellow card of the basketball court, giving Knight a technical foul.
“F@#￥#@￥”
Xu Ling blocked Knight.
“Let me go!” Knight roared, “I need to teach him how to be a good referee!”
Xu Ling didn’t dare imagine what would happen if he let Knight go.
Fortunately, Knight’s assistant coaches rushed over and restrained him.
Kansas University got two technical free throws. Brandon Rush stepped to the free throw line and made both, closing the score to 44-42.
But according to the rule, possession still belonged to Texas Tech.
The referee signaled a baseline out-of-bounds play, and the game continued.
But the atmosphere had changed.
Although they didn’t lose possession, these free two points, the coach’s anger, and the uncertainty from the whistle scale were quietly eroding the Red Raiders’ rhythm and emotions.
Knight stood at the edge of the coaching bench, gritting his teeth, face ashen. Of course he knew the most important thing now was to control his emotions, but he couldn’t stand seeing their great situation tilt toward the opponent due to changes in referee scale.
Looking at that damn referee, Knight said to his son Little Knight, “Pat, grab me, or I’ll rush up and punch that bastard!”
Little Knight naturally didn’t dare slack off.
On the court, Xu Ling took a deep breath. He knew the opponents’ momentum was up, and if he didn’t find a way to suppress it, the score would be overtaken in a few possessions.
Mario Chalmers, while defending the sideline out-of-bounds play, trash talked with his mouth open: “You TTU guys are centuries away from winning the Big 12 championship!”
Centuries?
Xu Ling gave a slight cold smile.
Young people are the sun at eight or nine in the morning, competing for every moment—who waits centuries?
Xu Ling took the ball, glanced at Brandon Rush in front of him, feeling energy burning inside him. This was a crisis moment; most teams that get reversed lose their spirit not at the moment of reversal, but feeling the momentum gone before it happens.
But that wouldn’t happen to TTU.
“Eli dribbles, drives, WOW!!! What elegant footwork to shake Brandon Rush!!!”
Not only that, the instant Xu Ling dribbled into the paint, Julian Wright had already dropped back, preferring to foul rather than let Xu Ling drive for points.
Xu Ling felt the cylinder violation, but tossed the ball toward the basket as the whistle blew.
The basketball flew toward the rim along everyone’s gaze, hit the front of the rim, bounced once, twice, and then dropped in.
“And one!!!”
“It’s still Eli stepping up in the key moment, steadying the team’s morale!”
“Listen, the whole crowd is cheering for him!”
“Give him an echo, Eli, did you see? The Lone Star State is roaring for you!”
No echo.
Xu Ling stepped to the free throw line and made the and-one, then quickly retreated on defense.
The game had to continue, but some could feel that the game situation, firmly controlled by Kansas University since the start of the second half, was turning into chaos.
Knight shouted from the sideline: “Stay in zone defense, let them shoot threes! They can’t make them, they’re cowards!”
As if to prove Knight right, Kansas University, passing around, finally had Mario Chalmers force a three-pointer.
The basketball “bang” popped off the rim, a long rebound. Before others could react, Xu Ling had leaped up, grabbing the ball firmly with his right hand.
“Those who want to be Big 12 champions, run!”
Xu Ling shouted loudly, teammates responded loudly, and the on-court atmosphere climbed from low to high in just two possessions.
“That guy…” Knight thought he was already immune to Xu Ling’s maturity beyond his years, but seeing him step up in adversity, coalescing the team like a true leader and regaining control of the game, he still felt a surreal daze. “Was he born knowing how to lead a team?”
Xu Ling’s teammates fast broke at full speed.
Julian Wright blocked Xu Ling at the top of the three-point line.
But TTU wasn’t just one firepower point with Xu Ling.
Xu Ling raised his hand and passed to the left side.
Martin Zeno caught the ball, drove in to disrupt the Wildcats’ defense, then passed back to Julius Jackson already set up on the outside.
Jackson, completely overshadowed by Xu Ling, used to be TTU’s best player.
For his opponents, stopping him meant easily beating TTU.
But now, with Xu Ling as the player drawing attention yet steadily contributing, Jackson took time to find his role, and finally, he found it.
That was to comfortably stay under the wings of TTU’s Jordan, contributing his strength without reservation.
Once he understood that, he was still a top national outside scorer.
“Swish!”
Jackson made the three-pointer.
The lead quickly expanded from 2 to 8 points.
Kansas University had to call timeout.
The calmed Knight made an extremely wise call in the timeout: “Good job, kids, you’re playing well! Next, they’ll pressure like at the start, believe me, even rougher than before. Don’t be afraid, confront them! Real men don’t back down here. Stick to our defensive setup, let them shoot threes, control the game rhythm. As long as it’s in our rhythm, they can’t make waves!”
After the timeout, the changes were just as Knight said. With Kansas University struggling in set play offense, intensifying physical play and grinding down TTU’s touch was the best solution.
As long as TTU’s shooting percentage dropped, they could leverage their athletic talent advantage for lots of fast breaks on defense.
Basically, all teams strong in talent but short in technique do this in similar situations.
The game rhythm became extremely slow, with Kansas University wanting to use the full shot clock every possession.
But sluggish offense didn’t mean they had patience.
In reality, Kansas University’s “patience” came from TTU’s outstanding defensive performance.
Xu Ling wrapped Brandon Rush like a heavenly net.
As the main outside attacker, Rush was completely shut down by Xu Ling.
Julian Wright had the best athletic talent on the court, but his rough technique made him unable to operate in tight space.
So in the end, they had to let Mario Chalmers clean up.
Jackson wasn’t good at defense, but with zone defense, he only needed to worry about the opponent’s shot.
After consecutive dribbles, Chalmers jacked up space for a buzzer-beater three-pointer.
This shot let Kansas University breathe easy, but TTU’s fast break was faster than expected.
Knight’s earlier outburst at the referee wasn’t all negative.
The referee’s scale tightened compared to before.
Under high-pressure defense, shooting was tough. Xu Ling dribbled into the paint and drew a foul.
After sideline out-of-bounds play, Xu Ling used a Buddha shake to lift Rush, exploiting the time difference to jump and collide, forcing a miss but drawing a shooting foul from Rush.
In one possession, he drew two fouls from Rush—this was Kansas University’s fourth foul of the second half, and Rush’s personal fourth foul.
“Brandon, you can’t foul anymore!”
Teammates reminded him.
More anxious was Kansas University’s coaching staff. They didn’t dare sub out Rush but worried about him fouling out, so they had Julian Wright switch onto Rush.
“Ju-Ju!” Chalmers yelled Wright’s nickname loudly, “Make those freshman bastards know their place!”
Xu Ling smiled and asked, “Why don’t you do it yourself?”
Chalmers tough-talked: “You’re not worth my effort!”
Xu Ling, with nearly 90% season free throw percentage, made both.
Then came two minutes of scoring drought. Kansas University’s set plays kept missing, Xu Ling missed a catch-and-shoot after off-ball movement, and Dora missed a strong inside shot.
The scoring drought’s tension drained the players’ energy.
Chalmers took a deep breath, called pick and roll, mismatched onto Xu Ling—a bad switch, but it meant TTU’s worst defender on the floor, Jackson, was on the court’s most athletic Wright.
Chalmers’ passing intent was written on his face, so obvious that even sideline fans yelled: “Eli, don’t let him pass to Wright!”
Xu Ling’s defense shifted from on-ball to tight, blocking Chalmers’ pass lane. When forced to pull back, he was already in a dead end.
He looked around frantically, like the ball was a hot potato needing quick disposal.
This mentality told Xu Ling that giving a passing lane now would make Chalmers grab it like a lifeline—and the instant Chalmers passed, Xu Ling’s hand was there, snatching the ball in a flash, turning over possession.
“Eli steals from Chalmers!!!”
The arena erupted like molten lava, deafening. Chalmers’ eyes were bloodshot, chasing desperately. But who believed he could stop TTU’s #1?
No, no one.
Not even his closest family, friends, or anyone still trusting him in the world—at this moment, no one believed he could stop that red blur like wind and lightning.
“Just smash that damn bastard hard!”
Knight swung his fist hard.
But Xu Ling pull-up three-pointered at the three-point line, and the unable-to-adjust Chalmers slid forward unbalanced like a brake-failing scooter.
Xu Ling’s left hand shrugged as if asking “What kind of manners is this?”, then gathered and lazily fired a pull-up three-pointer.
“Swish!!!!!!!”
“Thanks for your concern,” Xu Ling said. “Too bad I’m hard to satisfy.”
As Xu Ling retreated on defense, Knight roared nearby: “You shook him down, why shoot a three? You should’ve driven hard for a dunk! Dunk the damn basket!”
“Coach, you can recklessly argue with the referee, so why can’t I recklessly shoot a three?” Xu Ling said to himself. “Besides, I made it.”
Knight froze in place. Only after Xu Ling ran off did he turn to the assistants: “I really hate that bastard!”
But they couldn’t do without that bastard.
In terms of time, Xu Ling’s pull-up three-pointer wasn’t a game-sealer.
That shot expanded TTU’s lead, but Kansas University still had time.
But from what followed, it was indeed the possession that changed the game’s momentum.
All of Kansas University’s problems stemmed from two points: they couldn’t handle Xu Ling’s defense in the frontcourt, nor his offense in the backcourt.
Brandon Rush was completely exploded, Julian Wright’s rough offense and defense useless in set play, unable to break TTU’s zone defense without stable outside firepower, and powerless against Xu Ling on defense.
Ten seconds later, Xu Ling drew double team and passed to Jackson for another three.
Then Wright drove hard to the basket, drew a foul, and went to the line.
Back on offense, Kansas University, overly focused on Xu Ling, got exploited by Martin Zeno for an easy drive and foul.
Time dwindled, but the lead grew.
With five minutes left, TTU led by 18, basically locking the win.
Excitement filled the court and stands, but Xu Ling seemed unsatisfied.
Kansas University prepared to sub out starters.
Xu Ling received a pass on the outside, made a realistic jab step shooting fake move, lifting Julian Wright.
Darrell Arthur came to help defend. Xu Ling leaped up, his shoe tracing a beautiful arc on the floor, body completing a 360-degree spin in air like an aerial dancer, shaking Arthur’s defense.
Standing under the basket Brandon Rush like a moth to a flame. He never expected Xu Ling to shake Arthur this way, wrong place wrong time—a meaningless touch costing his final foul. Xu Ling’s layup was like improvised poetry, the ball gently spinning on the rim before rolling in.
“OHHH MAMA MIA!!! Eli Xu completes a play of the year candidate in the final minutes! What a magnificent move! Oh my god! The arena is in complete madness!!!”
This heart-shaking moment was Kansas University’s death sentence.
They subbed out their starters.
And Xu Ling didn’t forget what he should do.
Tit for tat is the greatest justice in the world.
As Mario Chalmers was about to exit, Xu Ling lightly passed him but paused deliberately: “Goodbye, hope to see you in March Madness, but looks like winning the Big 12 league championship won’t take centuries.”
Please calculate chase reads, collections, votes—up to yesterday, this book ranks first on the new book list overall. Thanks to everyone’s support, thanks to those who found typos, thanks to everyone voting and giving feedback. Finally, thanks to Little Bear Shrug 7777777, I’m Very Broke, Avalanche Blood Collapse for the rewards.
