He Ximeng ran to the baseline and whispered something to Rutilis, who was preparing to inbound the ball.
Rutilis clearly paused, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the head coach on the sideline.
The head coach, unaware of what He Ximeng had said to Rutilis, assumed he was relaying his own recent tactical instruction: "Give the ball to Tim!"
Thus, the oblivious Dave Odom was still enthusiastically clapping on the sideline, urging everyone to stay focused and win this final possession!
Seeing that the head coach seemed to have no objections, and considering He Ximeng's rather persuasive statement, "The play for Tim is a decoy, trust me," Rutilis decided to follow He Ximeng's plan!
As the referee's whistle blew, Rutilis did not immediately pass the ball to Duncan, who was near the baseline. Instead, he held steady, waiting for He Ximeng, who had been slipping towards the baseline, to make a cut and sprint towards the frontcourt.
Rutilis took a step back and directly hurled the basketball towards the frontcourt!
Dave Odom on the sideline was stunned, clutching his head in disbelief.
"What's gotten into the honest and well-behaved Rutilis? What did He Ximeng say to him?"
In fact, Dave Odom's plan to give the ball to Duncan was not a good choice with a one-point lead.
Even if Duncan made both free throws, the three-point lead would only guarantee Wake Forest's undefeated status.
What if Duncan missed the first free throw... the consequences could be dire!
And what if, as the entire world knew Wake Forest intended to pass to Duncan, Georgia Tech managed to intercept the ball...
In comparison, using Duncan as bait to draw all the opponent's attention, and then wasting the remaining 1.9 seconds through other tactics, was the optimal strategy.
Therefore, He Ximeng did not follow the head coach's instructions but instead devised another play for Rutilis himself.
As both teams' players converged in the backcourt, He Ximeng made a cut and sprinted directly to the frontcourt!
Rutilis did not disappoint He Ximeng and threw a long pass!
He Ximeng received the basketball past the half-court line!
After catching the ball, He Ximeng did not slow down or stop, but directly tossed the ball towards the backboard!
According to the game rules, the timer only starts to run normally after a player touches the ball!
Now, the timer had already started.
He Ximeng followed up with a surge, leaped high, and at the exact moment the final buzzer sounded, caught the rebounding ball and powerfully slammed it into the basket...
The entire stadium erupted!
Although this was not a game-winning shot, it felt like one!
However, the referee jumped in to steal the show, declaring that He Ximeng's dunk was too late! The ball had not left his hand when the countdown light illuminated...
But none of that mattered!
He Ximeng's original goal was to drain the final 1.9 seconds and ensure Wake Forest secured the victory!
75:74!
Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech in the finals, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and securing a direct ticket to the NCAA Tournament's top 68 teams, as a seeded team.
The entire stadium cheered joyously, and all the Wake Forest players immediately mobbed He Ximeng.
Even though He Ximeng's final dunk was disallowed, all his teammates acknowledged the effort...
Amidst the chaos, He Ximeng felt a mischievous hand ruffling his hair...
"Hey, don't mess with my head... my hair... Ugh..."
The scene was too chaotic, the cheers too loud, and He Ximeng's protest was like a small pebble thrown into the vast ocean, unable to create even a ripple...
After the celebrations, He Ximeng, with his hair a mess, questioned Duncan, "Was it you who messed with my hair?"
Duncan vehemently denied it, saying he was embracing the head coach at the time and had no time to mess with his hair...
This case remained unsolved, after all, winning the game was a cause for celebration.
Next came the awards ceremony.
With his all-around performance of 21 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks per game, Duncan was undeniably named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year!
Marbury and He Ximeng had no chance to compete for this award.
Additionally, Duncan was selected for the All-ACC First Team.
Yes, just like the NBA, every collegiate conference selects All-Conference First, Second, and Third Teams!
Meanwhile, He Ximeng emerged as a surprise, with 31 assists in three games, averaging 10.3 assists per game, joining Marbury as the starting guards on the First Team.
The candidates He Ximeng edged out included Georgia Tech's shooting guard Drew Barry and North Carolina's shooting guard Carter...
Besides Duncan, Marbury, and He Ximeng on the First Team, the two forwards were Harrellin from Georgia Tech and Jamison from North Carolina.
Wake Forest University might have only had one player, Duncan, selected for the All-Conference team previously. Now, with He Ximeng added, their overall strength had significantly improved...
After the individual awards, the championship trophy ceremony commenced.
Watching the Wake Forest players singing and dancing on the championship podium, the defeated Georgia Tech team could only look on with envy from the sidelines.
In North American competitive sports culture, the ultimate championship is highly valued!
If the championship is gold, then the runner-up is grass... the treatment is largely the same as for teams eliminated earlier, quite unfortunate...
However, even though Georgia Tech lost the conference finals, their path to the tournament was not entirely closed.
As one of the largest conferences in the nation, the ACC committee typically grants at least 1-2 at-large bids, and potentially 3-4.
As this year's runner-up, Georgia Tech had a very high probability of receiving an at-large bid!
This meant that Marbury's NCAA journey would continue this year!
Before leaving the court, Marbury vowed to Duncan and He Ximeng that they would meet again in the championship tournament!
However, according to NCAA tournament rules, it is actually quite difficult for teams from the same conference to meet again in the tournament!
First, the committee will try its best to place teams from the same conference in different regions!
The 68 teams entering the NCAA tournament are roughly divided into four regions based on their university locations: East, West, Southeast, and Midwest.
Each region has 17 teams. The last two teams, 16th and 17th, will play an additional game beforehand, known as a "play-in game," essentially giving the last-place team a chance to determine the true 16th seed.
Then, starting from the second round, it becomes a 64-team to 32-team, 32 to 16, 16 to 8, and 8 to 4 advancement.
The teams that reach the Final Four are essentially the champions of the four regions, hence the name "Final Four"!
Therefore, for two teams from the same conference to typically meet in the NCAA tournament, they would both need to win their respective regional championships and become one of the "Final Four"!
This difficulty is indeed not ordinary...
The probability of this happening is truly not ordinary...