The Final Four

Bacic is consigned to the bench while he recovers his senses. Rice feels the weight of additional responsibility piled on him. The Trojans play through a planned routine but lose possession. McBride knocks past Rice and scores. Rice is worried that he will be expelled for a final foul, but the referee rules against McBride, who now also has only one foul remaining.

With two minutes of overtime left, the television announcer cuts to a pre-recorded interview with Rice and his fiancée. The interviewer asks them about their romance, referring to them as “the First Couple of college sports” (72). Hope explains the chaos and the confusion of the on-court proposal. She says that many companies have reached out to offer free dresses or honeymoons, but Rice points out that he has not accepted any gifts or donations, as regulated by the college sports governing body. Hope talks about her increased fame as a good-luck charm for the team and mentions that, if she and Rice were to have a fight, they would keep their animosity private so as not to affect the team. Rice admits that his recent scoring drought may be affected by the engagement.