During the halftime report of Tuesday night’s broadcast of the Kansas-Duke ‘State Farm Champions Classic’ college basketball game, viewers were more interested in what was happening behind the ESPN crew.
That’s because legendary acrobat Red Panda (Rong “Krystal” Niu) was performing on the court at Madison Square Garden.
Rece Davis, Andraya Carter, Jay Williams, and Seth Greenberg were breaking down the Kansas-Duke game when Red Panda could be seen in the background on a unicycle, catching and balancing bowls.
Red Panda steals the show on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/zqShDXviST
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 19, 2025
When a bowl hit the ground, the Madison Square Garden crowd got loud.
“Is Red Panda getting booed?” a stunned Williams asked.
“Did Red Panda drop one?” Davis asked, as the ESPN crew turned around to watch.
“She’ll make a comeback,” Greenberg said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s early,” Davis responded. “It’s November. Red Panda still has plenty of chances to be a 1-seed.”
As the ESPN cameras then put the focus on Red Panda, she showed off her incredible, unique talents and nailed the bowl-flipping act. Both the crowd and the ESPN crew went wild.
“I told you she would bounce back!” Greenberg exclaimed.
“That’s how you shut ’em up!” Carter added.
“She’s got the range of (Duke star) Isaiah Evans!” Davis said.
Last year, Pablo Torre led a campaign with hopes of getting Red Panda into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Red Panda suffered a broken wrist during a WNBA game in July, but she’s already back on her game in a big way and providing great entertainment.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.