Baylor had to wait a year to reach the Final Four — and Houston paid for it

INDIANAPOLIS — If you concentrate on it, nobody waited longer for this than Baylor. Everyone in faculty basketball sorely missed the NCAA Tournament after it was canceled on March 12, 2020. It was a horrible day and a vacant month for so many gamers, coaches and devoted followers. Quite a lot of them moved on, although, by selection or by drive.

Dayton’s Obi Toppin was compelled to enter the NBA Draft, conscious he’d be chosen in a distinguished place, and the Flyers entered a rebuilding season. Kansas heart Udoka Azubuike was out of eligibility, and the Jayhawks adopted with a fantastic season, simply not extraordinary. Gonzaga All-American Filip Petrusev selected to flip skilled in Europe, however the Zags this year have been nice with out him, as they have been the year earlier than (Elite Eight), the year earlier than that (Sweet 16) and the year earlier than that (Final Four).

MORE MARCH MADNESS: Live scores | Updated bracket | TV schedule

Their groups have been the different doubtless No. 1 seeds had final year’s match been bracketed. And then there are the Bears, who hadn’t had a crew like this since 1950, at the very least: Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague and Mark Vital. That quartet, the core of final year’s crew, had taken Baylor basketball to locations it by no means had traveled, and then they had nowhere to go. Once every determined to return for one other season, they promised one another not to let their window shut.

So, no, they weren’t going to squander the alternative to compete in the 2021 Final Four. They’d earned the proper with convincing victories in the first 4 rounds of the match, and though that was a purpose, it was not the purpose. The Bears are adequate to win the NCAA championship. They’ve been adequate to win it for two seasons working. And that’s a lot a a part of the purpose they ran Houston out of the health club, or, truly, Lucas Oil Stadium.

Coach Scott Drew reminded his gamers earlier than tipoff Saturday the three seniors from final year’s crew — Freddie Gillespie, Devonte Bandoo and Tristan Clark — “were in the stands, and how much they wished they had this opportunity, but they were here to cheer us on,” Drew advised Sporting News. “Moments like that make you reflect and think you feel so bad for the guys that didn’t have that opportunity and never will. But at the same time, you feel so fortunate these guys are, this year.”

All-American Jared Butler scored a team-high 17 factors for the Bears of their overwhelming 78-59 victory over the Cougars. His backcourt associate, Davion Mitchell, took turns destroying each Houston guard he opposed. The Bears shot 57 p.c from the subject and 53 p.c on 3-pointers.

BAYLOR-HOUSTON: Scoring updates, highlights from Final Four game

“Being here now, it’s like, ‘Wow: This is what we missed out on last year,'” Butler advised Sporting News the day earlier than the recreation.

Houston received right here by beating 12-seed Oregon State in the regional last, No. 11-seed Syracuse in the Sweet 16 and No. 10-seed Rutgers in the second spherical, and then was reminded how steep the climb might be the farther a crew advances on this occasion. Baylor seemed very a lot the a part of a No. 1 seed on this recreation.

It was no shock Houston would wrestle to rating, however it a was little shocking Baylor’s protection bothered the Cougars as it did. The Bears haven’t been distinctive on D on this match, or in the Big 12 Tournament, or down the stretch on convention play, and even in the weeks earlier than the COVID pause that consumed a lot of their February. Enter Saturday’s recreation, 11 of the previous 15 main opponents to face the Bears scored at the very least a level per possession, dropping their defensive effectivity rank from No. 1 at KenPom.com to No. 44 on Selection Sunday.

The largest decline, in fact, got here following that three-week interruption. Their protection allowed 89 factors to West Virginia in an early-March additional time win for the Bears that clinched the Big 12 common season. They gave up 83 to Oklahoma State in the convention match, together with 25 to All-American Cade Cunningham. Against Villanova in the NCAA Sweet 16, Drew felt compelled to deploy a matchup zone halfway via the second half, and that sufficiently circled the recreation and saved the Bears alive.

Saturday, with level guard Davion Mitchell freshly honored as Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, the total squad selected to embrace what had made the crew nice a year in the past, and early this year, till making baskets turned widespread sufficient that being the nation’s most rugged defensive crew appeared to turn into elective.

Mitchell started the recreation on Houston level guard DeJon Jarreau, the concept being to use Mitchell’s peerless means at the level of assault to boring the initiation of the offense. The Cougars did a fairly good job of that themselves, although, so when guard Marcus Sasser saved them afloat with 4 3-pointers in the first dozen minutes of the recreation, Drew switched Mitchell’s project. That was the final we noticed of Sasser. Or the Cougars.

With All-American Quentin Grimes lacking all 5 of his first-half photographs, Sasser wound up with 17 of the Cougars’ 20 factors at the break.

They weren’t ready to pound Baylor on the offensive boards in the first half as they had Oregon State, as a result of too lots of their misses have been from 3-point vary, which created lengthy rebounds that negated the energy of Justin Gorham, Reggie Chaney and Fabian White. The Bears may need been ready to deal with that, too, however they weren’t compelled to show it.

“I definitely thought even Wisconsin, we played much better. And Villanova, second half, we were really good,” Drew mentioned. “Arkansas we were great in spurts, and good in other areas. And tonight, Houston doesn’t give you anything; you have to be really good. That first half was about as well as any team could play against Houston. I definitely think if we’re not where we were, I can’t see the difference.”

Drew mentioned that telling the Bears final March that the match had been canceled was, for him, like each different coach that anticipated to be in the match, certainly one of the most tough duties he has had to full as a coach.

Hearing that message, Butler described the feeling as being “like a tornado hitting our town and destroying everything. We just couldn’t understand it, couldn’t fathom,” he mentioned. “I don’t think the COVID ending was a big reason why everybody came back. We all explored our options, wanted to see where we were at in our basketball careers. And each one of us thought coming back was the best option. And I think it was the best option, for sure.”

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