INDIANAPOLIS – By halftime of Baylor’s 78-59 victory over Houston in the men’s basketball Final Four on Saturday, it was clear that the two programs, one of the Big 12 and one of the American Athletic Conference, were active on two different levels.
According to research from ESPN Stats & Information, Baylor’s 45-20 lead was the largest halftime lead in a Final Four game in 18 years and the fourth largest in Final Four history. Marcus Sasser had scored 17 runs at that moment. The rest of the Cougars had only recorded three at half time.
Jared Butler finished with 17 points, five players had double digits and Baylor had 46% of his 3-pointers. That is the story of the game.
On Saturday, Baylor did all the things that have made it a national title contender and the game’s most dominant schedule since the start of the 2019-2020 season. The Bears have lost just five games since November 8, 2019.
Baylor is now preparing for a possible match with Gonzaga on Monday – if the Bulldogs can beat UCLA in the second national semi-final on Saturday. In December, Baylor and Gonzaga were due to meet before the match was canceled hours before the tip due to positive COVID-19 testing within Gonzaga’s program.
“They have pros,” Butler said after his team’s victory over Houston. “We have advantages.”
Scott Drew, orchestrator of Baylor’s long-term turnaround for the centuries, said both he and Mark Few agreed – after their match was canceled four months ago, that a meeting at the NCAA tournament may be imminent.
“I know whoever it will be, it’s going to be a hard-fought game,” said Drew on Saturday. Coach Few and I were joking when the game was canceled and we went to the arena and we had a press conference where we said the game was canceled and whatnot. And as we drove back, we were, like, you know what, if we finish Playing this game in the Final Four or the Championship game, that sounds like a better idea, so that was clearly the goal for both of us.
And I know we’re here. And we’ll see if [it’s] Gonzaga or UCLA. … Again, whoever you play is going to be a great match and they are both great teams. “
Since the original game was canceled, the Bulldogs have gone down in history and maintained their immaculate track record in the hunt for the first perfect season in 45 years. Meanwhile, Baylor kept pace with the Bulldogs until a three-week hiatus due to positive coronavirus cases seemed to disrupt the program’s mojo.
Baylor lost to Kansas in their second game back before losing to Oklahoma State in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament. The latter, according to Drew, actually helped Baylor regain his focus.
“We lost to a really good Oklahoma State team in our conference tournament, which was a blessing, looking back, because we could practice and really get better in our defense, which we wouldn’t be in the end. [in the] the second half was not fixed and really did a great job on that part, ”said Drew after his team’s victory over Arkansas in the Elite Eight.
Indeed, this was an unlikely run for Drew in Baylor. When he arrived in 2003, the program was stuck in one of the worst scandals the sport had ever seen. After Carlton Dotson was arrested for murdering teammate Patrick Dennehy, former coach Dave Bliss resigned after an assistant coach caught him on tape making a story about Dennehy that allegedly portrayed him as a drug dealer to investigate the odor. of Bliss to throw off. illegal actions, including improper payments to players, including Dennehy.
“I’m thrilled to be part of the Baylor family,” Drew said at his introductory press conference in 2003. He was hired shortly after Bliss left and Drew was asked to perform a miracle in a program that didn’t Has been. a Final Four since 1950.
In Drew’s third season, Baylor finished 4-13 amid major Bliss-era NCAA penalties, including a ban on non-conference games. After Saturday’s win, he credited the people in his corner for helping him progress after the early challenges at Baylor.
“Well, you’re grinding every day,” Drew said of the Saturday trip. “And you really don’t look back. You just keep pushing forward. And I’m so blessed to have incredible players who bought what we love to do with the program, great assistant coaches who sacrificed so much time,” hard work, sweat to get us here. “
Saturday’s game, however, sealed the program’s first national title game since 1948. It also added a new chapter to Drew’s story.
Baylor was not only a difficult program when he arrived. It was met with an unprecedented series of challenges. But his patience paid off.
Even when his team had to pay the price for a previous coach’s actions, Drew remained positive.
“The light is definitely at the end of the tunnel,” Drew said in 2005.
On Monday, at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Baylor and Drew want to shine again.