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

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

INDIANAPOLIS – If you think about it, nobody waited longer than Baylor. Everyone in college basketball missed the NCAA tournament badly after being canceled on March 12, 2020. It was a terrible day for so many players, coaches and devoted fans. Many of them, however, moved by choice or force.

Dayton’s Obi Toppin was forced to enter the NBA draft, knowing he would be selected in a dominant position, and the Flyers entered a rebuilding season. Kansas center Udoka Ajubuike was out of eligibility, and Jehwax followed with fine weather, not just extravagance. Gonzaga selected All-American Philip Petrasev to become a professional in Europe, but the Zags were great without him this year, as they were before that year (elite eight), that year (Sweet 16) and a year before that (last Four)) belongs to.

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His team was the other potential No. 1 seeds, who took part in last year’s tournament. And then there’s Beers, who hasn’t had a team like this since 1950, at least: Jared Butler, Davian Mitchell, Mako Tiog and Mark Vital. That quartet, the head of last year’s team, took Baylor basketball to places they had never traveled to, and then went nowhere. Once each decided to return for a second season, they promised each other not to close their window.

So, no, they were not missing the opportunity to compete in the Final Four of 2021. He earned the rights with a win in the first four rounds of the tournament, and although it was a goal, it was not aim. The Beers are good enough to win the NCAA Championship. They are enough to win it for two seasons. And this is the very reason they moved Houston out of the gym, or indeed, Lucas Oil Stadium.

Coach Scott Drew reminded his players before tipoff Saturday that three seniors from last year’s team – Freddie Gillespie, Devonte Bandu and Tristan Clarke – “were in the stands, and they wanted them to have this chance, but they gave us Were here to please. ” , “Drew told Sporting News.” Moments like these reflect you and think that you feel very bad for people who didn’t have that opportunity and never will. But at the same time, you think these people are very lucky, this year. “

All-American Jared Butler scored a team-high 17 points for Byers, a massive 78–59 victory at the brink. His backcourt partner, Davian Mitchell, destroyed every Houston guard. The Bears shot 57 percent from the field and 53 percent on 3-pointers.

BAYLOR-HOUSTON: scoring updates, highlights from the last four games

“Being here, it’s like, ‘Wow: This is what we missed last year,” Butler told Sporting News the day before the game.

Houston defeated the 12-seed Oregon State in the regional finals, the No. 16 seed Syracuse in the Sweet 16, and the 10-seed Rutgers in the second round, and were then reminded of how the climb could be a beep as the team advances in the event. Beiler was a part of the No. 1 seed in this game.

It was no shock that Houston would struggle to score, but it was a little surprising that the boiler’s defense bothered the Cougars as he did. The Beers on the D have not been exceptional in this tournament, or in the Big 12 tournament, or stretch on conference play, or even in the weeks before the COVID stoppage that consumed a lot of their February. Enter Saturday’s game, 11 of the last 15 major opponents to face the Bears, scoring at least one point per Sunday, dropping their defensive efficiency rank from No. 1 to No. 44 on selection Sunday on CanPom.com gave.

Undoubtedly, the biggest decline came after three weeks of disruption. His defense gave West Virginia 89 points in early March overtime for the Bears in the opening season of March. He dropped Oklahoma State to 83 in the conference tournament, including 25 All-American Cade Cunningham. Against Villanova in the NCAA Sweet 16, Drew felt compelled to deploy the matchup zone midway through the second half, and that was enough to turn in the game and keep the Beers alive.

On Saturday, point guard Davian Mitchell was hailed as a New Year’s Naismith defensive player, with the entire squad opting to embrace what made the team a year earlier, and earlier this year, until the basket Banana did not become commonplace, which was the most rugged in the country. The defensive team became the alternate.

Mitchell started the game over Houston point guard Dejon Jereau, the idea being to use Mitchell’s heartless ability to slacken the offense’s initiation. However, the Cougars did a very good job of themselves, so when guard Marcus Sasser saved them with four 3-pointers in the first dozen minutes of the game, Drew turned down Mitchell’s job. Last time we saw Sasar. Or cougar.

All-American Quentin Grimes missing all five of his first half shots, with Sassar scoring 17 points with the Cougars’ 17-point break.

They were not able to pound Baylor on offensive boards in the first half as Oregon State, as many of their missiles were from 3-point range, created a prolonged rebellion that negated the power of Justin Gorham, Reggie Chaney Fabian White. The bear may also be able to handle, but they were not forced to prove it.

“I definitely thought of Wisconsin, we played very well. And Villanova, in the second half, we were really good,” Drew said. “Arkansas was great in all of us, and good in other areas. And tonight, Houston gives you nothing; you have to be really good. It’s about the first half as well as any team in Houston. Can play against. I definitely think. If we are not where we were, I can’t see the difference. “

Drew said that telling Beers last March that the tournament was canceled was one of the toughest tasks he had to complete as a coach, just like every other coach to be in the tournament.

Hearing that message, Butler felt that “like a tornado sneaking into our city and destroying everything. We just couldn’t understand it, couldn’t fathom,” he said. “I don’t think that ending COVID was a big reason everyone came back. We all explored our options, wanted to see where we were in our basketball careers. And each of us thought that Coming back was the best option. And I think that was the best option for sure. “

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