One Standing: Baylor's Magical Run to the National Championship

ONE S TANDING

BAY LOR’

S M

AGICA L RU N TO THE NAT IONA L CH A MPIONSHIP

ONE S TANDING

On the cover

FRONT COVER Baylor players and coaches celebrate after the championship game against Gonzaga in the men’s NCAA Tournament on April 5, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Baylor won 86-70. AP PHOTO/DARRON CUMMINGS

BACK COVER Baylor head coach Scott Drew cuts down the net while celebrating his Bears’ Big 12 championship following the game on March 7, 2021, at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. ROD AYDELOTTE/WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD

Copyright © 2021 by Pediment Publishing in partnership with the Waco Tribune-Herald

All Rights Reserved • ISBN: 978-1-59725-973-6 No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.

Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. • www.pediment.com Printed in Canada.

This book is an unofficial account of the Bears’ 2020–21 season and is not endorsed by the NCAA or Baylor University.

INTRODUCTION

Baylor Bears overcame unique obstacles in dominant national championship run

BY JOHN WERNER, WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD • APRIL 6, 2021

For Scott Drew’s veteran basketball team, the sacrifices were many but the payoff was a place in history.

After four weeks in a bubble that began at the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Baylor exited isolation triumphantly with the program’s first national championship Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

No other college basketball champion has ever faced the obstacles this year’s NCAA Tournament field had to endure.

But after the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the NCAA pulled it off and the Bears were the last team standing after romping to an 86-70 win over previously unbeaten No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga.

“I think it’s harder to win it this year than ever before with the stoppages and testing, and the sacrificing of your social life just so you can play basketball games,” said Baylor guard

Jared Butler, the NCAA Tournament’s most outstanding player. “Having no fans sometimes, it’s just hard to get up sometimes for these games. And I’m just so thankful that we were able to play and the tournament still goes on. It was really cool to say we did that in the midst of adversity, in the midst of tribulations, and to bring it home for Baylor, it’s amazing.”

Though NCAA Tournament attendance was limited due to COVID-19 protocol, Baylor fans knew how big the moment was and showed up in force with vocal cords ready for delirious cheering.

They were loud throughout the championship game, and the Bears showed their appreciation by hopping on tabletops at courtside and recognizing them after the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“It was good to see the Baylor fans to be able to celebrate and cheer, and

to see the city of Waco be able to celebrate,” Drew said.

Finishing with a 28-2 record, the Bears felt fortunate to stay in the bubble while other teams’ bubbles burst.

Following an 83-74 loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament semifinals, defensive improvement was at the top of Baylor’s priority list. Following a three-week COVID-19 lockdown in February, Baylor’s defense didn’t play at its usual intense level despite clinching the Big 12 title with a 94-89 overtime win against West Virginia on March 2 in Morgantown.

Finally with some time to schedule numerous practices, the Bears worked on improving defensive communication and getting back to the tenacious man-to-man defense that helped them go 17-0 before the COVID-19 pause.

“We came back and played six games in 14 days, so you were just basically playing, recovering, prepping but no

practicing,” Drew said. “And at the end of the day, you can’t be good at defense and not practicing for three weeks, four weeks, five weeks. Once we lost in the Big 12 tournament, we were able to practice for the first time where we could really get better.

“Our players really bought in. They really practiced hard, competed hard, and because of that our defensive rotations and defensive close-outs have really gotten so much better, and obviously a lot more similar to what they were prior to the pause.”

Just as important, the Bears spent time in the bubble growing closer as a team. When they weren’t playing games or practicing, they were hanging out and eating together. They found games to play like Connect Four and cornhole and watched movies together.

“It’s really like a family,” Butler said. “When I talk about a family, like a group of brothers, after 30 days in the bubble, you start to not want to be around each other. You’re around dudes all day. It’s hard. We got through it. We loved each other. We did everything together.”

Not everything went smoothly for the No. 1-seeded Bears once the NCAA Tournament began March 19 against No. 16 Hartford in the South region opener. Showing some early jitters, the Bears couldn’t find the basket. But Baylor pulled away as the game progressed. MaCio Teague scored 22 points to romp to a 79-55 win. With Matthew Mayer coming off the

bench for 17 points and six rebounds, the Bears rolled to a 76-63 win over No. 9 Wisconsin in the second round.

The Bears showed their versatility against No. 5 Villanova. After hitting two of 12 3-pointers, the Bears trailed 30-23 at halftime. They switched their approach in the second half as they relentlessly attacked the basket and turned up the defensive pressure to outscore the Wildcats by 18 points in the second half to grab a 62-51 win.

In the final three games, the Bears got off to energetic, torrid starts. They hit 15 of their first 21 shots in an 81-72 win over No. 3 Arkansas in the Elite Eight. Playing their second straight old Southwest Conference rival in the Final Four semifinals, the Bears took Houston completely out of its offense to build a 45-20 halftime lead. Butler burned the Cougars for 17 first-half points while Davion Mitchell collected 12 points and 11 assists with no turnovers en route to a 78-59 blowout.

“That’s the best team that I’ve seen in the seven years I’ve been at Houston,” said Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson. “They’re really, really good. I keep going back to them: Butler, Mitchell, Teague, (Adam) Flagler, Mayer. I don’t think I’ve seen a team with five guards at that level. No drop off, and they’re good at both ends.”

In the national championship game, Baylor’s defense played with tremendous energy from the tipoff and took Gonzaga’s offense out of its rhythm.

Meanwhile, the Bears nailed their first five 3-pointers as they shot out of the gates for a 29-10 lead.

Butler finished with 22 points and seven assists while Teague scored 19, and Mitchell collected 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Fifth-year senior forward Mark Vital keyed Baylor’s defense as he pulled down 11 rebounds and made two steals.

“We’re really good defensively, and I thought we made things tough,” Drew said. “Gonzaga missed some shots that they probably normally make. But credit our guys for making everything difficult. (Baylor assistant) Coach John Jakus was on their staff there and obviously familiar with the program. He had a great scouting report. Credit the players then for executing it.”

The Bears showed their dominance by outscoring six NCAA Tournament opponents by 15.3 points per game. Their ball handling was near flawless with only 7.9 turnovers per game. In the last three games, the Bears hit 29 of 62 3-pointers.

Baylor’s defense limited opponents to a 43.4 shooting percentage while forcing 15.7 turnovers per game.

“I can tell you in the coaching fraternity getting to a Final Four, very similar to winning a national championship, there’s usually some luck that goes into that,” Drew said. “And we didn’t even have to be lucky because our guys were so dominant this entire tournament.”

OPPOSITE March 2020 would have been Scott Drew’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance before COVID-19 shut down the Bears’ legitimate dream of making their first Final Four since 1950.

ERNESTO GARCIA/WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD

REGULAR SEASON

Baylor coach Scott Drew, center, leads a huddle during a timeout in the second half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Stephen F. Austin in Waco, Texas, Dec. 9, 2020. AP PHOTO/TONY GUTIERREZ

BAYLOR GAME LEADERS

OPPOSITE Baylor’s MaCio Teague celebrates from the bench after a teammate made a 3-point shot against Louisiana-Lafayette during the second half on Nov. 28, 2020, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. AP PHOTO/JOHN LOCHER

Top-seeded Baylor men overcome jitters for 79-55 NCAA win over Hartford in first round

BY JOHN WERNER, WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD • MARCH 19, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS — Perhaps it was NCAA Tournament jitters or the lingering effects from a COVID-19 pause that took Baylor away from basketball for three weeks in February.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t a good look for a No. 1 seed.

Despite finding numerous wideopen shots, the Bears missed 11 of their first 14. But after the Bears found their shooting touch, there was no stopping them in a 79-55 win over No. 16-seeded Hartford in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium.

After last year’s NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Bears (232) didn’t let a cold start shake them. They nailed 12 of their last 17 shots in the first half to open up a 37-21 halftime lead and kept stretching it throughout the second half to romp to the win over Hartford (15-9), which

was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance.

“Coming into this tournament, I knew teams would be nervous,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew. “A lot of guys didn’t play in the tournament last year, a lot of guys it was the first time in the tournament. We’ve been here for a little bit and anticipation was high. I thought the beginning of the game that was indicative and maybe why teams got off to a slower start offensively.”

The Bears advanced to the second round Sunday at 1:40 p.m. against No. 9 Wisconsin (18-12), which beat No. 8 North Carolina, 85-62, in the first round. The game will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and televised on CBS.

Making his first NCAA Tournament appearance following his transfer from North Carolina-Asheville, MaCio Teague had the hot hand for the Bears with a team-high 22 points as he hit

four of eight 3-pointers and made numerous impressive drives to the basket. With 11 first-half points, Teague was instrumental in getting the Bears untracked.

“We started getting clean rebounds and we converted a few times, I think in transition,” Teague said. “A couple guys saw the ball go through the net, we got a string of good offensive possessions and we made the shots that we were getting earlier in the game.”

Jared Butler, Mark Vital and Flo Thamba brought some NCAA Tournament experience after playing for Baylor’s 2018-19 team that reached the second round in Salt Lake City.

Butler struggled with his shooting as he hit one of eight 3-pointers but still finished with 13 points and nine assists while sparking the defense with five steals. Thamba contributed five points, four rebounds and a blocked shot.

Vital picked up two fouls in the first

OPPOSITE Baylor’s Mark Vital (11) celebrates a teammate’s score late in the second half. AP PHOTO/MARK HUMPHREY

ABOVE Baylor forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua celebrates after scoring against Hartford during the first half. AP PHOTO/MARK HUMPHREY

71 seconds of the game and fouled out with 14:19 left in the second half when he was called for a foul and a technical.

One of Baylor’s biggest goals in the NCAA Tournament opener was to get back to the intense, aggressive defense it had played before the COVID-19 shutdown. In the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament, Baylor players didn’t communicate with each other well and left a lot of Oklahoma State shooters

guys for working hard this past week. Sometimes you go into a tournament and worry about getting injured and you try to save yourself. Those guys knew we had to get better and we really got after it, and I thought it showed that we made some improvements today.”

Baylor’s bench was also productive after performing erratically following the return from the COVID-19 pause.

Adam Flagler buried three of five 3-pointers and scored 12 points while Matthew Mayer collected eight points, nine rebounds and two steals. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua finished with four points, three rebounds and a steal.

“We need everybody to give us something,” Drew said. “That’s the great thing about a bench and having a starting rotation. We got a lot of different guys who can score 20. It’s not going to be your night every night, so you have to have other people capable of stepping up. Adam got in a nice rhythm, had a lot of good looks.”

open in an 83-74 loss on March 12.

But after getting in several good practices during the past week, the Bears played superb defense against the Hawks, who shot 35.2 percent and committed 24 turnovers.

“Defensively, a lot of the rotation mistakes, a lot of our one-on-one, being able to contain the ball was just a lot better and we were a lot sharper, a lot crisper,” Drew said. “I really credit the

With both teams getting off to sluggish starts offensively, the Hawks took a 14-13 lead before Butler hit Tchamwa Tchatchoua with an alley-oop pass for a dunk with 7:33 remaining in the first half to kick off a 7-0 run.

“I thought the nerves kind of calmed down and we were able to get into transition and the guards were really sharing the ball well, getting good looks,” Drew said. “Once we got a couple of breakaways, Jon had that dunk, I thought the guys started to relax and felt a lot more comfortable. At the same time, we were feeling more

comfortable on the offensive end, I thought defensively we kept up our pressure and intensity.”

Flagler buried a 3-pointer before Mayer stole the ball and passed to Tchamwa Tchatchoua to give the Bears a 20-14 lead.

“He (Tchamwa Tchatchoua) does a great job coming off the bench with the amount of energy that he brings,” Teague said. “He runs the floor hard, he tries to block shots, he rebounds the ball well for us. I felt like his energy really picked us up a lot.”

Though Miroslav Stafl and Traci Carter nailed 3-pointers for the Hawks, the Bears kept pushing the ball inside.

Butler drove for a pair of baskets and hit two free throws while Davion Mitchell scored on a layup en route to a 12-point, six-rebound performance.

Teague made some key plays when he nailed a 3-pointer and scored on a pair of drives to lift the Bears to a 37-21 halftime lead.

Teague and Mitchell opened the second half with 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 43-21 and the Hawks never

threatened as the Bears found a lot more offensive consistency.

Even when Vital fouled out early in the second half, Baylor’s intensity never waned.

“I just feel like we have a next man up mentality,” Teague said. “We feel that the guys on the bench are as good as the guys on the floor. We just had to stick together at a time like that. While Mark was out of the game, he was cheering us on as well as anybody has done this year.”

LEFT Baylor players gather together after beating Hartford.

AP PHOTO/MARK HUMPHREY

MARCH 21, 2021 | BAYLOR 76 • WISCONSIN 63 | INDIANAPOLIS | SECOND ROUND

OPPOSITE Baylor players Mark Vital (11) and MaCio Teague (31) celebrate after a 76-63 win over Wisconsin in a second-round game in the NCAA Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, March 21, 2021.

AP PHOTO/MICHAEL CONROY