Wildcats & fans are lot for Baylor to bear
ATLANTA — Baylor sophomore guard Brady Heslip already knows what to expect when the Bears take the court against topseed Kentucky Sunday in the NCAA Tournament’s Southeast Region championship game at the Georgia Dome. Hostility. Lots of it. Blue-clad Kentucky fans have turned this city into Cat-lanta, filling most of the seats in this massive stadium.
“I saw it Friday night,” Heslip said. “That’s ridiculous. They’ve got a crazy following. I don't know that they have 35,000 fans (here), but I know they have a lot and they’re loud. But that’s what you live for. I like being the underdog. I've been an underdog my whole life, so being able to play against them and all their fans, it's going to be an amazing opportunity.”
The third-seeded Bears (30-7) have advanced to their second Elite Eight in the last three years and they have already made a fashion statement with their neon-green uniforms. This is their chance to make another statement by beating the Wildcats (35-2), the prohibitive favorites.
“You know we’ve been watching them since the beginning of the season on TV,” Heslip said. “Guys are saying, ‘Man, we would love to play them,’ because we have guys who are just fearless, who want to play the best. We want to compete against the best guys and what better than No. 1 in the country?”
Baylor, which defeated Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament in hostile Kansas City, does not seem to be bothered by its surroundings. The Bears are dangerous because of their length and athleticism up front with 6-11 Perry Jones III, 6-10 Anthony Jones, 6-9 Quincy Miller and 6-7 Quincy Acy. They are a multidimensional team that has the ability to run with the Wildcats or slow them down with their zone defense.
Heslip, who is from Burlington, Ontario and started his college career at Boston College before transferring to Baylor after Eagles coach Al Skinner was fired, has had a breakout tournament. He torched Colorado for 27 points and nine 3-pointers in the third round, then put Xavier away with four free throws in the final 17.3 seconds of a victory in the regional semis.
The 6-2, 180-pound Heslip is a huge perimeter threat that Kentucky will have to be aware of when it attempts to guard the 3-point line against him, Pierre Jackson and Deuce Bello.
“I’ve seen him make more than nine threes in scrimmages,” Acy said. “That’s nothing for him. As long as he does a good job of getting open and as long as we keep setting good screens, I think he can make any shot he shoots.”