Baylor’s championship a win for all of Texas.
Bears dominate from start to give Gonzaga only loss
Eighteen years ago Scott Drew took over a scandal-soaked Baylor basketball program lower than the murkiest depths of the Brazos River, and on Monday the Bears scaled the highest cliff of college basketball.
Baylor jumpe on Gonzaga from the start and did not let up, defeating the Bulldogs 86-70 in the NCAA Tournament championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“You don’t get these opportunities often,” a jubilant Drew said late Monday. “When you do, you have to make the most of them.
“We were on a mission to make the most of it.”
The merciless Bears (28-2) kept Gonzaga (31-1) from becoming the first team since Indiana in 1976 under coach Bob Knight to finish as undefeated national champions.
“A really tough one to end a storybook season on,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “But Baylor just beat us — they beat us in every facet of the game.”
Baylor is the second team from Texas to win a national title, joining the 1966 Texas Western (now Texas-el Paso) squad led by coach Don Haskins.
“Hey, Texas, we got a national championship … the state deserves it,” Drew yelled toward the reduced-capacity crowd because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baylor’s first Big 12 Player of the Year, guard Jared Butler, led the Bears with 22 points and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
“When the best is needed, the best is usually provided,” Drew said of his outstanding guard play this season. “They love being the first — the first to win conference
since 1950 and the first to win a national championship. That really motivated them.”
Pundits and fans had pined for a Baylor-gonzaga matchup since the planned first meeting in December was called off following COVID-19 issues within the Zags program.
But Baylor zapped any drama from the showdown in the early going.
The Bears jumped to a ninepoint lead three minutes into the game — Gonzaga’s largest hole in the tournament to that point.
“They were just so much more aggressive,” Few said. “They literally busted us out of anything we could possibly do on offense … we were kind of playing sideways.”
Baylor led 47-37 at halftime — the Zags fortunate to be that close against Baylor’s relentless guard play. When Baylor built a 15-point lead a little more than six minutes into the game, it marked the largest deficit of the season for Gonzaga.
“We didn’t look at the scoreboard,” Butler said. “We were just going out there and giving it our all. (But) I knew at some point we were up big … everybody was clicking on all cylinders.”
The Bears’ dynamic trio of starting guards of Butler, Davion Mitchell and Macio Teague got most of the national love and attention during the tournament, but their big men down low did their part early in forging toward the title. Forward Mark Vital had five offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes, and finished with eight.
“Mark Vital was tremendous … but it was a total team effort,” Drew said. “We had a starting rotation all year— eight guys, and that wore on some teams, and kept us fresher.”
Baylor hired Drew, then 32, in 2003 following his lone season at Valparaiso, with the notion the program needed a massive overhaul. Bears player Patrick Dennehy had been murdered by teammate
Carlton Dotson in June 2003, and the subsequent investigation revealed multiple NCAA violations by then-coach Dave Bliss.
“The Baylor faithful, they’ve supported us through the lean years and the rebuilding years,” Drew said. “And you can’t get there without an administration that believes in you and supports you … when you have that family atmosphere and everybody pulling for everybody, good things can happen.”
They did during this tournament. The Bears won five of their six games by double digits. The closest call was nine points over Arkansas in the Elite Eight.
“We didn’t even have to be lucky,” Drew said of good fortune often playing a part in a title run. “Our guys were so dominant throughout this entire tournament.”
The Bears had a three-week pause in February because of COVID-19 issues within their program, and Baylor had trouble regaining its defensive footing following the unexpected break, losing in late February at Kansas and against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament semifinals.
Drew said the loss to the Cowboys was a blessing because it allowed the Bears to gather themselves and practice intense defense, something he said is difficult to do when playing so many games late in the season.
A year ago Baylor would have been a top seed entering the NCAA Tournament, but it was canceled because of the mushrooming pandemic. So, the Bears and their following had to wait a little longer for their shining moment.
“Great basketball players,” Drew proclaimed as the confetti floated, “and better people.”