Texas two-step: Baylor, Houston reunite in the Final Four
INDIANAPOLIS — Somebody will be doing a joyful Texas two-step after Baylor and Houston meet Saturday night in the Final Four.
It could be Bears coach Scott Drew, who built his now-mighty program from the ashes of one of the worst scandals in sports history. Led by guards Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague, they’ve have rolled to their first semifinal since 1950 with the kind of joie de vivre nobody thought possible two decades ago.
Or it could be Cougars counterpart Kelvin Sampson, who has spent more than a decade trying to outrun the “cheater” label hung from his neck during his days at Oklahoma and Indiana. He might finally have done it with this bunch, a mish-mash of overlooked prospects and transfers that have fans fondly recalling the halcyon days of Phi Slama Jama.
Either way, the first Final Four game involving two programs from the footballmad Lone Star State will produce a hoops finalist that stands on the verge of a its first national championship.
“I don’t feel like there’s a lot of pressure, just knowing all the work we put in,” said Houston guard Quentin Grimes. “I feel like every round we get more confident, the pressure becomes less, because we’re supposed to be here.”
That may be true these days. But it certainly wasn’t
true when Grimes and every other player stepping on the floor inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night were beginning their basketball journeys.
It’s been 71 years since the Bears reached this point. Seven coaches tried and failed to replicate the success. The last of those, Dave Bliss, brought the program to its nadir: the 2003 shooting death of player Patrick Denney, his teammate Carlos Dotson pleading guilty to the murder, an NCAA investigation and attempts by Bliss to cover it up.
Into that cesspool came Drew, the squeaky clean son of Valparaiso coach Homer Drew, who set about rebuilding a program hit hard by NCAA sanctions. In five years, he had the program back in the NCAA Tournament, and trips to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight became commonplace until finally breaking through this season.
“You have to go through bad times, good times, tough times,” Drew said, “to get where you want to go.”
FAMILY AFFAIRS
Drew’s father, Homer Drew, was the longtime coach at Valpo — about 2 hours north of Indianapolis — where younger brother Bryce was a star. Both kids began their coaching careers there, with Scott going to Baylor and Bryce detouring to Vanderbilt before leading Grand Canyon to the NCAA Tournament this season.
On the other sideline, Kellen Sampson is one of three assistants on his dad’s staff. Another one is Alvin Brooks, whose son Alvin Brooks III happens to have a similar job on Drew’s staff at Baylor.
STYLES MAKE FIGHTS
Baylor has the fourthbest shooting team in school history, and the best from beyond the arc, where the Bears make more than four out of every 10 shots. They’ve scored at least 75 points in three of their four NCAA Tournament wins.
Houston counters with the nation’s best 3-point field-goal defense and second-best scoring defense. The Cougars have yet to allow an opponent to score more than 61 points in their first four tourney games.
THE WINNER GETS …
The No. 1 overall seed, Gonzaga, plays UCLA in the second semifinal Saturday night, and many already are looking forward to a Bulldogs-Bears showdown. Gonzaga and Baylor were ranked 1-2 in the Top 25 most of the season, and were supposed to play in December before a COVID-19 outbreak forced the game to be called off.
“It’s inevitable to hear the hype and stuff like that,” Butler said, “but it’ll never happen if we don’t win this next game, so I’m just focusing on this game.”