Bears grind out Sweet 16 victory
INDIANAPOLIS» That ice that seemed to be forming across the 3-point arc was hardly enough to throw Baylor off course.
Some rugged defense and a newly discovered love for points in the paint helped the top-seeded Bears find the formula for a 62-51 victory over Villanova on Saturday and a trip to the Elite Eight.
Adam Flagler was the surprise leading scorer, with 16 points, and Baylor (25-2), which came in as the nation’s leading 3-point shooting team at 41.5%, won despite making only 3-of-19 against Villanova’s ever-shifting 2-3, man-to-man combo on D.
Baylor, which started the season 18-0 and won its first-ever Big 12 regular-season title, is one win from the Final Four for the first time since 2012. The Bears will play Arkansas.
Davion Mitchell, a 46% shooter from 3 this season, went 0 for 3 from long range on a 14-point day. The team’s other two high-powered guards didn’t fare better. Jared Butler scored nine points on 1-for-9 shooting from 3, and MaCio Teague had five points withouta3.
“When we are 2 for 12 at half, we figured we’ve got to get inside,” coach Scott Drew said of the team’s 3-point shooting. “We got good looks but not great looks. The guards did a great job of not settling and probing more.”
Because of that, Baylor shot 53% in the second half, even though it made only one 3.
“Coach said we’re not going to win if we keep shooting the off-dribble 3,” Mitchell said. “He told us to trust the defense and get in the paint.”
The game changed midway through the second half when Baylor took Drew’s words to heart and started pounding inside. The Bears took a sixpoint lead with a 14-2 run during which not a single point came from outside the arc. Baylor outscored ’Nova 40-32 in the paint for the game. Defense picked up, too. Constantly harassing Villanova shooters who’d carved out space in the first half, Baylor held Villanova to 37.5% shooting in the second and 0 for 9 from 3. Baylor had four of its five blocked shots after halftime. During one stretch in the decisive run, Baylor forced five straight turnovers on ’Nova possessions. The Wildcats finished with 16 turnovers, almost double their nationbest season average (8.8).
Coach Jay Wright’s team scored 10 points over the final 11 minutes.
“We were good enough to beat them but they just played better down the stretch,” Wright said. “I think their defense got into us and wore us down and it made the difference in the game.”
ArKANsAs 72, orAL roBErts 70. Davonte Davis hit a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 26 years with a 72-70 win over Oral Roberts in the South Region semifinals.
The Muss Buss grinded its gears through the first half into the second, bad shots and even worse defense putting Arkansas in a 12-point hole against the 15th-seeded Golden Eagles.
Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks (25-6) got their Pig Sooie swagger back, turning defensive stops into early offense opportunities and offensive rebounds into points.
It came down to one final shot and Davis made it.
Max Abmas did his best to put the Golden Eagles in the Elite Eight for the first time in 47 years, scoring 25 points. His 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.