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No. 1 seed Bears ride defense, dunks, 3s past Badgers, into Sweet 16
INDIANAPOLIS — A second COVID-19 pause seemed to make Baylor vulnerable in March, some of the verve drained from a defense that was being compared to the all-time best.
The big, bad ball-hawking Bears are back and again look like a team ready to make a deep run — possibly into the Final Four.
Davion Mitchell scored 16 points and spearheaded a dominant defensive first half, helping top-seeded Baylor avoid another NCAA Tournament upset with a 76-63 win over Wisconsin at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Sunday.
“We really pride ourselves on just making things hard for other teams, giving ball pressure, not making them feel comfortable, making them keep dribbling the ball and not being able to look,” Mitchell said. “I think we definitely are getting back to ourselves.”
The knock on Baylor entering the NCAA Tournament was that the Bears weren’t quite as good coming off their second COVID19 pause as they were while winning the first 18 games of the season.
Baylor didn’t look quite as
unstoppable after the pause, the hands and feet not quite as quick while losing two of the final six games.
The Bears (24-2) found their defensive groove in the first half against Wisconsin, looking every bit a Final Four favorite.
Led by Mitchell’s never-givean-inch style, Baylor made Wisconsin’s senior-heavy lineup uncomfortable with its athleticism and all-out defensive effort.
“They went small and were
switching everything and made it difficult for us to do what we want to do,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “I give credit to Baylor for forcing us away from what we wanted to do.”
The ninth-seeded Badgers (18-13) showed a bit of fight after being backed into an 18-point corner, rallying to within seven midway through the second half behind D’Mitrik Trice (12 points).
The Bears answered the run with a dash of more defense to reach the Sweet 16 for the fifth time under coach Scott Drew.
“There is no book, there is no guarantee how you’re going to come back, when you’re going to come back and if you’re going to be able to make it far enough to where it can pay off,” Drew said. “Right now, I think defensively the last two games we’re a lot better than we were prior to them.”
Dominant Baylor showed up in the NCAA Tournament opener after a shaky start, hitting 11 3s in a 79-55 win over Hartford.
A short turnaround to prepare for Wisconsin’s grinding style is never easy.
These Bears had no trouble on little rest.
Baylor was at its chest-to-chest best on defense, limiting Wisconsin’s open looks and jumping into passing lanes to create turnovers. Those led to easy transition baskets, like the alley-oop from MaCio Teague to Mark Vital that had the basket still wobbling as the Badgers set up on offense at the other end.
In the half court, Baylor repeatedly got into the lane, setting up a series of lobs and short-range floaters. When Wisconsin packed it in, the Bears went to the 3.
“They did a great job of pressuring us and getting us out of our comfort zone at times,” Trice said.