Bears clobber cold Cougars

Baylor gets on a roll early

Baylor Coach Scott Drew (right) hugs Bears guard Jared Butler in the closing minutes of their victory over Houston on Saturday in the national semifinals at Indianapolis. More photos available at arkansasonline.com/44ncaa21.
(AP/Michael Conroy)
Baylor Coach Scott Drew (right) hugs Bears guard Jared Butler in the closing minutes of their victory over Houston on Saturday in the national semifinals at Indianapolis. More photos available at arkansasonline.com/44ncaa21. (AP/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Nearly two decades ago, Scott Drew decided to leave his comfort zone at tiny Valparaiso for the scandal-plagued basketball program at Baylor, explaining to his father that there was nowhere for the Bears to go but up.

Now, they're one win away from the top.

Led by Jared Butler and the rest of their brilliant backcourt, a defense that refused to give Houston an inch and a coach intent on making the most of his first trip to the Final Four, the Bears roared to a 78-59 victory Saturday night in their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals in 71 long years.

"Every day you're grinding, and you don't really look back. You're pressing forward," Drew said afterward, "but I'm so blessed to have these unbelievable players that bought into what we like to do with the program."

Or, as Butler put it: "This is what we came to Baylor to do."

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Butler scored all 17 of his points in the first half, but just about everyone from Baylor (27-2) got into the act, with five players scoring 10 or more points. They doubled up Houston after 10 minutes, built a 45-20 lead by halftime and coasted the rest of the way in the first Final Four showdown between schools from the Lone Star State.

"That was one of my goals, to leave a legacy at Baylor," Butler said, "and you have to win national championships. You have to win. You have to be a great program, be about great things, and that's what we're doing."

Marcus Sasser had 20 points and Quentin Grimes scored 13 for the cold-shooting Cougars (28-4), whose dream path to their first Final Four since 1984 -- they faced teams seeded 15th, 10th, 11th and 12th along the way -- ended with a whimper.

"We had a great run," Sasser said as he choked back tears. "Just fell short this year."

Their end came against an opponent that spent most of the year ranked No. 2 behind Gonzaga, one that had been focused on reaching the Final Four since the moment last year's tournament was canceled by the pandemic.

For Drew, the wait had been even longer.

He took over a program 18 years ago embroiled in arguably the biggest controversy in college basketball history: the graphic shooting death of player Patrick Dennehy, his teammate Devon Dotson pleading guilty to his murder, attempts by then-coach Dave Bliss to cover it all up and NCAA sanctions that lasted well into Drew's own tenure.

Yet somehow, the son of longtime Valpo coach Homer Drew could always picture the very scene that unfolded Saturday night: His team playing selflessly, almost effortlessly, never once feeling the pressure of college basketball's biggest stage, then celebrating their success at midcourt when the final buzzer sounded.

Well, there were a couple things Drew probably didn't picture.

Instead of 70,000 fans reaching to the rafters, the Bears were cheered in the lower bowl by thousands of cardboard cutouts due to covid-19 measures that have forced them to live in a bubble for the last three weeks.

The roughly 8,000 fans that were allowed through the doors, socially distanced in a vast ocean of blue seats, provided a muted soundtrack to the blowout taking place inside the cavernous home of the Indianapolis Colts.

"This was probably the toughest year for any of us," Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson said, "and not just the bubble here but covid challenges, isolation, being quarantined, social distancing, masks -- this was quite a year. But you know, the sting of this will leave them. Days will turn into weeks, weeks into months, and what they'll remember is the memories."

At least, all those leading up to Saturday night.

The Bears controlled the game from the jump, unleashing an early 14-3 run fueled by the crisp passing, silky shooting and dastardly defense that made them unbeatable before a 23-day covid-19 pause late in the regular season.

When the Cougars finally scored, the Bears ripped off another 16-3 run later in the first half, carving up the nation's top three-point field-goal defense with ruthless efficiency. By the time Davion Mitchell knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to end the first half, the Bears had a 45-20 lead that felt insurmountable.

"I don't think I've seen a team with five guards at that level, no drop-off," Sampson said, "and they were good at both ends of the floor."

Sasser did everything he could to keep Houston alive, hitting five three-pointers and scoring 17 himself. But the rest of the Cougars were 1 of 15 from the floor, including their All-American guard Grimes (0 for 5) and DeJon Jarreau (1 for 7), who earned MVP honors in the Midwest Region.

Sampson, whose reputation for being a master tactician was stretched to the limit, tried to get the guard-heavy Cougars to go to the basket more in the second half. But nothing seemed to work.

"We came out of the locker room and competed," Sampson said with a shake of his head, "but Baylor is the best team we've played. They may be the best team we've played in the seven years I've been here."

Meanwhile, the big cushion down the stretch gave the Bears -- mullet-haired Matthew Mayer, MaCio Teague and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua in their bright pink sneakers, Butler and Mitchell and the rest of their guys lounging on the bench -- plenty of time to celebrate the program's second trip to the national title game.

"It hasn't sunk in yet, to be honest with you," Butler said. "I think it'll sink in later in life, or two months from now, and I'll think, 'Wow, we were in the national title game.' Or next year when I watch it, I'll think, 'Wow, we were there.' "

Baylor players celebrate during the final seconds of the Bears’ victory over the Cougars on Saturday at the Final Four in Indianapolis. Baylor advanced to Monday’s national championship game in its first trip to the Final Four in 71 years. 
(AP/Michael Conroy)
Baylor players celebrate during the final seconds of the Bears’ victory over the Cougars on Saturday at the Final Four in Indianapolis. Baylor advanced to Monday’s national championship game in its first trip to the Final Four in 71 years. (AP/Michael Conroy)
Baylor guard Mark Vital (11), MaCio Teague (31) and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, right, celebrate on the bench during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Houston, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Baylor guard Mark Vital (11), MaCio Teague (31) and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, right, celebrate on the bench during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Houston, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Baylor head coach Scott Drew watches from the sideline during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Houston, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Baylor head coach Scott Drew watches from the sideline during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Houston, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Houston guard Quentin Grimes (24) shoots on Baylor guard Mark Vital (11) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Houston guard Quentin Grimes (24) shoots on Baylor guard Mark Vital (11) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Baylor guard Mark Vital, right, tries to steal the ball from Houston guard DeJon Jarreau (3) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Baylor guard Mark Vital, right, tries to steal the ball from Houston guard DeJon Jarreau (3) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Baylor guard Jared Butler, left, drives to the basket ahead of Houston guard DeJon Jarreau (3) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Baylor guard Jared Butler, left, drives to the basket ahead of Houston guard DeJon Jarreau (3) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Baylor guard Matthew Mayer (24) shoots over Houston forward Fabian White Jr., left, during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Baylor guard Matthew Mayer (24) shoots over Houston forward Fabian White Jr., left, during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Baylor guard Matthew Mayer (24) shoots over Houston forward Fabian White Jr. (35) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Baylor guard Matthew Mayer (24) shoots over Houston forward Fabian White Jr. (35) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Houston forward Justin Gorham, center, loses the ball between Baylor guard Davion Mitchell (45) and guard Matthew Mayer, right, during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Houston forward Justin Gorham, center, loses the ball between Baylor guard Davion Mitchell (45) and guard Matthew Mayer, right, during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Houston forward Justin Gorham (4) loses the ball between Baylor guard Davion Mitchell (45) and guard Matthew Mayer (24) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Houston forward Justin Gorham (4) loses the ball between Baylor guard Davion Mitchell (45) and guard Matthew Mayer (24) during the first half of a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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