Three takeaways from the Final Four:
1. BAYLOR WAS JUST THE BETTER TEAM
Sorry, but I’m not buying the argument that Saturday’s epic national semifinal overtime win over UCLA took too much out of Gonzaga. Fact is, Baylor just took it to Gonzaga on Monday night. From the opening tip. The Bears led 9-0 before you could get settled in front of your television. It continued from there. Baylor 86, Gonzaga 70. The Bears were just better.
As Baylor head coach Scott Drew pointed out after the game, his team was on its way to an undefeated season — much like Gonzaga — until a COVID-19 pause whacked Waco. Upon its return to the court, the Bears struggled to beat a bad Iowa State team 77-72, then were blown out at Allen Fieldhouse by Kansas 71-58. Later, Baylor lost to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Back home in Indiana, Drew pulled his team back on track. Jared Butler was a huge key. The Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player rediscovered his shooting stroke in the final three games. After clanging eight of his nine-three-point shots in the Sweet 16 win over Villanova, Butler was 10 of 17 from beyond the arc in the Elite Eight and the Final Four.
Baylor’s superiority revealed itself on the boards. The Bears outrebounded the Zags 38-22. The winners grabbed 16 offensive rebounds compared to just 17 defensive rebounds for Mark Few’s team. Here a shout-out goes to Baylor’s Mark Vital. Of his game-high 11 rebounds, eight came on the offensive end. He was relentless. And Baylor was the best team.
2. TRANSFERS WERE THE STORY OF THE TOURNAMENT
Not only did transfers play a huge role in the entire tournament, but in the Final Four, as well.
Houston was led by four transfers — Quentin Grimes from Kansas; DeJon Jarreau from UMass; Reggie Chaney from Arkansas and Justin Gorham from Towson. Gonzaga had Andrew Nembhard from Florida. And, as we know here, UCLA’s Johnny Juzang began his college career at Kentucky. After leaving Lexington to join the Bruins, he scored 137 points in six NCAA Tournament games.
Baylor’s national title team was largely built through transfers. Butler enrolled early at Alabama, only to ask for his release before moving to Waco. Cincinnati native MaCio Teague started out at UNC Asheville before transferring. Davion Mitchell began his career at Auburn. Both sat out the 2018-19 season.
Adam Flagler was a star at Presbyterian before coming to Baylor. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua was at UNLV before joining Drew’s program. Both sat out last season before becoming eligible in 2020-21.
If, as expected, the NCAA approves the one-time waiver for transfers, most won’t have to sit out moving forward. That, plus the success of these transfers, is a reason why the transfer portal is presently overflowing.
3. THE TOURNAMENT’S REAL MVP(S) DIDN’T MAKE A SHOT
Actually, Mitch Barnhart and Dan Gavitt should have been named co-MVPs.
We know Mitch as UK’s athletics director. Gavitt is the NCAA’s senior vice president for basketball. Barnhart served as chairman of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, which is a year-round job, not a show-up-the-week-before and hope-for-the-best endeavor. Gavitt’s focus is college basketball throughout the season with an emphasis on the tournament, the NCAA’s bread and butter that was canceled last year because of the coronavirus.
Despite the fact that this year’s tournament was played with the global pandemic ongoing — it’s not over yet — the duo pulled it off. The decision to stage March Madness in a quasi-bubble in Indiana was brilliant. Logistics and protocols appeared to work with a very few glitches. After numerous COVID-19 problems in conference tournaments, only one game in the entire NCAA Tournament — VCU’s first-round forfeit to Oregon — was canceled.
Best of all, a deserving champion was crowned on Monday night.
“We got it done,” Gavitt told Yahoo’s Pete Thamel after the championship game. “Somehow, some way, we got it done.”
Congrats to both Barnhart and Gavitt, the tournament’s real MVPs.
