INDIANAPOLIS – Years before leading his team to his first national men’s basketball championship, hitting Gonzaga 86-70 Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, coach Scott Drew led a tour of the team’s relatively new training facility its. To unlock the doors, he got his hands on a sleek scanner.
Inside, there were large televisions above each player’s stand, which also included video game systems. There is a massive theater screen for movie sessions and cold tubs for post-game recovery.
“Don’t say too much about it,” Drew said of the facilities. “I don’t want too many people to know.”
At the time, the thought that another team would copy the scheme of his team’s facility worried Drew. After Baylor beat Gonzaga on Monday night in the national title match, however, Drew could have every team in the country looking for ways to emulate his schedule.
It’s not just victory. It is the history attached to the first national championship of Baylor.
The Bears dominated – and never pursued – against an undefeated Gonzaga team that was aiming to complete the first perfect season of 1976. They didn’t hit a buzzer-beat or win because of a few questionable calls. They kicked Gonzaga’s ass and stole the buzz. Gonzaga’s coach, Mark Few, had no answer for Jared Butler, MaCio Teague, Adam Flagler and Davion Mitchell, all of whom finished with double digits and a variety of dazzling pieces.
Butler, who scored 22 points and drew four triples, won the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award.
Gonzaga hovered around a 50% clip all night, but could not overcome his turnover, Baylor’s defensive pressure and his second chance opportunities. The bears scored 45% of 3 points. They won each match individually.
Baylor was only better than Gonzaga as he completed one of the most impressive rounds in the recent history of NCAA tournaments. The Bulldogs became the fifth team in 1976 to enter the NCAA tournament with an undefeated record, but failed to win the title.
The confetti, the rooms, the fans and the city itself were ready for a historic moment. Everyone got what they had anticipated … but with a different team.
One year after winning 23 games in a row and probably entering the NCAA tournament as a seed, if the tournament was not canceled, Baylor brought back every key player who contributed to that race.
Although they started this season winning the first 18 games, the Bears were largely overshadowed by Gonzaga, who seemed able to become the first team at the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers – and the first team in the NCAA tournament to expand to 64. teams in 1985 – to complete a perfect season.
In addition, Baylor’s slow return from a three-week break was not encouraging.
After a poor performance against a lower Iowa State team and losses to Kansas in the regular season and then Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament, it was fair to wonder if Baylor lost anything while being eliminated without a chance to finish. complete practices.
However, Drew told ESPN that the early loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament helped his team focus and prepare for this race.
While the aftermath of Monday’s game will likely focus on Gonzaga, who missed the blow on history and the impact on a program that seemed destined for a flawless season, what happened on Monday for Baylor was just as rich.
Bears also have a subdog story.
Drew took office in 2003, after the program endured a scandal involving a murder and the attempt of former coach Dave Bliss to cover. In his third season, the NCAA told Drew’s team that he would have to pay for Bliss’ sins by not playing any non-conference games. He turned that ashes into a program that ran several NCAA tournaments, but never managed to beat the top teams in the national championship. Until Monday.
Baylor finished the 2020-21 season as America’s best team and champion. He won that victory over a team that hadn’t lost all season. One of the biggest jugglers of the game.
Now, a coach who, years ago, worried that his coaching colleagues could gain an advantage over his program if he knew about the trinkets in his locker room, has become the standard in college basketball.
Baylor is an elite program.
This is the story.