INDIANAPOLIS – Years before leading his team to his first men’s national basketball championship, beating Gonzaga 86-70 Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, coach Scott Drew led a tour of the practice facility relatively new to your team. To open the doors, he put his hand on a sleek scanner.
Inside, there were large televisions above each player’s stop, which also had video game systems. There was a large theater screen for movie sessions and cold tubs for post-game recovery.
“Don’t say too much about it,” Drew said of the amenities. “I really don’t want too many people to know.”
At the time, the idea of another team copying the plan for his team’s facilities worried Drew. After Baylor’s win over Gonzaga Monday night in the national title game, however, Drew could have all the teams in the country looking for ways to emulate his program.
It’s not just victory. It is the story of Baylor’s first national championship.
The Bears dominated – and never left behind – against an undefeated squad of Gonzaga who aimed to complete the first perfect season since 1976. They didn’t get the win or get the win due to a few questionable calls. They kicked Gonzaga’s butt and stole the buzz. Gonzaga coach Mark Few had no answer for Jared Butler, MaCio Teague, Adam Flagler and Davion Mitchell, who ended up with double digits and a variety of dazzling plays. Gonzaga hovered around 50% all night, but was unable to overcome his changes, Baylor’s defensive pressure and his second-chance chances.
The Bears got 45% of their triples. They won every single showdown.
Baylor was better than Gonzaga as he completed one of the most impressive tests in the recent history of NCAA tournaments. The Bulldogs became the fifth team since 1976 to enter the NCAA tournament with an undefeated record, but failed to win the title.
The confetti, the cameras, the fans and the city itself were ready for a historic moment. Everyone got what they had planned … but with a different team.
A year after winning 23 games in a row and probably having entered the NCAA tournament as a leader, if the tournament had not been canceled, Baylor recovered all the key players who contributed to that race.
Although they started this season winning their first 18 games, the Bears were mostly overshadowed by Gonzaga, who seemed capable of becoming the first team since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers and the first team since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985: to complete a perfect season.
Also, Baylor’s slow return from a three-week break was not encouraging.
After a poor performance against a junior Iowa State team and losses to Kansas in the regular season and then to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament, it was fair to question whether Baylor had lost anything while offside. without the ability to complete full internships.
Drew, however, told ESPN that the early loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament helped his team refocus and prepare for that race.
While the aftermath of Monday’s showdown will likely focus on Gonzaga losing his shot against history and impact on a program that seemed destined for a flawless season, what unfolded Monday for Baylor went be just as rich.
Bears also have a helpless history.
Drew took over the job in 2003 after the show suffered a homicide-related scandal and an attempt by former coach Dave Bliss. In its third season, the NCAA told Drew’s team that he should pay for Bliss’ sins by not playing any non-conference games. He turned these ashes into a program that made races in multiple NCAA tournaments, but he was never able to beat the top-tier teams that stood between him and the national championship. Until Monday.
Baylor finished the 2020-21 season as America’s best team and champion. He won the win over a team he hadn’t lost all season. One of the great juggling of the game.
Now, a coach who years ago worried that his coaching teammates could gain an edge in his program if they knew the trinkets in his locker room, has become the norm in college basketball.
Baylor is an elite program.
This is the story.