In a top-five matchup, Baylor shot roughly identical percentages to Illinois but still won by 13 points thanks to five more offensive rebounds and five fewer turnovers. "I'm a happy camper with the effort on the defensive end today," assistant coach Jerome Tang told the AP. They clamped down on defense, holding Washington to 36 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent from the 3-point line. Baylor made 15 3-pointers while shooting a 55-percent clip from deep.ĭespite turning the ball over 16 times and shooting just 5-for-11 from the free throw line, Baylor won by 34 as 13 different players checked into the game for the Bears. Cryer and Adam Flagler each scored double figures off the bench. Three starters scored in double figures, led by MaCio Teague's 21 points, while L.J. Led by arguably the best on-ball defender in the country, Davion Mitchell, who was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and NABC Defensive Player of the Year, Baylor's defense forced a turnover on nearly a quarter of its opponents' offensive possessions (24.4 percent), which means the Bears maximized their offensive possessions thanks to their offensive rebounding and limited their opponents' possessions through in-your-face defense.īaylor didn't get to the free throw line at a high percentage (it had a 26.5-percent free-throw rate, which ranked 295th nationally) and it wasn't nearly as strong on the defensive glass (274th nationally), but when the Bears were efficient, if not elite, in almost every other area of the game, it didn't matter.īelow is Baylor's profile from the 2021 season.īaylor broke the 50-point mark in both halves, scoring 53 in the opening stanza, then 59 in the second. The Bears led the country in 3-point percentage (41.3 percent) and fifth in offensive rebounding percentage (37.3 percent), which means they grabbed almost four out of every 10 shots that they missed, allowing for countless second-chance opportunities. Baylor players drafted by NBA teams after the seasonīaylor finished the 2021 season with the second-most efficient offense in the country, only behind the Gonzaga team that it beat by 16 points in the national championship game.A game-by-game breakdown of Baylor's schedule.The complete 2021 NCAA bracket, seeds and results.Baylor's AP Poll rankings from every week of the 2020-21 season.Baylor's style of play and expanded metrics.Baylor's player stats from the 2020-21 season.Roster turnover before the championship season.You can jump from section to section here: Here's everything you need to know about Baylor basketball's 2020-21 national championship season.Ĭonference tournament finish: Lost in semifinals But they left no doubt to their talent, athleticism and shooting ability during the 2021 season as they started the year on an 18-game winning streak, won the Big 12 regular season title, dropped just two games prior to Selection Sunday and added the first and only blemish to previously undefeated Gonzaga's resume in the national championship game. We'll never know how Baylor would've fared in the canceled 2020 NCAA tournament, amid a season in which the Bears won 23 consecutive games from Nov.
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