Baylor advances to Elite Eight: 3 things learned from Bears win over Villanova

Baylor basketball used a smothering defensive performance to advance past Villanova in March Madness.

The Sweet 16 round has certainly had a defensive feel so far as shots haven’t been falling with great consistency. That trend continued for Baylor, which had its worst perimeter shooting performance of the NCAA Tournament but still found a way to slip by Villanova, 62-51 and advance to the Elite Eight.

This marks the third Elite Eight for Baylor basketball for the under Scott Drew and the first since 2012.

The Wildcats led by seven at the break and the game was tied at 41 midway through the second half before the Bears took over, going on a 22-10 run to finish the game. Baylor outscored Villanova 39-21 in the second half.

March Madness: 3 takeaways from Baylor’s win over Villanova

3. Baylor turned up the pressure on the defensive end

In a game where the threes weren’t falling for Baylor, Scott Drew’s Bears relied heavily on their defense to advance. The Bears forced 16 turnovers and scored 22 points off of them, easily proving to be the difference in the game.

Heat Check CBB’s Connor Hope made a tremendous point when he noted that Drew made a key adjustment on the defensive end, attacking the Wildcats’ point-guard play late, a weakness for the Wildcats after Collin Gillespie was lost for the season with a knee injury. That emphasis led to a string of Villanova turnovers that set up the points to allow Baylor to take the lead for good.

2. Jay Wright got a lot out of the Wildcats without Gillespie

Most pundits wrote off the Wildcats after Gillespie went down with his knee injury. Wright proved that he was one of the best coaches in the country by getting his team into the Sweet 16 and finding a way to give one of the nation’s best teams a major scare with his roster.

Villanova’s gameplan involved crashing the glass and playing lockdown defense, which frustrated the Bears in the early going. Baylor’s overall talent won out at the end but we’ve learned that the Wildcats should always be a threat whenever Wright is on their sideline.

1. Baylor is vulnerable against size

The Bears tend to play a four-guard lineup and it leaves them vulnerable to teams that like to dominate on the glass. Villanova employed that strategy in the first half, using Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Jermaine Samuels to collect rebounds and convert second-chance points.

That matchup isn’t a problem if the Bears are knocking down their threes but they are vulnerable if those shots don’t fall. Wright’s gameplan can be used to beat Baylor if a team with bigger personnel is able to execute it.

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