Baylor vs. Houston score, highlights: 3 incredible takeaways from Bears reaching National Championship

Baylor basketball is headed to the National Championship game for the first time since 1948 after dominating Houston from beginning to end in the Final Four.

Before the Final Four, the consensus was Baylor basketball was more than likely to just make an appearance in the National Championship game. Following their dominant 78-59 win over Houston, Baylor lived up to the hype.

Now, the Bears await the winner of Gonzaga-UCLA in tonight’s game.

This is the second time Baylor has played in the National Championship Game and the first since the 1948 team lost 58–42 as Adolph Rupp won his first title at Kentucky.

Houston, on the other hand, was simply outmatched. Kelvin Sampson’s crew played the Washington Generals’ role compared to how Baylor resembled the Harlem Globetrotters en route to potentially winning their first men’s basketball championship in school history.

Highlights from Baylor basketball’s dominant win over Houston

The proof is in the performance as Davion Mitchell established his presence, scoring 12 points, and Jared Butler looked smooth and reliable with 17 points. They were two of five Baylor players to score in double-figures. Butler was also cooking from beyond the arc, making 11-of-24 of their 3-point attempts, which was magnificent, given how Houston had done well on defense in the tournament up until now.

Houston had no luck from the start of the game as the ball was mostly in Marcus Sasser’s hands, whom Baylor had all eyes on from the game’s start. Sasser scored 17 of Houston’s 20 first-half points. He would finish the night with 20 points. Quinten Grimes also pitched in 13 points for the Cougars.

Baylor’s defenders went ballistic throughout the contest and didn’t seem to let up despite having a comfortable 25pt lead at the half and going to cruise through the rest of the game. The Cougars defense, on the other hand, was no match for the firepower that Baylor provided.

3 takeaways from Baylor basketball’s win over Houston

3. Baylor played essentially their best game all season without breaking a sweat

There seemed to be no issues in the game for Baylor throughout. Butler and Mitchell did their jobs, and everyone else contributed when given the opportunity. They had a strong lead at halftime and never looked back. Whenever Houston wanted to make a run, the Bears shut it down and, as such, will have an extended stay in Indianapolis. Baylor shot 52.7 percent from the field, including 45.8 percent from 3-point range.

2. Houston had a problem they could not solve at any point

In retrospect, the Cougars played like they were simply happy to be in the Final Four instead of putting up a legitimate threat to reach their first National Championship since back-to-back appearances in 1983 and 1984. There were moments where they made a case to be a star on the highlight reel, but most of the game was spent ensuring that they would be on the opposite side of this game’s highlights.

1. Baylor vs. Gonzaga is the game everyone wants to see

Baylor and Gonzaga were supposed to play in the regular season before it was canceled due to COVID. The top two teams from the beginning to the end of the season are one game away from finally giving the fans what they want. Outside of UCLA, there isn’t anyone who wants to see UCLA in the championship game vs. Baylor. A Gonzaga-Baylor game would be the best championship game since Illinois and North Carolina met in the 2005 title tilt. While it won’t be a true 1 vs. 2 matchup since Illinois entered the tournament as the AP No. 2 team, this is without question the two best teams in college basketball.

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