Baylor basketball

North Carolina, a team we weren't sure was going to be in the NCAA tournament a couple weeks ago, has punched its ticket to the second weekend. How surprised ...

Before the season started, I don't think anyone would have bet that a game between a pair of teams that were picked to finish near the bottom of their respective leagues would secure a trip to the Sweet 16 for the winner. This is considered the worst job in the MAAC, one of the most difficult jobs in the entire region -- and Holloway has them in the Sweet 16. Purdue -- mostly because the winner of that game has a real shot at making a Final Four. In terms of the Boilermakers and Longhorns, it's a battle between one team with an elite offense and a vulnerable defense and a team with a defense-first coach that has struggled to score for long stretches this season. You see a lot of young coaches stumble in that second-round game because of the limited prep time and rest. The Tigers smacked Gonzaga in the mouth, and the game felt very much like what Baylor did to this same team last April. Then Timme put on his superhero outfit and the rest is history. I'm not sure there's really anything to do about it; the NCAA tournament is supposed to feature the best officials in the game and having a chance to officiate later rounds in the tournament is the reward. There are very few teams left in the bracket that won't struggle with Memphis right now, and Gonzaga kind of got punked a little in the first half. The Tigers had a smart game plan and played to their strength, with the Zags complicit all the way. When the pace changed and Nolan Richardson seemed to replace Scott Drew as the coach in the second half for the Bears, the officiating changed. 9 games two weeks hence, and both -- having underachieved their talent for the better part of the season -- would be in excellent positions to take out a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament's second round. If ever there were a game to illustrate Jay's bill of indictment, it was surely the portion of the North Carolina-Baylor contest that transpired after Brady Manek was ejected for a flagrant 2. Carolina will be an underdog to UCLA in the Sweet 16, but the Bruins will have to hope Jaime Jaquez Jr. is close to 100% healthy.

North Carolina Tar Heels beat Baylor Bears in NCAA tournament 2022 on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 in Hubert Davis' first season leading UNC ...

“I just took what the defense gave me and I was able to make big-time shots.” Davis was 5-for-7 from the field and scored 17 of his career-high 30 points in the first half. Sochan showed he wasn’t trying to be friendly when he was on the ground and didn’t accept Brady Manek’s extended hand to help him up. But Carolina got open looks early and made 6 of its 13 attempts in the first half. As Carolina tried to close out the game without Love and Manek, Baylor’s full court pressure cause all sorts of problems. To put that in perspective, the 6-foot-6 Kinston native hadn’t attempted a 3 since the Tar Heels’ home win over Louisville on Feb. 21, and he only had only made two the entire season. Carolina held them to 1-for-11 shooting in the extra period and never trailed. Baylor expended all of its energy to tie the game, but had nothing left in overtime. “We wanted to get to the next round, so at that point, I wasn’t even tired,” Davis said. As the lead kept crumbling and the Bears used their full court pressure to inch closer, Carolina got a play here and there to keep them at bay. UNC forward Brady Manek, who scored 26 points and had four 3-pointers, was ejected from the game after getting a flagrant-2 foul called on him. He said it was one of the top three craziest games he’s played in this season.

After getting upset as a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, Baylor coach Scott Drew said, "At Baylor it's always bigger than just basketball."

Our guys, their love for each other [is] because they spend so much time working on their craft together, and they put in the time. He began the session by saying, “First and foremost, I want to thank God for blessing us with this opportunity tonight. “A lot of joy in the locker room for sure,” he said. I know the guys have worked really hard, so happy they get a chance to celebrate now.” A big influence on Baylor’s players becoming “great young men” is the culture of J. O.Y. that Drew has established. After winning the national title and losing four of its starters, few people gave Baylor much of a chance to win another title. And character wise, they represent their team and their school the right way. Moments later, the team was presented with the 2021 national championship trophy. “First and foremost, [I’ll remember] just what great young men they are,” Drew said in his postgame press conference. It was on full display as last year’s Bears won the national championship. Academic wise, this is one of the best academic groups we’ve had. Before it was over, though, Baylor (27-7) came back from a 25-point second-half deficit to force overtime.

But you know what? A Carolina team that was left for dead in January just beat the defending national champions in a virtual home game for the Baylor Bears and ...

Twitter really had an insane reaction to the way that the reffing was handled between Baylor and UNC in the first Big 12 basketball game of the Round of 32.

That included a vital technical foul call on big man Armando Bacot that helped Baylor rally in the second half. On the afternoon of March 19, the first Big 12 basketball team competed in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament to start off a key weekend slate for the conference. The storyline that unfortunately took hold for this Round of 32 matchup on March 19 between UNC and Baylor was how the refs handled things, namely in the second half.

The defending NCAA tournament champs are out after a bizarre game saw Baylor basketball nearly finish off a monumental comeback.

Coincidentally, the last team to accomplish that was North Carolina in ’16 and ’17, led by a core of players that had been together several years, had their hearts broken at the buzzer by Villanova, weathered it and cut down the nets a year later. History has proven it’s very hard to repeat as champions: that feat hasn’t been accomplished by a men’s team since Florida did it in 2006 and ’07. But teams do find their way to consecutive Final Fours: dating back to ’00, it’s been done 13 different times. This was an upset that didn’t totally feel like one, not only because the opponent was North Carolina, but also because Baylor frankly never played especially well at any juncture. Only four of the 10 players who started the game were even eligible to finish it, thrusting little-used players like Dontrez Styles (who added nine huge points) into action for UNC. To say the game deserved overtime would have been generous; Carolina shot 49% as a team and 44% from three, but registered 21 giveaways, while Baylor mustered its 86 points on 81 shots, giving it 24 more field goal attempts in defeat. Sochan, likely on his way to the NBA in a few months, would not stick around long enough to become the villain. UNC was up by 25 points then, bolstered by hot shooting from RJ Davis (who finished with 30 points) and playing better team basketball in all facets.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RJ Davis scored a career-high 30 points, including a nifty layup while being fouled in overtime, and eighth-seeded North Carolina blew a ...

Providence controlled the game from the start and went up 21 on the Spiders less than two minutes into the second half when Horchler swished a 3 from the corner. They did so on the way to the Final Four in 2000, 10 years after beating top-seeded Oklahoma when Davis was a player for Dean Smith. The Bears, who fell to top-seeded Gonzaga in the round of 32 three years ago, were trying to match the biggest comeback ever in an NCAA Tournament game. But they never fell behind, played with poise in overtime and pulled out a 93-86 victory Saturday in the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. “They stepped up their effort, but we stepped up our effort as well and we were able to make the plays we needed to make to win the game.” The Tar Heels blew a 25-point second-half lead after Brady Manek was ejected for a wild elbow and starting guard Caleb Love fouled out, and they had some issues when top-seeded Baylor turned up the full-court pressure.

The Bears, the reigning NCAA Tournament champion, are the first No. 1 seed to fall in this year's Big Dance.

North Carolina dominated the game when Manek was in the game, and his absence changed the contest. He finished with a game-high 30 points, including 17 in the first half as North Carolina built its original lead. Dontrez Styles also chipped in nine huge points off the bench, including a big 3-pointer in overtime. Even without Manek on the court, to come back from 25 points down is stunning; had the Bears completed the comeback, it would have been the largest second-half deficit overcome in NCAA Tournament history. If North Carolina's guards continue to play at such a high level, the Tar Heels are as dangerous as anybody left in the East. Manek led all scorers with 26 points on just 13 shots when he left the court.

When Brady Manek buried a 3-pointer to put North Carolina ahead by 25 points with 10:49 remaining in regulation Saturday, Baylor's quest to become a repeat ...

If I had to submit a ballot for national coach of the year right now, Scott Drew would be no lower than second on that ballot. My answer was rooted in something I'd been saying for weeks -- that the Bears losing their leading scorer (LJ Cryer) to a foot injury and another important rotation player (Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua) to a knee injury would eventually prove too much to overcome. Yes, Baylor took advantage of a North Carolina team reeling from the (very questionable) ejection of Manek -- who had a game-high 26 points when he was given a Flagrant 2 foul because of an elbow to Jeremy Sochan's head -- and outscored the Tar Heels 38-13 down the stretch to force one of the more improbable overtimes in NCAA Tournament history. Full disclosure: When UNC led by 25 with 10:08 remaining, I started working on a column about Baylor's attempt to become the first back-to-back national champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007 coming to an end. And I'm so proud of them." And I'm so proud of them.

North Carolina, a year after losing in the first round, blew a 25-point second-half lead Saturday, but still found a way, as a No.

Things became testy midway through the first half, and Sochan got a technical foul when he appeared to lock his legs together and almost pull Bacot to the floor with him. Sochan made the second free throw before having an assist on a layup by Flagler, who then had consecutive 3s off UNC turnovers. Manek had just drained a 3-pointer that put the Tar Heels ahead 67-42. North Carolina had one more shot, but Davis' 3-point try hit off the front of the rim. They did so on the way to the Final Four in 2000, 10 years after beating top-seeded Oklahoma when Davis was a player for Dean Smith. The Bears, who fell to top-seeded Gonzaga in the round of 32 three years ago, were trying to match the biggest comeback ever in an NCAA tournament game.

UNC and Baylor delivered. It was the most exciting game of the NCAA tourney, with the defending champs storming from 25 points down to force overtime.

Yet it was Davis' 3-point play with 1:18 remaining in overtime that gave UNC a definitive six-point cushion to help the Tar Heels pull away for the win. Then his next and-1 tied the game at 80 with 15 seconds remaining – the play that forced overtime. He fouled out with a little more than two minutes remaining in overtime, which seemed to be the nail in the coffin for his team. There was one play where Tar Heels former coach Roy Williams was seen frustrated with officials off a play that involved Sochan. Oh, and Sochan banked – yes, banked – a huge 3-pointer in with 31 seconds remaining in regulation to make it 80-77. Him fouling out with six minutes left played a huge factor in UNC looking so horribly discombobulated in the pivotal stretches of regulation. Removing him from the game took away UNC's hottest weapon at that moment and gave Baylor the little bit of life the Bears needed to get back into the game.