The No. 1 seed Baylor Bears dominated the No. 2 seed Houston Cougars 78-59 on Saturday to advance to the national championship game. The game felt over by halftime, with Baylor taking a 45-20 lead into the second half.
Baylor leads Houston by 25 points at halftime.
That is the 4th-largest lead at halftime of a Final Four game all-time and the largest since Kansas (+29) vs Marquette in 2003.
Davion Mitchell scored or assisted on 27 of Baylor’s 45 first-half points (60%). pic.twitter.com/ouvKFsH0mF
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 3, 2021
Baylor has shown all tournament why they were viewed as a top-two team in the country pretty much all season (including by the metrics, such as Ken Pomeroy’s ratings). This is an elite team that can beat you so many ways, with excellent play on both ends of the floor.
Now, in order to win the national championship, they will need to bring their best game if the opponent is Gonzaga, who’s looked like the only team on Baylor’s level (and even above it for the most part) this season. But Baylor is very capable of and will be entering the championship game with tons of confidence.
Baylor has only been in the championship game once, in a losing effort against Kentucky in 1948. So, they will have an opportunity to make history on Monday night against Gonzaga or UCLA.
