Big 12 Basketball: Jarrett Culver leads All-NCAA Tournament Team
By Chris Kern
Mark Vital
Mark Vital had two very good NCAA Tournament games for the Baylor Bears. The win over Syracuse was more guard-oriented as they made 16 three-pointers as a team, but against Gonzaga in the next game is where Vital shined. They beat the Orange 78-69 in what was one of the more competitive games from the first round.
Vital didn’t fill up the stat sheet in either game, but he still made a big impact. He finished with four points, six rebounds, and four assists in the win against Syracuse. You may question why he is on this list with numbers like that, but when you watch Baylor play you see the impact he makes. His ability to make an impact on both ends of the floor is very rare for someone of his frame.
He is about 6’5″, 230 pounds and is an inside player. Very few players have the playing style he does at his size, you have some who do, but not many. He reminds me of a Charles Barkley type in a way, though he certainly isn’t close to that level. The way he dominates at times on the boards is somewhat similar though.
In the game against Gonzaga is where he really made an impact. He finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and two steals in 29 minutes of playing time. He would’ve played more, but he had to sit some due to foul trouble before he eventually did foul out late in the second half.
Baylor had a huge size disadvantage in that game and he was essentially playing the center spot for them for large stretches in this game. That led to Brandon Clarke scoring 36 points in this game on 15-18 shooting as he was just too big and athletic to defend. Vital was crucial in keeping them in this game and that is why he is worthy of this selection.