Baylor Basketball’s second half adjustment leads to victory over Villanova
By Andrew Tineo
Just 15 months ago, Villanova and Baylor Basketball clashed in the Myrtle Beach Invitational, in the championship game. In that contest, it was an Elite 8-Esque contest, with both teams trading blows and offense was of the premium.
Although this game had the same feeling, the offense was the exact opposite.
Both teams would come out of the gates with physicality and strong defense. Flo Thamba would start off with two early fouls, putting the pressure on Johnathon Tchamwa Tchatchoua playing a plethora of key minutes.
The Bears struggled from the field, missing their first three three-point shots and sloppy play. Even with that, the Bears were tied at six, five minutes into the contest.
The defense would step up for the Bears. Villanova averaged 8.8 turnovers per game. Through the first 10 minutes, Baylor would force five turnovers. Even with the fantastic defense, the three-point shooting would continue to be a flaw.
After Baylor had their biggest lead at seven, Back-to-back three’s from Villanova would have the Bears lead to just one. As a theme in the first half, Baylor could not hit a three-point shot.
Adam Flagler was able to give the Bears a spark with a baseline layup and three-pointer. Outside of that, no player scored a single point through the final eight minutes of the game.
Heading into the halftime, Baylor had it’s largest deficit in the tournament at 7, 30-23.
Baylor would come out of the second half, with consecutive baskets near the rim. However, Baylor’s three-point drought would continue, alongside Jared Butler. The Big 12 Player of the Year had just five points and shooting 2-9 from the field through 25 minutes.
Coming out of half time, Scott Drew made it a priority to focus on scoring near the rim. Baylor’s first 16 points came from in the interior, with five different players scoring in that area.
Baylor would create a spark with turnovers, similar to their second-round game against Wisconsin. The Bears would go on an 8-0 run to grab a lead and push it to six.
The first made three would not happen until five minutes left, off of another turnover. Adam Flagler came through with a humongous transition three to make it a seven-point lead.
Nine turnovers in the second half headlined the ferocious defensive effort down the stretch. Flagler, who was clutch down the stretch, put the game on ice and a 62-51 win. Adam Flagler led the way, with 16 points on 4-6 from the field and 6-6 from the line.