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I normally like for my post-game writeups to hit the high points of the game, talk a bit about how things went, and then finish with either a look ahead at the next one or a short statement of how we can get better. I'm going to dispense with most of that today because the results speak for themselves. Tonight, the #6 seed Baylor Bears absolutely laid waste to the #3 seed Creighton Bluejays, earning Scott Drew's first win over a higher-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament and silencing many of his detractors. The beating was so thorough, the domination so complete, that not only did Baylor lead by 20 at the half, it took until 6:41 remained in the game for Creighton to eclipse Baylor's halftime score. The Bears were the better team in every possible respect, and as you'll see below from the tweets, praise for our much-maligned coach Scott Drew rained from virtually every corner. Steve Kerr on the telecast summed up the game fairly well:
"This is like watching a varsity team play a JV squad... the athleticism and size at every position..." -- Steve Kerr.
— OurDailyBears (@OurDailyBears) March 24, 2014
It's hard to put into words the coaching job Scott Drew did getting Baylor ready for this game. The best 3-point shooting team in the country, a team basically built to beat the zone defense, went 5-24 from behind the arc. Perhaps the frontrunner for National Player of the Year, Doug McDermott, finished the game with 15 points, nearly all of which came after the game was already over in the second half. Tonight was just the latest incredible performance in what has become possibly the greatest in-season turnaround in CBB history, a 30-point beatdown of a favored Creighton team primed for a huge run.
Hit the link here for the full box score. All 5 Baylor starters scored in double figures and the team as a whole shot >60% from the field, including 11-18 from 3. The Bears will now face #2 seed Wisconsin in the Sweet Sixteen.
Hope you packed a lunch. This From the Twitterverse section could take a while:
Baylor ... Clinic. What an offensive display. Carving up Creighton.
— Brad Evans (@YahooNoise) March 24, 2014
but i DID take baylor over creighton. #BEATEMDOWN
— Bomani Jones (@bomani_jones) March 24, 2014
Baylor has more length than a Yes song.
— Jimmie Tramel (@JimmieTramel) March 24, 2014
Hello Baylor & sadly this is a goodbye 2 Doug McDermott. He will 4ever be etched in stone as 1 of the greats in college basketball history
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) March 24, 2014
Great things happen when you outshoot your opponent from three by 60 percent. #Baylor
— David Ubben (@davidubben) March 24, 2014
Apparently Art Briles was consulted on this Baylor game plan tonight.
— @BarkingCarnival (@BarkingCarnival) March 24, 2014
Well it looks like Disneyland will have to start stitching "Baylor" on the back of some Mickey ears. Bears would face Wisconsin next
— Pierre Noujaim (@TheNouj) March 24, 2014
Scott Drew has gotten an awful lot of criticism for a guy who has engineered the greatest rebuilding job in CBB history at @BaylorMBB.
— Eric Prisbell (@EricPrisbell) March 24, 2014
Been away from the TV. This must be a masterful coaching job by Scott Drew and his staff. My god.
— Todd Wills (@wtwills09) March 24, 2014
Scott Drew, one of the most maligned coaches in the biz, gets the kind of victory that should burnish his image much.
— Tim Griffin (@TimGriffinBig12) March 24, 2014
This to be driving you @BUDREW haters insane!
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) March 24, 2014
Let's call it like it is: Scott Drew and Baylor are putting on a clinic. BU has a superior gameplan and superior players.
— Tully Corcoran (@tullycorcoran) March 24, 2014
One impressive aspect of Baylor’s defense tonight is that they know who they want to shoot and where. Biggest thing to take from this.
— Raphielle Johnson (@raphiellej) March 24, 2014
I think Rico Gathers just grabbed a rebound and accidentally ripped off a Creighton players arm for the helluva it, Baylor 65-41.
— David Smoak (@DavidSmoak) March 24, 2014
Scott Drew three minutes away from improving to 8-3 in the NCAA Tournament
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) March 24, 2014
baylor gonna baylor #siceveryone pic.twitter.com/C5xyJ6GtFW
— nick pants (@nick_pants) March 24, 2014
Your Baylor Bears are headed to the Sweet 16. #SicMarch pic.twitter.com/eztVOwxHzL
— Baylor Basketball (@BaylorMBB) March 24, 2014
Baylor held McBuckets to 15 points. Before today, he'd scored fewer than 20 twice since New Year's.
— David Ubben (@davidubben) March 24, 2014
Anaheim here we come... pic.twitter.com/NEmr6umc8b
— Baylor Basketball (@BaylorMBB) March 24, 2014
Baylor's entire team just mussed up Craig Sager's hair, which is the weirdest/best celebration ever.
— Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) March 24, 2014
Head coach Scott Drew fist bumping all #Baylor players, staff, and personnel as they walk by. #sicem pic.twitter.com/J0K9JNbuSV
— Annabel Stephan (@AnnabelStephan) March 24, 2014
Love the national broadcast signing off to the strains of BUGWB and "That Good Old Baylor Line." #SicEm #SicMarch
— Baylor Proud (@BaylorProud) March 24, 2014
I'll stop there, but I could go on forever. Just search "Baylor" or "Scott Drew" on twitter and see for yourself. This was the kind of performance that changes perceptions, and Baylor was on the winning side. Wisconsin is next.
Oh, that "BU" chant at the end was nice, you guys. That was nice.