INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — On the season, only the top-overall seed Gonzaga has been in the same conversation as No. 1 Baylor (23-2). During the season, they held firm at No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Poll for 15 of the 17 weeks. Many, if not all experts, see this team as the top competition for Gonzaga in terms of the National Championship.
Early on, trouble was in their first-round matchup with No. 16 Hartford (15-9). Through the first 6 minutes and 30 seconds, Hartford had a 10-6 lead and looked in control. However, it did not take long for Baylor to get back on track. In the final eight minutes in the first half, they went on a 24-8 run to take a 16-point lead. They never looked back, securing a 79-55 win and advancing to the 2nd round.
For Baylor, they were led by senior guard Macio Teague. His 22 points on 9 of 17 shooting led the team. As a team, it was their defense that led the charge. They came away with 15 steals and forced 24 total Hartford turnovers. That translated to the Baylor offense getting 21 more field goal attempts by the end of the game. They shot 31 of 75 (41.3%) from the field as a team.
Baylor survives an early Hartford surge
During the regular season, Baylor rarely struggled to score. Entering the game, their lowest point total during a half was 28 points; that came in the second half of a loss to No. 3 Seed Kansas. On Friday, they seemed in danger of coming well short of that mark; with just under eight minutes to go in the 1st half, Baylor had only 13 points.
That was when Baylor took over. Johnathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua responded with a monster dunk out of the media timeout, and they were off. After an Adam Flagler three, Tchamwa Tchatchoua slammed home another dunk to push the lead to six. Teague took over down the stretch, scoring 7 of the last 9 points to stretch the lead to 16 at halftime.
Out of halftime, Teague picked up where he left off, drilling another three-pointer. He hit 4 of 8 from behind-the-arc on the game as Baylor dominated the second half. Hartford came as close as 13 after halftime, but turnovers slowed their offense. They shot just 35.2% from the field as a team.
Up Next
No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 9 Wisconsin, Sunday, March 21, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
