One-seed Baylor and 5-seed Villanova met in a Sweet 16 matchup on Saturday. Baylor comes into the Sweet 16 matchup after beating 9-seed Wisconsin 76-63. Villanova is coming off an 84-61 win over 13-seed North Texas.
Baylor had a great regular season, accumulating a 24-2 record. They are led by the trio of Jared Butler, MaCio Teague, and Davion Mitchell. Butler averages 16.9 points, Teague averages 16.1 points, and Mitchell averaged 14.1 points per game this season.
Villanova also had a great season, winning 18 games and losing just 6. Jermiah Robinson-Earl leads them; Robinson-Earl averaged 16 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season. Senior point guard Connor Gillespie suffered a season-ending injury on March 3rd against Creighton.
First Half
The first half of this game belonged to Villanova. They were able to make half their shots from the field, while Baylor made just 34.5% of their shots in the first. Baylor found themselves struggling from deep in the first. They made just 2 of their 12 attempts from deep in the first half, Villanova made 3-8 from the three-point range.
Villanova also held a slight rebound advantage in the first half, outrebounding Baylor 17-15. Turnovers were one of Villanova’s only negatives in the first, as they turned the ball over 7 times. Hot-shooting from Villanova mixed with Baylor’s cold-shooting led to a 30-23 halftime lead for Villanova.
Jermaine Samuels and Justin Moore both had big first halves for Villanova. Samuels led the way, scoring 9 points and grabbing 3 rebounds. Moore scored 7, recorded 4 rebounds, and dished out 2 assists. Robinson-Earl also scored 6 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.
Butler led the way in the first for Baylor. Butler scored 5 points and dished out 2 assists. Adam Flagler scored 5 points off the bench in the first half for Baylor.
Second Half
Baylor was able to find their grove in the second. Baylor’s defense was suffocating in the second half; forcing 9 turnovers. The turnovers helped Baylor get easy buckets, which helped wake up their offense in the second half. Baylor would use an 8-0 run to take a 47-41 lead with 8:20 to go in the game.
Baylor took the lead and wouldn’t look back. Baylor was able to shoot 53.3% from the field in the second half. Meanwhile, they only allowed Villanova to make 10 field goals in the second half. The Baylor defense allowed Villanova to score just 21 points in the second half. Great defense from Baylor sparked the second half comeback and a 62-51 victory.
Flagler led the way for Baylor. He scored 16 points and grabbed 3 rebounds off the bench in the victory. Mitchell scored 14 points.
Samuels scored 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the loss. Moore scored 15, grabbed 3 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. Robinson-Earl scored 8 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. The loss brings an end to Villanova’s season.
With the win Baylor will advance to the Elite 8 where they will face 3-seed Arkansas.
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