No. 1 seed Baylor survives No. 5 Villanova, advances to Elite Eight in men’s NCAA Tournament
Oregon State becomes just second No. 12 seed to make men’s Elite Eight
UGLY WIN: Sweet 16 victory a game of beauty – for the Beavers
“Coach told us we can get to the paint anytime we want,” Bears junior guard Davion Mitchell said. “All our missed threes were off the dribble. We were basically bailing them out. We weren’t making them guard.”
The Wildcats hung tough. It wasn’t until Jared Butler’s layup midway through the second half that Baylor finally went ahead for the first time since 6:21 left in the first half.
Flagler’s three-pointer, the team’s only one of the second half, pushed the lead to seven. Mitchell, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, hit consecutive baskets to make the advantage nine with 2:33 left. From there, free throws locked the game up.
“We love to be in the bubble,” Mitchell said afterward. “We put in a lot of work, put in a lot of time. Our whole lives we’ve been working for this moment, man. We love to win. We love to keep playing.”
Villanova’s season ends with disappointment. Hoping to reach their third Final Four in the past five editions of the event, the Wildcats were playing without second-leading scorer Collin Gillespie, who was injured late in the season. They still won the Big East regular-season title, but their seeding suffered after dropping three of their last four games, including the first game of the conference tournament.
Follow colleges reporter Erick Smith on Twitter @ericksmith
Contributing: Zach Osterman
