Staying the Course

Tipoff

The Texas teams that won their way to the Final Four on Monday night had a lesson for all those Athletic Directors out there: stay the course. Scott Drew of Baylor and Kelvin Sampson of Oklahoma both broke long Final Four droughts for their respective schools. Their path to the promised land, however, was anything but a given.

Scott Drew’s win on Monday night was validation for one of the ultimate rebuilding jobs in the sport’s history. Baylor was less than a struggling program when Drew was hired away from tiny Valparaiso University in northwestern Indiana. Former coach Dave Bliss was run out of town in the aftermath of a murder trial involving two former players, one that killed the other. Most of the remaining players left. Who could blame them? The incoming recruits went elsewhere. The team received a ban on postseason play and was barred from non-conference competition for a season. Baylor was starting from scratch in a way few programs have ever had to experience. Drew won only 21 games in his first 3 seasons. The Bears’ coach has now been to 5 Sweet 16s, 3 Elite 8s, and his first Final Four in his 18 seasons in Waco.

Sampson was a pariah of the college game. He was run out of the college game after a series of recruiting violations - calling and texting prospective players too often - while head coach at Indiana University. He left for the NBA and an assistant coaching position. When Mack Rhoades - ironically, the current AD at Baylor - hired Sampson, the program had spent three decades searching for success after reaching 5 Final Fours through 1984. Sampson did not immediately impress, failing to reach the NCAA Tournament in his first three seasons. Since then, the Cougars have been among the best teams in the nation, riding a second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance and now the team’s first Final Four in 37 years. The lesson for all those ADs conducting a coaching search is clear: stay the course. The first three seasons may not be the right measure of success for college coaches. The other lesson may be to hire college coaches from Indiana.

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Tournament Tracker

It’s The Big Dance! Let’s take a look at NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament action and what lies ahead.

NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8

• #1 Gonzaga vs. #6 USC (7:15 p.m. EDT on CBS)

• #1 Michigan vs. #11 UCLA (9:57 p.m. EDT on CBS)

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8

• #1 South Carolina vs. #6 Texas (7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

• #1 Stanford vs. #2 Louisville (9:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

The Mixtape

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

• Folks, we have got a matchup coming up Tuesday night. Gonzaga’s #1 2-point offense will face off against USC and the nation’s #1 2-point defense (shoutout to T-Rank for the stats here) in the Elite 8. USC is TALL and LONG and has a deadly zone defense. Is that going to be enough to slow down the offensive firepower of Gonzaga, including Corey Kispert, Drew Timme, and Jalen Suggs? Da’Sean Butler & Rob Dauster break down the matchup. All that’s at stake in the game is a trip to the Final Four. Oh yeah, Gonzaga is also undefeated and ranked #1 in the country. It’s gonna be a big game!

• The nightcap of the Elite 8 action features Michigan and 11-seeded UCLA. Is Michigan’s Franz Wagner a top 10 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft? Rob Dauster, John Fanta, and The Athletic’s NBA Draft guru Sam Vecenie discuss the potential of the young German that is fueling the Wolverines this season. The comp for Wagner is Robert Covington, a versatile defender and streaky shooter that can play either forward position.

• What was the greatest game ever played? Well, one game had a whole book - a New York Times bestseller - written about it, The Last Great Gameby Gene Wojciechowski. On a very special episode of 68 Shining Moments, two of the participants joined legendary Boston Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan to relive the moment. Duke’s Bobby Hurley and Kentucky’s Sean Woods discussed the game and the most famous ending in the sport. You know how it went. The clock showed 2.1 second. Grant Hill was alone on the baseline and threw an overhead pass to Christian Laettner. Laettner dribbled once, turned, and nailed the jumper from the free throw line. Hurley and Woods take you through the moments leading up to that moment and the aftermath of the game.