T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas) – As Oklahoma center Mohamed Wegg extended his hand to help teammate Darian Reed off the floor, a smile spread across his face. “That’s my block!” Velocity shouted, pleading for another tally on the stat sheet. Reed could only laugh in response as Velocity brought him to his feet.
Seconds earlier, the two collided near the rim, seemingly combined to deny a layup attempt by Baylor guard Isaac Williams IV. It was unclear whether Velocity or Reed actually hit the shot, but with a double-digit lead in the waning moments, the Sooners were comfortably in position to enjoy the comedy of a two-man block.
The official scorekeeper eventually credited Velocity with the stuff, but by that time, the Sooners had done enough to punch their ticket to the championship game for the second annual college basketball crown, holding off Baylor for an eventual 82–69 victory. Oklahoma will now take on West Virginia with $300,000 in prize money on Sunday afternoon (5:30 p.m. ET on Fox). In the other semi-final the Mountaineers defeated Creighton 87–70.
Here are my takeaways from Day 3 of the College Basketball Crown:
1. An unprecedented era comes to an end for Creighton
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott speaks at a press conference after the semifinal game against West Virginia. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)
Only Bluejays head coach Doug McDermott knows when the hollow reality of Saturday’s result hit him forever.
Perhaps that happened when West Virginia forward DJ Thomas, who is averaging just 6.3 points per game, drove and turned in the lane for a layup that cut the Mountaineers’ lead to nine with 12:13 remaining. Or maybe the recognition was established when guard Honor Huff ran a beautiful pick-and-roll with center Harlan Obioha that resulted in a traditional three-point play, cutting the margin to 14 points with 10:03 remaining. If it wasn’t any of those moments, he certainly knew it by the 5:18 mark when Huff buried a stepback 3 from the left wing that extended Creighton’s deficit to 14, causing McDermott to hang his head and turn around for a slow walk toward the bench.
McDermott said in the post-game press conference, “I was thinking about it, but you never want it to end. You want it to end with a win, especially for the guys. This team has been through a lot this season, and they’ve been incredibly close and have had each other through some tough times.”
A blowout loss in his final game did not diminish the enormity of McDermott’s success in 16 seasons with the Bluejays. He had 366 wins with a .659 winning percentage. He participated in 10 NCAA Tournaments. They reached three Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight. They won one Big East championship and three Missouri Valley Conference tournament titles. They produced six NBA draft picks.
When news of McDermott’s impending retirement became public last month, the school announced that associate head coach Alan Huss would take over after the season ended. In Hus, the Bluejays are now promoting one of the more respected assistant coaches in the country. He began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at New Mexico (2014–17) before joining McDermott’s staff for seven years (2017–23), which included five trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Huss was named head coach at High Point ahead of the 2023–24 campaign. He spent two seasons with the Panthers, one of which included an appearance in the Big Dance, before returning to Creighton in succession.
He has a huge void to fill.
“When (McDermott) announced his retirement, I sent him a long message,” Oklahoma head coach and Creighton alumnus Porter Moser said in response to my question about the legacy McDermott built at Creighton. “And I said, ‘As a peer: Congratulations, man. Congratulations on the Hall-of-Fame career. Congratulations on everything you’ve done.’ And then I said, ‘As a former player who wore a Bluejay jersey: thank you for elevating the program.’ You know, thank you for everything you’ve done to bring that program into the national spotlight and make it the kind of name it is.’
“Great guy, great coach.”
2. West Virginia played brutal defense
Creighton Bluejays’ Jason Green shoots against West Virginia’s Brennan Lorient and DJ Thomas. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)
Unlike Oklahoma, which arrived at this year’s college basketball crown with the best offense in the area, the Mountaineers came into the program with far more proficiency on the opposite end of the floor. West Virginia advances to Saturday’s semifinal against Creighton, ranked 17th in the nation in defensive efficiency. According to KenpomAnd demonstrated their power in crushing the Bluejays.
Creighton shot 42.9% from the floor and 31.3% from beyond the arc in the opening half – numbers that would be considered at the low end of acceptable for most offenses – but what happened around the rim told the real story. As West Virginia scored 22 points in the paint and made 10 of 14 shots on layups or dunks, the Bluejays were barely able to get close to the rim. He only had four layup attempts in the entire half, making three of them, and did not record a single dunk.
“I think we did a really good job of showing our hands,” West Virginia forward Brennan Lorient said in response to my question about the defensive effort. “Coach (Ross Hodge) just emphasized staying solid and showing his hands and limiting catch-and-shoot 3s.”
That effort matches the brutal defensive style that West Virginia has played all season under Hodge, formerly of North Texas. Hodge’s group entered the weekend ranked 12th nationally in opponent 2-point field goal percentage, limiting foes to 45.9% on attempts generated inside the arc. The Mountaineers defend the paint as successfully as anyone in college basketball.
Their challenge now will be to face an elite Oklahoma offense that has demonstrated the ability to score both inside and outside.
3. Solve difficult 1-3-1 zones early to get away from the boiler
Darian Reed of the Oklahoma Sooners shoots against Obi Egbim of the Baylor Bears. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)
Everything about the format of Saturday’s semifinal matchup between Baylor and Oklahoma changed when the Bears changed their defensive philosophy. After watching his defense concede 45 points on 51.4% shooting in the first half, Baylor head coach Scott Drew instructed his team to run an aggressive 1-3-1 zone after the break. They deployed 6-foot-9 center Caden Powell along the baseline and allowed athletic guards Tounde Yessoufou and Cameron Carr – both likely selected in the first round in the NBA draft – to block vast stretches of the 3-point line with their spectacular wingspans.
The effect was equally profound and immediate. Disorganized and confused, the Sooners missed 10 of their first 14 field goal attempts early in the second half. Once Baylor ignited from beyond the arc, the double-digit advantage dwindled in an instant, with Carr and Williams combining to hit three triples in less than four minutes. And once Yessoufou pinned a blocked shot against the glass and flew coast-to-coast for a transition layup, the Bears went ahead by a point with 13:16 remaining.
“We knew Baylor was a championship program with Hall-of-Fame coach Scott (Drew), that they would come in the second half and give it their all,” Moser said during the postgame news conference. “They punched us in the face in the first five minutes.”
Once the under-12 media timeout came and went, Moser’s team began to take advantage of some cracks in Baylor’s field. Oklahoma found creative ways to isolate Powell or fellow big man James Nnaji one-on-one in the post, leading to several easy baskets from close. The Sooners made eight field goals on 11 attempts to take control of the game and take a lead they would never relinquish. They outscored the Bears by 13 points in the final 10 minutes.
“I thought we just stuck with it,” Moser said in response to my question about finding late-game success. “We made some shots, continued to do what we were doing and you’re going to do that against a zone. The thing about zone is you just have to stay aggressive, stay confident in it. You can’t hesitate. We were getting the ball where we needed it in the middle. I thought they did a really good job.”
4. Xavier Brown continues strong tournament performance for Oklahoma
Xavier Brown of the Oklahoma Sooners dribbles against the Baylor Bears. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)
Oklahoma guard Xavier Brown played a key role as the Sooners erased an eight-point deficit in the second half against Colorado on Wednesday, forcing overtime and holding off the Buffaloes. He scored 11 of his 17 points after the half to ensure that the Sooners, who entered this year’s event as heavy favorites to cut down the nets, avoided an upset in the quarterfinals.
Two days later, Brown performed even better in a win over Baylor, adding the same scoring punch he had delivered earlier in the week with remarkable efficiency and delivery. He scored 16 points in the first half alone, slaying the Bears from all parts of the court: He hit a pull-up jumper from the left baseline, an easy transition layup ahead of the pack, a layup through contact in the lane to create a traditional three-point play, and a triple from beyond the arc.
Brown scored or assisted on exactly half of his team’s 18 field goals in the opening half, highlighting his all-around floor game. He also made 5 of 5 shots from the free-throw line, giving the Sooners a 10-point halftime advantage.
“Axe has been great for us all year,” forward Tae Davis said in response to my question about Brown’s performance. “A floor general, he does it all the way. That’s a huge thing for us because he does a lot on both ends of the floor. He creates, and he can create for himself. So that’s a huge boost for us every game.”
Brown’s impact was also felt amid a relatively quiet second half, in which he played for over 13 minutes without scoring any more points. His 3-pointer from the right wing with 4:37 remaining extended Oklahoma’s lead back to double digits and ensured the Sooners a spot in the championship game. He finished with a game-high 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
4½. What will happen next?
Here are some stories to watch ahead of the championship game:
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia (Sunday) – With eight wins in their last 11 games in the college basketball crown, the Sooners were always the most popular choice to reach the championship game and ultimately win it. An overtime scare against Colorado in the quarterfinals gave way to a more controlled victory over Baylor in the semifinals. Now, Oklahoma has a chance to cut down the net on Sunday after its biggest upset in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile, West Virginia overcame an eight-point deficit in the final minutes against Stanford to force overtime and survive the quarterfinals. From there, the Mountaineers dismantled Creighton in a dominant semifinal win, limiting the Bluejays to only 33 points in the second half. Now, the stage is set for the championship game between the tournament’s best offense (Oklahoma) and its best defense (West Virginia).
