Stephen A. Smith Apologizes to Baylor Bears Coach Scott Drew After Predicting Their Loss

Published 04/07/2021, 7:00 AM EDT

The Baylor Bears became the 2020 March Madness tournament champions last night. They upset the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the final and ruined a lot of predictions as well. Very few believed in the Bears, but that only gave them more motivation.

Analyst Stephen A. Smith had also picked the Bulldogs to win the final. But after the game, during a conversation with Baylor head coach Scott Drew, Smith had his apology ready.

He said, “I don’t know if I’ve ever been more wrong. I didn’t watch you guys enough this year to see your guards, Mitchell, Teague, and Butler… To see these guys could play the way that they play. But the sheer domination… It was the first time I’d ever made a prediction and literally thought I was wrong within two minutes. Two minutes into the game I said, ‘Oh my God, what have I done’.”

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Smith also appreciated their dominant start right from tip-off, and their intensity on the boards, which left the Bulldogs shell shocked. They had no answer for the Bears’ aggression and that amazing start set up the win for them.

Historic win for the Baylor Bears

The Bears had not entered the Final Four since 1950. Their last and only championship game was in 1948 when they ended up losing. So they finally ended their 70+ year wait for a championship game and over a 100-year wait for an NCAA title.

While they were also a #1 seed, most of the brackets didn’t even give them a chance to enter the final. A Gonzaga – Illinois final was the most predicted one after the recent rise in form for the Fighting Illini. However, they never made it past the first game. Meanwhile, Baylor made it to the final with minimal attention on them since the Gonzaga unbeaten campaign was the highlight.

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The Bears kept working hard and eventually reached the final. But once again, they were expected to be second favorites. So they used this as motivation and gave the Bulldogs a nightmare. Right from tip-off, their intensity caught the Bulldogs off-guard, and they were never prepared for such an onslaught.

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Baylor had sealed the game within the first two minutes. It was just a matter of not losing their focus after that, and they ended up winning 86-70. Coach Scott Drew will be incredibly proud of his boys, who displayed utmost heart and skill to bring glory to the college.

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Aaron Mathew is a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Mass Media from Xavier’s College, Aaron has been a part of EssentiallySports since May 2020 where he covers both NBA and NCAA basketball news, and has also covered NBA 2K. In the past, Aaron has worked at the Sports Desk of Mumbai Mirror.

Stephen A. Smith Apologizes to Baylor Bears Coach Scott Drew After Predicting Their Loss

Historic win for the Baylor Bears

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