Jake’s Take On Sports (which focuses on the Bay Area) has a piece about what happened to the Gaels on Thursday:

So what the heck happened?

– Is Baylor that much better than St. Mary’s?
– Did St. Mary’s play its worst game of the season?
– Did Baylor play its best game of the year?
– Was this the worst possible matchup for St. Mary’s, since the Bears had the size in the frontcourt to control Omar Samhan and the speed and length on the perimeter to stop the Gaels’ three-point shooting?
– Were the Gaels overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment?
– Was all the attention St. Mary’s received over the past week so new to them that they could not handle it?
– Did the game’s proximity to the Baylor campus give the Bears a virtual homecourt advantage?
– Are the Gaels much more effective when they get ahead early and can control the pace, but in trouble if they start slowly because they don’t have the athletes to play from behind?
– Did the Gaels play over their heads in the first two tournament games, giving us a skewed impression of their capabilities?
– Are the Gaels sunk if they are not making their three-pointers early on?
– Does St. Mary’s need Omar Samhan to be great if they are to win?
– Did we fall in love with Samhan’s performance on and off the court in the first two games, making us believe he is better than he is?
– Is Baylor better than everyone suspected?

The answer, of course, is “Yes.”

It’s one of those SAT multiple-choice questions: Is the answer A or B or C or D or all of the above? This one is all of the above.

These are all good points, but the two biggest things that struck me about the game was how Baylor came out of the gates on fire (hitting seven of its first 12 shots, including four three-pointers) and how St. Mary’s struggled to figure out Baylor’s zone. There was a stretch after Micky McConnell’s made three with 17:17 remaining in the first half where the Gaels came up empty on six straight possessions. Just like that, Baylor had a 19-7 lead.

The Bears’ zone clearly had the Gaels perplexed. Omar Samhan is used to catching the ball on the block and going to work. Either he takes his guy one-on-one or he sees the double team coming and finds the open man. But against the zone, he’d sometimes catch the ball with two defenders already on him, or even with nobody guarding him. Both situations gave him pause and it basically threw him off his game. Hence, the 1-for-9 start from the field. I also suspect that the enormity of Reliant Park may have had an effect on the St. Mary’s shooters, who are used to playing in smaller gyms in the WCC. Baylor typically plays in arenas and seemed better prepared to play in a football stadium.

So, on the other end of the court, Baylor was able to hit some tough shots early on. It’s demoralizing for a team like St. Mary’s (whose style of play isn’t built for a comeback) to play good, solid defense and see the opponent nail seven relatively tough shots in six-and-a-half minutes. This, combined with the Gaels’ ineptitude on the offensive end led to panic and tightness, which helps to explain the Baylor’s 27-10 run before halftime.

Since CBS bailed on the game midway through the first half, I can only speak to what happened in the first 10 minutes of the game. But it’s tough for a team — any team, really — to overcome such a terrible start.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

St. Mary’s star center is very quotable. Here’s a sample:

On how he ended up at Saint Mary’s …

“I was a McDonald’s All-American coming out … I was waiting for you to laugh, and you didn’t.”

On being matched against Baylor’s Ekpe Udoh …

“He can jump, and I can’t. He’s fast, and I’m not. He’s strong, and I’m not. Although I’ll have trouble guarding him, he’ll have trouble guarding me.”

And the quotes just keep on coming…

After dropping 32 points on Villanova, St. Mary’s big man, Omar Samhan, had a number of funny quotes in the post game press conference.

From the box score to his press conference one-liners, Samhan was both dominating and entertaining. He went 13 of 16 from the field — “I should have been 16-for-16, to be honest,” he said — to live up his nickname, Beast, which he has tattooed on the inside of his lip. That body art belies a throwback post game that showcased his bevy of back-to-the-basket moves and his soft touch.

Samhan said that the N.C.A.A. tournament has been a joy for him, because he regularly sees triple teams in the West Coast Conference. Villanova rarely doubled him Saturday, because they were scared to leave the Gaels host of deft shooters. Samhan criticized Villanova Coach Jay Wright for that decision.

“I get it,” he said. “I’m a slow white guy, and I’m overweight. So maybe you don’t respect me because I have good numbers. But after I kill you the first half, what are you waiting for. I don’t know what he wanted. Did he want me to have 40?”

Samhan wears two-year-old low-cut sneakers that are so worn there are holes in the toes big enough to stick his fingers in.

“We’re so old school,” Samhan said. “I’m in low tops. Our star point guard is named Mickey. Enough said.”

Samhan talks a lot of trash on and off the court, but in the process he exudes confidence that helps to settle his teammates down. When Villanova made its run, Samhan was usually there with a bucket to answer.

Basketball-wise, he can’t really jump and he’s not very quick, but he has a great touch and has a knack for getting open shots around the basket. His go-to move is to throw a little elbow shiver, which knocks the defender on his heels so he has enough room to get his shot off. The draft buzz lately has Samhan going somewhere in the second round, but it’s rare for guys his size (6’11”) to last that long. It will be interesting to see where he’s eventually drafted, because he’s not a player that is going to wow people with his athleticism in private workouts.

One thing is for sure — Samhan’s draft stock is getting a huge boost with the Gaels’ run to the Sweet Sixteen. St. Mary’s has the unenviable task of playing Baylor in Houston, which is only about 3.5 hours from the Bears’ campus in Waco. The crowd promises to be partisan, so Samhan will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to keep the Baylor fans quiet.

Photo from fOTOGLIF