The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE defending NCAA Division I men’s national champion got their bid to repeat in the 2021- 22 season off to a promising start when they claimed their second Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis title in programme history.

The No.6 Baylor Bears defeated the Michigan State Spartans 75-58 in Friday’s championship game, at the Atlantis resort’s Imperial Arena.

The Bears remain undefeated in their two Battle 4 Atlantis appearances.

Head coach Scott Drew credited Complete Sports Management for continuing its tradition of organising one of the most challenging tournaments on the annual NCAA schedule and ensuring that his players enjoyed a uniquely Bahamian celebration.

Prior to the trophy presentation, the tournament champions had the opportunity to join in a junkanoo rush out at centre court.

“The postgame celebration - I really wanted these guys to be a part of because the first time I was blown away with how cool it was. They even got some of our older coaches out there dancing with the music. I couldn’t be more pleased and proud of these guys,” Drew said. “Lea Miller-Tooley and the Battle 4 Atlantis are a first-class operation.”

Down 36-31 in the first half, Baylor went on a dominant 32-10 run and improved to 7-0 on the season. MSU has an all-time record of 4-2 in two trips to the Bahamas for the tournament.

“We are who I thought we were. You have to have great toughness to win three games in three days [playing against] different styles,” Drew said of his team. “They were mature the whole time, focused, they treated it like a business trip, now we get to go on the slides and have fun, hopefully none of us older guys get injured. They were humble servants, they played for each other.”

Baylor leads the all-time series with Michigan State 2-0 and both games have been played in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Two of the last three tournament winners have also gone on to win the NCAA national championship (2017-18 Villanova and 2018-19 Virginia).

Drew said he hopes his programme can continue that trend in their bid to repeat.

“As teams and coaches we want to be challenged. To win three games in three days against NCAA Tournament-type teams speaks a lot, gets you ready, exposes where you need to get better, but unless you go up against people - iron sharpens iron - you don’t know what you need to work on,’ he said. “We have good players but they got a lot of character, they got a lot of heart, they got a lot of toughness and togetherness.”

Championship game MVP James Akinjo led the Bears with 15 points. “We want to make a long run in March Madness and this is a resemblance of what it’s going to be like,” he said. “As a team we came out strong every game. There were really good teams and there were ups and downs but we knew as long as we put God first we were going to be ok.”

The field for the 2022 edition of the tournament was recently revealed, featuring several returning programmes and one returning champion.

The Tennesse Volunteers (Southeastern Conference) and Butler Bulldogs (Big East) will each make their third tournament appearance when the tournament tips off November 23-25, 2022.

The 2014 B4A champion, the Wisconsin Badgers (Big 10), headline a list of programmes making their second appearance. That list also includes the Kansas Jayhawks (Big 12), USC Trojans (PAC 12), North Carolina State Wolfpack (ACC) and Dayton Flyers (Atlantic 10).

The BYU Cougars (West Coast Conference) will make their tournament debut.

In addition, the second edition of the women’s tournament will be hosted November 19-21.

The eight team field includes the Louisville Cardinals (ACC), Tennessee Volunteers (SEC), South Dakota State Jackrabbits (Summit League), Rutgers Scarlet Knight (Big 10), UCLA Bruins (PAC 12), Marquette Golden Eagles (Big East), Texas Longhorns Big 12), and Gonzaga Bulldogs (West Coast Conference).