INDIANAPOLIS (AP) â DeJon Jarreau made his way to Kelvin Sampson as he checked out for the final time and gave his coach a long hug.
Quentin Grimes followed a short time later, and both ended up huddled with teammates in tears at the end of the bench as the final seconds of Houston s season ticked away.
It was a brutal finish to the Cougars first Final Four run in nearly four decades, a 78-59 loss to Baylor in Saturday s national semifinals. It wasn t just the loss, it was the way they lost â with the tough defense and relentless rebounding that had been the most essential elements in Sampson s rebuild faltering on college basketball s biggest stage.
San Antonio; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland comes into the matchup with San Antonio as losers of five straight games.
The Spurs have gone 12-16 at home. San Antonio averages 44.2 rebounds per game and is 10-3 when outrebounding opponents.
The Cavaliers are 6-19 in road games. Cleveland has a 10-31 record when allowing over 100 points.
The teams play for the second time this season. The Spurs won the last meeting 116-110 on March 19. Keldon Johnson scored 23 points to help lead San Antonio to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: DeMar DeRozan is averaging 21.1 points and 7.2 assists for the Spurs. Jakob Poeltl is shooting 65.6% and averaging 11.6 points over the last 10 games for San Antonio.
Now, theyâre one win away from the top.
Led by Jared Butler and the rest of their brilliant backcourt, a defense that refused to give Houston an inch and a coach intent on making the most of his first trip to the Final Four, the Bears roared to a 78-59 victory Saturday night in their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals in 71 long years.
âEvery day you re grinding, and you don t really look back. You re pressing forward,â Drew said, âbut I m so blessed to have these unbelievable players that bought into what we like to do with the program.â
Dallas; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Dallas will attempt to keep its four-game win streak alive when the Mavericks take on Utah.
The Mavericks have gone 15-14 against Western Conference teams. Dallas is eighth in the Western Conference shooting 36.1% from deep, led by Maxi Kleber shooting 43.2% from 3-point range.
The Jazz are 16-6 in conference matchups. Utah has a 20-4 record against teams under .500.
The teams meet for the third time this season. The Jazz won 120-101 in the last matchup on Jan. 29. Bojan Bogdanovic led Utah with 32 points, and Luka Doncic led Dallas with 25 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Doncic leads the Mavericks with 8.8 assists and scores 28.6 points per game. Tim Hardaway Jr. is averaging 17.4 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 48.5% over the last 10 games for Dallas.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) â The only reason Baylor s backcourt can t be considered a true brotherhood is the blood coursing through their veins.
Whether they were declaring together for the NBA draft or withdrawing from it, transferring from other schools or helping newcomers acclimate to coach Scott Drew s program, Jared Butler, MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell have done just about everything together over the past couple of years.
That includes leading the Bears to their first national championship game since the 1940s.
But that much-anticipated showdown with unbeaten Gonzaga on Monday night, the only team that kept the Bears from ascending to No. 1 all season, probably wouldn t have been happened had those three not returned to Baylor this season.