Patrick Semansky AP Photo
Baylor has traveled a long, hard-fought journey to get where it stands today: just one win away from the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The school’s basketball program has been riddled by scandal and hampered by limited scholarship funds, and when coach Scott Drew arrived, his plan to become the “Duke of the Southwest” seemed far-fetched. Not anymore. It’s Duke the Bears must defeat Sunday, ironically, and even Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski says of Baylor, “They’re very good… They could win the whole thing.” Both schools are small and prized for their academic rigor, but there’s long been a huge gap between their basketball programs. Duke has been in the Final Four 11 times under Krzyzewski; the last time Baylor was there was 1950. But Drew has worked tirelessly on consistency and confidence.