The first half of the 2021 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight is upon us after some phenomenal Sweet Sixteen games took place just two days ago. The Houston Cougars face off against the Oregon State Beavers while the Baylor Bears take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. This Def Pen Live Recap will take us through these two games that will determine the first matchup of this year’s Final Four. The final stages of March Madness are just around the corner.
No. 12 Oregon State Vs. No.2 Houston Cougars
Houston 67 – Oregon State 61
The first ten minutes of the game saw the Houston Cougars firmly in control of the game. They led the Beavers 14-6 in those first ten minutes. Houston would continue to control the first half against the Beavers. The red hot Oregon State Beavers had no answer for the Cougars on either side of the ball. Houston would go into halftime with a 34-17 lead and looked very much like a team headed to the 2021 NCAA Tournament Final Four. Sophomore guard Marcus Sasser led all scorers with 11 points. Oregon State went into halftime with just seven field goals made and no player with more than five points.
Oregon State came into the second half and had seemingly figured things out of the offensive side of the ball. The problem the Beavers faced was their inability to get stops against a hot Cougars team. Houston’s Marcus Sasser would take a hard fall with 14:54 left in the game and would take a seat on the bench with a game-high 19 points. Sasser would check back in with just over 12 minutes to go. With just ten minutes left in the game, the Cougars controlled the game with a 50-37 lead. Oregon State would catch fire over the next few minutes and cut the Houston lead. A Quentin Grimes three would stop the Houston drought, but there was an intense game on their hands.
TRADING BUCKETS ?@BeaverMBB–@UHCougarMBK coming down to the wire. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/wjek4zlirm
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 30, 2021
With just over 3:30 seconds left in the game, the Beavers would tie the game at 55 points. Houston would quickly respond with a three to take the lead back. Oregon State would make the game interesting but just couldn’t match Houston to end the game. The Cougars would win the game with a score of 67-61. Marcus Sasser led the way with 20 points and Quentin Grimes chipped in 18 of his own. Dejon Jarreau got dangerously close to a triple-double with ten points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. The Houston Cougars will play the winner of Baylor and Arkansas in the Final Four.
No. 3 Arkansas Vs. No. 1 Baylor
Baylor 81 – Arkansas 72
Baylor has been looked at all season as the biggest threat to the number one overall seed Gonzaga. Tonight they have to take down a talented three seeded Arkansas Razorback team to get to the Final Four. Baylor started the game hot and looked liked the one seed that they are. They led the Razorbacks 29-13 with about ten minutes left in the first half. The Baylor Bears continued to look like a well-oiled machine in the first half. Arkansas fought back into the game but at halftime, the Bears still led 46-38. Macio Teague led the Bears with 12 points while JD Notae led the Razorbacks with 12 as well.
MaCio Teague drains two HUGE threes ?@BaylorMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/YaEbMV6KWr
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 30, 2021
Arkansas came out of halftime firing, but Baylor matched their tempo. The teams effectively traded baskets for the first ten minutes of the second half. Baylor led the Razorbacks 62-56 with ten minutes to go in the game. Arkansas would make a few runs to attempt to tie but each time Baylor would respond with counter punches. Baylor maintained a 69-61 lead with 4:27 left in the game. Baylor would overwhelm Arkansas and control the remainder of the game and defeat the Razorbacks 81-72. Macio Teague led the Bears in scoring with 22 points and five rebounds. The Bears will advance to the 2021 NCAA Tournament Final Four and take on the Houston Cougars.
