Scott Drew, Bob Huggins Among Naismith Semifinalists
Baylor head coach Scott Drew and West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins are semifinalists for the 2021 Naismith Coach of the Year award, the Atlanta Tip-off club announced on Friday.
Drew just led the Bears to their first Big 12 regular-season championship, beating West Virginia on Tuesday to clinch the title. It was also Baylor’s first conference championship since 1950 and means it will be the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament next week.
Drew has led the bears to a 20-1 record, with a 12-1 record in the Big 12. The Bears have been the No. 2 team in the nation most of the season, behind No. 1 Gonzaga. They are No. 3 this week after a loss to Kansas last weekend. But, with wins over West Virginia and Oklahoma State, the Bears could move back up to No. 2 with a win over Texas Tech this weekend.
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Huggins has led the Mountaineers to an 18-7 season, with an 11-5 record in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers are in second place in the Big 12, heading into Saturday’s finale against Oklahoma State. A win there would mean the Mountaineers would be the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
Huggins is one wins away from winning the 900th game of his career and is a candidate for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this year.
Four finalists will be named March 17. The winner will be announced April 4.
2021 Naismith Coach of the Year semifinalists
Darian DeVries, Drake
Scott Drew, Baylor
Mark Few, Gonzaga
Leonard Hamilton, Florida State
Chris Holtmann, Ohio State
Juwan Howard, Michigan
Bob Huggins, West Virginia
Porter Moser, Loyola Chicago
Eric Musselman, Arkansas
Nate Oats, Alabama
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard. Send him a tweet with your question to be included in this week’s Big 12 Basketball Mailbag, which appears each Friday during the conference season.
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