NCAA championship: Baylor up by double digits over Zags at halftime Share Updated: 10:31 PM EDT Apr 5, 2021 Associated Press AP Photo/Darron Cummings Baylor guard MaCio Teague drives past Gonzaga forward Corey Kispert (24) during the first half of the championship game in the men s Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 5, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. SOURCE: AP Photo/Darron Cummings
TRACKING THE COVID-19 VACCINE Share Updated: 10:31 PM EDT Apr 5, 2021 Associated Press CNN The two best teams in men s college basketball all season long will meet in the national championship game Monday night when the Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the Baylor Bears.Though March s tournament is known for its madness and upsets, this title matchup is no surprise. Preseason rankings from back in November pegged Gonzaga and Baylor as the top two teams in the
Gonzaga To Battle Baylor For Men s College Hoops Title
Basketball fans love two types of March Madness matchups.
David vs Goliath. The classic little school against big school with the hope that little prevails.
And then there s power vs power. While we may lose the shock of an underdog win, we gain the potential awesomeness of two complete, deep basketball teams going at each other and seeing who s left standing.
In other words, Gonzaga vs Baylor 2021.
It s a matchup (collision?) that should ve happened last December, but the coronavirus intervened.
It s a matchup that probably should ve happened last March, in the men s Division 1 tournament. But, well, see above.
There are no surprises in the starting lineups for Baylor and Gonzaga in the national championship game.
The Bears will go with their dynamic backcourt of All-American guard Jared Butler, defensive player of the year Davion Mitchell and sharp-shooter MaCio Teague. Mark Vital and Flo Thamba will patrol the paint for them.
The Bulldogs will counter with Jalen Suggs, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime sent them past UCLA in the semifinals, alongside fellow guards Andrew Nembhard and Joel Ayayi. All-American forward Corey Kispert and Drew Timme, who also had a monster game against the Bruins, will round out the starters.
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Darron Cummings/Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS Baylor only had 48 hours to prepare for undefeated Gonzaga. Despite that small window, head coach Scott Drew and his staff devised the perfect strategy. And on the national championship stage, the players executed to perfection.
The plan? Brilliant, yet basic: Make a bunch of shots. If you miss, get the rebound and make a bunch more shots.
Genius, they say.
Basketball can be a complicated game, but Baylor required nothing fancy to rout Gonzaga 86-70 and secure the first men s national title in program history. It was a thorough, fundamental-driven blowout Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.