INDIANAPOLIS It happened. Finally, it happened.
At last more than 12 months late and in the middle of a pandemic; nearly two decades after being rocked by one of the darkest scandals in NCAA history and against what was thought to be the sport’s most elite team Baylor won a men’s basketball national championship.
Finally, the Bears beat Gonzaga (against whom they were previously 0–5). Finally, they toppled an AP No. 1 team (against whom they were previously 0–8). Finally, they took out a top seed in the NCAA tournament (0–3 before this).
Finally, it happened.
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
In a Big Dance with a record number of upsets, and two days after one of the greatest Final Four games in the event’s history, Baylor and Gonzaga served up a dud of a championship bout, not so befitting of a matchup between the top two seeds in the tournament. The Bears cruised, crushed and crumpled the Bulldogs, delivering one of the more dominant title-game performances of this e
Apr 5, 2021
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It s been 131 days since the 2020–21 college basketball season began last November, and on Monday night in Indianapolis, it comes to a close when Gonzaga and Baylor square off in a highly-anticipated men s national championship game. Which team will be smiling when the confetti falls at Lucas Oil Stadium? SI s expert picks are in.
Pat Forde
Who will win? Gonzaga, 84–83. No halfcourt shot needed this time, but it will still be witheringly tense. Since I’ve picked Gonzaga all along I will ride with the Zags, although I’m concerned about them hitting the wall in the final 10 minutes after the expenditure Saturday night.
Apr 3, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS The shot clock hit zero. The horn buzzed. And the Baylor Bears, it seemed, were doomed from the very start.
Victims of Houston’s insufferable defense on the first possession of the game they couldn’t get a shot off it could only go up from here.
It went up.
Way, way up.
The Bears were never left holding the ball at that buzzer again, aside from the last second, as the final horn screamed over Lucas Oil Stadium to signal their 78–59 victory over No. 2 seed Houston and their entrance into the men s national championship game for the first time since 1948.
this week. Houston went first; next up is Baylor, a program in search of its first men’s national championship and making its first men’s Final Four appearance since 1950. Here s everything you need to know about the Big 12 team coached by Scott Drew.
How It Got Here
The Bears’ run through March Madness has been relatively smooth. They opened their journey with a 79–55 win over No. 16 Hartford, a game that was never close after a few nervy moments late in the first half. Baylor then cruised past Wisconsin thanks to 17 points off the bench from Matthew Mayer.
In the Sweet 16, Drew’s club was tested by a Villanova club playing without star point guard Collin Gillespie. The Bears scored just 23 first-half points and trailed by seven at intermission before bouncing back in the second half, finishing on a 21–10 run to win 62–51. Baylor then punched its ticket to the Final Four with an 81–72 victory over Arkansas, keyed by a 13–2 start.