March Madness comes to an end with the Baylor Bears coming out on top as NCAA men’s basketball champions. A blowout victory, 86-70, against the Gonzaga Bulldogs, would land them their first title and put an end to Gonzaga’s undefeated season.
Jared Butler led Baylor with 22 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds while MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell followed right behind him with 19 points and 15 points.
Jalen Suggs would lead Gonzaga in their efforts with 22 points, Corey Kispert and Drew Timme would both follow with 12 points, yet, Kispert’s poor shooting percentages would hurt them in the long run.
Kispert wouldn’t be the only one held to poor shooting percentages, as Gonzaga as a team would only shoot 29.4% from three in their championship game. This was one of the many places Gonzaga excelled, however, Baylor came prepared with amazing defense from start to finish.
Baylor ranked as one of the top defensive teams in the nation before the COVID-19 pause that hit in February, and that type of defense showed up when it mattered most.
“They were just so much more aggressive than us,” said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. “They just literally busted us out of anything we could possibly do on offense.”
Putting into perspective how extraordinary this defense was, Gonzaga is ranked as one of the most efficient teams on the offensive end in the country, and for the first time in a while, they looked completely lost on the court.
Baylor would hold onto the lead for the entire game, giving Gonzaga no hope throughout. Red hot shooting combined with near-perfect defense would have the Bulldogs on the ropes looking for a counter. This counter would never be found, however, as Baylor would be up by as much as 20 points in the game at one point.
While Gonzaga did fail to complete a perfect season this year, success is not out of the question anytime soon. The Bulldogs remain the favorites going into the 2021-22 men’s college basketball season and look to come back stronger than ever.
Baylor follows as favorite’s coming off this championship run, and looks to repeat their success. Other teams, such as UCLA, Michigan, Duke, and many others look to steal the spotlight from these two and come out on top.
While statistics may lean toward one specific team as favorites, the beauty of March Madness is that when it comes around, anything is possible.
