The 2021 NCAA Championship is finally upon us after a brutal year full of COVID-19 problems and a 2020 NCAA Tournament that never happened. Baylor and Gonzaga have been the top two teams for the majority of the year and everyone anticipated the clash of the titans. The Baylor Bears crushed Houston in the Final Four while Gonzaga needed some late-game heroics from freshman Jalen Suggs to get there. Gonzaga and Baylor both enter the game with a chance to win their first-ever basketball championship. The Bulldogs have a chance to do it as an undefeated team. This game was sure to have a magical ending for one program after 40 minutes of basketball. The showdown between Mark Few and Scott Drew would be legendary.
First Half-
The Baylor Bears came into the game looking like a team determined the ruin the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ undefeated streak. Davion Mitchell led the way on offense and defense with some stellar plays. He looked like the clear-cut best player on the court. The Gonzaga Bulldogs looked shell-shocked by the stellar Bears’ defense. Baylor led the game 29-10 after ten minutes and had forced six Bulldog turnovers in the process. Two early fouls by Jalen Suggs did Gonzaga no favors. Baylor’s offense looked good, but their defense looked out of this world. While the Bulldogs would put up some fight, the Bear’s shots continued to strip the nets. Baylor would go into the locker room at halftime up 47-37. The Bears were beating the Bulldogs on the scoreboard and effectively everywhere on the box score. Macio Teague led everybody on the court with 14 points at halftime. One major concern for Baylor was having several players in foul trouble.
Baylor came to play ? pic.twitter.com/3Qju1ekBy3
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) April 6, 2021
Second Half
The first seven minutes of the second half would effectively see the two teams trade baskets. Baylor would catch fire again in the next three minutes and stretch their lead to an impressive 73-56 with ten minutes to go. A fourth foul for Drew Timme with 11:30 to go would spell doom and gloom for Gonzaga. It looked like the Baylor Bears were getting ready to cut down the nets for the 2021 NCAA Championship. Baylor would continue to swarm the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball and the perfect season was on its death bed. Gonzaga would never really find their footing in the game after Baylor reclaimed the momentum. The Baylor Bears would win the National Championship with a final score of 86-70.
Mark Vital is flexin’ on ’em ?@BaylorMBB #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/XdEpEpP0AC
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 6, 2021
2021 NCAA Championship Final Recap
The Baylor Bears have won the program’s first NCAA basketball championship with a wire to wire domination of the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Baylor played amazing offense, but the real story was their smothering defense that just stalled out the powerhouse Gonzaga offense throughout the game. Jared Butler would finish with 22 points and seven assists while Macio Tague would finish with 19 points. Davion Mitchell also chipped in 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Jalen Suggs would put up 22 points in what should be his final game as a Bulldog. The Baylor Bears are National Champions.
