The Baylor Bears led from start to finish on Monday night, in a dominating 86-70 win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Men’s College Basketball National Championship game played in Indianapolis. It is the first title for the men’s basketball program at the school.
Baylor (28-2), outmatched Gonzaga from the tip, scoring the first nine points of the game and leading by as many as 19 in the first half. The Bulldogs were able to cut it to 10 at the halftime break, using a 9-2 run to close out the opening 20 minutes.
Gonzaga (31-1), finally was able to cut the deficit into single digits for the first time since it was 13-4 when Andrew Nembhard made a layup with 14:29 left to play to make it 58-49. The Bears would put it away though with a 15-4 spurt over the next four minutes to take their biggest advantage of the night at 73-53. The Bulldogs never got closer than 13 the rest of the way, losing their first game of the year in their attempt to become the first team since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers to finish a season unblemished.
Jared Butler led Baylor with 22 points. MaCio Teague added 19 points, Davion Mitchell 15, and Adam Flagler chipped in 13. The Bears were 10-23 from the three-point line on the night, including 7-13 between Butler and Flagler. Jalen Suggs would lead Gonzaga in the loss with 22 points, while Corey Kispert and Drew Timme had 12 points a piece. This was just the second national championship game appearance for both men’s programs (Baylor 1948) (Gonzaga 2017). Baylor wins their first title on the same day that their women’s basketball team won their first championship, as the Lady Bears did that back on April 5, 2005.
