Baylor, Gonzaga to meet in championship game
INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly two decades ago, Scott Drew decided to leave his comfort zone at tiny Valparaiso for the scandal- plagued basketball program at Baylor, explaining to his father that there was nowhere for the Bears to go but up.
Now, they’re one win away from the top.
Led by Jared Butler and the rest of their brilliant backcourt, a defense that refused to give Houston an inch, and a coach intent on making the most of his first trip to the Final Four, the Bears roared to a 78- 59 victory Saturday night in their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals in 71 long years.
Butler scored 17 points, but just about everyone from Baylor ( 27- 2) got in on the act. The Bears had five players score in double figures. They built a 45- 20 lead by halftime and coasted the rest of the way to their second title game.
They’ll face Gonzaga, the overall No. 1 seed, on Monday night for their first national championship.
Marcus Sasser had 20 points for the cold- shooting Cougars ( 28- 4), whose dream path to their first Final Four since 1984 — they faced teams seeded 15th, 10th, 11th and 12th along the way — ended with a whimper against a team focused squarely on this night since the moment last year’s tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.
GONZAGA 93, UCLA 90 ( OT)
INDIANAPOLIS — The shot by Jalen Suggs — perfect!
The Gonzaga freshman banked in a shot at the buzzer from just inside the halfcourt logo Saturday night to lift the Zags to a 93- 90 overtime win over UCLA and move them one win away from an undefeated season and a national title.
It was the best game of the tournament, and, considering the stakes, maybe the best finish in the history of March Madness — a banker from near midcourt to keep a perfect season alive.
After the shot went in, Suggs ran to the mostly empty press row, jumped up and pumped his fists a few times. The refs checked to make sure he got the shot off before the buzzer sounded. He did, and the Bulldogs moved onto Monday night’s final.