Baylor puts an end to Gonzaga’s perfect season, wins NCAA title in beatdown.
INDIANAPOLIS — Heck, everyone’s entitled to an off night. But that beatdown Baylor put on undefeated Gonzaga with the national title on the line — nobody saw that coming.
The freshascanbe Bears obliterated wobblylegged Gonzaga’s march to perfection Monday night in an 8670 runaway that brought this oncedowntrodden program’s first national title back home to Waco, Texas.
Jared Butler scored 22 points and MaCio Teague had 19 for the Bears (282), who were ranked second or third in the AP poll all year long — but not first, all because of one team.
Pounding the offensive glass and scrapping for — and winning — the lion’s share of the 5050 balls, Baylor didn’t let this one come down to a Jalen Suggs shot. The Gonzaga freshman’s buzzerbeater from just inside the halfcourt logo got the Zags to the final in a game that stood as their first true test of the season.
They passed against UCLA. Against Baylor? Not even close.
After running to a 19point lead early, the Bears didn’t let Gonzaga get any closer than nine. Butler made four 3pointers and added seven assists, and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
“They came out, they fed off each other, we got off to a great start and defensively. We’re pretty good,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said.
Sure are.
Guard Davion Mitchell — nicknamed “Off Night” because so many opponents encounter one when they go against him — finished with 15 points and did his best on Suggs. The freshman finished with 22 points — most of them after the Zags were well into desperation mode — and likely will be heading to the NBA lottery next.
Gonzaga’s first loss in 32 games this season — 36 dating to 201920 — leaves Indiana’s 197576 team as the last to go undefeated. If Scott May, Quinn Buckner and the rest of head coach Bob Knight’s team were keeping Champagne cold to celebrate — a la the perfect 1972 Miami Dolphins — they could’ve uncorked it by halftime.
Or sooner.
Baylor was up 90 after 2½ minutes and the Bulldogs faced only their fourth doubledigit deficit of the season at 111. They faced their biggest deficit of the season — 15 points — with 7:10 gone. By then, Suggs had two fouls and was watching from the bench.
He tried hard to breathe some fire into his teammates, or the Zags’ fans — who made about as much noise as the cardboard cutouts that were scattered through Lucas Oil Stadium to make it seem full.
“Let’s …. go!” Suggs screamed after he got fouled on a layup early in the second half. He missed the freethrow try.
But more than anything in the title game, it was Suggs’ memorable basket two nights earlier that laid the groundwork for this one. His bank shot at the buzzer capped one of the most riveting college basketball games ever. Back on the floor about 46 hours after that emotional roller coaster, it was clear the Zags were gassed.
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, now 02 in title games, gave full credit to Baylor, and didn’t blame his team’s fatigue.
“Obviously, it’s a tough turnaround, but it was more just the aggressiveness and athleticism of Baylor,” Few said. “They deserved it. Quite frankly, they were terrific” the entire tournament.
Baylor outscored all six of its opponents by an average of 15 points.
The sequence that best illustrated the energy gap came about six minutes into the game when Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua slapped the ball out of Drew Timme’s hands and the Bears worked the ball ahead to Mitchell. He missed a layup try, but Tchamwa Tchatchoua got the offensive rebound and fed Adam Flagler for a 3.
Gonzaga was practically just standing there for it all.
This was one of the mostanticipated finals in recent history, a meeting of the two best teams from the past two seasons — this one and 2020, when the coronavirus scrapped the action before tournament time. They were scheduled to meet this season in Indy, on Dec. 5, but a virus outbreak on the Gonzaga team ended those plans.
But Monday’s game didn’t live up to the hype, and it was out of hand early.