Only Gonzaga and Baylor Remain for The 2021 National Title

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Aidan Gavey

Custom Image by Aidan Garvey depicting Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs and Baylor’s Davion Mitchell

Aidan Garvey, Sports Editor

After a long month of upsets and chaos, March Madness comes to an end tonight in Indianapolis. Number 1 seed Gonzaga from the West, will take on number 1 seed Baylor from the South. Lucas Oil Stadium will play as host to the final and either Washington or Texas will be home of a brand new National Championship Trophy.

Gonzaga Bulldogs: 31-0 (-4.5 ; -210)

Gonzaga entered the tournament with a record of 26-0, and hasn’t stopped their domination yet. The Bulldogs strolled to the final four, with wins over upper ranking teams such as Oklahoma, Creighton and USC.

However, Gonzaga’s trouncing of the West started in the first round, where the buried Norfolk State 98-55. Corey Kispert led the charge for Baylor in that matchup, scoring 23 points, sinking 6 three pointers and gathering 5 rebounds.

In the second round Drew Timme took charge for the Bulldogs, coupling his insane 30 point performance with 13 rebounds. Timme continued on his path against Creighton in the Sweet 16, scoring 22 points, along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Timme’s destruction of the West then carried into the Elite 8, where his 23 points carried the Bulldogs over USC.

Gonzaga was confronted with their first form of adversity in the Final Four against UCLA. The Bulldogs defeated the Bruins 93-90, propelled by a 25 point performance by Timme, coupled by 22 points from Joel Ayayi. However it was Jalen Suggs‘ 3 point buzzer beater in overtime that sent Gonzaga to the national title game.

The last team to go undefeated and win the national title was Indiana in 1975-76, so Gonzaga could be the first to accomplish the feat in 45 years, barring a stellar performance from their stars.

Baylor Bears: 27-2 (+4.5 ; +165)

Baylor’s high powered offense, which averages over 80 PPG, has given the Bears a deserved trip to the national title game. Baylor’s March Madness schedule started off with an easy matchup against Hartford, in which they came out victorious 79-55. MaCio Teague led the Bears in that game with 22 points.

Baylor then defeated Wisconsin by a score of 76 -63, and Villanova 62-51. Davion Mitchell led Baylor in those victories, scoring 16 against the Badgers and 14 against Villanova. The Elite 8 featured the return of MaCio Teague, as he scored 22 against Arkansas to send Baylor to the final four.

Finally Jared Butler scored 17 points against Houston in Baylor’s 78-59 win.

Baylor’s high scoring offense will have to arrive ready to play Monday in Indiana, if they want to even stand a chance against the Bulldogs.