Last night’s National Championship featured two of the top-ranked teams in the nation. But one team dominated from the jump, and that was Baylor.
Baylor started the game by jumping out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. The guard trio of Macio Teague, Davion Mitchell, and Jared Butler was dominant on both ends of the floor. They exploited Gonzaga’s defensive scheme and attacked relentlessly. Baylor attacked downhill and opened up passing lanes to the perimeter and knocked down threes. Even when they did miss those shots, they dominated the boards, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds to Gonzaga’s five offensive rebounds.
Gonzaga could never gain the traction they needed to make a real run at it. They did cut the lead to single digits a couple of times, but Baylor just made another run and pushed the lead back to double digits. The continuous pressure Baylor put on Gonzaga forced them into 14 turnovers. Baylor’s frenetic defense also held Gonzaga to a season-low 70 points in the game.
Jared Butler finished the game with 22 points and seven assists. Butler was named the Tournaments Most Outstanding Player. For the Zags, Jalen Suggs led with 22 points in a valiant effort. The final score was 86-70 as Baylor wins their first National Championship in school history.