The Final Four consisted of four great teams with contrasting styles of play. Baylor vs. Houston. Gonzaga vs. UCLA. Some of these schools had previous history in the tournament while others looked to make history for there respective programs. Here is a full recap of the action that took place in the 2021 Final Four.
#1 Baylor vs. #2 Houston
The Baylor Bears and the Houston Cougars came in with two of the best defenses in the nation. The two teams do have a different way of doing things on defense though. For Houston, they have great individual defenders who lock up. They came into the game with the lowest opponent field goal percentage (37%) in the nation. For Baylor, they have great individual defenders and they force everything baseline, then trapping and forcing there opponents into turnovers.
Baylor started the game hot from, knocking down eight three pointers in the first half. Houston could never recover from that point. Davion Mitchell finished the game with 12 points and 11 assists for Baylor. The Bears also had five players score double digits. For Houston, Marcus Sasser went out swinging with 20 points. The final score was 78-59 as Baylor advances to there first National Championship Game since 1948.
#1 Gonzaga vs. #11 UCLA
In 2006, UCLA and Gonzaga faced off in the Final Four. UCLA managed to climb back from a double digit deficit in the last few minutes of the game to defeat Gonzaga and advance to the Final Four. Now, 15 years later, UCLA and Gonzaga were back on center stage in the Final Four.
UCLA’s tournament run has been absolutely legendary, led by outstanding play from G Johnny Juzang. Gonzaga has had a amazing tournament run and season, as they boast a perfect 30-0 record this season. But all that went out the window Saturday. The Bruins played Gonzaga better than anybody has all season. Both teams made huge plays down the stretch, and UCLA had a chance to win it in regulation but Drew Timme drew a crucial charge with less than a second to go. In overtime, both teams fought tooth and nail. Johnny Juzang missed a close shot, but got his own rebound to tie the game at 90 with about three seconds remaining. Freshman sensation Jalen Suggs then took the ball off the inbound and raced up the court, pulling up just a step over half court before nailing a deep three as time expired. The Zags celebrated as UCLA looked on in anguish. For Gonzaga, Drew Timme led with 25 points, as Johnny Juzang poured in 29 for UCLA, respectively.
Gonzaga will look fo redeem themselves for there 2017 loss in the National Championship and cap there so far perfect season off.
You can watch the National Championship game Monday on CBS as 9:20pm ET.