From the opening tip, the Bears showed that
they were the nation’s best team, scoring the game’s first nine points and quickly building a double-digit lead. MaCio Teague sparked the Bears with 14 first-half points, while on the defensive end, Mark Vital, Flo Thamba and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua clamped down on Gonzaga’s vaunted front court.
When the Bulldogs cut the lead to nine, the Bears responded with three-pointer after three-pointer, stop after stop, and rebound after rebound in a true team effort. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Jared Butler led the way with 22 points, while Mark Vital pulled down 11 rebounds. In the waning minutes, Drew pulled the starters from the floor into a huge embrace that embodied the team’s culture of J.O.Y., and the Bears soon celebrated a national title.
By the time confetti dispensed from the rafters, every Baylor player took in the life-changing moment in their own way at center court. Davion Mitchell – the gritty backbone and defensive juggernaut of this team – FaceTimed and hugged the national championship trophy like a toddler with a teddy bear. All Big-12 guard MaCio Teague watched the One Shining Moment montage while sprawled on the confetti-covered floor, waiting for the finale. Spoiler alert: He stars in it.
Reserve Matthew Mayer, hat worn backwards over his signature mullet, danced with Most Outstanding Player Jared Butler, who soon after took a championship shirt and towel and shot-faked as if the game was still going and he d hit another barrage of dagger three-pointers.