There are no surprises in the starting lineups for Baylor and Gonzaga in the national championship game.
The Bears will go with their dynamic backcourt of All-American guard Jared Butler, defensive player of the year Davion Mitchell and sharp-shooter MaCio Teague. Mark Vital and Flo Thamba will patrol the paint for them.
The Bulldogs will counter with Jalen Suggs, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime sent them past UCLA in the semifinals, alongside fellow guards Andrew Nembhard and Joel Ayayi. All-American forward Corey Kispert and Drew Timme, who also had a monster game against the Bruins, will round out the starters.
Jared Butler scored 22 points and MaCio Teague chipped in 19 more to lead Baylor to an 86-70 win over Gonzaga to claim the Bears' first NCAA men's basketball.
Baylor Defeats Gonzaga To Win Its 1st Men s NCAA Basketball Championship By Doreen McCallister | NPR
Monday, April 5, 2021
Baylor players Adam Flagler #10, Matthew Mayer #24 and Jackson Moffatt #13 celebrate after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the National Championship game of the 2021 NCAA Men s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The Baylor Bears are celebrating their first championship season beating the previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs 86-70 Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Gonzaga only had to win one more game to end with a perfect season, but it ends with a 31-1 record. Not since 1979 has an undefeated team lost the title game.
It s a really, really tough one to end a storybook season on, but listen, Baylor just beat us. They beat us in every facet of the game and deserve all the credit, said Gonzaga coach
Mark Few.
For Baylor, the win was well worth the wait. This year s March Madness was the first complete tournament since the pandemic started, and Baylor had to build back their team after three-week break in February because of COVID.
Baylor now becomes the second Texas team to win a men s NCAA championship. The first was Texas Western University in 1966.
1 of 10
Baylor v Gonzaga
Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears sits on a ladder with the trophy after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the National Championship game of the 2021 NCAA Men s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 05, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Baylor Bears defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 86-70. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
It s a really, really tough one to end a storybook season on, but listen, Baylor just beat us. They beat us in every facet of the game and deserve all the credit, said Gonzaga coach
Mark Few.
For Baylor, the win was well worth the wait. This year s March Madness was the first complete tournament since the pandemic started, and Baylor had to build back their team after three-week break in February because of COVID.
Baylor now becomes the second Texas team to win a men s NCAA championship. The first was Texas Western University in 1966.
1 of 10
Baylor v Gonzaga
Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears sits on a ladder with the trophy after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the National Championship game of the 2021 NCAA Men s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 05, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Baylor Bears defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 86-70. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)