Baylor Bears Defeat Gonzaga Bulldogs In College Basketball National Championship
March Madness came to a conclusion with the Baylor Bears defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs with a final score of 86-70.
Gonzaga got off to a slow start with star freshman Jalen Suggs getting two fouls early in the game. But it was Baylor’s explosiveness that really made the early impact. The score was 16-6 with 14 minutes left to go in the first half and Baylor had a strong lead.
The Bears’ 10 point lead grew to 19 with ten minutes left in the first half, as they were 5/5 from behind the arc to start off the National Championship game. Baylor was dominant at the board, as their bigs made their presence felt under the rim.
Gonzaga found a little spark from Timme, who has had a great tournament for the Bulldogs. He started out 3/4 from the field, but still found his team in a significant deficit. The score was 31-14 with 8 minutes left in the first half.
Gonzaga wasn’t alone in their foul trouble, as two Baylor players each had two fouls with five minutes still left in the first half. The Bears led the Bulldogs 35-20.
The train that was the Bears’ continued rolling, as a couple of big shots hit back-to-back for Baylor which propelled them to a 43-26 lead. Only 2:30 remained in the first half.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs needed to turn things around before halftime, which is exactly what they did. A 9-2 run in the last two minutes made the Baylor lead shrink down to 10 points.
At halftime, the score was 47-37 with Baylor out in front. The big men on the Bears team found themselves in a bit of foul trouble, but this was no time to be conservative as Gonzaga found their stride just as the half came to a close.
Gonzaga seemed to have some steam coming out of the half, but whatever energy was coming from the locker room was stifled by the Baylor Bears'. Clicking on both sides of court, Baylor pulled ahead 67-53 with 12 minutes left in the championship game.
The Bears had 19 points coming off their bench, as both teams had players in foul trouble in the second half. Baylor held their lead at 73-56 with 10 minutes remaining.
While the Bulldogs doing everything they could to change the tides, the Bears did not let up. While opportunities were presented to Gonzaga, they just could not keep up with the scoring of Baylor. At 5 minutes left in regulation, Baylor was ahead 80-63.
As the last minute of the game winded down, Baylor was beginning to celebrate their National Championship victory as they dominated the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
The Baylor Bears would break out the scissors, as the final score landed at 86-70 with the dream for Gonzaga coming to an end.