Baylor Ends Gonzaga’s Undefeated Season, Wins NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship
Baylor jumped off to a 9-0 lead and never trailed in handing previously unbeaten Gonzaga an 86-70 defeat in the NCAA Championship game in Indianapolis on April 5th. It is the Bears’ first NCAA men’s basketball championship.
Gonzaga had beaten UCLA in their semifinal in one of the most memorable finishes in Final Four history, as Jalen Suggs hit a long three pointer at the buzzer in overtime. Baylor had no trouble with Houston in the other semi final, beating the Cougars 78-59. Baylor had been dominant in the entire tournament, beating its opponents by an average of 15 points per game. It has now been 45 years since a team has been an undefeated champion (Indiana in 1976) and it will be at least 46, showing just how hard it is to accomplish that feat.
The Women’s NCAA final was an all Pacific 12 affair, with Stanford facing Arizona on April 4th. The two teams had played twice this season, with the Cardinal winning both. Stanford made it a clean sweep with a 54-53 nail biter for the Cardinal’s third NCAA title, the others coming in 1990 and 1992.
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So glad Stanford won on the women’s side. On the men’s side I was rooting for Gonzaga. I think the UCLA match wore them down although Baylor had a superb team and worthy of the championship.