You can read a full report from tonight’s game here:
Final thoughts
Listen, nobody said that Baylor couldn’t win this game. As noted way back at the start of the liveblog, they had a relatively easy time in their Final Four matchup while Gonzaga struggled with an unheralded UCLA. The thing was, however, that one would have expected that Baylor would have had to win a close game if they wanted to be champions.
Instead, Gonzaga literally never led in this game. In fact, the closest they came in the second half was when they cut the Baylor lead down to nine points. After that, Baylor responded big and never looked back.
It’s a heartbreaker for Gonzaga who were looking to cap off Saturday’s instant classic of a game with a win that would give them a perfect season. Instead, they were just absolutely outplayed on every level of the game. There’s no doubt about it, as good as Gonzaga was—they were the top overall seed for a reason—it’s impossible to say that the better team didn’t win. Baylor deserves this victory.
So, this has been the unpredictable finish of what continues to be this country’s most unpredictable annual sporting event. March Madness has come to an end and so has this Guardian liveblog. Thanks to everybody who has followed along. Ciao!
Baylor are you 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions
The Baylor men have won their first championship and, in doing so, they have ended Gonzaga’s quest for an undefeated season!
Final Score: Baylor 86-70 Gonzaga
Baylor 86-70 Gonzaga, FINAL
Julian Strawther is in the game now and he hits a three-pointer for Gonzaga and good for him. That’s the last of the scoring as time goes off and Baylor has won the NCAA Men’s Championship!
Baylor 86-67 Gonzaga, :59, 2nd half
Okay at least one foul here, Kispert puts Butler on the line. He hits the first—and then there’s a whole lot of hugging on the court between everybody, maybe people just really want to feel human contact after the last year—and then makes the second.
Baylor 84-67 Gonzaga, 1:28, 2nd half
A Gonzaga brick brings Baylor closer to victory. Baylor slows things down… until Mitchell makes a smooth layup. Suggs can’t respond on the other end. Baylor takes things slow again, but this time Suggs makes a steal and lays it in. We’re just talking final margins now, though.
Baylor 82-65 Gonzaga, 3:15, 2nd half
I mean, the good news is that hopefully this isn’t going to end on a barrage of fouls? Maybe?
Oh and then Baylor takes a timeout AFTER the TV timeout. Come on!
Baylor 82-65 Gonzaga, 3:18, 2nd half
Mitchell with a layup, Kispert with a jumper. We’re in garbage time now.
Baylor 80-63 Gonzaga, 5:18, 2nd half
Teague with another jumper. Meanwhile, Ayayi falls on his ankle and as someone nursing a pulled muscle that made me feel a little queasy in sympathy. Suggs is called for a foul, Teague makes a free throw. The clock is now Gonzaga’s biggest enemy.
Baylor 77-63 Gonzaga, 5:36, 2nd half
Butler fouls Suggs after a steal and it’s called a flagrant foul that puts Suggs on the line. He hits the free throw and Gonzaga maintains possession. Timme gets the ball and puts up a shot attempt that’s no good.
Baylor 77-62 Gonzaga, 6:10, 2nd half
Flagler’s on the line now and he hits two free throws. On their next possession, Gonzaga… turn it over.
Baylor 75-62 Gonzaga, 6:44, 2nd half
Timme and his moustache are both back on the court. Baylor has the ball but can’t score, it feels like both teams are exhausted and I don’t blame them. Kispert hits a three-pointer to cut away, there’s still time here. It’s not dark yet…
But it’s getting there.
We’re in another timeout and I guess it’s time for my prediction earlier in the tournament. (Look away, Gonzaga fans.)
Okay I can safely take the rest of this game off. Gonzaga is going to be 29-0 and is either going to win a championship this year or it will never happen. Fingers crossed for the first.
— Hunter Felt (@HunterFelt) March 28, 2021
Baylor 75-59 Gonzaga, 8:04, 2nd half
Thamba has fouled out for Baylor. Meanwhile, Timme is receiving medical care on the sidelines, which would provide a lot more drama if this one didn’t already feel like it was all-but-decided.
Baylor 75-59 Gonzaga, 8:40, 2nd half
Suggs is still battling and hits another three-pointer. Also desperately needed.
Baylor 75-56 Gonzaga, 9:18, 2nd half
Third foul on Watson will put another Baylor player on the line. It’s Flo Thamba, who makes both.
Baylor 73-56 Gonzaga, 9:45, 2nd half
Mitchell to the line to make two free throws to push the Baylor lead up to 20 but just for a brief while. Finally, Gonzaga gets a three to fall and it’s Jalen Suggs. He’s going to have to have a massive game just to get this one to overtime, to be honest.
Baylor 71-53 Gonzaga, 10:39, 2nd half
And a charge call goes against Timme! That’s his fourth foul and he’s going to have to sit while Baylor gets the ball back. Matthew Mayer makes a shot here and Ayayi misses from long-distance. This now officially feels like an out of control train for Gonzaga.
Baylor 69-53 Gonzaga, 11:45, 2nd half
Defense wins champions, perhaps. Jared Butler gets on the line here and he makes the first shot and the second. Offense doesn’t hurt either.
Gonzaga’s offense trying to keep them in the game while their defense can’t get a stop: pic.twitter.com/VGNJIy31dR
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 6, 2021
Baylor 67-53 Gonzaga, 11:45, 2nd half
Suggs can’t get a jumper to fall on one end. Baylor miss on the other end, but (this is very key to their success today) Mitchell gets the rebound and draws a foul on Timme.
Baylor 67-53 Gonzaga, 12:33, 2nd half
It was a nine-point game just moments ago and now the Bayor lead is 16 points. This is starting to look like it’s happening, but still: there’s almost 13 minutes left. Ayayi gets a layup out of the timeout and Butler misses on his end. They still have a pulse.
Baylor 67-51 Gonzaga, 12:52, 2nd half
And Butler gets to the line for two free throws, to increase the Baylor lead. Timme makes a layup, which briefly stops the bleeding but not for long. Teague, who else, makes a jumper. Flagler hits a three-pointer and Gonzaga takes a timeout.
That last three felt like a potential knockout blow.
Baylor 60-49 Gonzaga, 14:05, 2nd half
Mark Vital with a layup and it’s no longer in single-digits.
Baylor 58-49 Gonzaga, 14:30, 2nd half
Watson gets on the line for some free throws to cut into the Baylor lead, which is good, but what they’re going to need is more stops. Oh hey, Mitchell misses a shot, that’s good. Gonzaga has the ball, that’s better. Newbhard makes a layup and it’s in single digits!
Baylor 58-45 Gonzaga, 15:43, 2nd half
Baylor has the ball out of the TV timeout thanks to a Gonzaga turnover. As tends to be happening to Gonzaga, Baylor makes them pay. This time it’s a Tchatchoua dunk.
Baylor 56-45 Gonzaga, 16:12, 2nd half
Suggs with a layup AND a fourth foul on Thamba! Unfortunately for the Zags, Suggs can’t sink the “and one.” Baylor gets the ball again but… the result is an airball from Butler. Gonzaga has a chance, but Suggs can’t finish with his layup.
Updated
Baylor 56-43 Gonzaga, 17:44, 2nd half
Flo Thamba, the coolest name on the floor, gets to the line and makes one of two free throws. Suggs makes a layup, and that’s an exchange that Gonzaga will take.
Baylor 55-41 Gonzaga, 18:13, 2nd half
Offensive explosion time! Ayayi for a layup for Gonzaga. Butler hits ANOTHER three pointer. Suggs gets a layup back, but three continues to be more than two. Davion Mitchell makes a layup and extends the Baylor lead.
Second half begins
Baylor 50-37 Gonzaga, 19:34, 2nd half
And now the narrative is “Gonzaga clawing its way back.” It even has an info-graphic. Teague does his part in missing his first shot, but Baylor gets the ball back. Butler drills a three.
Ouch, maybe not so much with the clawing.
I am officially on the anti-”Scoop There It Is” commercial bandwagon. I am good with not seeing it ever again. I know this will not make me any friends as I’m the only one who is not amused but I must go on the record here.
For a brief second I thought the commentators were going to send it back to an actual analyst but it was literally just “Lily” from the AT&T ads and this brand-integration is officially getting out of hand.
A Tweet that reminds us that what Baylor is doing is pretty astounding, but that it wouldn’t be a massive, massive shock if they do it thanks to their three-point shooting:
If Baylor wins it will become the second team in history to win the men’s national title and lead the nation in 3-point accuracy in the same season.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 6, 2021
Indiana in 1987 was the other one — in the first full year of the 3-point line. IU shot 50.8% on 256 attempts with the old arc.
Oh no Charles Barkley just said the same thing that I did about how Baylor should be up more. That does not make me confident in my analysis.
The player of the first half? I’m going to go with MaCio Teague, who went 6-for-10, including 2-2 at the three point line. He’s got 14 points here and a block.
Halftime thoughts
So, how will this play out? It all depends on which version of Gonzaga comes out of the half. If Gonzaga plays the same exact way they did in this first half, Baylor is going to make this the most unexpected laugher in NCAA Men’s Tournament history. If they can regroup and be the Undefeated Gonzaga that we’ve seen before, this could be a legendary game.
Either way, this was probably the best case scenario for Baylor, even if they let up just a bit towards the end of the half.
End of the first half
Entirely unexpectedly, Baylor is up big on Gonzaga but they should feel like they should be up more given how much they outplayed the Bulldogs.
Baylor 47-37 Gonzaga, end of the 1st half
A rare shot clock violation for Baylor gives Gonzaga the chance at a final play, they get the ball to Watson for a layup they need and GET. The Bulldogs are extremely lucky to just be down ten by the halftime.
Baylor 47-35 Gonzaga, :38, 1st half
A Mike Vital layup keeps the Bears lead right where it is, but Suggs gets fouled on a successful layup. That’s a foul on Vital and Suggs makes his free throw.
Baylor 45-32 Gonzaga, 1:20, 1st half
The chipping continues. Timme hits two free throws.
Baylor 45-30 Gonzaga, 1:30, 1st half
Teague is just refusing to miss, there’s another jumper. Nembhard gets to the line and makes two free throws. Is it already “just chip away” time for them?
Baylor 43-28 Gonzaga, 2:40, 1st half
You know, at some point Gonzaga is going to have to stop Teague. It’s not here, as he calmly drains a bucket out of the Baylor timeout. Suggs tries for a three that goes nowhere. On the other end, Teague makes his triple. Kispert makes a layup but that timeout already feels like it has shifted momentum.
The difference so far:
Gonzaga: we have a high scoring offense
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) April 6, 2021
Baylor: we lift with the football team
Baylor 38-26 Gonzaga, 3:41, 1st half
Oh never mind, Flagler hits another three for Baylor.
Oh hey, now there’s something. Kispert makes a basket and gets a key steal. He gets the ball to Ayayi and now Baylor has to take its first timeout. Are the Bulldogs finally starting to wake up? It’s just a 12 point game now.
Baylor 35-22 Gonzaga, 4:34, 1st half
There’s the first made basket for Suggs, a spectacular layup that the Bulldogs have to hope will spark a comeback that they never thought they would have to start to mount. Timme gets a defensive rebound, a desperately needed one, and Flo Thamba picks up a key foul. That puts Ayayi on the line, where he makes both free throws. That’s about as good of a sequence for Gonzaga as they have had all game.
Baylor 35-18 Gonzaga, 5:45, 1st half
Vital gets a layup on one end, a now-engaged Timme makes one for Gonzaga. At this point, they’re going to need to play a complete game on both ends. It already feels too late to be trading baskets.
Baylor 33-16 Gonzaga, 6:40, 1st half
Suggs gets his FIRST POINTS of the night and has to do it on the free throw line after a Butler foul. Saturday feels like centuries ago.
Baylor 33-14 Gonzaga, 6:52, 1st half
A Baylor foul gifts Gonzaga a possession that they do absolutely nothing with, Mark Vital makes a vital steal and gets the ball back to Teague and… are they already running away with this game this far away from halftime?
Baylor 31-14 Gonzaga, 7:50, 1st half
Suggs-finds-Timme for a dunk and that’s two straight scores for Gonzaga. Then Teague hits another jumper. Finally, Baylor misses a three-pointer... but Timme gets charged for a foul that gives the ball right back to Baylor.
Baylor 29-12 Gonzaga, 9:03, 1st half
Timme, who needs to make a bigger impression here, gets a jumper. Baylor finally miss on the other end, but they get their own rebound right back. Gonzaga get a break as Thamba gets called for a foul.
Baylor 29-10 Gonzaga, 9:26, 1st half
Baylor are 5-for-5 from three after MaCio Teague makes his. I am absolutely stunned here and I am running out of ways to say that.
Baylor 26-10 Gonzaga, 10:42, 1st half
Flo Thamba rejects a Kispert layup, a highlight reel moment. Anton Watson attempts a layup that doesn’t go, Thamba gets the rebound and Butler drains another three. Gonzaga look very very gassed.
Baylor 23-10 Gonzaga, 11:42, 1st half
So, the story here has to be that Saturday’s game took something out of Gonzaga. The good news for them is that Nembhard gets on the line for two free throws to cut the lead by two.
Baylor 23-8 Gonzaga, 11:50, 1st half
Flagler hits a three and Baylor is not relenting. A Nembhard jumper on the other end doesn’t mean anything because Tchatchoua just dunks on the other end. Gonzaga have another shot at making something happen with offence, but Flagler steals the ball.
This time it doesn’t burn Gonzaga but Tchatchoua steals the ball on yet another Zags possession.
Baylor 18-6 Gonzaga, 13:56, 1st half
Aaron Cook finds Drew Timme for a layup, which they need, but Kispert gets fouled on the other end and that’s going to put him on the line where he makes both free throws.
Baylor 16-4 Gonzaga, 14:25, 1st half
Gonzaga need a basket badly and they get one, a three-pointer from Kispert but on the other end, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua hits a layup. Gonzaga needs to up its defense.
They don’t. Butler makes a three for Baylor and Gonzaga absolutely has to call a timeout. Now, this feels absolutely unprecedented.
Baylor 11-1 Gonzaga, 15:30, 1st half
And Adam Flagler flags down Davion Mitchell for a jumper and it’s a 10 point Baylor lead and I can confidently say that nobody expected this start. We have a TV timeout as the announcers attempt to process what just happened.
Baylor 9-1 Gonzaga, 16:16, 1st half
Suggs misses a jumper and then picks up a second foul, this is potentially huge. Baylor are playing possession here, they’re missing shots but they’re getting rebounds…
Until finally Gonzaga gets a defensive rebound. On the other end, Andrew Newbhard goes to the line and he misses the first. He gets the second for Gonzaga’s first point of the game. Yes, first.
Baylor 9-0 Gonzaga, 17:29, 1st half
Oh wow, a 9-0 Baylor run for Gonzaga’s biggest deficit of the game thanks to another Butler layup.
Baylor 7-0 Gonzaga, 17:58, 1st half
Gonzaga can’t score on their first possession, Jared Butler makes a layup. Baylor gets a charge call on Suggs and on their other end, Mitchell hits a three and that’s exactly the start that they needed to make here.
Opening tip
Baylor 2-0 Gonzaga, 19:01, 1st half
And we’re off! Mitchell gets the first shot off in the game after several Baylor misses.
Gonzaga starters
Drew Timme, F
Corey Kispert, F
Jalen Suggs, G
Andrew Newbhard, G
Joel Ayayi, G
Baylor starters
Flo Thamba, F
Mark Vital, G/F
Jared Butler, G
MaCio Teague, G
Davion Mitchell, G
Updated
National anthem
And we have a combination military officer/doctor/choir teacher/social care worker/police officer version of the National Anthem. This is very much a time capsule moment, we won’t see this particular cross-section of singers at a major sporting event next year, I’m pretty sure.
It’s actually a solid verison, just purely as a song if one ignores the messaging here.
Not to make this all about one player, but the commentators have pointed out that Suggs’s game-winner wasn’t even his most impressive moment on the court on Saturday, pointing out his game-saving block against UCLA:
After a brief introduction/montage about these “unprecedented times,” as if any of us need any reminders aboutthat, the two teams take the court.
NCAA Women’s Championship Game
As mentioned earlier, the NCAA Women’s Championship Game took place yesterday and No 1 seeded Stanford came away as champions, but only after withstanding an absolutely devastating counter-attack from third-seeded Arizona. Arizona’s Aari McDonald helped lead the Wildcats to their first Final four and helped them beat the Juggernaut That Is UConn. She was one desperation heave away from hitting a game-winner, but unlike Jalen Suggs, she was unable to connect.
THIS ENDING! 😱 pic.twitter.com/eyLSuJAVAC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 5, 2021
As Baylor head coach Scott Drew points out in a pre-game interview, Gonzaga aren’t the only team here looking for the first championship as the Baylor’s men team hasn’t won one either (they were runners up back in 1948, which was a tad before my time).
Predictions
Well, since I am already on the record as having Gonzaga winning it all, there’s really no reason for me to go with anyone else. I do, however, think Baylor is very much going to make a game out of it. Let’s say this goes down to the wire… with Baylor within a few points late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, this will inevitably mean lots and lots of free throws in the last sixty seconds of game time, but I’ll happily be wrong about this. Let’s say it ends up being Gonzaga 71-68 Baylor.
Your thoughts? Email them to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet @HunterFelt with your own take on how this all ends.
Preamble
No matter what Baylor does in the next few hours, it’s all going to be about Gonzaga. As we hyped all the way at the beginning of the men’s tournament, the main story was whether any team could halt Gonzaga’s attempt to not just win their first NCAA Championship ever but pull off an undefeated season.
We, in fact, may have just witnessed the Gonzaga Bulldogs biggest challenge in the UCLA Bruins who managed to make the unprecedented journey from the First Four to the Final Four and then forced Gonzaga to play one overtime and almost forced thm to play a second one. Then, of course, Jalen Suggs made an instantly legendary three-pointer from nearly half-court to put them a game away from perfection.
It was a great game, to the point where the instant analysis ended up being “maybe that really was the Men’s Championship Game.” Well, the Baylor Bears might be hoping that everybody is overlooking them. After all, before Gonzaga proved to be vulnerable for the first time all tournament, struggling to put away a 11th-seeded upstart, Baylor absolutely ran over No. 2 Houston 78-59. If they are being overlooked as just being a footnote to the Gonzaga story, well maybe that will work for them.
That’s the flip side of this being all about the Bulldogs: the pressure is all on Mark Few’s team. Gonzaga spent most of their existence as the mid-major that couldn’t never win the big game, always faltering in the biggest moment. Until this run, their most memorable moment was Adam Morrison breaking down in tears on the court as they were crushed by (of all teams) UCLA. Literally unbeatable all season, there’s a very real chance that if they don’t win this final game, then the time will never come. They almost saw it all fall apart on Saturday and if they struggle at all today, well Baylor will start to smell blood. Maybe this will go as scripted, with Gonzaga easily handling Baylor or maybe… or maybe this goes down to who has the ball last.
That’s how this is supposed to go, of course, it all comes down to the players on the court. We talk about the programs, the coaches, the seedings, the brackets and everything that surrounds the tournament, but it comes down to the athletes on the court. They are the reason we watch and they ultimately control the outcome. Okay, that sounds a bit much, but that’s what college basketball does to even those of us who remain extremely cynical of everything going behind the scenes.
If you want to join today’s liveblog, feel free to email your thoughts to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt. It’s the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium. They say we’ll start around 9:20pm EST but we’ll be back here well before then.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how the women’s tournament ended:
Haley Jones scored 17 points and Stanford beat Arizona 54-53, giving the Cardinal and coach Tara VanDerveer their first national championship in 29 years on Sunday night.
It wasn’t a masterpiece by any stretch with both teams struggling to score and missing easy layups and shots, but Stanford did just enough to pull off the win. Stanford (31-2) built a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter before Arizona (21-6) cut it to 51-50 on star guard Aari McDonald’s three-pointer.
After a timeout, Jones answered with a three-point play with 2:24 left. That would be Stanford’s last basket of the game. McDonald got the Wildcats to 54-53 with 36.6 seconds left, converting three of four free throws.
