Adamo Marinelli
April 9, 2021
The Gonzaga Bulldogs headed into the championship game with a perfect record of 31-0, dominating teams across the country all season long, looking to be the first team since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers to be crowned as undefeated National Champions.
I expected the championship game to be close, however, the Bears dominated from start to finish and never looked back on route to their first national championship.
Unfortunately, for Gonzaga, they ran into a brick wall, the Baylor Bears, who outmatched the Bulldogs with their strong defense and their excellent three-point shooting ability on their way to a dominant 86-70 win for their school’s first-ever National Championship.
The Bears never trailed last night; they were the more aggressive team; they moved the ball well; they played shutdown defense, especially in the paint where Gonzaga excels offensively; and they shot the ball very well, both from three-point range and from the field and limited the Bulldogs’ good looks. The Bears played lockdown half-court defense all game long, forcing 14 turnovers compared to only turning the ball over 9 times. The Bears also dominated the rebound battle, 38-22, especially on the offensive glass, 16-5, which led to several second-chance points.
The Bears limited the Bulldogs’ three best players, Drew Timme, Corey Kispert, and Jalen Suggs to 12, 12, and 22 points respectively. For the Bears, Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, and Macio Teague went off with 22, 15, and 19 points respectively.
The Bears shot 44.8% from the field and 43.5% from 3 point range. The Bulldogs shot 51% from the field (but took 18 fewer shots than Baylor) however, they only shot 29.4% from 3 point range, which was the difference in the game. The three-point shot, the lockdown defense, and the rebounds were the difference in this game for Baylor.
However, this tournament’s only great game was not just the finals. Look at Gonzaga and UCLA’s final four-game, which is arguably one of the best games in NCAA history. With teams like Duke, Virginia, and Kansas opting out due to COVID-19 cases, it opened the door for many other teams to have a shot at the title.
This year, like all others, there were several huge upsets and several Cinderella stories. For example, Loyola Chicago and UCLA.
UCLA started their tournament in the first four against Michigan State where they quickly got off to a 14 point deficit. After losing 4 straight games entering the tournament, it looked like UCLA would be one and done. However, they rallied behind their best players: Johnny Juzang, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Cody Riley and came back to beat Michigan State in overtime. UCLA cruised by Brigham Young University (BYU) and Abilene Christian University (ACU) in the first two rounds of the tournament before needing overtime to upset 2 seed Alabama after a late three from Alabama’s Alex Reese sent the game to overtime.
In the elite 8, a gritty defensive and mistake-free performance led them past 1 seed Michigan 51-49 in a very close but thrilling game. In the final four, they took Gonzaga to the line. They never let the game get out of hand, they kept up defensively, got turnovers, shot the ball well and it took a half-court heave at the buzzer from Jalen Suggs to take down Gonzaga. With head coach Mick Cronin, UCLA looks like they have a good future.
Loyola Chicago also had another memorable tournament, all thanks to their talent, good coaching staff, and of course, Sister Jean. They beat Georgia Tech 71-60, in a pretty evenly matched game, but in the round of 32, they pulled off one of the other biggest tournaments knocking off 1 seed Illinois 71-58. Loyola Chicago played great defense and shot the ball well. Unfortunately, their magical run came to an end against 12th seed Oregon State in a close, defensive game, 65-58. Oregon State is another lower-seeded team that had a great tournament, playing great basketball, making it all the way to the elite 8 before losing a close game to Houston.
This was an interesting tournament because due to COVID-19 many powerhouse teams like Duke, Virginia, and Kansas opted out and that opened the door for many other teams to get a chance at the title. This tournament proved that all you have to do is qualify for the tournament. Once you get in, everybody has a chance. Illinois, a number one seed projected to reach the final four was bested in the round of 32 by Loyola Chicago. Michigan, another number one seed was bested in the elite 8 by UCLA in a great defensive performance. Two of the four number two seeds were eliminated before the Sweet 16: Ohio State was stunned by 15th seed Oral Roberts (who advanced all the way to the Sweet 16) in the first round and Iowa was upset by 7th seed Oregon (who also advanced all the way to the Sweet 16).
This tournament had some amazing games, many memorable upsets, and will be hard to beat next season.
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