Preview: Gonzaga vs. Baylor Men's March Madness Final
How we got here: Saturday’s first semifinal was something of a “gimme,” with Baylor winning 78–59 over Houston. The second semi was anything but. It took an overtime period and a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Jalen Suggs to give Gonzaga, the country’s best team, the 93–90 win over the tourney’s Cinderella team, UCLA. Chills.
The finalists: While the first few rounds of the men’s tournament were full of surprises (our brackets never stood a chance), the final matchup is hardly a shock. Baylor and Gonzaga are both No. 1 seeds, and were atop many prediction lists heading into the tournament.
- Gonzaga has a perfect record in 2020-21, winning 24 straight regular season games and the West Coast Conference (WCC) championship title. If they win tonight, they’ll be the first undefeated team since 1976 to win it all.
- Baylor, meanwhile, entered the tournament with a 21-1 regular season record, and while this is just one great season in a spate of strong seasons, this is Baylor’s first national championship appearance since 1948.
The game: Tonight’s for all the marbles. The final will air on TSN in Canada and CBS in the US at 9:20 p.m. ET. And especially for our GISTers, here’s a sneak peek.
