This March madness journey began with 68 teams all looking for the chance to be crowned the first national champions in Division I’s university basketball since 2019. The madness now in the rearview mirror, we are on the last two. On the heels of one of the most interesting NCAA tournaments in modern history, the two teams that finished this season at number 1 and no. 2 started – Gonzaga and Baylor – meet in Indianapolis on Monday night for the national title. The Bears crossed in their final four game with Houston, while the Bulldogs needed overtime and a half from freshman Jalen Suggs to catch up with UCLA, the 11th seed.
Both teams have played in one title match before and they came short. The Zags fell to North Carolina in 2017 when they carried a similar record in the title game. The Bears’ appearance only came back in 1948 when they fell in Kentucky. Reminder: the tournament about 70 years ago? Not eight teams. Now Scott Drew has the task of leading Baylor through a field of 68!
Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander cover the stage with storylines and their choices for Gonzaga-Baylor. Listen below:
Our writing team enlarged the matches and selected for the national championship match. You can find all our records for the tournament games by clicking here. Odds via William Hill Sportsbook
Who will win and cover each game, and which teams should be on their guard? Visit SportsLine now to see which team should play in each game, all from the model that raised $ 2,600 for $ 100 players.
(1) Gonzaga teen (1) Baylor
Time: 21:20 ET | Location: Lucas Oil Stadium
TV: CBS | Live stream: March Madness Live
The Baylor we saw in this tournament is the mid-season Baylor that has destroyed every team in its path. It was the Baylor team that led the college basketball for most of the season, ahead of Gonzaga. But I can not vote against the Zags – not straight and not even against the number. It felt like a fate for a while, and Suggs’ three-point bench on the buzzer in OT against UCLA just confirmed it to me. Baylor will have his runs, and it will be a true back-and-forth chess match, but I take the best 2-point shooting team in decades to clinch the best 3-point shooting team in the country. Forecast: Gonzaga 82, Baylor 77 – Boone