NCAA Championship – Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Baylor Bears – injuries, odds, and more
PNWS presents what you need to know for the 2021 NCAA Championship matchup between Gonzaga and the Baylor Bears.
Monday, April 5, is the day ZagsNation has eagerly anticipated, the National Champions game.
Who: Baylor Bears (27-2) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (30-0)
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, IN.
When: Saturday, April 5, 2021 – 6:20 p.m. PDT.
TV: CBS. Announcers: Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, and Tracy Wolfson.
Line: Gonzaga -4.5. Over/Under: 159.5 (Odds Shark).
Injuries: Gonzaga – No injuries reported. USC – No injuries reported.
Interesting Trends: Gonzaga is undefeated this year (31-0) but only slightly over .500 against the spread (15-13-2). They have won 23 of their last 27 and 14 straight on neutral courts, including six straight in Indianapolis.
Baylor comes into the National Championship game winners of five straight and 18 of 20. They are 4-1 on neutral courts and 5-1 against the spread in their last six games an underdog.
So far in the Tournament
Round of 64: Gonzaga 98 – Norfolk State Spartans 55
The Spartans came out fierce and, for maybe two minutes, held the lead. Corey Kispert lit a fire under his teammates as his three-pointers rained all over the court. He finished the game with 23 points and five boards.
Round of 32: Gonzaga 87 – Oklahoma Sooners 71
Where Kispert was the first-round hero, Drew Timme wore the cape for the second round as the Zags defeat Oklahoma He had 14 points in the first half on his way to a career-high 30. Timme was everywhere, and the Oklahoma Sooners could do nothing with him.
Round of 16: Gonzaga 83 – Creighton Blue Jays 65.
Gonzaga scored early and often getting out to a 27-20 lead eight-and-a-half minutes into the game. Creighton tried to come back, but the closest they got was three points. GU pulled ahead, eventually leading by as much as 25 in the second half. The Spokane Stache, Drew Timme, led all scorers with 22 points.
Round of 8: Gonzaga 85 – USC Trojans 66
Leading the entire game, Gonzaga easily put away USC. Timme won the Battle of the Bigs between him and Pac-12 Player of the Year, Evan Mobley. “Drew Manchu” led all scorers with 23 points. He also chipped in five boards, four assists, and three steals.
Round of 4: Gonzaga 93 – UCLA 90 (OT)
This was one of the best college basketball games many of us ever saw. Hats off to the UCLA Bruins. Head coach Mick Cronin put together a great plan to beat the Zags, and his team executed it with excellence. Just because the Bulldogs struggled to put away, UCLA doesn’t mean Gonzaga had a bad game.
TWO. WAY. MADNESS.
✅ Jalen Suggs block
✅ Drew Timme dunk pic.twitter.com/o7AGVns8wz— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 4, 2021
It would have been nice if the Zags defended the perimeter better, but UCLA was almost automatic, connecting on 47.1 percent of their three-point shots. A performance no one expected.
Suggs was Gonzaga’s hero, hitting a game-winning three at the buzzer from far enough away to make Damian Lillard jealous. However, all of Mark Few’s starters scored in double figures. Timme had 25 and Ayayi 22 to pace the team.
Outlook
Gonzaga and Baylor were supposed to play each other on December 5 in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, COVID-19 reared its ugly head, forcing a cancellation. Four months to the day, in the same city, they meet to decide a national championship.
Can the Gonzaga Bulldogs do it? Go wire-to-wire as the number one team to start the season and finish with a win in the National Championship game. They certainly have the talent to do so. But Baylor might be equally as talented.
As mentioned above, the Zags struggled to beat UCLA in the final four. That doesn’t mean they played poorly. Perhaps GU looked past the Bruins to this game. If so, they got what they wanted.
All that’s left is to prove it on the court. Baylor is number two and still in the hunt for a reason they are that good. The Bulldogs can expect a defensively sound team who can shoot from three and rebounds as well as they do.
Gonzaga has what our Teresa Powe calls the Terrible Trio of Suggs, Kispert, and Timme. Baylor counters with a three-headed monster of their own in guards Jared Butler, MaCio Teague, and Davion Mitchell. All three averaged over at least 14 points per game and 39 percent shooting from three-point range this season.
One thing is for sure; the Zags have to do a better job of defending the perimeter than they did against UCLA. Gonzaga can’t let Baylor have as many clean looks from distance as they gave to UCLA.
In the end, it’s a Mark Few coached team on a mission. They will be focused and ready for battle.