This year's NCAA national title game between top seeds Gonzaga and Baylor was supposed to be an epic heavyweight bout, thrilling until the end with powerful punches constantly delivered and absorbed.
But Baylor had a different strategy in mind. Instead of taking some punches early, they decided to come out attacking. And their execution was flawless from the opening tip, as it didn't take too long for Baylor to outright bully undefeated Gonzaga, and make their opponent's legs wobble throughout the night.
Baylor drubbed Gonzaga, 86-70, on Monday night in Indianapolis, squashing the Bulldogs' hopes of completing the first perfect season in Division I men's play since 1976. There was no heavyweight clash -- one team overwhelmed the other -- and the shocking beatdown earned Baylor its first national championship in program history.
CBS Sports college hoops analyst Jerry Palm joined After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Tuesday morning to break down Baylor's impressive win.
"Baylor came out firing," Palm said. "They were hitting their three-pointers, their defense was tight, their rebounding was good. I don't know if Gonzaga was tired. [Head coach] Mark Few would better be able to answer that question. I don't think the energy level was bad, the execution level was bad. Gonzaga's execution just wasn't there. They were sloppy with the ball, they weren't boxing out. I didn't think they were slow. They didn't look tired. They just looked like they didn't know what they were doing for most of the first half...
"Tonight was just a game where they were just giving the ball up. They weren't rebounding, they weren't boxing out... They hadn't really been challenged in this way all year, so it's hard to draw conclusions on what it takes to beat Gonzaga when you only lose once. And Baylor played at such a high level today. It was just their day. Sometimes it's the other team's day. And Baylor was an outstanding team all season long, and they were very good again tonight."
Baylor was able to take a commanding 19-point lead midway through the first half, as Gonzaga had no answer for the Bears' efficient, sharp-shooting offense and stifling defense. Although the Bulldogs managed to cut their deficit to 10 at halftime, the Bears didn't take their foot off the gas in the second half, and their backcourt trio of guards Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, and Macio Teague combined for 56 total points with 12 assists and 11 boards.
Overall, Baylor outrebounded Gonzaga, 36-22, and forced the Bulldogs to commit 14 turnovers.
The entire Baylor-Gonzaga conversation between Palm and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.