Count yours truly as one person who may have placed a solid chunk of change on the Gonzaga Bulldogs to defeat the Baylor Bears in the National Championship, and count yours truly as someone whose bracket would make some moolah with a Zags win and whose bracket would make squat with the other result.
So, it goes without saying that you can count me as one of the fans who got just a little bit nervous after the Bears jumped out to a scorching hot start, scoring at will, stifling the Zags' offensive attack and getting star Jalen Suggs in foul trouble early. Just two-and-a-half minutes into the game, Mark Few's squad found themselves down nine points — their largest deficit of the tournament. Just a little over three minutes later, that hole had grown to 12 points. And a minute after that, it had become 15.
And though Baylor fans and Baylor bettors were obviously thrilled with the start, the other side of the coin wasn't as amped.
Though there was still plenty of game left after the initial run, it proved to be too much for the Zags, as they remained down by double digits for the majority of the game save for a blip of hope here and there. Ultimately, the Bears' high-energy attack on both sides of the floor just overwhelmed the Bulldogs, and Baylor went on to win the program's first NCAA Tournament ever by a score of 86-70.
Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs was clearly emotional after the game, as the projected top-five pick in the 2021 NBA Draft gave it his all the whole way through.
Several Baylor alumni celebrated the victory on social media, including former Bears basketball players Tauren Prince and Ekpe Udoh.
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