The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the final game of the
2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
The
Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to jo ...
were crowned as the national champion for the
2020–21 season after beating the then-undefeated
Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Gonzaga Bulldogs () (also known unofficially as the Zags) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...
, 86–70. The game was played on April 5, 2021, at
Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium wa ...
in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...
.
Gonzaga was the first team to enter the national championship game undefeated since
Indiana State in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
.
Baylor became the second consecutive first-time NCAA champions following
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
(no tournament was held in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
).
Participants
The championship game matched
Baylor with
Gonzaga. It was the sixth meeting between the two teams; Gonzaga entered the game leading the all-time series 5–0, with the last meeting resulting in an 83–71 win for Gonzaga in the second round of the
2019 NCAA tournament on March 23, 2019.
This was the first championship game since
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
to feature the top two overall seeds in the tournament.
This was the second consecutive championship game where both teams were playing for their programs' first NCAA title.
Baylor
Baylor, led by 18th-year head coach
Scott Drew
Scott Homer Drew (born October 23, 1970) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Baylor Bears, a position he has held since 2003.
Drew began his coaching career as an assistant for Valparaiso under his father Home ...
, finished the regular season with a record of 21–1, including wins over seven ranked teams.
The Bears posted a 13–1 conference record,
earning them the No. 1 seed in the
Big 12 tournament
The Big 12 Conference sponsors championships in 23 sports, 10 men's and 13 women's. The first conference championship awarded was the 1996 softball postseason tournament championship, which was won by Oklahoma.
From 2011 through 2016, the foot ...
, where they defeated No. 9 seed
Kansas State in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 5 seed
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, ...
in the semi-finals. They were awarded an at-large bid to the
NCAA tournament and received the No. 1 seed in the
South Regional. In the tournament, they defeated No. 16 seed
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
and No. 9 seed
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
to reach their fifth Sweet Sixteen. The Bears then defeated No. 5 seed
Villanova and No. 3 seed
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
to win the South Regional and reach their third Final Four.
In the Final Four, Baylor soundly defeated No. 2 seed
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
, champions of the
Midwest Regional, by a score of 78–59 to reach their second national title game; they entered seeking their first championship.
Gonzaga
Gonzaga, led by 22nd-year head coach
Mark Few
Mark Norman Few (born December 27, 1962) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Gonzaga University since 1999. He has served on Gonzaga's coaching staff since 1989, and has been a constant on the sidelines through ...
, finished the regular season with a perfect record of 24–0, including wins over four ranked teams.
The Bulldogs posted a 15–0 conference record,
earning them the No. 1 seed in the
West Coast tournament, where they defeated No. 4 seed
Saint Mary's and No. 2 seed
BYU to win their 19th conference tournament championship. They received the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and were placed in the
West Regional. In the tournament, they defeated No. 16 seed
Norfolk State and No. 8 seed
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
to advance to their 11th Sweet Sixteen. Gonzaga then faced and defeated No. 5 seed
Creighton and No. 6 seed
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
to move to the Final Four for the second time.
In the Final Four, Gonzaga was matched up with No. 11 seed
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, the champions of the
East Regional.
A 3-point
buzzer beater
In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...
in overtime by
Jalen Suggs
Jalen Rashon Suggs (born June 3, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He was selected by the Magic with the f ...
won the game for the Bulldogs and gave Gonzaga their second national championship berth in program history; they entered seeking their first national title and the first unbeaten season in NCAA Division I men's basketball since
Indiana in 1976.
Starting lineups
Game summary
After winning the jump ball, Baylor controlled much of the first half. The Bears jumped out to an early 9–0 lead with multiple baskets each from Davion Mitchell
Davion De'Monte Earl Mitchell (born September 5, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers and the Baylor Bears. H ...
and Jared Butler
Jared Gladwyn Butler (born August 25, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears. As a junior in 2021, he was named a consensus first-team ...
before Gonzaga's Andrew Nembhard
Andrew William Nembhard (born January 16, 2000) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Colleg ...
scored a free throw. Gonzaga's first field goal came nearly five minutes into the game, with Corey Kispert
Corey James Kispert (born March 3, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, where he was a consensus first-t ...
's three-pointer that narrowed the lead back to nine, after a Mitchell jumper pushed the lead to double digits. A layup by Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and a three-pointer by Butler pushed the lead to 12 points; shortly thereafter, a Drew Timme
Andrew Matthew Timme (; born September 9, 2000) is an American college basketball player for the Gonzaga Bulldogs of the West Coast Conference (WCC).
Early life and high school career
Timme grew up in the northern Dallas suburb of Richardson, T ...
layup and a pair of Adam Flagler
Adam Michael Flagler (born December 1, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears of the Big 12 Conference. He p ...
free throws kept the margin where it was, though it was extended to 15 within the next minute. Over the following several minutes, Baylor was able to take advantage of excellent offensive rebounding and Gonzaga turnovers to push the lead to 19, its highest point in the half and the largest deficit Gonzaga had faced all season. During the second part of the opening half, the game was much more even; Gonzaga was able to gradually chip away at the lead, with a last-second layup at the end of the half cutting the deficit to 10 at the break.
The second half started similarly to the first, though both teams came out scoring this time. The Bears increased their lead to 15 within the first two minutes, and Gonzaga again narrowed it to single digits momentarily with 14:30 to play. The teams traded scores for the next minute and a half, getting the score to 62–51 in favor of the Bears, before Baylor went on an 11–1 run, pushing the score to a game-high 20 points. Both teams began to see foul trouble affect them, as Baylor's Flo Thamba fouled out with 8:40 to play and Gonzaga's Timme was temporarily benched after accumulating four fouls shortly before. Baylor controlled the ball well throughout the half, committing their first second-half turnover with only eight minutes to play. The Bears kept the lead between 15 and 20 as the teams alternated scores over the remainder of the game. With around a minute to play, both teams substituted out most of their starters, and Baylor was able to run the remainder of the clock out to win their first national championship.
Media coverage
The championship game was televised in the United States by CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
. Jim Nantz
James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...
provided play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
, while Bill Raftery
William Joseph Raftery (born April 19, 1943) is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach.
High school and college years
Raftery attended Saint Cecilia High School in Kearny, New Jersey, where he starred in basketball an ...
and Grant Hill
Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely consider ...
provided color commentary
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...
. Tracy Wolfson
Tracy Wolfson (born March 17, 1975) is an American sportscaster for CBS Sports. She is the lead sideline reporter for the NFL on CBS.
Early life
Wolfson grew up in Congers, New York, and attended Clarkstown High School North, in the New York C ...
served as the sideline reporter
Sideline(s) may refer to:
* Extended side, the geometric line that contains the side of a polygon
* Sidelines, the lines that mark the outer boundaries of a sports field
* Sideline (app), a smartphone app
* ''Sidelines'' (newspaper), the stude ...
.
The broadcast was the least-watched national championship ever shown on broadcast television, as it pulled in 16.92 million viewers on CBS for an average rating of 9.4. This marked a 14% viewership decline from the last men's national championship broadcast, in 2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
between Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
and Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
.
Aftermath
The win gave Baylor their first national championship in school history, and denied Gonzaga their first title and the first NCAA Division I men's basketball perfect season since Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
in 1976. The loss was Gonzaga's first and only of the season, as they ended the year with a 31–1 record, while Baylor improved to 28–2 with the victory. After the game, Baylor coach Scott Drew
Scott Homer Drew (born October 23, 1970) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Baylor Bears, a position he has held since 2003.
Drew began his coaching career as an assistant for Valparaiso under his father Home ...
was presented with the national championship trophy, and Bears guard Jared Butler
Jared Gladwyn Butler (born August 25, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears. As a junior in 2021, he was named a consensus first-team ...
was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament. Baylor's win was widely considered an upset, with Gonzaga considered a "massive favorite" to win the title by ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
and Yahoo!
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Mana ...
's platforms. Gonzaga never led during the game, and their 70 points were the fewest they had scored all season; the Bulldogs entered the championship averaging 91.6 points per game, the best in the nation. In addition, this was also Baylor's first win over Gonzaga in program history; they were 0–5 in previous meetings. Baylor also became the first team from the state of Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
to win the national championship since Texas Western
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American s ...
in 1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
.
See also
* 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game
* 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Notes
References
External links
2021 NCAA Division I Men's Final Four
{{2021 Baylor Bears basketball navbox
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games
Baylor Bears men's basketball
Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
2021 in sports in Indiana
NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game
College basketball tournaments in Indiana
Basketball competitions in Indianapolis
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