Baylor ruins Gonzaga's perfect season to win national championship
Brett Wilhelm / NCAA Photos / Getty
No. 1 Baylor took an early 9-0 lead and never looked back to convincingly knock off No. 1 Gonzaga 86-70 and win the program's first national championship on Monday.
Jared Butler was spectacular for the Bears, leading the team with 22 points while dishing out a game-high seven assists. He also splashed four 3-pointers, and Baylor outscored Gonzaga 30-15 from beyond the arc.
Baylor's players can now call themselves champions for the first time in the program's 114-year history.
With the loss, Gonzaga failed to become the first men's college basketball team to go undefeated since 1976. Jalen Suggs led the way for the Bulldogs with a game-high 22 points.
HEADLINES
- No. 1 Arizona turns halftime deficit into 21-point win vs. No. 12 Alabama
- Lendeborg helps No. 2 Michigan erase 9-point deficit vs. Maryland
- Purdue's Smith becomes 2nd D-I player with 1.5K points, 850 assists, 550 rebounds
- Kansas' Peterson injures hamstring in OT win over NC State
- Ike drops 25 as No. 8 Gonzaga eases past UCLA
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