Gonzaga vs Baylor

Tears, disappointment, and heartbreak are all things that the Gonzaga Bulldogs experienced after a devastating loss to the Baylor Bears in the finals of the NCAA championships on Monday, April 5th with a final score of Gonzaga 70 Baylor 86.

Gonzaga pushed for perfection but had fallen short, stopped by an aggressive Baylor team that never let the Bulldogs find the often seamless execution that had carried them all season. The Bulldogs, who had seemingly had everything clicking from the season’s opening tip ended the season with an out of synch showing in Monday night’s 86-70 loss to the Bears in the NCAA championship game.

Baylor simply just played more aggressive, didnt let the Bulldogs take shots and it paid off. Gonzaga only shot 51% in the Monday night game. The Zags struggled to get a clean look and shoot 3-pointers, but their reliable defense was also not enough to keep the Bears from shooting. The Zags couldn’t keep Baylor off the glass and kept committing turnovers, some just by bobbling the ball away on their own.The Zags made just 5 out of 17 3-pointers.

By the end of the first half the Bulldogs found themselves down 19. Jalen Suggs, the star freshman and top NBA draft prospect, had etched his name into tournament lore by banking home a running shot from just across halfcourt to beat UCLA in overtime in an electric national semifinal Saturday night. He opened this game with a missed 3-pointer and then an immediate offensive foul when he ran over a defender. Minutes later he would pick up his second foul and take a seat on the bench and the Bears to a 9-0 lead. Suggs later returned and dropped a team high of 22 points, 15 of which came after halftime.

Will the Zags return to the finals next year and capture the national title that they keep on chasing?