Baylor captures their first ever national title by trouncing Gonzaga

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Kyle McKee, Sports Editor

The Baylor Bears have done it. They have won their first ever men’s college basketball championship by ending the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ quest for a perfect season.

From the opening tip, viewers could tell that the boys in green were locked in! Baylor never trailed at any point in the game. Those Bears mauled them Bulldogs!

With that being said, Gonzaga deserves tax for getting themselves back in the game during the second half. At one point, the Bulldogs cut Baylor’s lead to single digits but it was clear from the get-go that it was Baylor’s night to shine.

At one point in the first half, Scott Drew’s squad was up 29-10. That’s against a Gonzaga team that hadn’t lost, up until that point, the entire season, and had won every regular season game by double digits except one in which they won only by eight points over West Virginia.

Their domination is partly thanks to their scorching hot three-point shooting. The Bears ended the game with a 43.5 shooting percentage from downtown, which is great, but doesn’t really jump off the page as “scorching hot.”

However, early on it felt like Baylor could not miss from anywhere. According to Zac Al-Khateeb of the Sporting News, Baylor shot 50% from the field and seven of 12 from the three-point line, or 58.3%, in the first half. Yeah, that’s quite the scorcher.

Another factor in Baylor’s domination was the play of their three starting guards. Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler and Macio Teague played magnificent basketball. The three accounted for 56 of Baylor’s 86 points.

However, the most impressive part of Baylor’s impressive victory wasn’t their offense, it was their stifling defense.

The Bears held Gonzaga to 29.4% from the three-point line. They were all up the Bulldog’s grill. Baylor also out-rebounded Gonzaga 38-22, including 16-5 on the offensive glass.

Davion Mitchell, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, created havoc on the defensive end of the floor. He showed the nation why he was given that award and why he’s being considered among NBA draft experts as a potential lottery pick.

Congratulations to the Baylor Bears for capturing their first ever men’s basketball national championship.