BREAKING: Baylor dominates Gonzaga, wins first ever National Championship

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INDIANAPOLIS — Baylor put the exclamation point on an already historic season Monday evening as the Bears put the country on notice with a dominating 86-70 victory over previously unbeaten Gonzaga to claim the program’s first ever National Championship. 

The Bears led from start to finish including holding a double-digit victory for the majority of the 40 minute contest.

Baylor came out of the gates red hot to start the game, extending its lead to 9-1 before Gonzaga hit its first field goal of the game 4:31 into the first half. Led by MaCio Teague’s 14 first half points,  Baylor saw that eight point lead expand all the way out to 19. Teague connected on both of his two three point attempts in the first 20 minutes.

From the opening tip, senior Mark Vital paced Baylor’s effort and energy to help create separation as all five of his rebounds came on the offensive end as the Bears dominated on the glass with a 16-10 rebounding edge in the half. Vital finished the game with 11 rebounds, six points, two assists, two steals and one block. 

Baylor finished the game with a 38-22 rebounding advantage over Gonzaga.

After a Teague three pushed Baylor’s lead to 29-10, Gonzaga’s elite offensive squad put pressure on the Bears in the final stretch of the opening period. The Bulldogs knocked down nine free throws after eight Baylor fouls to cut into the large lead before a layup to beat the buzzer trimmed it all the way down to 10. 

The run by the Zags would prove to be short lived, however. After the intermission the Bears quickly widened the gap to 15 points and never looked back. 

Gonzaga entered the game as the top ranked offensive team in the country, but Scott Drew’s unit had none of it. Led by Davion Mitchell, Baylor forced 14 turnovers and blocked five shots while holding Gonzaga to just 70 points, 21.6 points below its season average. 

Mitchell finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. 

Offensively the Bears continued a hot streak found against Houston from deep. After hitting 11 against Houston in the Final Four, Baylor hit another 10 in the championship game. 

Junior guard Jared Butler scored 22 points, dished out seven assists with no turnovers and hit 4/9 three point shots. Senior MaCio Teague (19) and sophomore Adam Flagler (13) also notched double-digit performances.