On Monday night, we got the game we wanted all season long. And despite all our hopes, it wasn’t the instant classic we hoped for, although that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be grateful for the game. The matchup is still what we wanted and the best one possible. It is also the completion of an incredible story that is probably not finished.
So much was expected as Baylor and Gonzaga matched up in college basketball’s national championship game. Exactly four months earlier, these two teams were to meet in the same city in what was to be the most highly-anticipated matchup of the season. At a time when college basketball had so many things working against it – the virus and going up against college football for interest as always happens at that time of the year being chief among them – this was to be the game that would inject a nice bit of life into the early college basketball season. It was to be a preview of a possible national championship matchup.
Then reality set in on the morning of the game: due to virus concerns within Gonzaga’s program, it was canceled. Both teams wanted to make it up, and we have no doubt they really tried, but it was unrealistic, so the season went on without it. At the time it was a gut punch if you’re a fan of the game.
We got that game after all, and Baylor left no doubt that they were the best team. The Bears faded in terms of perception a little after they had a long COVID pause during Big 12 play, especially since they were clearly not the same team as soon as they resumed game action. Gonzaga kept rolling all that time, entering the NCAA Tournament undefeated and continuing to win up to this point, though they got all they could handle in the instant classic against UCLA on Saturday night.
On Monday night, the Bears ran out to a big early lead, going up by double digits and staying there until well into the second half. Then, almost as fast as Gonzaga got within single digits, the Bears went on a run to break away once again and never looked back. You knew the Bulldogs were dangerous enough to go on a game-changing run, yet the Bears’ play had you doubting that would ever happen – and it didn’t.
And yet another season passes without a team going undefeated. It’s one more reminder of just how difficult that is to pull off.
More impressive, though, is to realize what Scott Drew has done in Waco. When he took over in 2003, the program was left for dead and for good reason. The NCAA hammered the program in light of the murder of Patrick Dennehy, and the program was further decimated at first by the immediate transfer of four other players. They couldn’t play any non-conference games in the 2005-06 season. And as far as tradition goes, they were not exactly Kansas, as they made the Final Four in 1948 and 1950 but had just one other NCAA Tournament appearance – in 1988 – since that time.
So who was this guy to come in talking about winning a national championship as the NCAA dropped the hammer on them? Just getting to the NCAA Tournament would have been quite an accomplishment against that backdrop. Yes, he’s a competitive guy, but even understanding that, most thought he was crazy for thinking about a national championship.
But in due time, he got them into the NCAA Tournament, had a runner-up finish in the NIT and won the NIT in 2013. Now they’re a bona fide powerhouse, as they have become a regular NCAA Tournament team and were a national title contender last year before the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. After previous runs to the Elite Eight, they are now national champions in impressive fashion. Drew has done it a variety of ways in terms of talent, getting top high school players, kids who were a notch down from the elite talents out of high school and grew into star players, transfers both from high-majors and mid-majors, and just about everything in between.
Their opponent, Gonzaga, was just becoming a household name when Drew took over at Baylor. They are now a powerhouse as well, with this being their best team yet. These are two programs that have been built over the past couple of decades after having no real tradition back when I was in college. The Bulldogs made some runs to maintain contact, but this was Baylor’s night.
And chances are, Scott Drew isn’t done in Waco just yet. Where in the world could he possibly go from here now that he’s taken them to the mountain top? His name will be out there for certain jobs if they open up, but what would he ever leave what he has built for?
This college basketball season was unique, and many of the results as the season went on were not exactly what many expected either based on preseason projections or from the results as the season went along. Several conference tournaments saw championship matchups without either of the top two seeds. Yet through it all, we got the national championship matchup we all hoped for, with the two teams that were consistently the best all season long.
And when it was all said and done, one team stood clearly alone as the best.