Who would have ever guessed that an NCAA Tournament without Duke, Kentucky, and Louisville would wind up going down as one of the best ever?
The annual NCAA Tournament is always entertaining, but this tournament has been exciting from the opening tip-off.
In the Round of 64, we saw Ohio State get upset by 15 seed, Oral Roberts, and we saw Texas fall victim to 14 seed, Abilene Christian. We saw Loyola-Chicago make another Sweet 16 run, and some really great games in-between.
But, it wasn’t until last night, when the 2021 NCAA Tournament truly stood out from the rest.
Gonzaga and UCLA stole the show during their matchup in the Final Four.
Number 1 seed Gonzaga entered the tournament with a 31-0 record, and were unanimously considered the favorites to win the tournament. The last time a team won a national championship with an undefeated record was Indiana in 1976. Heading into the Final 4, Gonzaga has steamrolled opponents as they won their four tournament games by an average of 24 points.
Entering the Final Four, the 11 seed UCLA Bruins were fortunate to even be in the tournament in the first place. UCLA had to play in the play-in game to even make the Round of 64. But, UCLA proved their worth, as they had the hardest route of any team to reach the Final Four. Most notably they defeated number 2 seed Alabama, and number 1 seed Michigan in consecutive matchups to reach the Final 4.
But, Gonzaga was overwhelmingly considered to be the favorites in this game. Nobody really gave UCLA a shot, many expected Gonzaga to run UCLA out of the gym.
But, the UCLA Bruins gave Gonzaga everything they could handle, and then some. This game will likely go down as one of the best college basketball games of all time.
This back-and-forth, drama filled affair, saw two teams competing at a championship level on the offensive end. The game featured 15 ties and and 19 lead changes. The game couldn’t be decided in 40 minutes, as the score was tied at 81 at the end of regulation.
After 4 minutes and 57 seconds of overtime, the game looked destined for a second overtime.
But, Gonzaga freshman, Jalen Suggs had different plans.
Suggs took the inbound pass, dribbled past half-court and heaved up a prayer from 30 feet. The shot hit the backboard and went in as the buzzer sounded, giving Gonzaga the victory!
It was an insane and fitting finish to one of the best games in college basketball history. Jalen Suggs concluded the game with 16 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and his game-winner will live on.
“Stuff like this is something you dream of as a kid and that you practice on your mini hoop.”.
Gonzaga moves on and continues their undefeated triumph. It’s fair to suggest that UCLA would have beat any other team in the country last night. UCLA shot almost 58% from the field, and 47% from 3-point range.
The game was so surreal, and now sets up a very anticipated championship game
It will be the battle of number 1 seeds, as Gonzaga will take on Baylor.
It will be tough for this game to live up to the hype, but, it’s impossible to not acknowledge what’s on the line.
Gonzaga is looking to join the exclusive club of undefeated teams, and Baylor is looking to capture its first ever national championship.
The game won’t be short of storylines, and should be a nail biter. Baylor comes into this game as one of the best defensive teams in the country, while Gonzaga has the most offensive fire power in the entire country.
March Madness did not disappoint this year, let’s hope it ends on a truly memorable note.