Busting Brackets
Fansided

3 keys for Baylor Basketball to win a national championship over Gonzaga

By Andrew Tineo

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 27: Jared Butler #12 and Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears react in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 27: Jared Butler #12 and Davion Mitchell #45 of the Baylor Bears react in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
Baylor Basketball (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Baylor Basketball (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Four months to the day, Baylor Basketball and Gonzaga were expected to play No. 1 vs. No. 2 inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

It has been only the fifth time in NCAA Tournament history that AP Preseason No. 1 and No. 2 matched up for a chance at the national championship. Very rarely, do both AP teams stay near their spots they started in.

The amount of headlines for this game is endless and for good reason, as it’s among the most highly anticipated national championship game of the past decade.

Gonzaga has been ranked No. 1 the entire season and has held the majority of the first-place votes the whole year. For Baylor, they had a one-week visit to the No. 3 rankings, before climbing back up to No. 2.

Baylor is coming off their best defensive performance of the season and their best game in the tournament, with a nineteen-point victory over Midwest region champion, No. 2 Houston.

The Bears have made headlines through their stout defense and three-point blazing offense. The trio of Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, and MaCio Teague is expected to be playing in their final games of the season.

Just three years ago, none of those players were on campus, with no knowing of direction the program would be going in. Three years later, they are competing in April.

Even though every team was dealing with COVID, no team had more pressure during the off-season than Baylor with players putting their name in the NBA Draft. Baylor had two names in Butler and Teague that was contemplating declaring pro.

Those two decisions in the long-term were humongous decisions and determined the fate of the season.

Mark Vital has been an elite on-ball defender and rebounds at a high rate, at his 6’5 frame. Key additions through transfers and redshirting helped the Bears with Teague and Mitchell.

Head Coach Scott Drew hit the jackpot with two more impact players in Adam Flagler and Johnathon Tchamwa Tchatchoua.

We take a deep dive into three keys to a program-changing victory for Baylor.

Home/Baylor Bears