The Baylor men’s basketball team did something it has never done before. On Monday night, the Bears took down Gonzaga 86-70 in the NCAA National Championship game, winning their first national title in school history. Baylor beat a Gonzaga team that was undefeated and was also looking to win its first championship. Before Monday’s game, the closest Baylor came to winning a title was in 1948 when the team the Bears lost to Kentucky, the first of their eight national titles for the Wildcats.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God for blessing us with this opportunity tonight,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said after the game per ESPN. “I know the guys have worked really hard. And I’m so happy they get a chance to celebrate now. At the same time, I feel for Coach [Mark] Few and his team because they’re such class acts. And Coach Few is a Hall of Fame coach and an unbelievable guy. A better person than he is a coach. And you hate when friends aren’t feeling good.”
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Drew was hired as the Bears’ coach in 2003 and came to a program that hasn’t had a winning record in two seasons at the time. Every season, Drew built the program into his vision, leading his squad to an NCAA Tournament appearance in his fifth season. The Bears reached the Elite Eight in 2010 and 2012 before cutting the net on Monday.
“Well, obviously, going into every game being 30- or 40-point underdogs and half your team walk-ons, and you know as a coach, if we can just keep it close, keep it within 20 by the first half or 10,” Drew said about the early years at Baylor. “But really credit those guys who won [four] games that year. They laid the foundation. Those guys have stayed with the program and helped support these guys. And that’s what you love. Over 18 years, there’s so many people that put in hard work and sweat.”
Gonzaga became the first undefeated team since Indiana State in 1979 to enter the championship game and lose. “Baylor just beat us in every facet of the game tonight,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said after the game per CBS Sports. “The aggressiveness and the athleticism of Baylor just had us on our heels. Usually when you’re the most aggressive team you’re going to get the calls, you’re going to make the plays. They were just clearly way more aggressive than us pretty much the entire night.”
