The two best teams in men's college basketball all season long will meet in the national championship game Monday night when the Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the Baylor Bears.Though March's tournament is known for its madness and upsets, this title matchup is no surprise. Preseason rankings from back in November pegged Gonzaga and Baylor as the top two teams in the country, and they've lived up to those lofty expectations all year long.Gonzaga, led by coach Mark Few, is coming off a stunning last-second overtime win over UCLA that pushed its record to a sterling 36-0. With a win over Baylor, they would become the first team to finish a season undefeated since Indiana went 32-0 during the 1975-76 season.Baylor, meanwhile, is fresh off a dominating win over Houston in the Final Four and holds a 32-2 record. Under coach Scott Drew, Baylor has cruised through its tournament opponents, beating every team by at least nine points.Both teams boast star players likely to be playing in the pros next season.Check below for updates:10:05 p.m.There are about 8,000 fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium and the overwhelming majority of them are rooting for Baylor.The Bears are certainly giving them plenty of reasons to cheer.Even though they've cooled off a bit from the field, they are still matching Gonzaga bucket-for-bucket as the national title game approaches halftime. One big advantage for the Bears is their depth: They've already gotten eight points from backup guard Adam Flagler while the Bulldogs have yet to get anything from their bench.Baylor leads 38-26 with 3 1/2 minutes left before the break.9:55 p.m.Baylor continues to dominate overall No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the national championship game.The Bears hit their first 5 3-pointers, have caused the Bulldogs all kinds of problems on defense and roared to a 29-10 lead — the biggest deficit faced by Gonzaga during its bid for a perfect season. The Bulldogs have since scored a couple of buckets, but they still trail 31-14 at the under-8 media timeout.Fouls are suddenly a big problem for Gonzaga, too. Drew Timme picked up his third foul on a charging call, and Jalen Suggs already has spent time on the bench with two fouls. Suggs has twice fouled out of games this season.9:40 p.m.Baylor has raced to an 11-1 lead at the first media timeout of the national championship game, continuing the red-hot shooting that carried the Bears to a blowout victory over Houston in the semifinals.Davion Mitchell already has seven points and Mark Vital has three offensive boards for the Bears.Gonzaga has missed its first three shots, committed two turnovers and got its only point after Andrew Nembhard made the second of his two free throws. The Bears have turned both of those turnovers into points.9:05 p.m.There are no surprises in the starting lineups for Baylor and Gonzaga in the national championship game.The Bears will go with their dynamic backcourt of All-American guard Jared Butler, defensive player of the year Davion Mitchell and sharp-shooter MaCio Teague. Mark Vital and Flo Thamba will patrol the paint for them.The Bulldogs will counter with Jalen Suggs, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime sent them past UCLA in the semifinals, alongside fellow guards Andrew Nembhard and Joel Ayayi. All-American forward Corey Kispert and Drew Timme, who also had a monster game against the Bruins, will round out the starters.The game officials will be Bo Boroski, Keith Kimble and Randy McCall.The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.
The two best teams in men's college basketball all season long will meet in the national championship game Monday night when the Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the Baylor Bears.
Though March's tournament is known for its madness and upsets, this title matchup is no surprise. Preseason rankings from back in November pegged Gonzaga and Baylor as the top two teams in the country, and they've lived up to those lofty expectations all year long.
Gonzaga, led by coach Mark Few, is coming off a stunning last-second overtime win over UCLA that pushed its record to a sterling 36-0. With a win over Baylor, they would become the first team to finish a season undefeated since Indiana went 32-0 during the 1975-76 season.
Baylor, meanwhile, is fresh off a dominating win over Houston in the Final Four and holds a 32-2 record. Under coach Scott Drew, Baylor has cruised through its tournament opponents, beating every team by at least nine points.
Both teams boast star players likely to be playing in the pros next season.
Check below for updates:
10:05 p.m.
There are about 8,000 fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium and the overwhelming majority of them are rooting for Baylor.
The Bears are certainly giving them plenty of reasons to cheer.
Even though they've cooled off a bit from the field, they are still matching Gonzaga bucket-for-bucket as the national title game approaches halftime. One big advantage for the Bears is their depth: They've already gotten eight points from backup guard Adam Flagler while the Bulldogs have yet to get anything from their bench.
Baylor leads 38-26 with 3 1/2 minutes left before the break.
9:55 p.m.
Baylor continues to dominate overall No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the national championship game.
The Bears hit their first 5 3-pointers, have caused the Bulldogs all kinds of problems on defense and roared to a 29-10 lead — the biggest deficit faced by Gonzaga during its bid for a perfect season. The Bulldogs have since scored a couple of buckets, but they still trail 31-14 at the under-8 media timeout.
Fouls are suddenly a big problem for Gonzaga, too. Drew Timme picked up his third foul on a charging call, and Jalen Suggs already has spent time on the bench with two fouls. Suggs has twice fouled out of games this season.
9:40 p.m.
Baylor has raced to an 11-1 lead at the first media timeout of the national championship game, continuing the red-hot shooting that carried the Bears to a blowout victory over Houston in the semifinals.
Davion Mitchell already has seven points and Mark Vital has three offensive boards for the Bears.
Gonzaga has missed its first three shots, committed two turnovers and got its only point after Andrew Nembhard made the second of his two free throws. The Bears have turned both of those turnovers into points.
9:05 p.m.
There are no surprises in the starting lineups for Baylor and Gonzaga in the national championship game.
The Bears will go with their dynamic backcourt of All-American guard Jared Butler, defensive player of the year Davion Mitchell and sharp-shooter MaCio Teague. Mark Vital and Flo Thamba will patrol the paint for them.
The Bulldogs will counter with Jalen Suggs, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime sent them past UCLA in the semifinals, alongside fellow guards Andrew Nembhard and Joel Ayayi. All-American forward Corey Kispert and Drew Timme, who also had a monster game against the Bruins, will round out the starters.
The game officials will be Bo Boroski, Keith Kimble and Randy McCall.
The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.
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