INDIANAPOLIS- Eighteen years after taking a job most thought he was crazy to ever take, Baylor—a team that made one NCAA Tournament between 1950 and 2007—knocked off previously undefeated Gonzaga to win the national championship.
That Baylor could beat Gonzaga isn’t surprising. Gonzaga fared better in the efficiency metrics but Baylor had shown all season what it could do. The Bears thrashed No. 1 seed Illinois and beat every team in the Big 12. Despite playing five fewer games than the league’s No. 2 team, Baylor won more games than anyone in the conference.
Nothing could stop this bunch.