There’s an exclusivity inherent to the moment that college basketball coaches refer to as “Monday Night.” That’s the insider moniker for the sport’s national title game, which allows only two of the sport’s 357 teams to slip under the velvet rope for the final game.
After undefeated No. 1 Gonzaga (31-0) escaped an upset from UCLA and No. 1 Baylor (27-2) advanced to the national title game with Final Four victories on Saturday, it sets up the single-best national title game on paper in the history of the NCAA tournament considering how both programs uniquely separated themselves from the rest of the sport.