Not a phrase you’d normally say, but in the context of what will take place at 9:00 p.m. ET, it’s well justified.
At long last, the two best teams in college basketball this season will face each other when the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Baylor Bears meet in the NCAA Men’s Division I Tournament national title game.
This has been a hotly anticipated meeting between these two schools for four months now, ever since their Dec. 5 tilt was cancelled because of COVID-19 protocols when both schools were looking like the two best in college hoops just three games into their respective seasons.
As the campaign progressed, even as Baylor experienced a swoon because of a COVID-mandated pause, it became apparent that these two schools were in a class of their own with the Bulldogs entering the NCAA tournament undefeated and the Bears with just two losses to their name, mostly as they were shaking the rust off from their layoff.
But on Monday, at last, these two powerhouses will meet not only for a chance at a national championship — and a chance at basketball immortality on the line for Gonzaga — but also a shot to finally, truly see who is the best team in college basketball this season.
As we await Monday, however, there is still the matter of the two Final Four games that were played Saturday — and, man, was one of those contests smoking.
Here are a few takeaways from the Final Four.
The Legend of Jalen Suggs
Before you read any further, just take a look at these two clips:
The first clip looked like the defining play of the game between Gonzaga and UCLA when freshman phenom Jalen Suggs came up with an incredible sequence where he blocked a shot at the rim, saved it from going out of bounds, started a break and then threw a strike of a bounce pass to teammate Drew Timme for a dunk that put the Bulldogs ahead with under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
But as remarkable as that was, the clip below was even more incredible and is the reason why Suggs’ name is unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon.
With 3.3 seconds left to play in overtime and the game tied at 90-90, Gonzaga coach Mark Few opted to allow his team to just inbound the ball and see what happens, despite having a timeout left. It turned out to be a genius move as the ball ended up in Suggs’ capable hands, he raced to just a little past half court and banked in an iconic game-winner reminiscent of Christian Laettner’s in the Elite Eight against Kentucky in 1992.
Suggs is a projected top-five pick in this year’s NBA draft, but he appears to have something that the other top prospects simply don’t have: the impossible-to-define “it” factor.
Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham is expected to go No. 1 overall, but he isn’t the player who will be looking to lead his team to the first undefeated college season since 1976 with a signature moment that will be played on repeat until the end of time, is he?
Measurables are great and all, but Suggs has a special kind of magic that you just can’t teach and has proven his desire to will his team to victory. If you’re a GM of an NBA team and don’t want that you should probably look for another job.
And on the topic of that Gonzaga-UCLA game, did anyone else feel like they needed a cigarette after watching/experiencing that?
A tightly contested contest with great shot-making and star performances on both sides from start to finish, it’s games like that that remind you why the NCAA Tournament always has such allure.
In particular, because of the two competing storylines from the respective teams with the Bulldogs chasing the history of an undefeated season and the Bruins looking to become the first team in the tournament to go from the First Four to the national championship game.
And it was only made that much more intoxicating by the fact that No. 1 seed Gonzaga was was getting pushed all game long by the No. 11.
The game will always be remembered for Suggs’ heroics, but the 29 points from UCLA’s Johnny Juzang (including the tying basket he made with 3.3 seconds to play in overtime) won’t soon be forgotten, neither will the strong first half from the Zags’ Joel Ayayi and the clutch play of Timme down the stretch of the fourth quarter and in overtime, including a game-saving charge he drew near the end of regulation.
And we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the outstanding play from the lone Canadian left in the NCAA Tournament: Andrew Nembhard.
Nembhard, normally a key bench player, got the start for Few’s squad as the Gonzaga coach tightened up his rotation to just seven men. He was mostly used as a safety valve and a calming presence when things got a little hectic, finishing with 11 points and eight assists on 4-of-9 shooting, including a clutch step-back three-pointer that put the Bulldogs up five with about 1:14 to play in overtime.
Though he can get lost in the shuffle given just how much talent is on the Zags, there’s little doubt just how important Nembhard is to them, and he showed it against UCLA.
Oh yeah, that other game
And in case you forgot, there was another Final Four game played Saturday, a 78-58 Baylor victory over Houston in a contest that was the polar opposite of the Gonzaga-UCLA match.
Simply put, the Bears overwhelmed the Cougars, who looked like they didn’t belong and, perhaps, really didn’t as their path to the Final Four was through double-digit seeded teams and when matched up against a truly great opponent like the Bears, they had no answer.
It took a little while for them to get their motor going again, but Baylor continues to look like the dominant team that had many wondering if they were as good or better than Gonzaga near the beginning and middle parts of the season.
The dynamic duo of Jared Butler and likely lottery pick Davion Mitchell are once again playing All-American style basketball, giving the Bears the kind of offensive firepower they’ll need to hang with the Bulldogs as well as the depth thanks to a strong supporting cast with players like MaCio Teague and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Matthew Mayer coming off the bench.
Reminder, we’re getting Gonzaga-Baylor for the national championship game
Get hype! We’re actually going to see a rare best-on-best college national championship game on Monday!
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
