{"id":22897,"date":"2021-04-05T23:40:57","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T04:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/?p=22897"},"modified":"2021-04-06T00:28:03","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T05:28:03","slug":"enjoy-it-the-baylor-bears-are-ncaa-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/2021\/04\/enjoy-it-the-baylor-bears-are-ncaa-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"EnJOY it — the Baylor Bears are NCAA champions!!!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Baylor<\/p>\n

Eighteen years ago, it all began with a simple press conference<\/a>. Now, here we are: the Baylor Bears are the 2020-21 NCAA men’s basketball national champions<\/a>!!!!<\/p>\n

In what was billed as a \u201chistorically good<\/a>\u201d national title game match-up, head coach Scott Drew’s Bears blew out national No. 1 seed (and previously undefeated) Gonzaga, 86-70, to hoist the trophy for the program’s first national championship.<\/p>\n

From the opening tip, the Bears showed that they<\/em> were the nation\u2019s best team, scoring the game\u2019s first nine points and quickly building a double-digit lead. MaCio Teague sparked the Bears with 14 first-half points, while on the defensive end, Mark Vital, Flo Thamba and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua clamped down on Gonzaga\u2019s vaunted front court.<\/p>\n

When the Bulldogs cut the lead to nine, the Bears responded with three-pointer after three-pointer, stop after stop, and rebound after rebound in a true team effort. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Jared Butler led the way with 22 points, while Mark Vital pulled down 11 rebounds. In the waning minutes, Drew pulled the starters from the floor into a huge embrace that embodied the team\u2019s culture of J.O.Y.<\/a>, and the Bears soon celebrated a national title.<\/p>\n

[LINKS: Watch the final seconds again<\/a> || “One Shining Moment<\/a>” video ||\u00a0Get your National Champions gear<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Drew was introduced as the Bears’ head coach on Aug. 22, 2003<\/a>, his promises to \u201cwin NCAA tournament games\u201d and aspirations to \u201cwin a national championship at Baylor University\u201d struck many as outlandish. But as he cast the further vision about building a \u201cfamily atmosphere\u201d and a staff with the \u201cwork ethic, the integrity, and the commitment [for] success,\u201d he was sharing the formula that would, over the next 18 years, prove to be promises kept in ways big and small.<\/p>\n

\n

Live from McLane — the exact moment @BaylorMBB<\/a> became<\/p>\n

NATIONAL. 🐻 CHAMPIONS. 🏆<\/p>\n

(video via @jeremymann14<\/a>)<\/p>\n

pic.twitter.com\/2J4RoqzQrS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Baylor University (@Baylor) April 6, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n