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National Championship Game update: Gonzaga’s run to immortality came up just short. Baylor dominated Gonzaga from the tip, taking a 9-0 lead to open the game and never looking back. Gonzaga lost 86-70 and finishes the season 31-1 and a footnote in the history books.
Final Four update: Gonzaga survived a thriller against No. 11 UCLA to advance to the National Championship Game. The Bruins gave the Bulldogs everything they could handle and forced overtime. Johnny Juzang hit a layout to tie the game with 3.3 seconds left, but Jalen Suggs banked in a shot just inside half court to secure the 93-90 win. They are the first undefeated team since the 1978-79 Indiana State Sycamores to advance to the title game with an undefeated record. Gonzaga will face No. 1 Baylor.
Elite Eight update: Gonzaga crushed No. 6 USC to advance to the second Final Four in program history. The Bulldogs took a 7-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 85-66 victory. They are the third undefeated team in the past 30 years to earn a spot in the Elite Eight, again joining 2015 Kentucky and 1991 UNLV. Gonzaga will face No. 11 UCLA.
Sweet 16 update: Gonzaga keeps rolling along. The Bulldogs crushed No. 5 Creighton 83-65 to improve to 29-0 and advance to the Elite Eight. They are the third undefeated team in the past 30 years to earn a spot in the Elite Eight, joining 2015 Kentucky and 1991 UNLV. Gonzaga will face No. 6 USC.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are rolling through the 2020-2021 season, and head into the Sweet 16 with a 28-0 record. They crushed Norfolk State 98-55 in the first round and pulled away from Oklahoma in a 87-71 second round victory.
Gonzaga is looking to become the first undefeated national champion in men’s Division 1-A basketball since Indiana University finished the 1975-76 season with a 32-0 record. Indiana was the preseason No. 1 and went wire-to-wire en route to the title. Kentucky and Michigan pushed the Hoosiers into overtime during the regular season, but the team held them off and won their five postseason games to complete the undefeated season.
Gonzaga is not the first men’s team to enter the NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record. Since Indiana claimed their undefeated national title, Indiana State (1978-79), UNLV (1990-91), Wichita State (2013-14), and Kentucky (2014-15) all finished the regular season unbeaten. Wichita State was knocked out in the second round, while the other three teams advanced to the Final Four before losing.
Dating back to 1939, seven teams have claimed an undefeated national championship in men’s basketball. That includes San Francisco (1955-56), North Carolina (1956-57), UCLA (1963-64, 1966-67, 1971-72, 1972-73), and Indiana (1975-76).
On the women’s side nine teams have claimed an undefeated national title. The first team was Texas (1985-86) and they were followed by UConn (1994-95), Tennessee (1997-98), UConn (2001-02, 2008-09, 2009-10), Baylor (2011-12), and two more times by UConn (2013-14, 2015-16).
Can Gonzaga do the deed? They’re on a heck of a roll this season. They’ve won 25 games in a row by 10 or more points, and they opened the season with wins over ranked opponents Kansas, West Virginia, Iowa, and Virginia. This isn’t just a team beating up on second and third tier opponents. They’ll face the winner of Colorado vs. Florida State and while many other regions are seeing monster upsets, they could still be stuck having to beat the No. 5 seed (Creighton) and No. 3 seed (Kansas) to get to the Final Four.
We’re seeing a host of upsets, so who knows what might happen, but it’s hard to see Gonzaga losing anytime soon.