The Baylor Bears spoiled the party for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and ended their undefeated season with a decisive 86-70 win in the 2021 NCAA Championship game. On Wednesday, Baylor swingman Mark Vital revealed that his team had extra motivation against the then-unbeaten Zags, since their counterparts were already counting their chickens before they even hatched.
In an interview with Sirius XM College, Vital recalled how Gonzaga's disrespect fueled the Bears further in their NCAA Championship upset.
“People don’t know, those guys ordered six cases of champagne before the game. You know, as if they won already. Those guys already ordered stuff and had their plans and everything before the game. Certain guys are already talking trash as if they’ve won,” the Baylor swingman shared.
“We just had the mindset the entire game to just destroy them. Play as hard as you can.”
🍾🍾🍾@MarkVitalJr tells @sportsiren and @GabeIkard how a premature champagne order by Gonzaga motivated Baylor on Monday night. #SicEm | #TimeIsNow 🏀 pic.twitter.com/hYOFHWEE5a
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) April 7, 2021
While the Zags were not as favored as much against the Bears in the NCAA Championship game, most pundits still expected them to run away with the chip. After all, they were coming off an epic win against the UCLA Bruins in the semis.
But as Vital suggested, it probably got into their heads a bit and let their guard down against the dangerous Bears team. Vital, for his part, pitched in six points, 11 rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes in the title bout.
Even with the loss, Gonzaga has already emerged as early betting favorites for the 2022 NCAA Championship. The Zags are +550 favorites, while the newly-crowned champion Baylor is only second at +850. This right here should be added motivation for the Bears once more in their bid to repeat next year.
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