Big Dog Sports Blitz

Gonzaga and Baylor have been the two best teams in men’s college basketball all season. The Bulldogs and Bears were supposed to play on Dec. 5, but the game was canceled due to Covid. On Monday night, they will square off in the championship game of the 2021 NCAA tournament.

Gonzaga is trying to become the first men’s college basketball team to end the season as an undefeated national champion since the Indiana Hoosiers did it in 1976. The Bulldogs needed a near halfcourt buzzer-beater from freshman star Jalen Suggs to beat UCLA in overtime two days earlier. Before they were pushed to the brink by the Bruins, the Zags had been rolling through the bracket with an average margin of victory of nearly 24 points per game.

The Zags have three AP All-Americans with Suggs in the backcourt, Co...

One game separates Gonzaga and Baylor from eternal — and first-time— glory.

The Bulldogs and Bears, who are considered the consensus top two teams not only in the NCAA Tournament but also all of college basketball, will face off against each other for the right to claim the 2021 men’s national championship on Monday.

History will be made regardless of who wins: Gonzaga can become the first undefeated team in college basketball since Indiana in 1975-76, and Baylor can win the first March Madness title for the Lone Star State since Texas Western (now known as UTEP) in 1966.

MORE: Watch Gonzaga vs. Baylor live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

While history certainly is on the line, the far more interesting storylines will be on the court...

INDIANAPOLIS — The 2021 Final Four is the eighth held in Indianapolis, giving the city the second-highest total of championship games, two behind Kansas City. The first Final Four here was held at the old Market Square Arena in 1980, and the most recent took place at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2015.

When Gonzaga meets UCLA in a national semifinal, the game will mark the third time in 30 years that an undefeated team will attempt to become the eighth national champion with a perfect record, the first since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers. The last two did not make it to the championship game.

In 1991, defending champion UNLV lost to Duke to end a 34-1 season...

The NCAA has been hosting the women’s basketball tournament since 1982, yet this is the first time we will see two African-American head coaches in the Final Four. This is truly a historic moment you won’t want to miss.

No. 1 South Carolina, led by legendary head coach Dawn Staley, will take on No. 1 Stanford at 6 p.m. ET. No. 3 seed Arizona, led by up-and-coming coach Adia Barnes, will square up against No. 1 UConn at 9 p.m. ET.

Gender aside, having two African-American head coaches take the floor during the women’s Final Four is unheard of. But the fact that they are both females is a huge win for women in sports because Staley and Barnes are just two of 13 Black female head coaches in Power Five conferences this season...

The first of the two final Elite Eight games is nearly underway.

Six-seed USC will look to continue its incredible run through the tournament with a win over the undefeated, top-seeded Zags. The Trojans have averaged an incredible margin of victory of 21.3 points three games through the tournament, but they will face the toughest challenge yet in Mark Few’s Gonzaga team.

The Bulldogs this tournament have been led by an incredible trio in Drew Timme (20.7 points, 8.3 rebounds per game), Jalen Suggs (10.3 points per game) and Corey Kispert (17 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal per game).

Gonzaga approaches unstoppable when one or more of them get hot, but will they have trouble taking on the force that is freshman 7-0 forward Evan Mobley? He has averaged a double-double throug...

Official Bert Smith was taken off on a stretcher in the first half of Gonzaga’s game against USC.

With about 16 minutes remaining in the first half, the broadcast camera panned over and Smith was on the court. A few moments before that, the broadcast showed Smith stumbling. Gonzaga then got a takeaway and a layup on the other side of the court.

When the action returned to USC’s side, you could see panic set in from people on the court. Another official ran over, as well as a Gonzaga assistant coach.

The medical staff then quickly brought out a stretcher as Smith laid down on the court.

The broadcast cut away to commercial, and during that time, Smith was able to get up on his own. When the broadcast came back, Smith was seen awake and sitting up on the stretcher.

CBS later aired the foot...

Evan Mobley has been a breakout star in the 2021 men’s NCAA tournament for the USC Trojans, but he’s still just scratching the surface of his immense natural talent. The 7-foot freshman projects as one of the best big man prospects to enter the NBA draft in the last 10 years. He’s a player who fits seamlessly into the modern game while also possessing the potential to push the boundaries of what bigs are expected to be.

Mobley powered USC into the Elite Eight for the first time since 2001, back when Brian Scalabrine was the team’s senior leader...

With the announcement of the National Invitational Tournament teams on Sunday, the entire NCAA postseason has been set.

The NIT in 2021 will see more than a few changes as the NCAA — not to mention local and state health agencies — try to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While not ideal, changes to the NIT are preferable to NIT at all.

The 2021 participants likely would have preferred their respective seasons to end with a dose of March Madness — that is true for several notable NCAA Tournament snubs — but the National Invitational Tournament could serve as a jumping-off point for teams looking to make the next step in 2021-22. Conversely, it could be a final chance at glory as players graduate or take their talents to the next level.

MORE: Watch NIT games live on fuboTV (7...