Editor’s Note: Writing for NCAA.com, Sports Capital Journalism Program graduate student Alex Burr covered the end of Gonzaga University’s hope to become the first undefeated NCAA men’s basketball champion in 45 years. https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2021-04-06/gonzaga-comes-short-quest-perfect-season-first-title
Month: April 2021
Gonzaga’s Bid For Perfection Takes A Hit: ‘They Punched Us In The Mouth’
By Alex Burr | @alexburr4 Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS — All the pieces were there. The testing, the isolation, the sacrifice, all of it could lead to the type of perfection that had not taken place in a college basketball season in 45 years. The Gonzaga Bulldogs reached the national championship game, the first… Read more »
A Prediction For An Historic Championship Night in Indianapolis
By Alex Burr | @alexburr4 Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS – The confrontation between Gonzaga and Baylor has the potential to be one of the best NCAA championship games of all time. The Bulldogs come in at 31-0 with the hope of matching the 32-0 record of the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, the last undefeated national… Read more »
Worth the Wait: Gonzaga vs. Baylor, Once Canceled, Decides a Title
By Alex Burr | @alexburr4 Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS – The highly-anticipated matchup that didn’t happen is the one that will define college basketball history Monday night. The Gonzaga Bulldogs and Baylor Bears, whose scheduled meeting here on December 5 was canceled because of positive COVID-19 tests within the Gonzaga program on, will decide… Read more »
Postcard From the Final Four: The 3.3 Seconds I’ll Never Forget
As I type this first sentence, it is 2:53 a.m. Sunday morning. The rest of the world seems to have fallen asleep, but I am kept up past my usual bedtime for reasons I will never forget. Normally, when someone says they will never forget something, it is usually a menial night out or something… Read more »
For NCAA.com: Breaking Down Jalen Suggs’ Epic Buzzer-Beater
Editor’s Note: Writing for the website NCAA.com, Sports Capital Journalism Program graduate assistant Alex Burr describes the game-winning shot by Gonzaga freshman Jalen Suggs that propelled the Bulldogs into the national championship game for the second time in four tournaments. Gonzaga defeated UCLA 93-90 in a game that was immediately ranked among the greatest in… Read more »
“And I Said ‘It’s In,’ And It Was”: Suggs’ Shot Sends Zags to Title Game
By Alex Burr | @alexburr4 Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS – There were 3.3 seconds left in overtime in the national semifinal between undefeated Gonzaga and UCLA, and more and more it appeared a spot in the championship game would be decided by another overtime. Johnny Juzang of the Bruins had made a layup off… Read more »
In Scott Drew’s 18 Seasons as Coach, 18 Reasons Baylor Will Play For a Title
Editor’s Note: Sports Capital Journalism Program graduate assistant Alex Burr, writing for NCAA.com, discovers 18 statistical markers in Baylor’s 78-59 victory over Houston in a national semifinal game of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night. The Bears (27-2) advanced to the national title game for the first time since 1948…. Read more »
From the Archives: When the Confetti Falls | Reflections on a First Final Four
Cory Collins covered the 2014 Final Four in Arlington, Texas while a graduate assistant for the sports journalism program on the IUPUI campus. Here is his reflection on the weekend that led to Connecticut’s national championship. By Cory Collins | @CoCoCoryCollins Rarely had it sounded so sweet. Despite some-70,000 bodies standing in the spacious confines… Read more »
How Jalen Suggs Became the Last Piece of a Championship Contender
By Alex Burr | @alexburr4 Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS – When Mark Few, the coach of the Gonzaga Bulldogs, learned that Andrew Nembhart wanted to transfer in from the University of Florida, he knew he had to have a conversation. Few sat down with Jalen Suggs to make sure his star recruit was okay… Read more »