Jalen Suggs clinched Gonzaga’s spot in the national championship game with a buzzer-beating 3-point heave at the end of overtime against UCLA to keep the Zags’ pursuit of perfection in tact. The tournament’s top overall seed will square off against Baylor, the tournament’s second-overall seed, who dominated Houston to secure its spot in the title game.

“It’s just crazy,” Suggs said. “I just still can’t believe it.”

Gonzaga and UCLA went back-and-forth the entire game as the Bulldogs pulled out a 93-90 victory in OT. The game featured 19 lead changes and 16 ties.

“It was tough to get any type of separation,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “Lost in all this and the last-second shot, Jalen did an unbelievable job D-ing up [Johnny] Juzang. They ran so many good actions for him. He was all over him, and Juzang is just a big-time player.”

Juzang tied the game with 3.3 left in the extra session on a putback off his own miss. This shot came a moment after the Zags opened a five-point edge with one minute to go on an Andrew Nembhard 3-pointer.

With the game tied at 81 with less than 10 seconds left in regulation, Juzang drove to the basket with an opportunity to put the Bruins in front, but Drew Timme stepped in to drew a charge with one second on the clock.

Both teams were blistering hot from the field. Gonzaga made 58.7% of its shots, and UCLA converted on 57.6% of its attempts. The Bulldogs outscored the Bruins 56-24 in the paint.

Timme finished with 25 points, including the team’s first six in overtime, on 11-of-15 shooting, as all five starters scored in double figures. Joel Ayayi knocked in 22 points and pulled down six rebounds. Suggs tallied 16 points and six assists. Corey Kispert contributed 15 points, and Nembhart added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Juzang poured in a game-high 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting and amassed six rebounds. It was his third 25-point game of the tournament, which is the second most by a UCLA player in a single tourney. Gail Goodrich had four 25-point games in 1965, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. posted 19 points; Tyger Campbell recorded 17 points and seven assists. Cody Riley had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

“We may not have been the best team in the country all year, but we became one of the best four teams in the country,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said. “This was not a fluke tonight.”

In the first semifinal, Baylor raced past Houston 78-59. The Bears closed out the first half on a 23-6 run to open up a 45-20 advantage at the break.

“That first half was about as well as any team can play against Houston,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said.

Five Bears scored in double figures on 52.7% shooting from the floor and 45.8% from 3-point land. They dished out 23 assists on 29 made field goals. Baylor hit 8 of its 15 attempts from 3 in the opening 20 minutes. The Bears reserves nearly tripled the production of the Cougars’ bench (32-11).

Jared Butler scored all 17 of his points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting and 4-of-5 from deep. Davion Mitchell registered a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists. Matthew Mayer also scored 12 points. MaCio Teague chipped in 11 points and six assists. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua contributed 11 points.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a team with five guards at that level, no drop off,” Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Baylor is clearly the best team we’ve played in the seven years I’ve been here. They’re really, really good.”

The Cougars were led by Marcus Sasser’s game-high 20 points. He scored 17 of Houston’s 20 points in the first half. He was 6-of-11 from the floor in the opening frame, while the rest of his team was 1-for-15. Quentin Grimes was also in double figures with 11 points.

“We came in really focused,” Drew told CBS’ Tracey Wolfson. “In the second half, [I was] just really proud of our guys that we never let them get that run that really put the game in jeopardy.”

Looking ahead to the national championship game, this year’s matchup is the first title game between the top two overall seeds since 2005 (North Carolina over Illinois). It will be the first title game between the preseason Nos. 1 and 2 since 2001 (Duke over Arizona).

Both programs are making their second appearances in the title game. Baylor’s only other berth was in 1948, and Gonzaga’s appearance came in 2017. They are both in search of their first championship.

Over the last two seasons, Gonzaga and Baylor are a combined 115-8. The Zags are 31-0 this season and are looking to become the first undefeated champions since Indiana in 1976. They have won 35 straight dating back to last season with all but three of those by double figures. Baylor is 27-2 this season and won its first 18 games of the year.

The two had originally tried to play earlier this season but were forced to postpone the game due to a pair of positive Covid tests with the Bulldogs. They had hoped to reschedule but did not find a mutually convenient date. Now, they will get this showdown on the brightest stage with a shot at college basketball immortality on the line.