The Baylor Bears were crowned as the national champion for the 2020–21 season after beating the then-undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs, 86–70. The game was played on April 5, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Gonzaga was the first team to enter the national championship game undefeated since Indiana State in 1979. Baylor became the second consecutive first-time NCAA champions following Virginia in 2019 (no tournament was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) but were only the fifth new champions of the 21st century.

Baylor, led by 18th-year head coach Scott Drew, finished the regular season with a record of 21–1, including wins over seven ranked teams. The Bears posted a 13–1 conference record, earning them the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, where they defeated No. 9 seed Kansas State in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 5 seed Oklahoma State in the semifinals. They were awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and received the No. 1 seed in the South Regional. In the tournament, they defeated No. 16 seed Hartford and No. 9 seed Wisconsin to reach their fifth Sweet Sixteen. The Bears then defeated No. 5 seed Villanova and No. 3 seed Arkansas to win the South Regional and reach their third Final Four.

In the Final Four, Baylor soundly defeated No. 2 seed Houston, champions of the Midwest Regional, by a score of 78–59 to reach their second national title game; they entered seeking their first championship.