No. 9 Baylor opens Raleigh NCAA Tournament action with win over No. 8 Mississippi State

No. 9 seed Baylor’s narrow win Friday sets up an intriguing NCAA Tournament matchup.

The Bears defeated turnover-prone Mississippi State, the East Region’s No. 8 seed, 75-72, on Friday at Lenovo Center in an NCAA Tournament first-round game.

The Bears (20-14) advance to play top-seeded Duke (32-3) in Sunday’s second round game after the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils toppled No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s, 93-49, as expected. In the round of 32, Baylor graduate student guard Jeremy Roach will square off against the team he played for over the past four seasons.

Roach, a starter on Duke’s 2022 Final Four team as a sophomore, transferred to Baylor last summer and is using his final season of eligibility with the Bears. He scored four points in a reserve role against Mississippi State (21-13).

Baylor shot just 43.5%, but took advantage of Mississippi State’s 14 turnovers and won the rebounding battle 32-26 to advance.

Freshman guard Robert O. Wright paced Baylor with 19 points while VJ Edgecombe added 16 points. Langston Love scored 15 while forward Norchad Omier tallied 12 points.

Baylor led by 11 points with 8:11 to play before the Bulldogs made a late run to nearly overcome the deficit. Claudell Harris’ three free throws with 1:19 left trimmed Baylor’s lead to 71-70.

After Edgecombe drew two fouls in the lane that finally put Baylor in the bonus, Wright was fouled and hit two free throws with 43.2 seconds left giving the Bears a 73-70 lead.

With 29.5 seconds to play, DeShawn Murphy hit a twisting hook shot in the lane, leaving Baylor with a 73-72 lead.

Mississippi State fouled Edgecombe with 9.3 seconds left and he sank two free throws restoring Baylor’s 3-point lead at 75-72.

Harris air-balled a contested 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left and Baylor survived to advance.

Top seed Florida rolls over Norfolk State

The No. 1 seed in the West Region, Florida had no trouble advancing to the second round by beating No. 16 seed Norfolk State, 95-69.

Walter Clayton scored 23 points to pace the Gators (31-4), who built a commanding 24-5 lead over Norfolk State in the game’s early minutes and never trailed. Clayton drilled four of Florida’s 10 3-pointers. The Gators shot 48.3% in the win.

Alijah Martin added 17 points for Florida.

Norfolk State shot 45.9% but made only 2 of 14 shots behind the 3-point line to see its season end.

In Sunday’s second round, the Gators will play two-time reigning national champion UConn, which outlasted Oklahoma late Friday.

UConn moves on

Two-time defending national champions No. 8 seed UConn defeated No. 9 seed Oklahoma, 67-59, to advance to the round of 32.

The Huskies (24-10) didn’t have their best performance, giving up a lead with six minutes to play, but they overcame foul trouble and made clutch plays down the stretch to secure the win.

UConn, led by Solo Ball’s 14 points, used a well-rounded effort to muscle its way into the second round. All eight Huskies who saw the floor scored and pulled down a rebound. Alex Karaban had 13 and a monumental late block for the Huskies, with Tarris Reed Jr. chipping in 12. Six players recorded at least five boards.

The Sooners (20-14) struggled offensively for most of the night. They ended the first half shooting 2 of 12 and didn’t score a field goal in the final 4:46. Oklahoma found the basket in the second half, but the offense went cold again in the final five minutes of play.

Point guard Jeremiah Fears provided the Sooners with a much-needed offensive spark. He paced all players with 20 points and started the game 3 of 3 from the field. Fears finished with four assists.

Oklahoma went 32.1% from the field, including 17.6% from 3. Its 81.5% performance from the free throw line helped keep the first-year SEC team competitive.

UConn next faces No. 1 regional seed Florida on Sunday.

This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 2:39 PM with the headline "No. 9 Baylor opens Raleigh NCAA Tournament action with win over No. 8 Mississippi State."

Steve Wiseman

The News & Observer

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Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989.