Down by 1 going into halftime, the 3-seed Baylor Bears locked in to beat the 14-seed UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 74-56 behind 33 combined points from Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer. Baylor advances to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament and will face the winner of the (6) Creighton Bluejays and the (10) NC State Wolfpack.
The first half was competitive, largely thanks to Baylor’s lack of outside shooting (2-7 3PT) and UCSB’s ability to get inside and score in the paint. The Gauchos were 14-20 from 2-point range with 28 paint points.