By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Following a statement return to the NCAA Tournament, No. 3 seed Baylor men’s basketball is looking to silence the noise and keep rolling after making program history on Friday. The Bears are set to clash with No. 6 Clemson at 5:10 p.m. on Sunday at FedEx Forum.
Inked in familiar territory, head coach Scott Drew takes his Bears (24-10) into the round of 32 for the ninth time in his career, and he holds a 5-3 record in those previous contests. However, Drew’s teams have faced second-round exits in back-to-back seasons. With all the underlying emotions, Drew said that at the end of the day, it’s still basketball at the biggest stage.
“You’re in the NCAA Tournament; you don’t need any added motivation,” Drew said. “Right now, you’re completely focused on controlling what you can control and being locked in with that.”
Caught up with RayJ Dennis today, as he spoke about this team's confidence going into Baylor's Round of 32 matchup against Clemson.
"It feels like we have everything in here to get the job done."
I'll have more from my one-on-one with Dennis coming up tonight at 9 on FOX 44. pic.twitter.com/4RhWp3yGRB
— Eric Kelly (@EricKellyTV) March 23, 2024
In Baylor’s 92-67 decimation of No. 14 seed Colgate on Friday, the Bears notched March Madness highs in points scored (92) and points scored in a half (54). They also tied 3-pointers made, as they shot 16-of-30 from deep. While the results are tough to replicate, junior guard Jayden Nunn said he felt most of the hard work that went into the historic win is a constant plus for the squad.
“It was good to see everybody with a smile on their face,” Nunn said. “Last year [at VCU], I got put out first round. Everybody had an input on that game [against Colgate]. When everybody is playing like that, I feel we’re really hard to beat. And I feel we’re capable of playing like that every game, really.”
When the Bears clash with the Tigers (22-11) on Sunday, they’ll be facing a team that was able to replicate solid postseason numbers. In Clemson’s first-round win over No. 11 New Mexico (26-10) on Friday, it held the Lobos to just 29.7% shooting from the floor, which was the lowest mark for New Mexico all season and the second lowest for a Clemson opponent in postseason tournament history. The Lobos mustered just 3-of-23 shooting from the 3-point line against Clemson — a point of emphasis as the Bears rode their second-best 3-point shooting performance of the season.
“They have very big guards,” Nunn said. “They have very physical bigs, so we’re going to emphasize front-up posts and just trying to be physical all game with the bigs, boxing out and doing whatever we have to do to keep them off their game.”
The Bears look to have a bolstered interior force as freshman center Yves Missi battled through back discomfort on Friday but said he expects to play in Sunday’s matchup. Alongside Missi, sophomore forward Josh Ojianwuna and senior forward Jalen Bridges will have their work cut out for them as they clash with the 21st-best defensive rebounding team in the nation.
“Definitely want a healthy interior, because you’re going to need them all,” Drew said. “Clemson’s as deep in the frontline as you’re going to find in college basketball. Most college teams, they’re lucky if they have one guy who can play in the post.
“They have three, four, five guys they can run in there. Yves did a great job trying to fight through the other night. Hopefully he’ll be in better shape physically.”
#Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell on No. 6 seed Clemson being an underdog against No. 11 New Mexico despite being a higher seed.
The Tigers are underdogs again Sunday when they face No. 3 seed Baylor. pic.twitter.com/0motrYlD3n
— Derrian Carter (@DerrianCarter00) March 23, 2024
With the win on Friday, Baylor is one of just four teams to have won a first-round NCAA Tournament game in each of the last five tournaments. However, the accolades aren’t cemented until the final game of the season, and until then, the Bears have their focus on getting there, according to Nunn.
“I’ve been watching college basketball, so I know they got put out in the second round the past couple of years,” Nunn said. “I’m just looking to help them get over the hump and do whatever I can to get this win, because I want to go to the Sweet 16.
“I want to go as far as we possibly can. If we just make shots like we normally do, we’ll have no problem winning this game.”
The Bears will tip off their fourth-ever game against the Tigers — and first since the 1983-84 season — at 5:10 p.m. CT on Sunday at FedEx Forum on TNT.
