By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
After clawing past Nebraska in the first round, No. 6 seed Baylor is right back where its season began: staring down Duke, this time with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
The Bears (25-8, 13-5 Big 12) and the No. 3-seeded Blue Devils (25-8, 16-2 ACC) will face off in the Round of 32 at 3 p.m. Sunday in Durham, N.C. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
The teams first met in the season opener in Paris, where Baylor used a fourth-quarter push to grind out a 58-52 win. Months later, both teams return to the same matchup looking far different — Duke as the ACC champion and a top seed on its home floor, and Baylor as a battle-tested team trying to punch its ticket to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
“I know people are going to talk a lot about how this is a rematch, but ultimately it’s just two teams competing to get to the next round of the NCAA Tournament,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. We know Duke is an elite team, and we’re going to have to be gritty to have a chance to win the game.”
Baylor punched its ticket to the second round by outlasting Nebraska, 67-62, leaning on its toughness late to survive and advance. Duke, meanwhile, cruised past Charleston 81-64, turning defense into offense and dictating the pace with the same physicality that fueled its ACC title run.
After combining for 23 points in Baylor’s win over Nebraska, redshirt sophomore guard Taliah Scott and senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who leads the Big 12 in rebounding, head into Sunday as two of the Bears’ biggest pieces. Scott led Baylor with 24 points in the first meeting against Duke, while Littlepage-Buggs added 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Bears controlled the glass.
Baylor turned a 51-40 rebounding advantage into 13 second-chance points, and Sunday it will likely again lean on its top two to anchor the offense and establish an edge inside.
A battle of pace and contro awaits the two teams on Sunday. Baylor will look to settle into its offense, work inside and capitalize on second-chance opportunities, while Duke will look to speed the game up and take Baylor out of its rhythm.
Both teams enter Sunday coming off very different first-round tests. With Baylor battle-worn and Duke rolling on its home floor, the Bears will look to knock off the No. 8 team in the country the same way they did in November.
While the rematch may be familiar, Baylor will look to treat this game as a new test. Duke has changed. Baylor has too, and the Bears’ focus is on setting the tone their way.
“They’re still the same team, but obviously they’ve gotten better and we’ve gotten better,” senior forward Kiersten Johnson said. “It’s going to be fun. We’re going to do what we do and keep it about us.”
One of the most electric atmospheres in college basketball awaits Baylor on Sunday, as the Bears head into Cameron Indoor Stadium to face a Duke team that has gone 13-1 at home this season.
A win would send Baylor to the Sweet 16, where the Bears would face the winner of Texas Tech and LSU in what could be their first matchup against former head coach Kim Mulkey since her move to Baton Rouge, La.
Baylor will take on Duke in the Round of 32 at 3 p.m. Sunday in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
