Bears Downed By Clemson 74-62 in Round of 32

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Baylor Men’s Basketball (24-11) team crashed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Round of 32 for the third straight year, this time losing to the Clemson Tigers (26-11) 72-64.

The Bears fell behind early, nearly erased a 15-point second-half deficit, then missed key free throws down the stretch to see their season come to what feels like an early end. 

RayJ Dennis, in his final collegiate game, led all scorers with 27 points. He went 2-for-10 from deep.

Ja’Kobe Walter, likely in a similar position to Dennis, was second in scoring with 20. He crucially missed six of his 11 free throws, including two that would have tied the game at 64 with 36 seconds left.

Those two exemplify Baylor’s biggest problems on the night: Three-point shooting and free throw shooting.

The Bears went 6-for-24 from deep and 16-for-26 at the line as a team. The front end of three 1-and-1s were also missed.

Baylor won the turnover battle by one. They won the rebounding battle by one. They just missed too many shots.

Heading into this game, Baylor had only beaten one NCAA Tournament team when shooting under 40% from deep this season. 

That stat held true one more time, and now the Bears enter another long offseason with plenty of roster changes likely due to eligibility running out and departures for the NBA.