RALEIGH, N.C. — No. 9 seed Baylor’s narrow win Friday sets up the strong possibility of 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 either top-seeded Duke (31-3) or No. 16 seed Mount Saint Mary’s in Sunday’s second round game. Should it be the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils, as expected, it would pair Baylor graduate student guard Jeremy Roach 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 three-point lead at 75-72.

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

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