Robert Wright III, Baylor too strong for Mississippi State

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Robert Wright III scored 19 points as Baylor got rolling late in the first half and held on for a 75-72 victory against Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's East Region on Friday afternoon at Raleigh, N.C.

VJ Edgecombe provided 16 points in his first NCAA Tournament game, Langston Love posted 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting and Norchad Omier collected 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bears.

Ninth-seeded Baylor (20-14) meets either top-seeded Duke or No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's in a second-round encounter on Sunday.

Josh Hubbard sank four 3-pointers and pumped in 26 points to keep eighth-seeded Mississippi State (21-13) in contention. Claudell Harris Jr. had 13 points, Riley Kugel supplied 11 and KeShawn Murphy added 10.

Baylor looked in control with a double-figure lead in the second half before Mississippi State made its rally. The Bulldogs were within two at 69-67 and then one at 71-70.

Wright made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 43.2 seconds to play for a 73-70 edge. Murphy countered with a basket on a strong move in the lane at the 29.5-second mark.

Edgecombe sank two foul shots with 9.3 seconds for the final points of the game.

Harris was way off the mark on an attempted tying 3-pointer. Omier missed a free throw in the final second, giving Mississippi State possession with 0.2 seconds remaining but not enough time to get off a shot.

Hubbard kept the Bulldogs in it, making 10 of his first 14 shots as they closed to within 60-52 with less than eight minutes to play.

Baylor went to halftime with a 37-32 lead, scoring six of the last seven points of the first half. Edgecombe had four points during that stretch, though Omier and Wright both had nine points by the break.

Baylor made up for his 39.4-percent first-half shooting by collecting nine offensive rebounds.

Mississippi State shot 46.2 percent from the field in the first half but committed eight turnovers.

--Bob Sutton, Field Level Media