Who’s Playing
Santa Barbara @ Baylor
Regular Season Records: Santa Barbara 27-7; Baylor 22-10
What to Know
The Santa Barbara Gauchos and the #11 Baylor Bears are set to clash at 1:30 p.m. ET March 17 at Ball Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Santa Barbara should still be riding high after a victory, while the Bears will be looking to right the ship.
The Cal State Fullerton Titans typically have all the answers at home, but this past Saturday Santa Barbara proved too difficult a challenge. Santa Barbara came out on top against Cal State Fullerton by a score of 72-62. Santa Barbara got double-digit scores from four players: guard Ajay Mitchell (20), guard Calvin Wishart (16), guard Cole Anderson (12), and forward Miles Norris (10).
Meanwhile, Baylor was within striking distance but couldn’t close the gap last Thursday as they fell 78-72 to the Iowa State Cyclones. A silver lining for the Bears was the play of forward Jalen Bridges, who shot 7-for-8 from downtown and finished with 28 points and five rebounds. Bridges had some trouble finding his footing against Iowa State when the two teams last met earlier in the regular season, so this was a step in the right direction. Bridges’ points were the most he has had all season.
Baylor’s defeat took them down to 22-10 while Santa Barbara’s win pulled them up to 27-7. In Santa Barbara’s win, Calvin Wishart had 16 points in addition to seven boards and Ajay Mitchell had 20 points. We’ll see if Baylor have a strategy for dealing with them or if they lead their team to another successful outing.
How To Watch
- When: Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Ball Arena — Denver, Colorado
- TV: TNT
- Follow: CBS Sports App
Series History
This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last eight years.
