After leading by just two at halftime, Baylor pulled itself out of a jam to avoid losing back-to-back first-round games to huge underdogs.
No. 15 Yale knocked out the No. 2 Bears a year ago, but 14th-seeded New Mexico State could not do the same Friday in an East Region game in Tulsa.
No. 3 seed Baylor’s 91-73 victory was their 26th of the season.
The Aggies were without star guard Sidy N’Dir, who went out in December with a foot injury that ended his season early. The Western Athletic Conference champions were back in the tournament after missing out last season.
Baylor continued its superior shot accuracy (they hit 57.4 percent in the paint and 50 percent beyond the arc, compared to New Mexico States’s 43.8 percent and 36.4 percent) in the second half, but it was the difference at the line that allowed the Bears to pull ahead. Baylor hit 17 of 19 free throws compared to the Aggies hitting just nine of 13.
Baylor will take on the winner of the Southern Methodist-USC matchup.
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