Baylor Bears in the Sweet Sixteen!

The No. 3 seed Baylor Bears men’s basketball team will face the No. 10 seed Saint Mary’s Gaels at 6:27 p.m. CDT Friday in the NCAA Division I South Regional semifinal at Reliant Stadium. The game will be aired live on CBS (KWTX-TV in Central Texas); the Baylor-St. Mary’s winner will face the winner of top-seed Duke and No. 4 Purdue for a spot in the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis.

The Bears defeated No. 14 seed Sam Houston State (68-59) and No. 11 seed Old Dominion (76-68) over the weekend in New Orleans. Saint Mary’s, which won the West Coast Conference tournament, upset both No. 7 seed Richmond (80-71) and No. 2 Villanova (75-68) in Providence to earn a spot in Houston.

Baylor (27-7), which has established a new school record for single-season victories, will make its first Sweet 16 appearance in school history. When Baylor made the Final Four in 1948 and 1950, the NCAA tournament featured only eight teams.

NCAA Tourney-Baylor Bears

The Baylor men’s basketball team earned its highest seed in the NCAA Tournament, securing the No. 3 seed in the South Regional – the program’s sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and second in the last three seasons.

Baylor (25-7) will face No. 14 Sam Houston State (25-7) on Thurs., March 18, at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, La. Tip time is set for 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Notre Dame, Old Dominion which tips at 11:25 a.m. Should the Bears win, they would face the winner of No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 11 Old Dominion on Sat., March 20, at the same venue.