Box Score Jerry Hill, BaylorBears.com
 
RALEIGH, N.C. – With VJ Edgecombe playing for the Bahamian National team in last year's Olympic qualifying tournament and Robert O. Wright III being part of a Montverde Academy team that's considered one of the best-ever prep teams, Baylor's freshman duo is used to the bright lights and the big stage.
 
As big as the ninth-seeded Bears' first-round matchup versus eighth-seeded Mississippi State was, it wasn't too big for Edgecombe and Wright, who both knocked down free throws in the final 45 seconds to help Baylor pull out a 75-72 win over the Bulldogs Friday afternoon at the Lenovo Center.
 
"Playing teams like Houston, we had them with a one-point game. Playing a bunch of Big 12-tough teams, it's a one-point game," said Wright, who scored a team-high 19 points in his first NCAA Tournament game. "Already being in those situations, when VJ hit them two big free throws, we kind of knew from there the game was pretty much over."
 
Scoreless until the last three minutes of the first half, Edgecombe exploded for 10 second-half points and calmly sank a pair of free throws with 9.3 seconds left to help the Bears (20-14) pick up their 20^th win of the season and their seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament first-round victory.
 
Asked what was going through his mind standing at the free throw line in a one-point game, the 6-5 freshman said, "I'm going to be honest, nothing, man. Either I'm going to make 'em or miss 'em. It's not the end of the world. But my teammates have confidence in me, saying, 'Yeah, you're going to knock 'em down,' dfinitely gave me confidence. I went up there and drilled 'em."
 
With the win, Baylor advances to play top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Duke (32-3) in a second-round matchup at 1:40 p.m. CT Sunday, with the winner advancing to the East Region semifinals in Newark, N.J. The Blue Devils dominated Mount St. Mary's, 83-49, in the other first-round game at the Lenovo Center.
 
"Really proud of how we competed," said Baylor coach Scott Drew. "We knew coming in, Mississippi State's a very physical team, extremely well-coached, and I thought our guys competed on the glass, did a great job.
 
"This tournament is going to be a lot of one-, two-possession games, and the beauty of playing in the Big 12 is having a lot of those. At least they had the experience, and they've been in a lot of them. So, I think they'll see most of what we can expect."
 
Friday's game certainly lived up to the traditional 8/9 matchup, with the Bears and Bulldogs (21-13) rarely separated by more than a bucket or two.
 
Josh Hubbard, MSU's explosive 5-11 sophomore guard, scored 14 of the Bulldogs' first 23 points and finished with a game-high 26, hitting 11-of-18 from the floor.
 
Baylor stretched it out to a 29-25 lead on a 3-pointer by Jayden Nunn and a pull-up jumper by Duke transfer Jeremy Roach. But the Bulldogs answered with a 5-0 run of their own on a 3-pointer by RJ Melendez and a Riley Kugel dunk off a sweet lob assist from Hubbard, going back on top, 30-29.
 
Sandwiched between a pair of layups by Wright, Edgecombe hit a pair of free throws and a fastbreak layup off a Bulldog turnover in a closing 8-2 run that gave the Bears a 37-32 halftime lead.
 
"There's going to be highs and lows throughout the game," said Edgecombe, who finished with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal. "Staying together and staying connected the whole time is probably the biggest takeaway. They went on runs, we went on runs, but we executed down the stretch."
 
After missing the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal with an injury, redshirt junior guard Langston Love scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, helping Baylor take its first double-digit lead of the game, 51-41, just over six minutes into the second half.
 
"Today was really exciting. It was a long time coming," said Love, who had played in only five minutes in his only previous NCAA Tournament game because of injuries. "I just thank the Lord that I'm here right now. Just be out there and finally getting my first little sweat in March, it feels good."
 
An Edgecombe trey and one of two free throws by Miami transfer Norchad Omier gave the Bears their biggest lead of the game, 60-49, with just over eight minutes to go.
 
Again, the Bulldogs didn't go away, pulling within 69-67 on a Hubbard 3-pointer. Twice, they cut the deficit to one, the first time on three free throws by Claudell Harris Jr. and the second on a hook shot by KeShawn Murphy.
 
In a closing flurry, Edgecombe knocked down his clutch free throws, Harris air-balled a 3-point attempt and the Bulldogs weren't able to get off a shot in time after a missed one-and-one  free throw by Omier.
 
"What we love about college basketball is the parity," said Drew, who improved to 10-3 in NCAA Tournament first-round games. "When you've got 18- to 23-year-olds, you never really know what's going to happen. It's great for fans, and it makes coaches lose hair."
 
Recording his program-record 22^nd double-double of the season and 90^th of his career with 12 points and 10 rebounds, Omier helped Baylor win the rebounding battle against the taller Bulldogs, 37-29, and finish with a 22-11 edge in second-chance points with 16 offensive rebounds.
 
"I keep it simple today," said Omier, who was part of Miami's Final Four team in 2023. "Before the game start, I told the guys it's either win or go home. I know everybody wants to win. I know everybody put the work in. I know everybody is going to trust their work. So, that's been the message, win and survive."
 
Mississippi State also had four double-figure scorers, with Harris adding 13, Kugel 11 and Murphy 10. The Bulldogs, who were in the top 25 until late in the season, lost six of their last games and haven't won an NCAA Tournament first-round game since 2008.
 
Love said the key for the Bears was "just closing out" the game.
 
"We let a couple wins go during the year," he said. "The fact that we just closed out that win and moved on to the next round was a huge step for us."