3 takeaways from Baylor’s loss to Clemson: Bears rally, fall in crushing fashion

Here are three takeaways from No. 3 seed Baylor’s 72-64 loss to No. 6 seed Clemson in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening in the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

Just as expected, right?

Sure, we could’ve predicted that Clemson would hit over 50% of its 3-pointers in the first half while Baylor (24-11) — who ranks top-10 nationally in 3-point shooting — connected on just 25% for the game. That’s just the way it turned out, as it was a nightmarish shooting day for the Bears. Baylor has seemingly lived and died by the deep ball for two straight seasons now, and it’s wound up with second-round exits.

The Bears went from hitting 16 deep ones on Friday to just six on Sunday. Indeed, there may not be a team in the country that can match a hot-shooting Baylor squad, but it wasn’t sustainable this year.

Imposing size a small factor

Clemson didn’t win this game because it had more size than Baylor. Now, that was a viable thought going into the game, but the Bears didn’t get dominated in points in the paint (won 30-22) or rebounding (won 33-32). The Tigers found a victory on the back of something as simple as — they just hit more shots.

At the end of the day, basketball is about who puts the ball in the cup more, and Baylor’s first-half woes paired with its inability to connect from beyond the arc plagued them from the jump.

Here we are again

Another year, another Round-of-32 exit. Baylor’s loss to Clemson marks the third straight time it lost in the second round since winning it all in 2020-21. As frustrating as that may be, it’s still worth noting that the Bears are one of just four teams in the country to have won a single game in the NCAA Tournament over the last five years.

So, yes — head coach Scott Drew has built a well-oiled engine that is capable of being a top-three seed every year. But at some point, it begs the question: What will it take to get to the second weekend? Baylor has brought in elite freshmen and transfers every year, but something may need to change.

Twitter/X: @MichaelHaag_

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