No. 13 Baylor dug out of an 18-point deficit in regulation and delivered a double-overtime dagger vs. No. 22 St. John's courtesy of Bears guard Jeremy Roach, who drained a buzzer-beater from 3-point range to lift Baylor to a dramatic 99-98 win.
Roach gathered a pass in transition at midcourt after a missed St. John's free throw and dribbled twice to his left before pulling up from the top of the key for the winner. It was his first field goal attempt of the second overtime period and first shot attempt after hoisting an air-ball on a would-be game-winner as time expired in the first overtime.
JEREMY ROACH ARE YOU KIDDING 😱
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 22, 2024
BAYLOR WINS AT THE HORN 🚨
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"Jeremy Roach is a big-time player," Baylor coach Scott Drew told CBS Sports after the game. "He's a winner, and he makes big time plays."
Roach finished with 20 points and teammate Norchad Omier stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds in the come-from-behind effort. The Bears managed just 30 points in the first half before exploding for 47 after the break to force overtime.
"We never backed down," said Roach. "We were down 14 [points] at the half. It was just a beautiful win."
What some call beautiful others may call unlikely. Baylor trailed by 18 points with 4:07 remaining in the first half, by 14 going into the second half and by six with four minutes in regulation. The Bears were then either tied or trailing for the entirety of the second overtime period before Roach saved the day with his last-second heroics.
Drew was both excited and exhausted after the dramatic double overtime game in part because his Bears have a quick turnaround in the Bahamas. Baylor will have less than 24 hours to turn around for its next game where it will play the winner of Tennessee and Virginia at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday night.
