Box Score
DENVER, Colo. -- No. 14 seed and Big West Championship victor UC Santa Barbara had the lead several times but could not keep up with No. 3 seed Baylor in the second half and fell by a final score of 74-56 in the round of 64 of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Friday at Ball Arena.  
 
The Gauchos end their season with a 27-8 record, a program record for wins. The Bears (23-10) move onto the round of 32 and face the winner of No. 6 seed Creighton and No. 11 seed NC State.
 
Miles Norris, an All-Big West Second Team performer, led UCSB with 15 points to go along with four rebounds, two steals and a block. Ajay Mitchell, The Big West Player of the Year, contributed 13 points and four assists.
 
The Gauchos had a 36-35 lead at halftime, in a back-and-forth first half that featured five ties and 13 lead changes. UCSB’s biggest advantage was four points, 26-22, after a Cole Anderson jumper with 6:11 left before the intermission. Baylor head coach Scott Drew called a time out and the Bears immediately went on a 7-0 run to get back in the game. Baskets by Mitchell, Norris and Josh Pierre-Louis gave the Gauchos a one-point lead at the break.
 
A good layup from Mitchell gave UCSB its last lead, 41-39, with 17:49 remaining as Baylor responded with nine unanswered points and took control of the game. The Bears did not let up and kept extending their lead, ultimately prevailing by 18 points.

Baylor had three in double figures with Adam Flagler, AJ Cryer and Caleb Lohner putting away 18, 15 and 13 points, respectively. The Gauchos shot 61.5 percent (16-of-26) in the first 20 minutes before shooting 30.4 percent (7-of-23) in the second half.