Bahamian freshman Valdez "VJ" Edgecombe Jr's Baylor Bears were, on Sunday, selected to its 13th-straight NCAA postseason as a No. 9 seed in the East Region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Baylor (19-14, 10-10 Big 12) will open on Friday against No. 8 seed Mississippi State (21-12, 8-10 SEC) at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
The winner of that game will then play a second-round matchup on Sunday against the winner of Friday's first-round game between No. 1 Duke and the winner of the American and Mount St. Mary's matchup in the First Four.
That potential Duke game could see a clash between projected top-5 NBA draft picks Edgecombe and Cooper Flagg.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs finished ninth in the SEC and has impressive wins over 16th-ranked Memphis, 14th-ranked Texas A&M and a sweep of the home-and-home series with in-state rival Ole Miss.
They are in the tournament for the third straight year under coach Chris Jans, and are led by 5-11 sophomore guard Josh Hubbard, who is averaging 18.7 points and 3.2 assists per game.