The collegiate career of Bahamian freshman Valdez “VJ” Edgecombe Jr is likely over after his Baylor Bears suffered the largest NCAA Tournament defeat in the school’s history at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils in their Round of 32 encounter in North Carolina on Sunday.

The number one-seeded Blue Devils defeated the number nine-seeded Bears 89-66 in a blowout to advance to the Sweet 16 where they will take on the number four-seeded Arizona Wildcats in New Jersey on Thursday.

Duke pounced on Baylor early in Sunday’s contest, using stifling defense and elite shooting from all over the floor to build a 47-30 lead at halftime.

The second half was much of the same with the tournament favorites coming out 42-36 winners to complete the dominant win.

Australian junior guard Tyrese Proctor was phenomenal throughout, shooting 9-10 from the field and 7-8 from three-point range on his way to a game-high 25 points.

Projected number one pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, freshman Cooper Flagg, had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists in support.

In potentially his final collegiate game, Edgecombe, also a projected top five pick in the draft, led the Bears in scoring with 16 points to go along with six rebounds while senior forward Norchad Omier had 15 points and nine boards.

Edgecombe finished the season with averages of 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
 
Photo credit: AP