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After #6 seed Oregon State knocked off #3 seed Tennessee in Knoxville on Sunday, the Beavers sat back, relaxed and awaited their next opponent. Later on Sunday night, head coach Scott Rueck and company would find out that their next challenge would be just as daunting as their previous, when the Beavers drew powerhouse program and #2 seed Baylor in their Sweet Sixteen match-up of the Lexington Bracket.
The Beavers, who now sit at 25-7 overall, have currently won nine of their last ten games overall dating back to early February. Their lone slip-up during that span was an early exit from the Pac-12 Tournament at the hands of Arizona State, which may have impacted Oregon State’s unimpressive seed in the NCAA Tournament.
As for Baylor, the Bears will undoubtedly be one of the Beavers biggest tests yet.
Head coach Kim Mulkey’s squad is a stunning 33-1 this season, with their only defeat coming at the hands of UCLA back mid-November. Since then, Baylor has been nearly untouchable, even through a difficult non-conference slate, as well as the brutal grind of Big 12 play.
So far in the NCAA Tournament, Baylor has continued to assert their strength, beating #15 seed Grambling State and #7 seed Michigan by a combined 72 points.
The winner of the contest between Oregon State and Baylor will move on to the Elite Eight, to play against the winner of a showdown between #1 seed Louisville and the victor of a game between #4 Stanford and #12 Florida Gulf Coast, which will be played on Monday night.
As for the Beavers and Bears match-up, they’re set to play on Friday, March 23rd at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.