Baylor guard Jeremy Roach eyes potential Round 2 March Madness rematch with his former team Duke
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jeremy Roach couldn't help but chuckle when the NCAA Tournament bracket was announced.
Roach, who spent four seasons at Duke before transferring to Baylor last April, faces the prospect of an intriguing second-round matchup against his former team on Sunday. The ninth-seeded Bears face Mississippi State on Friday with the winner likely to take on No. 1 ranked Duke, providing the Blue Devils get past 16 seed Mount St. Mary's.
'The committee always likes to bring a story into it,' Roach said.
Roach was an integral part of the Blue Devils' recent success, helping Duke reach the Final Four three years ago and the Elite 8 last year before a stunning loss to Atlantic Coast Conference rival and 11 seed North Carolina State — a defeat that he said still bothers him.
That loss, in part, prompted Duke coach Jon Scheyer to overhaul the roster, one that is n ow built around freshman sensation Cooper Flagg. After flirting with going to the NBA, Roach transferred to Baylor for his final year of eligibility, despite averaging 14 points per game last season and shooting 43% from beyond the arc.
Now Roach is back at the Lenovo Center — on the campus of NC State — about a 25-minute drive to Duke's campus.
The 6-foot-2 guard said he still follows Duke (31-3) closely and keeps in touch with former teammate Tyrese Proctor.
'They have had a great season,' Roach said of the ACC champions. 'They are tough physical team, a big team and they can switch one through five and go zone. They can shoot the lights out. They have a bunch of guys.'
Roach doesn't appear to hold any grudges against Duke or Scheyer.
In the end, he said it was time for a change and said he's enjoyed playing for Baylor, although it has been a frustrating season for him in many respects. He's suffered through two concussions, sidelining him for seven games. And his numbers are down across the board, averaging 10.3 points per game while shooting just 35% from 3-point range.
Baylor was predicted to be a national title contender, but injuries across the board have intervened and the Bears have lost six of their last 10 games.
'It's been an up and down season, but everyone is staying strong and staying connected,' Roach said. 'But I feel like we are all coming together. We have had a lot of injuries. It's been an up and down battle. It's tough sometimes but I think we are playing our best basketball.'
Coach Scott Drew said he believes that the NCAA Tournament experience of Roach and Miami transfer Norchad Omier will greatly benefit his team in March Madness.
'You've got guys that have won in March and know what it takes, know what it's about, and Jeremy and Norchad are two guys that are not scared of any moment and a blessing to coach,' Drew said.
While Roach insists all of his attention is on No. 8 seed Mississippi State, he knows what potentially lies ahead.
'I'm excited for that potential matchup, too," Roach said.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
18 minutes ago
- New York Post
Micah Parson's strong message to Cowboys as extension talks linger: ‘Cost them more'
Yesterday's price is not today's price for Micah Parsons. The Cowboys' star and annual NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate told All City DLLS that the contract numbers in the handshake agreement that he and owner Jerry Jones previously reached are going to increase because of the delay in finalizing his extension. 'It's going to cost them more,' Parsons said. 3 Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons gestures during practice at NFL football minicamp, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, AP The problem is that pass-rushers T.J. Watt (Steelers) and Trey Hendrickson (Bengals) held out of mandatory minicamp as they seek new contracts. Parsons has seen the terms of the deal that Watt is seeking and it tops what he and Jones discussed, according to All City DLLS. Therefore, Parsons has a new bar to clear. The delay, as Parsons understands it, is in Jones reaching out to agent David Mulugheta to finalize the paperwork. Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase is currently the highest-paid non-quarterback at $40.25 million per year. 3 Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones arrives ahead of an NFL football owners' meeting, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, AP The Cowboys' delayed approach to finalizing extensions last offseason with quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb cost them millions because the top of the market at every position (even running back these days, thanks to Saquon Barkley) only continues to increase with the inflated salary cap. Instead of learning from their negligence, the Cowboys have taken the same tactic with Parsons, who has been extension-eligible since after the 2023 season. 3 Micah Parsons is waiting to get paid. AP Parsons has 52.5 sacks in 63 games and has made the Pro Bowl in each of his four seasons. He participated last week in minicamp and is due $24 million on his fifth-year option. If the extension is not done by the time that the Cowboys report for training camp on July 21, he reportedly will stage a hold-in where he shows up to avoid accumulating daily fines but does not take the field so as to avoid risking injury.
Hamilton Spectator
21 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Bavuma and Markram swung WTC final in South Africa's favor
LONDON (AP) — Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma didn't have the pleasure of finishing off what they started. No problem. South Africa won the World Test Championship and that's all that mattered to them. It was fitting that Markram and Bavuma led the comeback with the bat as South Africa beat Australia by five wickets by completing a run chase of 282 at Lord's on the fourth day Saturday. They were the linchpins of a batting unit considered to be South Africa's weak point and their partnership of 147 — 143 on Friday — tore the game away from Australia after the bowlers dominated the first two days. But their stand was almost over before it began when Bavuma strained his left hamstring on 9 just before tea on Friday. He was hobbling, struggling to run. Coach Shukri Conrad didn't want Bavuma to continue. 'The coaches thought the wiser decision was to let someone else in who could run properly,' Bavuma said. 'But I thought it was important I stayed out here and put up a total. It could've gone the other way and I could've been criticized but we're here now.' Markram called Bavuma's innings of 65 not out on Friday — ultimately 66 on Saturday — an innings to remember as the captain ran raggedly but batted brilliantly. 'We got the best of the batting conditions,' Conrad said. 'Two-eighty was always going to be a stiff task. But the two pros, Aiden and Temba, stood tall and took us through. I was the one who said Temba shouldn't bat (after the injury) but the partnership was critical, and they know better than the coaches.' Bavuma, the most experienced player in the Proteas and the first Black South African to score a century, has been at ease with himself a lot more since Conrad became the coach two years ago. Together, they have won 11 of 15 tests. Bavuma is unbeaten in 10 tests as a captain. Previously, he struggled with being the hope of a nation, anxious trying to prove something to everyone ahead of himself. When he suffered untimely drops in form at the 2022 T20 World Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup, he was savagely abused on social media and in public. He's silenced his doubters for now. So has Markram. Markram's MVP-winning 136, only his second century away from home in eight years, is expected to give the allrounder who opens the confidence to lift his test reputation to the repute he enjoys in T20s and ODIs. Until this match, Markram was the only South Africa captain to win a World Cup, the under-19 version in 2014. His test career has roller-coastered but he was recalled by Conrad and backed by Bavuma. Markram led the team to the 2024 T20 World Cup final but wasn't scarred by defeat when victory was in sight, another tribute to his resilience. 'Aiden is unbelievable, people have questioned his place, but he has character,' Bavuma said. 'He played (the WTC final) in true Aiden fashion.' Markram was controlled and chanceless in a stay of six hours, 23 minutes on a flat pitch. 'It will rank up there as number one,' he said. 'My test career has been hard going, very stop-start. Weird how things worked out after a duck in the first innings. Need a bit of luck. It's one of the most special days.' ___ AP cricket:
San Francisco Chronicle
26 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Thunder embraced their moments of adversity this season. It paid off in Game 4 of the NBA Finals
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The book is called 'The Obstacle Is the Way.' It's a gift that Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault gave to Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein during a trying time this season, knowing the voracious reader would figure out the meaning. Message delivered. 'I read it and remembered that everything happens for a reason,' Hartenstein said. 'And after that, everything worked out great.' Such has been the story of the Thunder season. Such was the story of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Faced with the biggest challenge of their season — a 10-point deficit in the second half, staring at a very real chance of the Indiana Pacers grabbing the almost-insurmountable 3-1 lead in the title round — the Thunder, once again, came away saying everything worked out great. Led by a dazzling and frantic finish from the reigning MVP and scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — who had 15 of his 35 points in the final five minutes or so — the Thunder rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Indiana 111-104 on Friday night. The series is now tied 2-2, heading back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Monday night, and it's the Thunder who have home-court advantage again. 'That was an uphill game against a great team,' Daigneault said after Game 4 in Indianapolis, simultaneously lauding his team while also raving about the Pacers. 'This is one of the best teams in the league in the last couple months, since All-Star break. They're a hard team to beat here. They're a hard team to beat, period. I thought we gutted it out on a night when we didn't have a lot going, especially offensively.' It was a night when the Thunder made only three 3-pointers and were shooting 45% with about five minutes left before Gilgeous-Alexander got going. He took 11 shots in the final 4:40 — three field-goal attempts, one of them a 3-point try, and eight free throws — and made them all. A perfect finish, on a night when little had gone to plan. 'It's unbelievable," Daigneault said. 'He really didn't have it going a lot of the night. He was laboring. We had a hard time shaking him free. For him to be able to flip the switch like that and get the rhythm he got just speaks to how great of a player he is.' It might not have seemed so to the outside world — those who fixated on things like Oklahoma City's 68-14 franchise-best record, its 16-game lead over its nearest challenger in the Western Conference standings, a record number of double-digit wins and how all of it was led by the MVP and scoring champion in Gilgeous-Alexander. But the Thunder did, in fact, face some adversity this season. They played without Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein for a while during the year. There was some flux to the lineup at times. Everybody probably had some sort of mini-slump along the way. There was a Game 1 loss in the second round to Denver. And Daigneault embraced every bit of that pain, knowing that for the Thunder to get to where they want to go adversity was going to present itself. Like the being-down-10, late-third-quarter sort of adversity that came up in Game 4. Just like Hartenstein was led to believe by the book, everything worked out great. 'We haven't really had to show it a lot this year, with the success we had in the regular season,' guard Jalen Williams said shortly before the team left for the flight back to Oklahoma City, where a huge crowd showed up in the middle of the night to greet the team at the airport — as they often do. 'We've had a lot of ups and downs during the playoffs. We've just learned from those experiences. That is something Mark is really big on; every game you should be able to learn, then the next game you should be able to apply something and get better at it. That's what we're trying to do every time.' The series is far from over and the Thunder know it. Indiana already has won once at Oklahoma City in these finals; surely, the Pacers think they can do it again. And even though the teams finished 18 wins apart in the final standings — OKC won 68 times, Indiana won 50 — it doesn't seem like 18 wins worth of disparity between the clubs right now. Indiana stole Game 1 at the end. Oklahoma City stole Game 4 at the end, albeit not as dramatically as the Pacers took the opener. Game 2 was pretty much controlled by the Thunder throughout; the Pacers had the best of the play for the majority of Game 3. Add it up, and it looks exactly like what it is — a 2-2 series going into Game 5. 'I still feel like we have so much work to do,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'Halfway there, obviously, but still so far from the finish line.' ___
