Clemson is moving on to the Sweet 16 for just the fifth time ever and the first time since 2018.
Chase Hunter's team-high 20 points led the way, as the sixth-seeded Tigers held off a late rally by No. 3 seed Baylor to get by the Bears 72-64 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Clemson never trailed in the contest, and once again perimeter defense was key, as the Tigers held Baylor to just 6-of-24 from 3-point land.
After the Tigers spent most of the second half up by double digits, and were up by as many as 15, Baylor was able to trim the lead to six at 61-55 with just under four minutes to go. Two free throws by Chase Hunter would push the lead back out to eight at 63-55.
A jumper on the other end by RayJ Dennis would pull the Bears right back to within six, though, at 63-57.
After a miss by PJ Hall, Baylor would go to the foul line and sink two free throws to make it 63-59 with 2:43 left.
The Bears would pull to within two at 64-62 with 2:10 remaining, but two free throws by Hall put the Tigers right back up by four.
Jack Clark would get called for a reach in foul after a steal with 1:02 left and Baylor would drain both free throws to once again pull to within two. The Bears would have a shot to tie it up with 36.2 seconds left, but would miss both free throws.
RJ Godfrey would then hit two huge shots from the foul line on the other end with 29.1 seconds left to push the lead back out to four at 68-64, and the Tigers would hit their free throws down the stretch to seal it.
Hunter led Clemson with 20 points, hitting on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, including a buzzer beater at the end of the first half that sent Clemson into the locker room with 35-25 advantage. He also added six assists and has back-to-back games with at least 20 points for the first time this season.
Girard added 13, on 4-of-8 shooting, while Ian Schieffelin had 11 points and pulled down six rebounds.
All ACC standout PJ Hall spent most of the night in foul trouble and finished with 11 points after fouling out with 36.2 seconds left.
Clemson will now move on to the Sweet 16 round and face No. 2 seed Arizona in Los Angeles on Thursday.