Before transferring to the Baylor Bears for his graduate campaign, Jeremy Roach knocked down his fair share of big-time shots across four seasons as a Duke basketball backcourt weapon. But one could argue that the 23-year-old’s game-winning 3-point splash at the Baha Mar Hoops Championship in the Bahamas on Thursday night now stands as his most dramatic bucket as a collegian.
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Trailing the No. 22-ranked St. John’s Red Storm by two with 4.1 seconds remaining in double overtime, the No. 13 Bears rebounded a missed St. John’s free throw and found Roach at midcourt.
He took two dribbles before launching a contested attempt from NBA range. And Roach’s moonball swish as the clock ticked zero sent his teammates into a frenzy, as Baylor prevailed, 99-98, after climbing back from a 14-point halftime deficit:
JEREMY ROACH BUZZER-BEATER FOR THE WIN!@BaylorMBB WERE DOWN 18 POINTS AND COME ALL THE WAY BACK TO WIN IN DOUBLE OVERTIME! pic.twitter.com/WOARoRFfgH
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) November 22, 2024
“Jeremy Roach is a big-time player,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said afterward. “He’s a winner. He makes plays.”
The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder from Leesburg, Va., who tallied 1,469 points as a Duke basketball player and earned All-ACC Third Team honors last season, finished the contest with 20 points, three rebounds, four assists, and one steal in his team-high 44 minutes on the floor.
Jeremy Roach and the Baylor Bears are now set to face the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers in the event’s title game at 9:30 p.m. ET Friday (CBS Sports Network), an hour before Jon Scheyer’s No. 12 Blue Devils’ road battle against No. 17 Arizona at 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
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