V.J. Edgecombe and Baylor hold off Mississippi State in final seconds to win 75-72 in March Madness

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — NBA lottery prospect V.J. Edgecombe had just four points at halftime of Baylor's first-round NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State.

That didn't concern Bears coach Scott Drew.

The athletic Edgecombe responded with a big second half and finished with 16 points, including two clutch free throws down the stretch, to help the ninth-seeded Bears hold off the eighth-seeded Bulldogs 75-72 on Friday.

“Because he’s so highly rated on the draft boards, people just assume that he's going to score,” Drew said. “V.J. doesn’t have to score to impact a game. He is an all-around player. He gets comparisons to Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook, and the thing that those guys did is their athleticism and their ability to assist, defend. It affects the game. So if he’s scoring or not, he’s helping us.”

Edgecombe also had five rebounds, a block and a steal in his first NCAA Tournament game.

Robert Wright scored 19 points, Langston Love added 15 and Norchad Omier had a strong game inside with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bears (20-14), who led by 11 points in the second half but had to hold off the Bulldogs in the final seconds — and even tenths of seconds. Baylor advanced to face Duke, the top seed in the East Region, in the second round on Sunday.

Josh Hubbard scored 26 points to lead Mississippi State (21-13), which was seeking its first March Madness victory since 2008.

The Bears led 60-49 with 8:10 remaining after a free throw by Omier.

But the Bulldogs stormed back and cut the lead to one with 29 seconds left when KeShawn Murphy scored in the lane on a baby hook. Edgecombe was fouled with 9.3 seconds left and the Big 12 freshman of the year calmly stepped to the line and made both.

“Playing in the Big 12, you just have a lot of close games, and coming in here, we know that in March a lot of stuff happens,” Omier said. “V.J. hit both free throws, and we call it a game.”

Well, not quite.

The Bulldogs still had a chance to tie after Baylor elected not to foul, but Claudell Harris Jr airballed a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left. Omier was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and the game was seemingly over. But more time was put on the clock and Omier missed the front end of a 1-and-1. The Bulldogs grabbed the rebound with 0.2 seconds left and called timeout.

Hubbard's 3-point heave at the buzzer was no good, although it may not have counted.

Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said Harris' 3 came off a new play the Bulldogs had put in, and that Hubbard was an option.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever run it exactly for this type of scenario where we had enough time to get one look and then a second look,” Jans said. “I thought we’re going to get a shot. But unfortunately, it didn’t go in.”

Baylor: The Bears entered the tournament having lost six of their last 10 games, but survived this time. It was Drew's 21st NCAA Tournament victory.

Mississippi State: This is the third time in as many seasons that Jans led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament. Before his arrival, the program had reached March Madness just once since 2010.

Baylor guard Jeremy Roach will face his former team. Roach played four seasons for Duke and helped lead them to a Final Four three years ago.

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.

Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard (12) celebrates with guard Claudell Harris Jr. (0) after making a three-point shot during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Baylor, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard (12) drives toward the basket past Baylor forward Norchad Omier (15) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baylor head coach Scott Drew watches during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Mississippi State, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baylor guard Jalen Celestine (32) and Mississippi State guard Shawn Jones Jr. (5) battle for control of the ball during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans watches during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Baylor, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard (12) shoots a three-point shot in front of Baylor guard Jalen Celestine (32) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baylor guard Jalen Celestine (32) is fouled by Mississippi State forward RJ Melendez, left, during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)