Brady Heslip's Nine 3-Pointers Lift Baylor into Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 17, 2012

On a good night, a sharp-shooting, three-point specialist will make four or five shots from beyond the arc. Any more than that generally deserves special mention by the basketball press. Six is great, seven is rare, but when a player goes off for nine from deep - especially under the pressure of the NCAA tournament - it is extraordinary.

That's what Brady Heslip did in Baylor's 80-63 ejection of Colorado and the PAC-12 from the tourney. Heslip took just 13 shots - 12 from outside the three-point line - and made nine of them, helping the Bears forge a round of 32 rout.

A native of Burlington, in Ontario province, Canada, Heslip fell two short of the tournament record 11, hoisted by Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer back in 1990. Heslip became the ninth player in NCAA tournament history to make nine or more threes. The win was Baylor's second straight in the tournament and their 29th overall against six losses. To reach 30 wins, the Bears will have to wait until Friday night, when they face the winner of the Xavier-Lehigh contest in the South region round of 16.

That should allow Heslip plenty of time to practice those long-range jumpers.