Despite Clemson basketball being the higher seed, many pundits predicted the Tigers to fall to No. 11 New Mexico in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

No. 6 seed Clemsons (22-11) proved critics wrong and will have to show them again in the round of 32 when they face No. 3 seed Baylor (24-10) on Sunday (6:10 p.m., TNT). The Tigers are an underdog once more.

During a news conference Saturday at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, site of Clemson's NCAA tournament game, coach Brad Brownell said he and his team have seen and heard the doubters.

"We certainly recognize it," Brownell said. "I mean, I don't know that we have this big boulder on our shoulder that we're using it as a rallying cry. … I certainly mentioned it to our players, (and) our players were well aware."

Brownell said his team has leaned into playing good basketball to silence the critics. It showed Friday as the Tigers are coming off their second-largest March Madness win in program history, 77-56 over the Lobos, who were a 2.5 favorite, according to betmgm.com.

Clemson will try to repeat that performance against Baylor with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles, California, to face No. 2 Arizona. The Bears are 4.5-point favorites, according to betmgm.com.

"Once you get in March, you kind of have to wipe the slate, no matter who you're playing," guard Joseph Girard III said. "So, after the New Mexico game, where not a lot of people picked us to win, we were on edge (and) had a lot of competitive spirit and fire.

"You have to wipe it away and realize there's a new 40 minutes ahead of you, especially against a team like Baylor, like you said, who has had so much success in March recently."

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson basketball underdog again vs Baylor in NCAA March Madness