By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – It should never come as a surprise when the 13^th-ranked Baylor men win a regular-season tournament or neutral-site game. That's just what the Bears do.
 
With Ja'Kobe Walter pumping in 24 points and fellow freshman Yves Missi recording his first-career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds, Baylor (5-0) rolled to an 88-72 win over Oregon State in Wednesday's opening game of the NIT Season Tip-off at the Barclays Center.
 
Baylor has won 14 of its last 15 regular-season neutral-site games, improved to 41-13 in regular-season tournament games under coach Scott Drew and will go for its fifth title in the last six tournaments with a win over Florida (4-1) in Friday's 4:30 p.m. CT championship game.
 
"Players," Drew said, explaining the Bears' success in tournaments. "We've got really good players that put the team first. And that's why we've been successful in these situations."
 
Scoreless in the first 14 minutes of the game, Walter knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and scored 12 of Baylor's last 17 points of the half to help the Bears go up 44-26 at the break.
 
BU took a lead 39 seconds into the game on a driving layup by RJ Dennis and never trailed, going up 5-0 on a 3-pointer by Jalen Bridges. The Bears took their first double-digit lead, 15-4, on another Bridges trey and went up 44-26 on a rare four-point play by Walter, who had his third 20-point outing.
 
"Basically, every game, we just want to come out and be physical," Walter said. "Every day in practice, we're physical with each other. Our coaches tell us that if we're going to be physical with each other, we should be more physical when we get to the game. The second half we slacked off a little bit. We need to clean it up. But overall, we just want to be more physical all the time."
 
Despite shooting a sizzling 63% from the floor and 11-of-14 from the free throw line and scoring 46 second-half points, Oregon State was never able to make a serious run. The Beavers used and early 7-2 run to get within 12, but Baylor answered with six-straight points and never looked back.
 
"I would just say that that's the standard of Baylor basketball," said senior forward Jalen Bridges, who was 6-of-11 from the field, giving the Bears a third double-figure scorer with 14 points. "We want the other team to work for everything. For the whole 40 minutes, we want it to be hard. We want them to leave the gym feeling like they don't want to play Baylor again."
 
The Beavers (3-2) had four players in double figures, but Jared Pope missed eight of his first nine shots and finished with 13 points, more than seven points below his scoring average. Dexter Akanno led WVU with 16 points, followed by Pope, DaJohn Craig (12) and KC Ibekwe with 10 points and six boards.
 
Getting 28 points from Iona transfer Walter Clayton Jr., Florida dominated the second half in knocking off Pitt, 78, 6-5, in Wednesday's late game. The Panthers (4-1) will face Oregon State in the third-place game at 2 p.m. CT Friday, followed by Baylor versus the Gators (4-1) at 4:30 in an ESPN broadcast.
 
"First and foremost, a lot to be thankful for," Drew said. "I'm thankful for our great support – the players, the staff, team, opportunity to be here in New York playing over Thanksgiving. God has been good to the Drew family. It's always an honor to be with a great team that you enjoy being with, that is successful on the court. But more importantly, good people and going to be successful in life and great role models."