Ja'Kobe Walter Shines as CBB Fans Hype Baylor's Final Four Chances After Colgate Win

Led by star freshman Ja'Kobe Walter and senior forward Jalen Bridges, the third-seeded Baylor Bears scored a convincing 92-67 win over the No. 14 Colgate Raiders in the first round of the 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament on Friday.

Playing at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, as part of the West Region, Baylor used its athleticism and shooting prowess to sink a Colgate team that reached the NCAA tourney and lost in the Round of 64 for a fourth consecutive year.

Coming off a poor showing in a Big 12 tournament semifinal loss to Iowa State that saw him score just three points on 1-of-8 shooting, Walter showed Friday why he was the Bears' leading scorer this season and the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

The 6'5" guard racked up 19 points, making three trifectas and eight of his 10 free-throw attempts, and college basketball fans hyped up his performance on social media:

Bridges also turned in a huge effort, leading all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-8 from downtown.

Baylor led by 20 at halftime, and Walter was the driving force behind the team's early dominance, knocking down a pair of trifectas and making seven of his eight free-throw attempts en route to 15 points in the opening 20 minutes:

While most eyes were on Walter, head coach Scott Drew's team succeeded thanks to a team effort, as four players scored in double figures.

The Bears also shot 57.9 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from three-point range as a team, plus they held Colgate to 45.6 percent shooting from the floor and 27.8 percent shooting from deep.

Senior forward Keegan Records was the star of the game for Colgate in a losing effort, recording 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Baylor won its first national title in 2021 and it has now reached at least the second round in each of the past five NCAA tournaments. Based on their recent success and how they played Friday, fans are hitching their wagons to the Bears as a team that can potentially go on a Final Four run or even further:

As talented as Baylor is, it had some inconsistency in Big 12 play this season, going 11-7 in a deep and competitive conference.

The Bears can play with and beat any team in the nation when they are on their game, though, as evidenced by victories over Iowa State, Kansas, BYU, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Auburn and Florida.

While the level of competition is going to get far more difficult as the tournament goes on, Baylor showed Friday that it is capable of outclassing teams when firing on all cylinders at both ends of the floor.

After taking down Colgate, Baylor advances to the second round this weekend where it will face the winner of No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 11 New Mexico.

If the Bears reach the Sweet 16, they would then take on either No. 2 Arizona or No. 7 Dayton.