The Florida Gators and the 13th-ranked Baylor Bears will play for the NIT Season Tip-Off championship on Friday in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Baylor (5-0) defeated Oregon State 88-72 Wednesday. The Bears got great production from a pair of freshmen as Ja’Kobe Walter scored 24 points, and Yves Missi posted his first collegiate double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Walter, a 6-foot-5 wing, was a McDonald’s All-American last season and is regarded as a potential lottery pick in the NBA draft. Missi, a 7-foot center, was the No. 2 prospect in California, according to ESPN.
Meanwhile, Florida (4-1) of the Southeastern Conference has won three straight games, including the last two against Atlantic Coast Conference squads Florida State and Pittsburgh.
Baylor is already 1-0 against SEC teams this season, beating Auburn 88-82 to open its season Nov. 7.
The Bears hounded Oregon State into 14 turnovers Wednesday. The Bears also won the battle on the offensive boards, 10-5, and they held the Beavers to 4-of-15 from the 3-point line (26.7 percent)
“We want the other team to work for everything the whole 40 minutes,” said Baylor forward Jalen Bridges. “We want them to leave the game like they don’t want to play Baylor again. ”
Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle didn’t disagree, heaping praise on Baylor.
“It’s hard to get multiple stops against them,” Tinkle said of Baylor. “They’re so good at spacing the floor. They have guys who can go downhill at the rim, and they have shooters licking their chops at the wings.”
Florida, which beat Pittsburgh 86-71 Wednesday, is led by 6-2 guard Walter Clayton Jr., a transfer from Iona who averaged 16.8 points last season as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
Clayton, a dynamic scorer and an elite 3-point shooter, scored 28 points Wednesday. He made 11 of 17 shots, including 6 of 8 on 3-pointers.
After last season, Clayton had a chance to follow coach Rick Pitino from Iona to St. John’s, but he returned to his home state to play for the Gators.
“It was tough,” Clayton, a native of Lake Wales, Fla., said of his decision. “I’m still in communication (with Pitino and staff).”
The Gators, though, have a concern as 7-1 center Micah Handlogten left the game after just one minute due to an unspecified injury. A transfer from Marshall, Handlogten entered Wednesday averaging 10.0 points and 8.5 rebounds.
If Handlogten can’t play Friday, 6-10, Tyrese Samuel, a Seton Hall transfer, will become even more important. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds against Pitt, making 9 of 11 from the floor. He went 9-for-9 from two-point range.
The Gators also have two freshmen forwards in the rotation: 6-11 Alex Condon and 6-9 Thomas Haugh.
Besides Clayton, Florida’s other starting guards are Riley Kugel and Will Richard. Top reserve Zyon Pullin, a 6-4 transfer from UC Riverside, is Florida’s most natural point guard. He averaged more than 4.0 assists per game in each of the past three years at Riverside.
Florida’s only loss this season was by three points against Virginia, and Pullin was unavailable in that contest.
The Gators are in their second season under coach Todd Golden, who relies on analytics and preaches defense.
His counterpart is Scott Drew, who is in his 21st season at Baylor. Drew has been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year in three of the past four seasons.
–Field Level Media