By CLAY BAILEY
The Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, Ja’Kobe Walter added 19 and third-seeded Baylor coasted past 14th-seeded Colgate 92-67 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Jayden Nunn added 15 points, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and RayJ Davis finished with 10 points and nine assists for coach Scott Drew’s Bears (24-10), who have won their past six first-round games in March Madness.
Keegan Records led Colgate (25-10) with 14 points. Sam Thomson had 11 and Braeden Smith scored 10.
Baylor will play either Clemson or New Mexico in the second round of the West Region.
Colgate (25-10), which dominated the Patriot League in the regular season and won the conference tournament, fell to 0-7 in the NCAA Tournament. The Raiders had lost only once in their previous 18 games.
Both teams shot well early, but Baylor was better from 3-point range, helping the Bears build an early 22-point lead. Colgate made one of its first nine shots outside the arc.
Walter, the Big 12 freshman of the year, already had 15 points at the break as the Bears led 54-34.
Colgate made a slight dent in the deficit to open the second half, but it was not enough to threaten Baylor, which shot 57.9% from the field and 53.3% (16 of 30) from 3-point range.
BIG PICTURE
Colgate: As good as they were in their league, coach Matt Langel’s Raiders were overmatched against a perennial Big 12 power. Colgate shot 57.1% in the first half, but nearly all the scoring came inside.
Baylor: Drew’s team played a typically rugged schedule but came into the tournament in reasonably good form, winning four of six. If the Bears can make 3s like they did Friday, they could make a long run.
