Baylor rolls past Colorado behind dominant defensive performance

Freshman Jalin Holland driving against a Baylor defender. He finished with a career-high 12 points. (Photo by CUBuffsMBB/X)

The Baylor Bears (13-9, 3-7 Big 12) captured their first home conference win of the season against the Colorado Buffaloes (13-10, 3-7 Big 12) 86 to 67 on Wednesday night. 

Baylor dominated all game, with its defense leading the way. The Bears held Colorado to 40% from the floor and forced the Buffs into tough shots. 

The defensive effort led to a six-rebound advantage for Baylor over the course of the game. 

Baylor’s leading scorer on the season, Cameron Carr, was held scoreless through the first 14 minutes of the game. Despite the early struggles, the redshirt-sophomore guard did not get discouraged. He drained a couple of quick buckets before the half ended and finished the game with his season average of 19 points. 

Bears’ freshman Tounde Yessoufou had one of his best collegiate performances. He finished as the game's leading scorer with 27 points on 10-for-16 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. 

Colorado’s offense started stagnant with three turnovers in the first four minutes of play. The Bears were able to capitalize off the Buffs’ miscues, going on an 8-0 run and extending their lead to 9 points. 

The Buffaloes were not able to get into a rhythm against the Bears’ defense, being held to just  8-for-25 (32%) from the field in the first half. Colorado’s 21 first-half points are the lowest in any half for the team all season. 

The Bears forced Colorado into nine first-half turnovers, an unusual statistic for the Buffaloes this year, as they entered the game averaging only 9.8 turnovers per game. Baylor scored 15 points off those turnovers. 

Colorado’s freshmen-heavy lineup was unable to recreate the defensive success it had against TCU. The Buffs gave up 45 first-half points and let the Bears shoot 52.8% from the field in the game. 

One of Colorado’s new starters, Jalin Holland, finished as the team’s highest scorer with eleven points, a career-high for the freshman. Despite playing for 33 minutes, he was only able to grab one rebound, contributing to the Buffaloes' struggles. 

The Buffaloes will travel back home for their first rematch of the season. Colorado hosts the Arizona State Sun Devils (11-11, 2-7 Big 12) on Saturday at 7:30 pm MT (ESPN2).