By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
Foster Pavilion played host Wednesday night to two hungry Big 12 teams coming off much-needed conference wins. Baylor emerged victorious, blowing out Colorado 86-67 to hand the Buffaloes their seventh loss in eight games.
The Bears were set up to play with a shortened rotation, as senior forward Dan Skillings Jr. was seen in street clothes on the end of Baylor’s (13-9, 3-7 Big 12) bench. With the change in rotation, sophomore guard Isaac Williams IV got the opportunity to make his second start of the season, his first since Dec. 29 against Arlington Baptist.
“They haven’t given [Skillings] a time for how long he’ll be out right now, but it is something with the knee,” head coach Scott Drew said. “Hopefully it’s more of a day-to-day than a long-term thing.”
Fighting hard on defense early, the Bears forced back-to-back Colorado (13-10, 3-7 Big 12) turnovers before the Buffaloes called a timeout at the five-minute mark. The Bears continued their early offensive pursuit out of the timeout, going on a 10-2 run.
“Defensively we’ve continued to get better,” Drew said. “Knowing what we want, when we want it and how we want it.”
The Bears led the turnover battle against Colorado at the 10-minute mark, forcing five to none. Defensive aggression proved to be the mantra for the Bears in the first half, as they held the Buffaloes to 29% shooting from the floor.
Redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Carr, who ranks second in the nation in on/off net rating, had a quiet first 15 minutes with just two points. The Jerry West Award semifinalist didn’t stay quiet for much longer.
The Bears took a 20-point lead, 36-16, with 2:45 left in the first half. The jump followed a series of back-to-back threes from fifth-year guard Obi Agbim and Carr separated by a chasedown block from freshman guard Tounde Yessoufou.
“The game slows down the more you compete at this level, and I think we’re doing that,” Drew said. “I think our coaching staff is doing a good job knowing where to put them and where they’re going to be more successful.”
Baylor entered halftime up 45-21, marking the first home halftime lead for the green and gold in conference play this season.
The Bears ended the first half with a season-low two turnovers. They, in turn, gave up three turnovers within the first three minutes of the second half.
Yessoufou led the charge for the Bears, cashing in his 21st point of the night with 13 minutes left on the clock. The Bears were shooting 47% from beyond the arc following the five-star’s deep bucket.
“Yessoufou was a man amongst boys out there tonight,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. “We didn’t have any answer for him.”
The hump-day crowd reached its loudest point with nine minutes left on the clock, as freshman center James Nnaji inspired a crowd pop with a rim-hanging slam, stretching the lead to 28.
With a minute and a half left in the routing, fan favorites Will Kuykendall, a redshirt sophomore, and Drew Perry, a freshman, made their way to the court to the roars of the scarce but passionate fans. Three straight turnovers by the Bears denied any scoring opportunities for the bench guards.
The Bears won 86-67, marking the Bears’ largest margin of victory in a Big 12 home game since an 81-51 win over Utah in December 2024.
“We’re buying in as a team,” Agbim said. “It takes time to adjust, but I feel like from last game to now we’ve been meshing together really well.”
The three-headed guard threat came together for the green and gold as Carr, Agbim and Yessoufou combined for 65 of the 86 points. Yessoufou led the way for the Bears with 27 and seven rebounds. Carr and Agbim chipped in 19 apiece.
The Bears stretched their winning streak to two games as they continue their hopes of turning around their season, with eyes on qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in March.
“We just got to go one game at a time,” Yessoufou said. “At the end of the day right now we ain’t got nothing to lose, so we’re just going to go out there and fight.”
Next, the Bears will travel to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.
