By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Baylor walked into the CU Events Center on Saturday on a low note.
The Bears had dropped two straight games in convincing fashion since losing starting center Josh Ojianwuna to a season-ending knee injury. Their lone win during that stretch, an overtime escape against West Virginia, was anything but reassuring.
But falling to Colorado — a team that was just 1-14 in Big 12 play — marked a new low. Before Saturday, Baylor had only lost to two teams outside the NET Ranking’s top 30. The Buffaloes sit at No. 94.
“People look at Colorado’s record, and it’s not indicative to how many opportunities they’ve had to win,” head coach Scott Drew said. “[Colorado was] 21-for-25 from the free-throw line. That’s tremendous execution by them. That wins a lot of games.”
The Bears shot just 36% from the field, marking their third consecutive game under 40%. And things won’t get any easier on Tuesday against Cincinnati, which boasts the No. 24 scoring defense in the nation.
The Bearcats (16-11, 6-10 Big 12) have struggled in conference play under fourth-year head coach Wes Miller. After opening the season ranked in the preseason AP poll for the second time since leaving the Big East in 2013, climbing as high as No. 14 before a four-game losing streak to Kansas State, Arizona, Baylor and Kansas knocked them out of the rankings for good.
Cincinnati’s defensive prowess is undeniable — the Bearcats have held nine Big 12 opponents under 70 points, including a suffocating performance against then-No. 11 Kansas (54 points allowed). But the offensive struggles have haunted the Bobcats. Cincinnati ranks 252nd nationally in scoring offense and 150th in offensive rating, with just one starter — Texas transfer Dillon Mitchell — averaging more than eight points per game on above-average efficiency.
Jizzle James (12.4 points, 3.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds), Simas Lukosius (11.4 points, 3.1 rebounds) and Mitchell (10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds) lead the way on offense. However, it’s 7-foot center Aziz Bandaogo (7.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks) who could pose the most problems for the center-less Bears.
For Cincinnati, a win over Baylor would mark the second Quad 1 victory of the season, as the Bearcats are 1-9 against top opponents. Meanwhile, Baylor is 5-9 against the top quadrant and could use a strong close to the season to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. The game will be streamed live on ESPN2.
