It will take the sort of run that’s probably not in the cards for the Colorado men’s basketball team to turn around the narrative of a disappointing 2024-25 season.
But down the stretch, the Buffaloes are at least trying to make the CU Events Center a happy place once again.
Colorado won for just the second time in Big 12 Conference play yet the second time in as many home games, topping Baylor 76-74 on Saturday at the Events Center.
In a contest that was tightly contested throughout, CU used a hot-shooting second half and a late 9-0 run to pull away. After snapping a 13-game losing streak that was the second-longest in program history with a win last week against Central Florida, the Buffs have won two of their past three games going into a Monday night home showdown against No. 23 Kansas.
“I was proud of our guys’ fight and competitiveness,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I felt good at shoot-around this morning. I thought we had two good days of prep, practice-wise. We did a much better job in the second half than we did the first half.”
CU’s familiar shortcomings were on full display during the first half, as the Buffs committed eight turnovers in the opening frame while surrendering 10 offensive rebounds, leading to a 10-2 first-half advantage for the Bears on second-chance points. The Bears shot just 25% in the first half but held a two-point lead at the break thanks to their work on the offensive glass.
Typically this season, when the Buffs have been bad at something in the first half, they’ve remained that way the entire game. That wasn’t the case against Baylor, as CU committed only five turnovers after halftime while limiting the Bears to five offensive rebounds in the second half.
Baylor forward Norchad Omier recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, but after grabbing four of the Bears’ 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, the Buffs kept Omier off the offensive glass in the second half.
CU shot .583 during the second half (14-for-24) while scoring 46 points, the team’s highest scoring total in any half during Big 12 play.
“It says maybe they’re learning. Maybe they can turn things around,” Boyle said of his team’s second-half surge. “That’s part of toughness. When I say toughness it’s not just hitting somebody or knocking them. Part of it is getting through screens and boxing out and things like that. But the other part of toughness is the mental part. And that is, ‘Hey, I’m not playing well in the first half. I’m going to turn it around in the second half.’ Whether it’s as a group or individually or whatever.”
The game was tied 59-59 after a three-point play by Baylor’s Jeremy Roach with 6 minutes, 52 seconds left, but CU’s Trevor Baskin answered with a three-point play. After another Roach bucket, freshman Sebastian Rancik knocked down a 3-pointer that sparked CU’s decisive 9-0 run.
The Buffs still had to survive foibles in the final minutes that included two turnovers that could have been devastating, a missed dunk from Bangot Dak, and a missed free throw by Baskin with 1.5 seconds left that forced a second intentionally missed free throw before Baylor missed its desperation heave at the buzzer. Yet CU still was able to celebrate a win for just the second time in 2025.
CU finished 21-for-25 at the free throw line and recorded 18 assists, tying the Buffs’ second-highest total in Big 12 play.
“I think we’re a pretty good defensive team,” CU forward Andrej Jakimovski said. “I think every guy that played tonight did a good job on defense. They shot 36% from the field, which is really good, and we knew we needed to do that in order to win the game.”
Fast break
Why the Buffs won: The Buffs used solid defense to hold Baylor to a .362 mark, and CU’s big second half included a .583 shooting percentage with only five turnovers.
Three stars
1. CU’s Andrej Jakimovski. Posted a solid all-around game with 17 points, seven rebounds and a season-high five assists, while also leading the defensive effort against Baylor’s future NBA Draft pick, VJ Edgecombe.
2. Baylor’s Norchad Omier. Recorded his 15th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds, adding a pair of blocked shots.
3. CU’s RJ Smith. Played a steady game in the backcourt, going 5-for-8 with 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and no turnovers.
Up next: CU will attempt to keep the home momentum rolling on Monday night against No. 23 Kansas (9 p.m., ESPN).
Colorado 76, Baylor 74
BAYLOR (16-11, 8-8 Big 12)
Omier 7-11 4-6 18, Celestine 4-8 0-0 11, Edgecombe 2-9 4-4 8, Love 4-11 6-6 17, Wright 3-11 0-0 7, Roach 4-15 1-1 11, Asemota 1-4 0-0 2, Dubravcic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-69 15-17 74.
COLORADO (11-16, 2-14)
Dak 1-5 4-4 6, Jakimovski 5-10 2-2 17, Rancik 3-7 2-2 10, Hammond 4-9 3-4 12, Smith 5-8 2-2 13, Diop 1-1 0-0 2, Baskin 2-3 4-7 8, Kossaras 0-0 0-0 0, Malone 2-2 2-2 6, Ruffin 0-2 0-0 0, Carrington 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 23-47 21-25 76.
Halftime: Baylor 32-30; 3-point field goals: Baylor 9-27 (Love 3-5, Celestine 3-6, Roach 2-5, Wright 1-4, Asemota 0-2, Omier 0-2, Edgecombe 0-3); Colorado 9-22 (Jakimovski 5-9, Rancik 2-4, Smith 1-2, Hammond 1-4, Dak 0-1, Ruffin 0-2). Rebounds: Baylor 37 (Omier 13); Colorado 33 (Jakimovski 7). Assists: Baylor 12 (Edgecombe 7); Colorado 18 (Jakimovski 5). Turnovers: Baylor 7 (Wright 2); Colorado 13 (Ruffin 3). Total fouls: Baylor 23, Colorado 16. A: 7,341.
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