Baylor Battles Early, But Cold Shooting Dooms Bears in Loss to No. 24 Louisville
FORT WORTH, Texas - For 20 minutes, Baylor stood toe-to-toe with a ranked Louisville squad. The Bears matched the Cardinals shot for shot, effort for effort, and went into halftime deadlocked at 34. But the second half told a different story - one defined by ice-cold perimeter shooting and a Louisville offense that found its rhythm at just the wrong time for Baylor.
The Bears fell 82-71 at Dickies Arena on Saturday afternoon, dropping to 13-12 overall and 3-9 in Big 12 play. And while the final score might suggest a comfortable win for the Cardinals, this was a game that hinged on a few key stretches - and a three-point line that simply refused to be kind to Baylor.
Let’s start with the stat that jumps off the page: 2-for-22 from beyond the arc. That’s just 9% from deep, a number that makes it tough to win any game - let alone against a team like Louisville, who came in ranked No. 24 and looking every bit the part in the second half.
Still, Baylor showed plenty of fight. Isaac Williams IV led the way with 20 points, attacking the rim and getting to the line with consistency.
Tounde Yessoufou chipped in 16, continuing his strong stretch of play, and Michael Rataj added 11. The Bears were excellent at the stripe, converting 25 of 30 free throws, and they did serious work inside - scoring 36 points in the paint.
In the first half, Baylor’s offense was a model of balance. Every player who saw the floor scored at least four points, and no one had more than six. That kind of distribution helped the Bears build a seven-point lead midway through the first half, sparked by a 13-2 run that included five quick points from James Nnaji and some gritty second-chance efforts.
But after going up 32-25, Baylor went cold. The Bears managed just one made field goal in the final four minutes of the half, allowing Louisville to claw back and tie things up heading into the break.
Out of halftime, the Cardinals wasted no time seizing momentum. They opened the second half shooting a blistering 65% from the field and quickly built a double-digit lead. A 7-0 run pushed the score to 48-41, and Baylor found itself without a field goal for over six minutes - a drought that proved costly.
Even so, the Bears didn’t fold. Rataj and Williams sparked a brief surge out of the under-12 timeout, forcing turnovers and scoring in transition.
Yessoufou and Williams kept attacking, combining for 20 of Baylor’s 23 second-half points with seven minutes to go. The Bears cut the deficit to single digits and tried to make it interesting, but every time they made a push, Louisville had an answer.
The Cardinals, now 19-6 on the season and 8-4 in ACC play, showed their experience down the stretch. They maintained control, extended the lead back to 15 with under 12 minutes to play, and never let Baylor get closer than nine the rest of the way.
Despite the loss, there were positives for Baylor. The Bears showed resilience, got strong performances from their core players, and continued to compete even when the shots weren’t falling. But in a game where the three-point line mattered - and it often does - Baylor simply couldn’t find the range.
Up Next: Baylor heads to Manhattan for a Tuesday night matchup with Kansas State. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.