WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Baylor suffered a crushing 77-55 defeat to Houston, with rebounding proving to be the decisive factor in the lopsided loss. The Cougars grabbed 45 total rebounds, including 23 offensive boards that led to numerous second-chance opportunities.
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The Bears were completely outmatched on the glass, struggling to secure defensive rebounds and giving Houston multiple possessions throughout the game.
"Want to apologize for our effort on the glass. We haven't been out-rebounded like that in a minute and sure didn't feel good," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said.
The rebounding disparity highlighted Houston's physical dominance and aggressive approach on both ends of the floor. For Baylor, the inability to control the boards prevented them from establishing any rhythm offensively.
Cameron Carr, who led the Bears with 18 points and four rebounds, acknowledged Houston's effort on the glass.
"Man they rebounded really really hard. Gotta give them their props. Every first half, we've started very strong. I feel like it's the second half is finding our groove, is coming back into it and playing our pace, you know," Carr said.
The loss drops Baylor to 0-3 in Big 12 conference play, marking their worst conference start since the 2023 season. The challenging nature of Big 12 basketball has become evident early, with the Bears facing an uphill battle to turn their season around.
Drew emphasized the difficulty of bouncing back quickly with another game approaching Tuesday against Oklahoma State.
"That's the biggest challenge in everything because you'd like to have a crazy hard practice tomorrow, but you play on Tuesday," he said.
"Nobody likes a feeling like this, and hopefully that will help motivate us to make sure we're not in that position again," Drew said.
Despite the disappointing start to conference play, Carr expressed optimism about the team's ability to regroup and improve moving forward.
"I feel like Oklahoma State, you guys are gonna see a different team of Baylor. I think we are going to learn. I feel like everybody's open to accepting a new role and taking like a prideless approach and so I'm excited to see where we go from this," Carr said.
The Bears will need to address their rebounding deficiencies and find ways to match the physicality of Big 12 opponents if they hope to salvage their conference season.
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