Colorado Men’s Basketball’s Biggest Weakness Exposed in Loss at Baylor

Coach Tad Boyle could only hide his Colorado men's basketball team's biggest weakness for so long.

After finding success with a smaller starting lineup in Saturday's win over TCU, Boyle rolled with the same five against a larger Baylor team on Wednesday and was met with an embarrassing 86-67 loss. Center Elijah Malone didn't see the floor, true freshman starter Fawaz "Tacko" Ifaola was held scoreless, and forwards Bangot Dak and Sebastian Rancik combined for only 10 points in Waco.

Colorado Men's Basketball Weakness Baylor Bears Buffaloes Tad Boyle Elijah Malone Bangot Dak Tacko Ifaola Sebastian Rancik — Feb 1, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes forward Bangot Dak (8) during the second half against the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Colorado's rebounding wasn't as poor as it has been (32-26 advantage to Baylor), but it remains a source of concern for the Buffs' ability to compete in the Big 12. No starter had more than three boards and Dak led the team with six, although Baylor didn't offer many rebounding opportunities with its 53 percent mark from the field.

"I thought in the first half, our youth really showed in terms of letting our frustrations on offense bleed over into defense and that can't happen, not on the road," Boyle said, per CUBuffs.com. "We're going to struggle at times on offense, and we did tonight. We miss shots at the rim that we normally finish. Missed some free throws, just little things like that that we just didn't quite have it."

Colorado fell to 13-10 overall (3-7 Big 12) and will next host the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday. Whether Boyle sticks with his four-freshmen starting lineup will be a storyline to follow heading into the 7:30 p.m. MT (ESPN2) matchup.

How Colorado Can Bounce Back

Needless to say, Colorado needs to get better minutes from its bigs.

Ifaola is still working to find his identity on the offensive end, but Dak, Rancik and Malone's lack of production in Big 12 play is concerning. Boyle has now relegated those three to the bench and will look for the trio to respond moving forward.

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For the sake of the program's future, Boyle and his staff should also continue rolling with their freshmen-heavy rotation. Point guard Isaiah Johnson has been the team's biggest bright spot, Josiah Sanders has had some strong moments in recent games, and Jalin Holland scored a career-high 12 points at Baylor.

"Jalin Holland's been really playing his tail off," Boyle said after Saturday's win over TCU. "One thing we know he's going to do is compete, rebound and defend. His job on (TCU forward Brock) Harding tonight, their point guard who's a good player, was phenomenal. His stat line does not show the effect that he had on the game."

Fellow freshman Alon Michaeli also had a decent game in Waco with seven points, four rebounds an assist and a steal.

Beginning with Arizona State on Saturday, Colorado has eight more regular season games before the Big 12 Tournament.