BOULDER — Entering Tuesday night’s game against No. 22 Baylor, Jeff Bzdelik had not defeated a ranked opponent during his three seasons as Colorado coach.
Bzdelik and his team have one now.
Three free throws by senior guard Dwight Thorne in the final 31 seconds gave Colorado the cushion it needed for a pressure-packed 78-71 victory in the Coors Events Center.
Colorado (10-6, 1-1 Big 12) trailed 32-27 at halftime, but began to chip away. Determined drives in the paint by Cory Higgins and Marcus Relphorde set the tempo, and the Buffs gained the momentum. Two free throws by Higgins completed a 16-5 run and put the hosts up 59-51. Then a 3-pointer by Relphorde and a hanging bank-shot by Higgins made it 66-56 with 2:06 to go.
Five Colorado players scored in double figures, led by 18 points from Higgins, 17 from Relphorde and 16 from freshman Alec Burks. CU improved to 9-0 at home.
Baylor (13-2, 1-1) had to replace three of its top 13 all-time scorers, including star guard Curtis Jerrells, but the Bears are stronger, bigger and perhaps more explosive this season. Shot-blocker deluxe Ekpe Udoh also showed he isn’t afraid to take the ball to the hoop, making it look easy at times with drives down the lane that resulted in layups or dunks.
Baylor had lost six straight Big 12 road games, dating to last season, but was coming off one of its most eye-catching victories in the program’s history — a 91-60 thrashing of Oklahoma on Saturday in Waco.
Colorado hosts Kansas State at 2 p.m. Saturday in the first game of a double-header. The CU women face Iowa State in the second game.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
