MBB Falls Short to Indiana in Exhibition Matchup at Indy, 76-74

Sunday, October 26

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MBB Falls Short to Indiana in Exhibition Matchup at Indy, 76-74

10/26/2025 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Four Bears put up double-figures at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

INDIANAPOLIS – In its final exhibition matchup before kicking off the 2025-26 season, Baylor men's basketball narrowly fell short to Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, 76-74.

In its first time returning to Indy since winning the 2021 National Championship, RV/- Baylor (0-0, 0-0) shot 40-percent from the field and sank 18-of-24 free throws with four Bears putting up double-digits. A strong first half from the Bears put BU up early, but a high of 16 turnovers kept the Bears at bay and unable to hold momentum for RV/- Indiana (0-0, 0-0) to take over in the second half and win the contest.

The trio of Cameron Carr, Dan Skillings Jr. and Tounde Yessoufou put up leading numbers for the second straight showing as well as Michael Rataj having a solid performance. Carr led the Bears with 18 points on a 60-percent clip and nine rebounds, followed by Skillings Jr. with 13 points and Rataj and Yessoufou both donning 12 points.

THE RUNDOWN
Both teams started out showcasing solid defense, holding each other to just six points each at the first media break. A pair of made free throws from freshman all-star Yessoufou and a driving layup by senior Obi Agbim put BU on the board in Indy.

The Bears started to find a groove, going on an 8-0 run highlighted by an Isaac Williams IV bucket and an alley-oop dunk by Caden Powell. BU held IU on a scoring drought for 3:22 to earn a nine-point, 22-13 lead. Between the second and third media, the Bears put up 16 points against the Hoosiers while only allowing seven on the defensive end.

With six minutes left of the first half, all eight Bears had points on the board with a 31-20 lead. The Hoosiers started to gain some momentum but a three from Rataj followed by a slam-dunk from Carr to reach double-digits silenced the largely crimson crowd.

IU didn't let up easily, finishing the first half making six-of-their-last-eight field goals. The Bears still maintained a lead at the half, going up 41-36 with Carr holding 14 points, shooting 66-percent with six rebounds.

Out of the half, Indiana came out on a heater, tying it up at 43-all and forcing three Baylor turnovers in just the first two minutes. The Hoosiers took an eight-point lead at the 12-minute media, holding Baylor to a three-minute scoring drought and only one-of-last-12 made field goals.

A JJ White bucket from the corner snapped the scoring drought, but the Bears still struggled to pick up momentum, falling behind 64-55 to IU at the under-eight timeout with an eight-to-16 assist/turnover ratio.

The Bears' defense began responding, holding Indiana scoreless for 2:46 with five minutes left of the contest. Yessoufou found a way from behind the arc followed up with Skillings Jr. driving for a tough made layup to put BU back in the game at 62-64. Another triple from the Contonou, Benin, freshman put him in double-figures and gave Baylor its first lead of the second half.

A tight battle ensued in the final two minutes with both teams going back-and-forth for the final lead, but it was Indiana that snuck away with a 76-74 win over Baylor.

The Bears return home to Foster Pavilion for their regular season kick off against UTRGV on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. CT.

- BaylorBears.com -