Typically, it has been turnovers that have been the biggest culprit as to why several near-wins for the Colorado men’s basketball team have turned into defeats.

Yet rebounding, and particularly an inability to keep the opposition off the offensive glass, also has been a consistent problem for the Buffaloes during their extended losing streak. And that shortcoming is why the losing streak continued on Saturday.

Despite shaking off a rough start and making things nervous for No. 5 Houston throughout, the Cougars were able to use a decisive rebounding advantage to keep the Buffs at bay, handing CU a 69-59 defeat at the CU Events Center that dropped the Buffs to 0-12 in Big 12 Conference play.

The Buffs were outrebounded 38-26, marking their third-highest rebounding deficit of the season, while the Cougars turned 15 offensive rebounds into an 18-7 advantage on second-chance points.

It was the sixth time in 12 Big 12 games, and the 10th time overall this season, that a CU opponent has grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds. The Cougars’ 18 second-chance points were the third-most allowed by the Buffs this season, trailing the 21 posted by Iowa State in the Big 12 opener on Dec. 30 and the 22 recorded by Oklahoma State three weeks ago.

Andrej Jakimovski led the Buffs with five rebounds, but four different players recorded at least five for Houston.

“Another stat I think that was really telling in the game was the points in the paint, where Houston had 42 and we had 20,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “That’s who they are.”

Streaking

The Buffs reached another milestone with the defeat, recording their 12th consecutive loss.

The 12-game losing streak ties the second-longest within one season in team history, matching a 12-game slide recorded by the 2008-09 Buffs over the final dozen games of the season. The longest losing streak in team history is the 14-game slide put together by the 1985-86 team, which finished 0-14 in Big Eight play.

CU also suffered a 13-game losing streak more than 70 years ago that was split over two seasons, with the Buffs losing the final six games of the 1952-53 season before losing the first seven games the following season.

The Buffs also have lost six consecutive home games for the first time since the winless conference run during the 1985-86 season.

Respect

Houston’s win was the 783rd for veteran coach Kelvin Sampson, who is in his 36th season as a Division I head coach.

One doesn’t typically approach the 800-win plateau with too many frustrating seasons on the ledger, but Sampson recalled a 7-22 campaign at Washington State in the 1989-90 season as he expressed his respect for Boyle and the Buffs for their spirited effort on Saturday despite a trying season.

“I coached a team that lost 18 in a row,” Sampson said of that WSU team. “Our kids battled and fought. We had some really debilitating injuries. That team never quit, though. You don’t lose at anything until you quit. And Tad’s one of the best coaches in our game. It’s not easy to roll out there and be 0-11 and give the kind of effort that they give and play as well as they did. That’s not easy.”

Quotable

“Julian Hammond. Those step-back howitzers. I mean, he hit some howitzers. Sometimes you play really good defense, and then a step-back, 26-footer will beat it.”

— Sampson, on the effort of CU’s guard Julian Hammond, who went 5-for-7 on 3-pointers with several long-range bombs.

Notable

CU used its 11th different starting lineup in 23 games. … The Buffs have scored fewer than 60 points in three consecutive games for the first time since a three-game run in late January and early February of 2022 (at Washington, at Washington State, and home against Oregon). … CU reserve guard Courtney Anderson was dressed after missing the previous six games due to a concussion.