No. 7 MBB Hits Road Sunday to Face Northwestern
12/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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| 7/8 Baylor at RV/RV Northwestern Dec. 4, 2011 | 3 p.m. CT Evanston, Ill. | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) TV: Big Ten Network |
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STORY LINES
• No. 7/8 Baylor (7-0) will play its first non-conference true road game in nearly two years Sunday when it travels to Evanston, Ill., to face undefeated €ˆNorthwestern (6-0). Sunday's game will tip at 3 p.m. CST €ˆon the Big Ten Network.
• When Baylor walks onto to the court at Welsh-Ryan Arena, it will be its first non-conference true road game since Jan. 2, 2009, when it knocked off South Carolina 85-74 in Columbia, S.C. -- a span of 701 days.
• Baylor has won five straight non-conference true road games and is 6-4 in such games in the Scott €ˆDrew era.
• Baylor has won 14 of its last 20 non-conference games away from home since the 2007-08 season.
• Sunday will be the first series meeting between Baylor and Northwestern. It will be Baylor's first regular-season meeting against a Big Ten Conference school since Dec. 30, 2004, a 73-72 win at Purdue.
• Baylor has started 6-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in more than 100 years. Baylor's last back-to-back 6-0 starts came in 1908-09 and 1909-10.
• Baylor's No. 7 ranking in the latest €ˆAP €ˆTop 25 is the highest in program history (previous was €ˆNo. 9). Baylor's No. 8 ranking in the USA €ˆTODAY/ESPN Top 25 is also the highest coaches poll ranking in program history.
• Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Baylor is 97-47 and has made three postseason appearances €ˆ(2008 NCAA, 2009 NIT, 2010 NCAA) and posted three 20-win seasons.
• Baylor has made at least one 3-point field goal in 625 consecutive games -- the second-longest active streak in the Big 12.
• Senior €ˆF €ˆQuincy Acy needs 25 points to become the 25th 1,000-point scorer in program history. Acy would be the seventh 1,000-point scorer of the Scott Drew era, joining Aaron Bruce, Curtis Jerrells, Henry Dugat, Kevin Rogers, Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn.
• Redshirt sophomore F Cory Jefferson and senior F €ˆQuincy Acy rank second and third, respectively, among Big 12 players in blocked shots. Jefferson (18) is averaging 3.0 blocks-per-game, while Acy (16) owns a 2.7 rejections-per-game average.
• Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Perry Jones III made his 2011-12 season debut Nov. 29 vs. Prairie €ˆView A&M, tying a career high with 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting in 31 minutes.
• Brady Heslip (16-of-38), Pierre Jackson (9-of-16) Anthony Jones (8-of-18) and Quincy Miller (6-of-12) are shooting a combined 46 percent from 3-point range, accounting for 39 of Baylor's 43 3-point FG through six games.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
• Baylor's first trip to Northwestern will be televised live at 3 p.m. CST €ˆSunday on the Big Ten Network, immediately following the conclusion of the Baylor Lady Bears game at €ˆMinnesota (1 p.m. CST €ˆon Big Ten Network). Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Shon Morris (analyst) will call the game for the Big Ten Network.
SERIES HISTORY
• Sunday will be the first series meeting between Baylor and Northwestern. It will be Baylor's first regular-season meeting against a Big Ten Conference school since Dec. 30, 2004, a 73-72 win at Purdue.
SERIES NOTES: Baylor is 12-19 all-time against Big Ten Conference members, including a 10-12 record against former Big 12 Conference member, Nebraska ... Baylor has lost each of its last two meetings against Big Ten opponents -- Penn State in 2009 NIT €ˆchampionship game and Purdue in 2008 NCAA €ˆChampionship first round ... Northwestern is the second of three first-time opponents for Baylor in 2011-12 ... Baylor is 23-6 against first-time opponents in the Scott €ˆDrew era and has won 11 straight regular-season contests against first-time opponents (last loss was Nov. 30, 2008, vs. Wake Forest in Anaheim, Calif.).
FIRST BACK-TO-BACK 6-0 STARTS IN MORE THAN A CENTURY
• With its 90-54 win Nov. 29 vs. Prairie €ˆView A&M, Baylor posted its second consecutive 6-0 start, accomplishing a very rare feat in the program's 106-season history. Baylor has started 6-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time in more than 100 years. Baylor's last back-to-back 6-0 starts came in 1908-09 and 1909-10.
IT'S BEEN AWHILE... 701 DAYS TO BE EXACT
• It's been 701 days since Baylor last played a non-conference true road game. Baylor hasn't played a true road non-conference game since Jan. 2, 2010, when it knocked off South Carolina 85-74 in Columbia, S.C.
• Baylor is 6-4 in non-conference true road games in the Scott Drew era.
• Baylor did not play a true road non-conference game during the 2010-11 season (four neutral-site games).
• Baylor has won five straight non-conference true road games, with its last loss coming Dec. 16, 2006, at €ˆNo. 23 Syracuse.
SOME DEBUT FOR THE THIRD
• Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Perry Jones III made his 2011-12 season debut Nov. 29 against Prairie View A&M, pouring in a career-high-tying 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting in 31 minutes. It was PJ3's seventh career 20-point game.
• The 2010-11 Freshman All-American missed the first five games of the 2011-12 season to satisfy a six-game suspension handed down by the NCAA €ˆin March.
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME IN NON-CONFERENCE
• Baylor is 17-12 in non-conference games away from the Ferrell Center (road and neutral) in the Scott Drew era.
• Baylor has saved its best for the previous four seasons, winning 14 of its last 20 non-conference games away from home since the 2007-08 season (Baylor was 1-3 in non-conference away games in 2010-11).
CANADIAN DEEP THREAT
• Sophomore G Brady Heslip has quickly established himself as one of the nation's best 3-point shooters. The Burlington, Ontario, product is shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc, knocking down 16 treys.
• Heslip has made at least one 3FGM in each of his first six college games. Heslip is 17-of-45 from the field this season, including a 16-of-38 mark from 3-point range.
ACY CLOSING IN ON 1,000-POINT MARK
• Reigning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Quincy Acy, who has 975 career points, needs 25 points to become the 25th 1,000-point scorer in school history. Acy would join an exclusive club, becoming the seventh 1,000-point scorer in the Scott Drew era, joining LaceDarius €ˆDunn (1st -- 2,285), Curtis Jerrells (4th -- 1,820), Tweety Carter (8th -- 1,437), Kevin Rogers (9th -- 1,371), Aaron Bruce (11th -- 1,330) and Henry Dugat (14th -- 1,229).
TEXAS-SIZED BLOCK PARTY
• Redshirt sophomore F Cory Jefferson and senior F €ˆQuincy Acy rank second and third, respectively, among Big 12 players in blocked shots. Jefferson (18) is averaging 3.0 blocks-per-game, while Acy (16) owns a 2.7 rejections-per-game average.
• This season alone, the Texas natives have combined for 34 blocks through 6 games. Baylor blocked just 29 shots as a team through the first 6 games of the 2010-11 season (Perry Jones III had team-high 9 blocks).
COOKIE MONSTER CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• Already second in school history in career field goal percentage (61.3) behind former teammate Josh Lomers, senior F Quincy Acy is on his way to becoming one of the best shot-blockers and rebounds in program history.
• Acy ranks fourth in school history with 123 career blocks, just 10 shy of former teammate Ekpe Udoh for third place. In fact, five of the top 10 shot-blockers in school history hail from the Scott Drew era (Mamadou Diene, Lomers, Kevin Rogers, Udoh).
• With 594 career rebounds, Acy needs 77 more boards to crack Baylor's career Top 10 list (William Chatmon is currently 10th with 671 career rebounds).
