No. 9 MBB Meets Top-Seeded Kentucky in Elite Eight
3/24/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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| [3] Baylor (30-7) vs. [1] Kentucky (35-2) March 25, 2012 | 1:20 p.m. CDT Atlanta, Ga. | Georgia Dome (35,000) TV: CBS |
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STORY LINES
• No. 3 seed (30-7) Baylor is one game away from making its first NCAA €ˆFinal Four appearance in 62 seasons. Baylor will meet top-seeded Kentucky (35-2) in the NCAA €ˆSouth Regional final Sunday at 1:20 p.m. CDT €ˆon CBS.
• Sunday will be the seventh series meeting between Baylor and Kentucky - the Wildcats have won the previous six meetings.
• Baylor and Kentucky will be meeting in the NCAA tournament for just the second time. In 1948, Kentucky, led by Adolph Rupp, defeated Baylor 58-42 in the NCAA €ˆNational Championship game at Madison Square Garden.
• Baylor has posted its first 30-win season in program history (previous record was 28 in 2009-10).
• Baylor is one five schools making at least its second NCAA €ˆElite €ˆEight appearance in the last three seasons.
• In the 2012 postseason, Baylor is 4-0 in its adidas adizero "Electricity" uniforms and 1-1 in its "Blackout" attire.
• Baylor's No. 3 seed is the South Region is tied for the highest NCAA tournament seed in program history. In 2010, Baylor was also a No. 3 seed in the South Region and advanced to the Elite €ˆEight.
• 2012 is Baylor's fourth modern tournament era NCAA €ˆappearance (post-1950). Baylor's first three tournament appearances - 1946, 1948 and 1950 - were in an eight-team bracket.
• Baylor is 16-4 away from home this season. In the last five seasons under ninth-year head coach Scott Drew, Baylor has won 26 true road and 25 neutral-site games - a combined 51-37 record away from home.
• All seven of Baylor's losses this season came to teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship field.
• Baylor is 9-8 all-time in the NCAA €ˆChampionship, while Scott Drew is 6-2 as head coach.
• Baylor is 9-2 in games decided by 5 points or fewer this season - 8 of the 9 wins have been away from home.
• In the last four years, Baylor is 10-2 (.833) in three postseason appearances - the best record of any Big 12 Conference team during that time. Kansas is second with a 10-3 record (.769) in four NCAA €ˆappearances.
• Baylor has made at least one 3-point field goal in 656 consecutive games - the second-longest active streak in the Big 12.
• Junior G Pierre €ˆJackson has a knack for making big play after big play. In his first season at Baylor, Jackson has been a part of eight go-ahead, game-tying or game-winning plays.
• Senior F Quincy Acy ranks 11th in school history with 1,338 points. He also ranks 3rd in career FG percentage (60.2), 2nd in career blocks (175) and 5th in career rebounding (820).
• This season, 46 percent (69 of 151) of Acy's FGM have been dunks, while in 138 career games, 49 percent (244 of 496) of Acy's career FGM have been dunks.
• Baylor is 29-145 all-time against Top 25 teams, including a 12-51 mark in the Scott Drew era.
• Baylor is 0-4 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 nationally; Baylor is facing the No. 1 ranked team for the first time since Jan. 11, 1997 (lost 87-68 to 1/1 Kansas in Waco).
• Baylor is 8-66 all-time against Top 10 opponents.
BAYLOR NCAA NOTES
• Baylor is 9-8 in seven NCAA Championship appearances (5-3 in modern tournament era).
• 2012 is Baylor's fourth NCAA berth in the modern tournament era (first three NCAA appearances in 1946, 1948 and 1950 were in an eight-team bracket).
• Baylor has played in two Final Fours (1948 and 1950) - when it was an eight-team bracket - and one national championship game (lost to Kentucky in 1948 title game).
• Nine Baylor opponents made the Field of 68 and Baylor was 10-7 in the regular season against the 2012 field - Texas (2-0), Iowa State (1-1), K-State (2-1), Missouri (0-3), Kansas (1-2), WVU (1-0), BYU (1-0), Saint Mary's (1-0), San Diego State (1-0).
• Baylor and Xavier met for the second time Friday; Baylor won 75-70.
• All seven of Baylor's losses this season came to teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship field.
• Baylor's No. 3 seed is the South Region is tied for the highest NCAA tournament seed in program history. In 2010, Baylor was also a No. 3 seed in the South Region and advanced to the Elite €ˆEight.
ELITE STATUS
• Baylor is one five schools to have made two or more Elite €ˆEight appearances in the last three seasons. Baylor, Florida, North Carolina and Kansas have each made two Elite €ˆEight trips in the last three seasons, while Kentucky is making its third straight.
• The Big 12 has had multiple Elite Eight Teams in four of the last five years. No other conference has had multiple teams as much during that span.
• Since 2002, the Big 12 has had 19 teams reach the Elite Eight - the most of any conference in the nation.
• In the last five years, the Big 12 has had nine Elite Eight teams - tied for the most among conferences.
• This year marks the first time in Big 12 history the conference has three 30-win teams.
• The Big 12's three 30-win teams are the most of any conference. The next-closest leagues have one.
• Every team in the Big 12 has made the Sweet 16 at least once since 2000. No other conference can boast of every one of its current teams advancing to regional semifinals during that time.
SERIES HISTORY
• Sunday will be the seventh series meeting between Baylor and Kentucky - the Wildcats have won the previous six meetings.
• Baylor and Kentucky will be meeting in the NCAA tournament for just the second time. In 1948, Kentucky, led by Adolph Rupp, defeated Baylor 58-42 in the NCAA €ˆNational Championship game at Madison Square Garden. Seven days later during the 1948 Olympic Basketball Trials in New €ˆYork City, Kentucky won 77-59.
• All six losses against Kentucky have been decided by double figures.
• Baylor is 60-127 all-time against current SEC €ˆmember institutions.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
• Sunday's NCAA €ˆSouth Regional final against No. 1 seed Kentucky will be televised live at 1:20 p.m. CDT on CBS. Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Clark Kellogg (analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline reporter) will serve as the CBS talent in Atlanta. § Nantz and Kellogg also called Baylor's Sweet 16 win over Saint Mary's and its Elite €ˆEight loss to Duke in the 2010 NCAA €ˆSouth Regional in Houston.
A BAYLOR POSTSEASON FIRST
• Scott Drew is the first head coach in program history to lead Baylor to four postseason appearances - 2008 NCAA, 2009 NIT, 2010 NCAA and 2012 NCAA. Drew is also only the second head coach in program history to lead Baylor to three NCAA €ˆpostseason appearances (Bill Henderson led Baylor to 1946, 1948 and 1950 NCAA €ˆappearances).
CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A MADE 3-POINT FIELD GOAL - 656
• Baylor has made at least one 3-point field goal in 656 consecutive games - the second-longest active streak in the Big 12 behind only Texas. Baylor has connected from 3-point range in every game since Feb. 21, 1990, in a win over Texas Tech.
ROAD - AND NEUTRAL - WARRIORS
• Baylor is 16-4 away from home this season. In the last five seasons under ninth-year head coach Scott Drew, Baylor has won 26 true road and 25 neutral-site games - a combined 51-37 record away from home.
• In Baylor's first 11 seasons in the Big 12, the Bears won a combined 28 games away from Waco (15 neutral and 13 true road).
THE ACY DUNK FACTOR
• Senior F €ˆQuincy Acy ranks third in school history with a career 60.2 field goal percentage. Acy, regarded as one of the nation's most ferocious dunkers, has recorded 244 career field goals via the dunk.
• This season, 46 percent (69 of 151) of Acy's FGM have been dunks, while in 138 career games, 49 percent (244 of 496) of Acy's career FGM have been dunks.
#CLUTCH IN CLOSE GAMES
• Baylor entered the season with a sub-.500 record in games decided by 5 points or fewer in the Scott Drew era. This season, Baylor is 9-2 in such games with eight wins coming away from home.
• Six of the nine wins have been decided by 3 points or fewer - Dec. 17 at BYU €ˆ(86-83), Dec. 23 vs. West Virginia (83-81, OT) in Las Vegas, Dec. 28 vs. No. 14 Mississippi State €ˆ(54-52) in Dallas, Jan. 10 at No. 18 Kansas State (75-73) and Feb. 1 at Texas €ˆA&M €ˆ(63-60).
