MBB Hosts Texas to Open Big 12 Play
1/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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| Baylor (8-4) vs. Texas (8-5) Jan. 5, 2013 | 1:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284) TV: ESPNU & WatchESPN | Radio: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM, Sirius 123, XM 194 |
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STORY LINES
• Saturday's game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Jon €ˆSciambi (pxp) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst) will call the action.
• Saturday is the 239th series meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played basketball rivalry for both schools.
• Baylor enters the game riding an 11-game winning streak against in-state opponents and a 10-game winning streak against inaugural members of the former Big 12 South Division (Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State).
• Texas leads the all-time series 157-81, including a 64-47 record in Waco, but Baylor has won 6 of the last 8 series meetings.
• Head coach Scott Drew will sit out the first two conference games as part of Baylor's self-imposed NCAA penalties announced on April 11. Jerome Tang will serve as the Bears' interim head coach on Jan. 5 vs. Texas and Jan. 8 at Texas Tech.
• Through 12 games, Baylor is averaging 38.0 points in the paint per game and holding opponents to 29.3 PIP per game. Baylor's leaders are Cory Jefferson (9.3 PIP/game), Isaiah Austin (9.1 PIP/game) and Pierre Jackson (6.2 PIP/game).
• Jackson was named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, the 2nd straight year a Bear has been honored.
• Jackson has scored in double figures in 20 straight games, averaging 18.6 points and 6.3 assists per game during the streak.
• Jackson needs 2 assists to become the 11th player in Baylor history with 300+ assists (5th of Drew era).
• Jackson leads the Big 12 in scoring (19.6/gm), ranks 2nd in assists (6.3/gm), 3rd in steals (2.2/gm) and 7th in AST/TO ratio (1.8).
• Jackson also ranks 3rd in 3FGM (2.4/gm), 6th in FG% (44.4), 8th in 3FG% (36.7) and 9th in FT% (78.9).
• Three Baylor players are in the Big 12's top 15 in scoring -- Jackson (1st, 19.6), Austin (5th, 14.5) and Jefferson (14th, 13.2).
• Jefferson also leads the Big 12 in FG percentage (64.3), ranks 2nd in blocks (2.4/gm) and 4th in rebounding (8.6/gm).
• Jefferson has scored 158 points this season after scoring 148 points in 55 games over his first two seasons at Baylor.
• Austin ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in rebounding (8.6), 4th in FG percentage (51.9) and 5th in scoring (14.5).
• Austin leads all Big 12 freshmen in rebounding (8.6) and FG percentage (51.9) and ranks 2nd among freshmen in scoring (14.5).
• Baylor has accounted for 9 of the 45 double-doubles by Big 12 players this season, including 4 by Austin and 3 by Jefferson.
• Brady Heslip has made a 3FG in 18 straight games and 46 of 49 in his career, including 33 games with 2+ 3FG and 21 with 3+ 3FG. If Heslip makes a 3FG vs. Texas, he'll tie for the 6th-longest streak in Baylor history.
• A.J. Walton ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in AST/TO ratio (2.1), 4th in steals (2.1/gm) and 6th in assists (4.4/gm).
• Baylor played two of the nation's toughest non-conference road games this season -- at Rupp Arena, where Kentucky had a 55-game winning streak before Baylor won 64-55 -- and at Gonzaga, where the Bulldogs are now 112-8 all-time at The Kennel.
• Baylor is 4-1 this season and 86-9 in the Scott Drew era when shooting 50% or better from the field.
• Baylor's win at No. 8 Kentucky was its first-ever non-conference road win against an AP €ˆTop 25 team. It snapped Kentucky's nation-leading 55-game home winning streak and gave the Wildcats their first home loss under fourth-year coach €ˆJohn €ˆCalipari.
• Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally with a 48.2 team field goal percentage (thru Dec. 30).
• Baylor also ranks 2nd in the Big 12 and 29th nationally with a 1.31 assist-to-turnover ratio (thru Dec. 30).
• National team €ˆrankings (thru Dec. 30): 5th scoring offense (77.8); 47th fewest turnovers (12.0/gm); 49th assists (15.7/gm); 62nd scoring margin (10.2); 72nd turnover margin (2.5).
• Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak with at least one 3-point field goal made in 669 consecutive games.
• Drew's last five recruiting classes have all been ranked in ESPN's top 25 nationally (21st, 22nd, 18th, 5th, 14th, respectively).
• Baylor has signed 10 top 50 national recruits in the last seven years -- LaceDarius Dunn (2007), Anthony Jones (2008), Nolan Dennis (2009), Perry Jones III €ˆ(2010), Quincy €ˆMiller (2011), Deuce Bello (2011), Isaiah Austin (2012), Rico €ˆGathers (2012), Ishmail €ˆWainright (2013) and Dominic Woodson (2013).
• Baylor's Scott Drew is tied with Kansas' Bill Self as the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference. Drew, who enters his 10th season at Baylor in 2012-13, is second only to Texas' Rick Barnes, who enters his 15th season in Austin.
• Baylor is one of only two Big 12 schools to be ranked in each of the last six seasons (Kansas).
• Baylor is one of only six schools nationally to play in the Elite Eight in two of the last three seasons.
• Baylor was picked 2nd in the 2012-13 Big 12 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll, its highest ever projection.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 239th series meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played basketball rivalry for both schools. Texas leads the all-time series 157-81 and 64-47 in games played in Waco.
• Baylor is 9-27 against Texas in the Big 12 era series, while head coach Scott Drew is 6-15 all-time against the Longhorns.
• Baylor has won 6 of its last 8 games against Texas after snapping a 24-game losing streak in the series. Baylor won at home against Texas on Feb. 21, 1998, then lost 24 straight vs. €ˆUT €ˆbefore winning in Oklahoma City on March 13, 2009.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
• Saturday's game will be televised nationally on ESPNU, one of 21 regular-season games the Bears will play on ESPN €ˆnetworks this year. Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Fran €ˆFraschilla (analyst) will serve as the talent. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. CT.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Jerome Tang's 1st career victory at Baylor (interim) head coach.
• Give Baylor a 12-game winning streak against in-state opponents -- the Bears were 10-0 vs. in-state teams last season.
• Extend Baylor's winning streak against former Big 12 South members to 11 games (OU, OSU, A&M, TTU, UT).
• Improve Baylor's home record to 50-9 since the start of the 2009-10 season.
• Be Baylor's 7th win in its last 9 games against Texas after snapping a 24-game losing streak in the series.
• Improve its all-time record against Texas to 82-157, including a 48-64 mark in games played in Waco.
• Improve Baylor's record to 34-39 in the month of January in the Drew era, including a 19-8 record over the last 4 seasons.
• Give Baylor a 9-4 or better record through its first 13 games for the seventh consecutive season.
SUCCESS AGAINST HISTORIC RIVALS
• Baylor went a perfect 10-0 against former Big 12 South Division members in 2011-12. The Bears swept Oklahoma and Oklahoma State for the first time in program history, they swept Texas and Texas A&M in the same season for the first time since 1970-71, and BU swept Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech in the same season for the first time ever.
• Baylor also went a perfect 10-0 against in-state competition in 2011-12.
TEXAS-SIZED SUCCESS
• Baylor is 15-4 in its last 19 games against its three in-state Big 12 opponents (conference members when games were played) -- Texas A&M (5-1), Texas Tech (5-1) and Texas (5-2). Baylor went 6-0 against Texas Big 12 schools last season.
• Prior to its recent in-state success, the Bears were a combined 10-27 in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
• Baylor is 49-9 at home in the last three-plus seasons, winning a Ferrell Center-record 15 home games in both 2009-10 and 2010-11, and going 14-3 at the Ferrell €ˆCenter a season ago. Baylor is 75-18 in the last five-plus seasons at home, boasting an impressive .806 winning percentage.
JACKSON'S DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK REACHES 20
• Pierre Jackson has scored in double figures in 20 straight games, averaging 18.6 points and 6.3 assists per game during the streak.
• Jackson's is the Big 12's longest active double-figure scoring streak, five ahead of the next closest -- Texas' Sheldon McClellan (15).
• Jackson's streak is the longest by a Baylor player since LaceDarius Dunn went 32 games from March 6, 2010 to Feb. 26, 2011.
• Jackson entered the 2012-13 season on pace to become the 26th 1,000-point scorer in school history. Jackson, who scored 523 points in his first season in Waco last year, needs 242 points to become the 8th 1,000-point scorer in the Scott Drew era, joining Aaron Bruce, Curtis Jerrells, Henry Dugat, Kevin Rogers, LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter and Quincy Acy.
• Jackson needs to average 12.7 points per game over the next 19 games to reach 1,000 points prior to the postseason.
JACKSON NEEDS 2 ASSISTS TO BECOME BAYLOR'S 11TH WITH 300+
• Pierre Jackson needs 2 assists to become the 11th player in Baylor history with 300 or more career assists.
• Jackson would become the 4th player in program history with 300+ assists and an average of at least 5.0 per game, joining Nelson Haggerty (7.13), DeMarcus Minor (5.17) and Vinnie Johnson (6.04).
• Jackson would become the 5th Scott Drew era player to reach 300+ assists, joining Curtis Jerrells (487), Tweety Carter (474), A.J. €ˆWalton (367) and Aaron €ˆBruce (320). Four of the top six in assists in Baylor history have been during the Drew era.
• Jackson is 10 assists shy of Johnson for 10th on Baylor's all-time assists list.
JEFFERSON'S BREAKOUT CAMPAIGN
• Cory Jefferson started just one game in his first two seasons playing at Baylor (2009-10, 2011-12; redshirted 2010-11), while playing behind four frontcourt players currently in the NBA (Ekpe Udoh, Perry €ˆJones III, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller).
• Jefferson entered the season with a career high of 25 minutes, but he's played at least 27 minutes in 11 of 12 games this season.
• Jefferson scored more points in his first 12 games this season €ˆ(158) than in 55 career games over his first two years (148).
• Jefferson needed only 11 games this season to make more field goals (57) than his first two seasons combined (56).
JEFFERSON WORKING WAY UP BLOCKS CHART
• Cory Jefferson (75) moved past Greg Davis (72 from 2000-02) for 10th on Baylor's career blocked shots list on Dec. 17.
• Jefferson is one of six players in program history to record 70 or more career blocks while averaging at least 1.00 blocks per game.
• Among players on Baylor's top 10 blocks list, only Ekpe Udoh (36) and Davis (56) have played fewer career games than Jefferson.
WALTON NOW 4TH ON BAYLOR WINS CHART
• Senior G A.J. Walton moved into sole possession of 4th on Baylor's all-time list when the Bears beat BYU on Dec. 21.
• Walton has played 13 fewer games than anyone else in program history to eclipse 80 wins.
• Cory €ˆJefferson (54) needs 8 more wins to tie Henry Dugat (62) for 10th on the Bears' career wins list.
NATIONAL RADIO COVERAGE
• Saturday's game can be heard on ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM, and fans not in the Central Texas area can hear the game online at www.BaylorBears.com. John Morris (play-by-play) and Pat Nunley (analyst) will serve as talent.
• Baylor's broadcast is also available nationally through satellite radio on Sirius 12 and XM 194.
50% SHOOTING IS KEY TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 4-1 this season and 86-9 during the Scott Drew era when shooting 50% or better from the field.
• By contrast, the Bears are 4-3 this season and 79-119 in the Drew era when missing more shots than they make.
• The same goes for holding opponents under 50% -- Baylor is 158-61 in the Drew era when opponents shoot less than 50% and 7-66 when they shoot 50% or better from the field.
DOMINATING POINTS IN THE PAINT
• Despite losing three frontcourt players to the 2012 NBA €ˆDraft, Baylor is averaging 38.0 points in the paint per game this season, and the Bears are holding opponents to 29.3 PIP per game.
• Frontcourt players Cory Jefferson (9.3 PIP/game), Isaiah Austin (9.1 PIP/game) and Rico Gathers (4.8 PIP/game) do most of the damage, along with point guard Pierre Jackson (6.2 PIP/game) and guard A.J. €ˆWalton (4.0 PIP/game).
• Baylor set a Scott Drew era record with 68 points in the paint in its season-opening win against Lehigh.
TWO OF NATION'S TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE ROAD GAMES
• Baylor played two of the nation's toughest non-conference road games this season -- at Kentucky's Rupp Arena (Baylor defeated No. 8 Kentucky on Dec. 1) and at Gonzaga's McCarthy Athletic Center (No. 13 Gonzaga won, 94-87, on Dec. 28).
• The Bears beat No. 8 Kentucky, 64-55, snapping the Wildcats' nation-leading 55-game home winning streak. That streak was 30 games longer than the next closest active streak, and Kentucky was 54-0 at home under head coach John Calipari.
• Baylor lost by 7 points at Gonzaga's McCarthy Athletic Center (The Kennel), where the Bulldogs entered the game with a 111-8 all-time record on their home court, averaging less than one home loss per season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES ALL AROUND
• Baylor has accounted for nine of the 45 double-doubles by Big 12 players this season.
• Isaiah Austin (4) and Cory €ˆJefferson (3) are two of six Big 12 players with at least three double-doubles this year.
• Pierre Jackson and Rico Gathers have also had double-doubles this season.
• Active Big 12 players have combined for 15 career double-digit assist games, and Jackson (six) and A.J. Walton (two) have combined for eight of those 15 games with 10 or more assists.
UP NEXT
• Baylor heads to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech in its first Big 12 road game of the season. The Bears and Red Raiders tip off at 6 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN2. Baylor has 10 of its last 13 games against Texas Tech, including a sweep of last season's series.
