 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Wednesday, Dec. 17 | 8:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPNU
| | TV Talent | Brad Sham (pxp), Stephen Howard (color)
| | Web Video | WatchESPN | | Satellite Radio | Sirius 91 / XM 91
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | New Mexico State
| | Twitter | @BaylorMBB | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 8-1 | | Ranking | rv (AP), rv (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 232-162 (13th season)
| | BU Record: 212-151 (12th season)
| NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES
| | Record | 4-6
| | Ranking | nr (AP), nr (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Marvin Menzies
| | Career: 157-95 (8th season)
| | NMSU Record: 157-95 (8th season)
|
|
|
STORY LINES • Wednesday will mark the 9th meeting between?Baylor and New Mexico State and the first since Dec. 1, 1980.
• New Mexico State leads the series 5-3, including a 1-1 mark in games played in?Waco.
• Baylor is listed 26th in both national polls this week, and if the Bears move up one spot it will mark an 8th straight year the Bears have been ranked. BU and Kansas would be the only Big 12 schools to make that claim.
• Baylor ranks 11th nationally in scoring defense (53.8) after allowing only 484 points over its first 9 games.
• Baylor has held opponents under 30 first-half points in 8 of 9 games this season, including 6 of 9 at 25 or fewer.
• Baylor is 5th nationally in 3-point FG defense at 24.0% and 25th in FG?percentage defense at 36.8%.
• Baylor also ranks 5th nationally in rebounding margin (+12.7) and 16th in points-per-possession defense (0.86)
• Baylor is 1 of 3 power-5 conference teams to hold all opponents to 65 or fewer points this season (UVA,?Texas).
• Baylor's 9 straight games holding opponents to 65 or fewer points is its longest such streak since 1985-86.
• Six different players have led Baylor in scoring this season, which ties TCU for most in the Big 12 Conference.
• Baylor has won 9 straight games at the Ferrell Center, and with a win vs. NMSU the Bears would have their 8th double-digit home winning streak in the arena's 27-year history.
• The Bears are 50-14 in December games during the
Scott Drew era, including a 26-5 record since 2009-10.
• Baylor is 68-5 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 7-1 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 172-29 when leading at the half during the entire Drew era.
• BU?has won 39% of its games (19-30) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 1-0 this season.
• Baylor is 178-82 (24 wins per season) over the last eight seasons and has made six postseason appearances?(NCAA Tournament -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014; NIT -- 2009, 2013) with six 20-win seasons.
•
Taurean Prince is on a 7-game streak scoring in double figures (14.6 ppg) -- his best previous streak was 2 games.
• Baylor is coming off a 2014 NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, which made Drew the youngest of 11 coaches nationally to take his current team to three Sweet 16s in the last five years.
• BU has six 20-win seasons in the last 7 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Drew's arrival.
• Baylor's 5 NBA?Draft picks in the last 3 years ranks 5th nationally behind Kentucky, Duke,?Kansas and Syracuse.
• Baylor has the nation's second-best postseason winning percentage over the last six years (17-4; .810).
• Baylor is one of only 12 schools nationally to play in the Sweet 16 in three of the last five seasons.
• Baylor is tops among teams receiving votes in both polls. BU finished 2013-14 ranked No. 18 by the coaches.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN?family of networks. The New Mexico State game will be Baylor's 113th consecutive televised contest.
• Baylor is 14-3 in overtime games under Drew, including a 3-0 mark last season.
• Drew is coaching his 364th game at Baylor (212-151). His .584 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with four or more seasons, and his teams have a .685 winning percentage (178-82) since 2007-08.
• Baylor is 27-10 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last six seasons.
• Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 7 seasons (62-56) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Drew is tied with Kansas' Bill Self as the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference. Drew, who is in his 12th season at Baylor, is second only to Texas' Rick Barnes (17th season at UT).
• Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 741 consecutive games.
• Baylor has 22 games on ESPN networks this season, giving BU 106 ESPN appearances in the last seven seasons.
SERIES HISTORY
• Wednesday will mark the 9th series meeting between?Baylor and New Mexico?State and first since Dec. 1, 1980.
• Baylor trails in the series 3-5, including a 1-1 mark in?Waco, though the teams have never met at the Ferrell Center.
• Baylor dropped the first three series meetings before winning three straight and then dropping the next two.
• Baylor is 11-13 against current WAC members, with New Mexico State (3-5) the most-played opponent. The Bears have also played UTPA?(4-3), UMKC?(3-4), Chicago State (1-0) and Seattle (0-1).
• Wednesday will be Baylor's first game against a current WAC?member since a 77-59 win against Chicago State on Jan. 3, 2005, in Waco.
FERRELL CENTER WINNING STREAK UP TO NINE
• Baylor has won nine consecutive games at the Ferrell?Center, which ties the 8th-longest winning streak in the arena's 27-year history. BU is looking for its 8th double-digit home winning streak in arena history.
• The Bears have defeated Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Iowa State, McNeese State, Prairie View A&M, Stephen F. Austin, Texas Southern and Texas A&M during the streak. BU's last home loss was Feb. 4 vs. Kansas.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Give Baylor a 9-1 start to the season for the sixth time in the last eight years.
• Extend Baylor's Ferrell?Center winning streak to 10 games, tied for 4th-longest in the arena's 27-year history and the 8th double-digit winning streak in arena history.
• Give Baylor a 21-4 record over its last 25 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 39-5 in December games since 2007-08 and 51-14 in December games during the Drew era.
• Give Baylor a 102-24 record in games before the New Year under Drew, including an 82-12 record since 2007-08.
• Give Baylor an 88-35 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 179-82 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .686 winning percentage.
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor's 9 straight games holding opponents to 65 or fewer points is its longest such streak since 1985-86.
• Baylor ranks 11th nationally in scoring defense at 52.6 points allowed per game.
• BU?is 1 of 3 power-5 teams to hold every opponent to 65 or fewer points this season?(Virginia,?Texas).
• Baylor's current 53.8 points per game allowed is 10.2 points better than the Bears' best defensive season of the Scott Drew era (2010-11, 64.0 ppg allowed). The last time BU held opponents below 64 ppg was 1985-86 (61.2).
• Baylor has held 8 of 9 opponents under 30 first-half points, including 6 of 9 with 25 or fewer first-half points.
• For the first time since 2009-10, Baylor has held four Division I opponents below 50 points.
• The 39 points Baylor allowed against McNeese State in the season opener tied the best defensive performance by the Bears against a Division I opponent since a 43-37 win vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State on Dec. 11, 1958.
• Baylor held Memphis to 15 points in the 2nd half, tying the fewest allowed in any half of the Drew era.
38-5 IN DECEMBER GAMES SINCE 2007-08
• Baylor is 38-5 in December games since 2007-08 and 50-14 in?December games during the Scott Drew era.
• Baylor is 43-7 in November games since 2007-08 and 51-10 in November games during the Drew era
• Baylor is a combined 101-24 in games before the New Year under Drew, including an 81-12 record since 2007-08.
WITH CHERY LIMITED, OTHERS STEPPING UP
• Baylor starting point guard Kenny Chery missed 4 games with a foot injury before returning to a limited reserve role in?the Texas A&M game on?Dec. 9
• In his absense, Lester Medford moved from his starting shooting guard position to run the point, Royce O'Neale moved from small forward to shooting guard and Taurean?Prince filled the open starting small forward spot.
• Medford has 30 assists and only 7 turnovers in his 5 starts at point guard, while Prince (14.4 ppg), O'Neale (11.6 ppg) and Rico?Gathers (11.8 ppg, 11.0 rpg) have all increased their production with Chery out or limited.
• Redshirt freshman Al?Freeman has also taken on a larger role off the bench, leading the team in bench scoring in all five games Chery hasn't started by posting 8.6 points per game.
• Additionally, walk-on Austin Mills averaged 8.0 minutes per game while backing up Medford at point guard in the games Chery missed.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS PAYING OFF
• Baylor has won 93% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 68-5 when leading through the first 20 minutes in that stretch (7-1 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12).
• BU has won 39% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 19-30 in those.
• BU has led at halftime in 73 of 122 games over the last four seasons. With wins in 68 of those 73 games, and victories in 19 of 49 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 87-35 since 2011-12.
BEST IN TEXAS
• Baylor is 27-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 4-0 mark this season. The losses in that stretch came at Texas in 2013 and 2014, at Texas Tech in 2014 and home vs. Texas in 2014.
• Since 2009-10, BU is 41-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (4-0 in 2014-15, 6-3 in 13-14, 7-1 in 12-13, 10-0 in 11-12, 5-3 in 10-11, 9-1 in 09-10).
BALANCED SCORING ATTACK
• Baylor has benefited from a balanced scoring attack that has seen eight different players combine to score in double figures 25 times through the first nine games.
• BU?has had six different players lead the team in scoring this season -- Deng Deng vs. McNeese State, Kenny Chery at South?Carolina, Royce O'Neale vs. SFA and at Vanderbilt, Rico?Gathers vs. Texas Southern, Taurean Prince vs. Prairie View A&M and Memphis and Johnathan?Motley vs.?Texas?A&M.
• Baylor and TCU are the only Big 12 teams to have six different players lead the team in scoring this season.
• Prince leads the team with 13.4 points per game, while Royce O'Neale has contributed 77 points in his last six games after scoring 16 points in his first three games.
O'NEALE DOES IT ALL
• During his four years of Division I basketball, Royce O'Neale has 1,028 points, 623 rebounds, 317 assists, 131 steals and 37 blocks in 110 games played.
• Including his two seasons at Denver, O'Neale has 24 career games played touching all five stat categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
• Last season, O'Neale became the first player in program history to post 200+ rebounds and 100+ assists in the same season. He ranked second on the team with 110 assists and fourth with 205 rebounds in 2013-14.
• O'Neale currently ranks 12th in the Big 12 in rebounding (6.7) and 10th in assists (3.4), joining Iowa State's Bryce Dejean-Jones as the league's only players ranked among the top 12 in both categories.
GATHERS FILLING BIG SHOES
• Rico?Gathers spent his first two seasons at Baylor backing up big men Cory Jefferson and Isaiah Austin, but with those players gone to the professional ranks, he's stepped into the starting lineup as a junior.
• Gathers is averaging close to a double-double with 9.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
• Gathers leads the Big 12 and ranks 14th nationally in total rebounding (10.2), and he's 6th nationally with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game.
• Gathers also leads the Big 12 with 4 double-doubles this season and 21 career double-digit rebound games, and he's 2nd among active Big 12 players with 11 career double-doubles.
• In his 12 career starts, Gathers is averaging 10.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
PRINCE'S ROLE INCREASING
• Taurean Prince entered the season averaging 5.2 points in 11.2 minutes over 62 games played in two seasons, but he is leading the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game in 26.8 minutes per game.
• Prince has scored in double figures in a career-best seven straight games after not doing so in more than two consecutive games in his first two seasons at Baylor. He's averaging 14.6 points per game during the streak.
• Prince has also led or tied for the team lead in scoring in three of the last seven games, equaling the number of times he led the team in scoring in 63 previous games played.
DREW IS PROGRAM'S ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
• Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 212 career wins as head coach.
• Drew became the all-time wins leader by defeating Texas on March 14, 2014 for his 202nd Baylor victory, passing Bill Henderson (201 wins; 1941-43 and 1945-61) for the all-time wins mark.
• Drew's .584 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS
• Baylor has enjoyed unprecedented success over the last seven-plus seasons under 12th-year head coach Scott Drew. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Baylor is 178-82 (24 wins per season) and has made six postseason appearances?(NCAA -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014; NIT?-- 2009, 2013) and posted six 20-win seasons.
• Prior to 2007-08, Baylor won only 135 games in the first 11 seasons of the Big 12 era (12.3 wins per season).
• Baylor has made 13 postseason appearances (six under Drew) and won 20+ games just nine times (six under Drew) in the program's first 108 seasons.
DREW AMONG NATION'S ELITE
• Head coach Scott Drew is the youngest of 11 coaches nationally to take his current program to three Sweet 16 appearances in the last five seasons.
• Drew (44) is joined by Arizona's Sean Miller (46), Ohio State's Thad Matta (47), Florida's Billy Donovan (49), Kansas' Bill Self (51), Kentucky's John Calipari (55), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (59), Louisville's Rick Pitino (62), Wisconsin's Bo Ryan (66), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (67) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (70).
BAYLOR BASKETBALL ON THE RADIO
• Baylor basketball is aired live via the Baylor-IMG College Radio Network on ESPN?Central Texas and flagship station 1660AM ESPN Radio (KRZI) in Waco and worldwide on Sirius XM Radio and the TuneIn Radio App. All games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley. Morris is in his 27th year doing Baylor broadcasts, while Nunley is in his 32nd season as color analyst.
• The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard live on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com.
ONE OF TWO BIG 12 TEAMS RANKED SEVEN STRAIGHT SEASONS
• Baylor joins Kansas as the only two Big 12 Conference schools to be ranked in each of the last seven seasons entering 2013-14. The Bears are unranked in the preseason for the first time since 2009-10.
• BU?is currently 26th in both polls, one spot away from extending the streak to eight seasons.
• Baylor has been ranked for at least three weeks in each of the last six seasons (2008-09 through 2013-14).
UP NEXT
• Baylor plays two more home games before beginning Big 12 play at Oklahoma on Jan. 3.
• The Bears host Southern (Dec. 22) and Norfolk State (Dec. 30), and both games will be televised on FOX?Sports Southwest-Plus as part of the Bears' third-tier TV?package.
