 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Monday, Dec. 22 | 7:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | FSSW-Plus & FCS-Atlantic
| | TV Talent | John Morris (pxp), Jim Haller (color)
| | Web Video | N/A | | Satellite Radio | Sirius 146
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | Pat Nunley (pxp), Nick Joos (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Southern
| | Twitter | @BaylorMBB | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 9-1 | | Ranking | rv (AP), rv (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 233-162 (13th season)
| | BU Record: 213-151 (12th season)
| SOUTHERN JAGUARS
| | Record | 3-8
| | Ranking | nr (AP), nr (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Roman Banks
| | Career: 62-46 (4th season)
| | SU Record: 62-46 (4th season)
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STORY LINES • Monday will mark the 7th meeting between?Baylor and Southern, all of which have come in the last 15 years.
• Baylor has won all 6 games in the series by at least 11 points, including a 25-point win on Dec. 22 last season.
• Baylor was listed 26th in the latest national polls, 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 9th nationally in scoring defense (53.9) after allowing only 539 points over its first 10 games.
• Baylor has held opponents under 30 first-half points in 9 of 10 games this season, including 7 of 10 at 25 or fewer.
• Baylor is 6th nationally in 3-point FG defense at 25.7% and 35th in FG?percentage defense at 37.6%.
• Baylor also ranks 5th nationally in rebounding margin (+12.3) and 13th in points-per-possession defense (0.86)
• Baylor and Virginia are the only power-5 conference teams to hold all opponents to 65 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor's 10 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 10 straight games at the Ferrell Center, tying the 4th-longest streak in the arena's 27-year history.
• The Bears are 51-14 in December games during the
Scott Drew era, including a 27-5 record since 2009-10.
• Baylor is 69-5 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 8-1 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 179-82 (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.
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Johnathan Motley has 38 points in his last 2 games, more than his previous 6 games combined (26 points).
• Al?Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring in each of the last 6 games, including 10 points vs. TAMU and NMSU.
• 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.
SERIES HISTORY
• Monday will mark the 7th series meeting between?Baylor and Southern, all of which have come since 1999.
• Baylor has won all six previous meetings by at least 11 points, and the Bears are 5-0 vs.?Southern in Waco.
• Baylor is 46-0 all-time against current SWAC teams, and the Bears have played games against nine of 10 SWAC teams. The Bears have played Prairie View A&M (13-0), Texas Southern?(8-0), Jackson State (6-0), Southern (6-0), Alcorn?State (3-0), UAPB?(3-0), Grambling State (3-0), Mississippi Valley?State (3-0) and Alabama State (1-0). The only SWAC team to never face BU is Alabama A&M.
• Monday will be the 3rd time this season the Bears have faced a SWAC?team (Prairie View A&M,?Texas Southern).
FERRELL CENTER WINNING STREAK UP TO 10
• Baylor has won 10 consecutive games at the Ferrell?Center, which ties the 4th-longest winning streak in the arena's 27-year history. An 11th straight win would tie the arena's 3rd-longest winning streak.
• The Bears have defeated Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Iowa State, McNeese State, Prairie View A&M, Stephen F. Austin, Texas Southern, Texas A&M and New Mexico State during the streak.
• BU?has won its last 8 home games by double digits, and the Bears' last home loss was Feb. 4 vs. Kansas.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Give Baylor a 10-1 start to the season for the sixth time in the last eight years.
• Extend Baylor's Ferrell?Center winning streak to 11 games, tied for 3rd-longest in the arena's 27-year history.
• Give Baylor a 22-4 record over its last 26 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 40-5 in December games since 2007-08 and 52-14 in December games during the Drew era.
• Give Baylor a 103-24 record in games before the New Year under Drew, including an 83-12 record since 2007-08.
• Give Baylor an 89-35 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 180-82 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .687 winning percentage.
• Improve Baylor's record to 47-0 all-time against current SWAC members.
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor's 10 straight games holding opponents to 65 or fewer points is its longest such streak since 1985-86.
• Baylor ranks 9th nationally in scoring defense at 53.9 points allowed per game.
• BU?and Virginia are the only power-5 teams to hold every opponent to 65 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor's current 53.9 points per game allowed is 10.1 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 9 of 10 opponents under 30 first-half points, including 7 of 10 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.
39-5 IN DECEMBER GAMES SINCE 2007-08
• Baylor is 39-5 in December games since 2007-08 and 51-14 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 102-24 in games before the New Year under Drew, including an 82-12 record since 2007-08.
BALANCED SCORING ATTACK
• Baylor has benefited from a balanced scoring attack that has seen eight different players combine to score in double figures 28 times through the first 10 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 and NMSU.
• Baylor and TCU are the only Big 12 teams to have six different players lead in scoring this season.
• Prince leads the team with 12.3 points per game, while five other players average between 8.8 and 9.9 ppg.
MOTLEY SETTLING INTO STARTING ROLE
• Redshirt freshman Johnathan Motley has started all 10 games this season, averaging 23.0 minutes per game.
• Motley has led the Bears in scoring in the last two games after going scoreless in the previous two contests. He had 22 points and 11 rebounds against Texas A&M and 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks vs. New Mexico?State.
• Motley's 38 points over the last two games raised his scoring average from 6.6 to 9.1 points per game.
• Motley's 5 blocks against NMSU doubled his total from the season's first nine games.
O'NEALE DOES IT ALL
• During his four years of Division I basketball, Royce O'Neale has 1,034 points, 629 rebounds, 321 assists, 131 steals and 37 blocks in 111 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 9th in the Big 12 in rebounding (6.6) and 10th in assists (3.5), making him the only Big 12 Conference player in the top 10 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 9.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
• Gathers leads the Big 12 and ranks 11th nationally in total rebounding (10.4), and he's 5th nationally with 4.7 offensive rebounds per game.
• Gathers also leads the Big 12 with 4 double-doubles this season and 22 career double-digit rebound games, and he's 2nd among active Big 12 players with 11 career double-doubles.
• In his 13 career starts, Gathers is averaging 10.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS PAYING OFF
• Baylor has won 93% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 69-5 when leading through the first 20 minutes in that stretch (8-1 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 74 of 123 games over the last four seasons. With wins in 69 of those 74 games, and victories in 19 of 49 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 88-35 since 2011-12.
FREEMAN LEADS BAYLOR BENCH
• Redshirt freshman Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring in each of the last six games, posting 7-10 points in all six of those contests.
• Freeman has scored season-highs of 10 points in each of the last two games.
• Freeman averages 20.0 minutes per game, most of any Baylor reserve.
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 12.3 points per game in 25.7 minutes per game.
• Prince scored in double figures in a career-best seven straight games prior to behind held to 4 points vs. New Mexico State. His longest previous double-figure scoring streak was two games.
• Prince has also led or tied for the team lead in scoring in three of the last eight games, equaling the number of times he led the team in scoring in 63 previous games played.
WITH CHERY LIMITED, OTHERS STEPPING UP
• Baylor starting point guard Kenny Chery missed 5 starts with a foot injury before returning to the starting lineup Wednesday against New Mexico State.
• 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) all increased their production with Chery out or limited.
• Redshirt freshman Al?Freeman has led the team in bench scoring in each of the last six games.
• Additionally, walk-on Austin Mills averaged 8.0 minutes per game while backing up Medford at point guard in the games Chery missed.
DREW IS PROGRAM'S ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
• Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 213 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 .585 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.
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).
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 179-82 (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 (67), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (67) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (70).
UP NEXT
• Baylor has a seven-day breaking before returning to host Norfolk State on Dec. 30 in its final game before Big 12 Conference play begins. The NSU game will be televised on FOX?Sports Southwest-Plus.
• BU opens conference play at Oklahoma on?Jan. 3 and returns home to host Kansas on Jan. 7.
