 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Tuesday, Dec. 9 | 8:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPN2
| | TV Talent | Dave Flemming (pxp), Stephen Howard (color)
| | Web Video | WatchESPN | | Satellite Radio | Sirius 93 / XM 200
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Nick Joos (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Texas A&M
| | Twitter | @BaylorMBB | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 7-1 | | Ranking | rv (AP), rv (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 231-162 (13th season)
| | BU Record: 211-151 (12th season)
| TEXAS A&M AGGIES
| | Record | 6-1
| | Ranking | nr (AP), nr (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Billy Kennedy
| | Career: 277-229 (16th season)
| | TAMU Record: 56-50 (4th season)
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STORY LINES ? Baylor's 2014 Big 12 Championship football team will be honored at halftime, and fans will have a chance to take pictures with the Big 12 trophy in the Stone Room following the game.
? Tuesday will mark the 206th "Battle of the Brazos" between?Baylor and Texas A&M, making it Baylor's 2nd-most played rivalry behind Texas (243 meetings). It's the first series meeting since Feb. 1, 2012.
? Baylor has won 5 straight in the series and is 9-9 against Texas A&M during the
Scott Drew era.
? Baylor has allowed only 421 points over its first 8 games, the fewest points it has allowed in any 8-game stretch since allowing 378 points from Jan. 21-Feb. 25, 1950.
? Baylor has held opponents to 22 or fewer first-half points in all 4 home games this season (20.8 average).
? Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 9th nationally in scoring defense at 52.6 points allowed per game. The Bears are 6th nationally in 3-point FG defense at 23.0% and 13th in FG?percentage defense at 35.0%.
? Baylor also ranks 5th nationally in rebounding margin (+11.8) and 12th in points-per-possession defense (0.84)
? Baylor is 26-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 40-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
? Baylor has won 8 straight games at the Ferrell Center, the 11th-longest winning streak in arena history.
? The Bears are 49-14 in December games during the
Scott Drew era, including a 25-5 record since 2009-10.
? Baylor is 67-5 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 6-1 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 171-29 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 177-82 (24 wins per season) over the last seven-plus 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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Taurean Prince is on a 6-game streak scoring in double figures (15.2 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 was picked tied for 6th in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, BU's lowest since 2009-10.
? Baylor is one of only 12 schools nationally to play in the Sweet 16 in three of the last five seasons.
? Baylor is one of two Big 12 schools to be ranked in each of the last seven seasons (Kansas) entering 2014-15.
? Baylor is receiving votes in both national 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 Texas A&M game will be Baylor's 112th consecutive televised contest.
? Baylor is 14-3 in overtime games under Drew, including a 3-0 mark last season.
? Drew is coaching his 363rd game at Baylor (211-151). His .583 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with four or more seasons, and his teams have a .683 winning percentage (177-82) 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 740 consecutive games.
? Baylor has 22 games on ESPN networks this season, giving BU 106 ESPN appearances in the last seven seasons.
SERIES HISTORY
? Tuesday will mark the 206th series meeting between?Baylor and Texas A&M and first since Feb. 1, 2012.
? Baylor trails in the series 78-127, including a 46-50 mark in games played in?Waco.
? The "Battle of the Brazos" is the 2nd-most played series in Baylor history, trailing only Texas (243 meetings).
? Baylor has won the last five series meetings to bring its record to 9-9 against Texas A&M during the Drew era.
? BU's 5-game winning streak is its 3rd-longest in the series and its longest since an 8-game streak from 1952-55.
? Ten of the last 12 Battle of the Brazos meetings have been with at least one of the two teams ranked. Prior to that stretch, the teams played only two out of 193 games in the series with one of the teams ranked.
? Baylor is 5-0 against SEC?teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.?The Bears won at Kentucky in 2012-13, beat Kentucky and South Carolina last season and won at Vanderbilt and at South?Carolina this season.
A WIN WOULD ...
? Be Baylor's 6th straight win in the "Battle of the Brazos,"?bringing its record in the series to 79-127. The 6-game winning streak would be the Bears' 3rd-longest in the series, trailing two 8-game streaks (1946-49 and 1952-55).
? Give Baylor an 8-1 start to the season for the seventh time in the last eight years.
? Be Baylor's 6th consecutive victory against SEC teams, dating back to 2012-13.
? Extend Baylor's Ferrell?Center winning streak to 9 games, tied for 8th-longest in the arena's 27-year history.
? Give Baylor a 20-4 record over its last 24 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
? Make Baylor 38-5 in December games since 2007-08 and 50-14 in December games during the Drew era.
? Give Baylor a 101-24 record in games before the New Year under Drew, including an 81-12 record since 2007-08.
? Give Baylor an 87-35 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
? Make Baylor 178-82 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .685 winning percentage.
BEST DEFENSIVE STRETCH IN 64 YEARS
? Baylor ranks 9th nationally and leads the Big 12 in scoring defense at 52.6 points allowed per game.
? The Bears' 421 points allowed over their first 8 games are the fewest points they have allowed in any 8-game stretch since allowing 378 points in 8 games from Jan. 21-Feb. 25, 1950.
? For the first time since 2009-10, Baylor has held four Division I opponents below 50 points.
? Baylor has held all eight opponents to 27 or fewer first-half points, including 22 or fewer in all 4 home games.
? 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 Scott Drew era.
BEARS 37-5 IN DECEMBER GAMES SINCE 2007-08
? Baylor is 37-5 in December games since 2007-08 and 49-14 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 100-24 in games before the New Year under Drew, including an 80-12 record since 2007-08.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS PAYING OFF
? Baylor has won 93% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 67-5 when leading through the first 20 minutes in that stretch (6-1 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 72 of 121 games over the last four seasons. With wins in 67 of those 72 games, and victories in 19 of 49 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 86-35 since 2011-12.
FERRELL CENTER WINNING STREAK AT EIGHT
? Baylor has won eight consecutive games at the Ferrell?Center, which is the 11th-longest winning streak in the arena's 27-year history.
? The Bears have defeated Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Iowa State, McNeese State, Prairie View A&M, Stephen F. Austin and Texas Southern during the streak. BU's last home loss was Feb. 4 vs. Kansas.
WITH CHERY OUT, OTHERS STEPPING UP
? Baylor starting point guard Kenny Chery has missed the last four games with a foot injury and is day-to-day.
? 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 24 assists and only 4 turnovers in his 4 starts at point guard, while Prince (15.3 ppg), O'Neale (13.8 ppg) and Rico?Gathers (11.5 ppg, 11.3 rpg) have all increased their production with Chery out.
? Redshirt freshman Al?Freeman has also taken on a larger role off the bench, leading the team in bench scoring in all four games Chery has missed by posting 8.3 points per game.
? Additionally, walk-on Austin Mills has averaged 8.0 minutes per game while backing up Medford at point guard.
BEST IN TEXAS
? Baylor is 26-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 3-0 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 40-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (3-0 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 seven different players combine to score in double figures 20 times through the first eight games.
? BU?has had five 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 and Taurean Prince vs. Prairie View A&M and Memphis.
? Prince leads the team with 13.7 points per game, including 91 points in his last six games, while Royce O'Neale has contributed 74 points in his last five games after scoring 16 points in his first three games.
O'NEALE SHOWING OFF VERSATILITY
? During his four years of Division I basketball, Royce O'Neale has 1,025 points, 618 rebounds, 314 assists, 131 steals and 37 blocks in 109 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 (6.9) and 10th in assists (3.4), joining Iowa State's Bryce Dejean-Jones as the league's only players ranked among the top 10 in both categories.
GATHERS STEPPING INTO 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 9.0 points per game and leads the Big 12 and ranks 9th nationally with 10.3 rebounds per game.
? Gathers also leads all active Big 12 players with 20 career double-digit rebound games, and he's 4th among active Big 12 players with 10 double-doubles, including a Big 12-best 3 double-doubles this season.
? In his 11 career starts, Gathers is averaging 10.4 points and 10.4 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 13.7 points per game in 26.0 minutes per game.
? Prince has scored in double figures in a career-best six straight games after not doing so in more than two consecutive games in his first two seasons at Baylor. He's averaging 15.2 points per game during the streak.
? Prince has also led or tied for the team lead in scoring in three of the last six games, equaling the number of times he led the team in points in 63 previous games played.
DREW IS PROGRAM'S ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
? Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 211 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 .583 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 177-82 (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.
UP NEXT
? Baylor plays three more home games before beginning Big 12 play at Oklahoma on Jan. 3.
? The Bears host New Mexico State (Dec. 17), Southern (Dec. 22) and Norfolk State (Dec. 30).
