 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Saturday, Jan. 31 | 5:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPN2
| | TV Talent | Mark Neely (pxp), Stephen Howard (color)
| | Web Video | WatchESPN | | National Radio | Sirius 91 / XM 91 / TuneIn App
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Texas
| | Twitter | @BaylorMBB | #SicUT | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 15-5, 3-4 | | Ranking | 20 (AP), 19 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 239-166 (13th season)
| | BU Record: 219-155 (12th season)
| TEXAS LONGHORNS
| | Record | 14-6,3-4
| | Ranking | 19 (AP), 20 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Rick Barnes
| | Career: 598-306 (28th season) | | UT Record: 396-172 (17th season) |
|
|
STORY LINES
• Saturday is the 244th all-time series meeting, the most-played rivalry in Baylor history, dating back to 1905-06.
• Baylor is 8-5 in its last 13 games against UT after snapping a 24-game losing streak in the series in 2009.
• BU and UT are both in the nation's top 5 in rebounding margin, with Texas 2nd (+11.4) and Baylor 4th (+10.3)
• Baylor has won 15 of its last 16 home games, with the lone loss a 1-point defeat vs.?No. 12 Kansas on Jan. 7.
• Baylor is 29-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 43-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
• Three of Baylor's four losses against in-state teams over the last 4 seasons have been to?Texas (2013, 2014, 2014).
• Baylor has had 6 different players lead the team in scoring in its 7 Big 12 games this season.
• Baylor is 3rd nationally with 15.9 offensive rebounds per game and 7th with 41.2 total boards per game.
• The Bears have posted equal or more second-chance points than their opponents in 19 of 20 games this season.
• Baylor's defense has held teams to an average of 11.8 points below their season scoring averages. The Bears have held 18 of 20 opponents under their season scoring averages, including 12 times at least 10 points below.
• Baylor is 1 of 9 Division I teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season.
• Baylor was the only Division I team to hold all non-conference opponents to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor has held opponents under 30 first-half points in 14 of 20 games this season, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.5-11.0 points per game, and reserve Taurean Prince leads the team with 12.2 ppg.
• Five BU players have scored 20+ points in a game this season (Chery, Gathers, Motley, O'Neale and Prince).
• Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season, and none have done so more than 4 times.
• Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only teams ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
• Over the last 7 seasons, Baylor is 35-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
• Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 7+ seasons (65-60) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor is 74-7 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 13-3 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 177-31 when leading at the half during the entire Drew era.
• BU?has won 38% of its games (20-32) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 2-2 this season.
• BU is 82-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 10 times this season (9-1).
• Rico?Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total rebounds (11.9) per game.
• Gathers posted a Big 12 and school-record 28 rebounds?on Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
• Baylor is 27-8 in its last 35 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Seven of the eight losses have been away from home (four road, three neutral) and five of the eight losses have been against ranked teams.
• Scott Drew is coaching his 375th game at Baylor (219-155). His .586 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .682 winning percentage (185-86) since 2007-08.
• Baylor ranks 18th nationally and 2nd in the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense (58.2).
• Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 and ranks 41st nationally in 3-point FG defense (30.4%).
• Baylor moved to season-highs of No. 20 in Monday's AP?Top 25 and No. 19 in the coaches' poll. The Bears have been ranked in eight straight seasons, joining Kansas as the only Big 12 schools to make that claim.
• Baylor is 185-86 (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.
• Baylor shot 29.8%?in the Jan.10 win at TCU, the worst shooting in any of Drew's 216 wins at BU.
• Kenny Chery hit a game-winning shot with 4 seconds left to give Baylor a 74-73 win vs. No. 11 ISU on Jan. 14.
• Prior to allowing a season-high 73 points at Oklahoma on Jan. 3, Baylor's 12 straight games holding opponents to 66 or fewer points was its longest such streak since 1950.
• Baylor is 15-3 in overtime games under Drew, including wins in 10 of its last 11 OT games.
• Baylor is 27-10 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last six seasons.
• 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 is one of only 12 schools nationally to play in the Sweet 16 in three of the last five seasons.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN?family of networks. The Texas game will be Baylor's 124th consecutive televised contest.
• Baylor has the nation's second-best postseason winning percentage over the last six years (17-4; .810).
• Baylor finished undefeated in December for the 6th time in the last 8 years (accomplished just twice prior; `96, `00)
• 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 752 consecutive games.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 244th all-time meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played rivalry for both schools.
• Baylor has won 8 of the last 13 games in the series after snapping a 24-game series losing streak in 2009.
• Baylor lost both regular season meetings to Texas last season, but the Bears defeated UT?86-69 to advance to the Big 12 Championship title game.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Improve Baylor's record against in-state opponents to 30-4 since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Be Baylor's 9th in its last 14 games against Texas after snapping a 24-game losing streak to UT in 2009.
• Move Rico Gathers into sole possession of 10th on Baylor's all-time wins list (65) and all-time Big 12 wins list (22).
• Give Baylor a 16-5 start to the season for the fourth time in the last eight years (2007-08, 2009-10, 2011-12).
• Give Baylor a 28-8 record over its last 36 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 47-50 in January games under Drew, including a 39-26 mark since the 2007-08 season.
• Give Baylor a 96-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 186-86 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .684 winning percentage.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Kenny Chery has scored 91 points in his last 6 games (15.2 ppg) and ranks 6th in the Big 12 with 13.6 ppg in conference play. He averaged 8.2 points per game in his previous 9 games this season.
• Taurean?Prince has scored in double figures a team-high 14 times this season -- he entered the season with 12 career double-figure scoring games in 62 games played over two seasons.
• Rico?Gathers has 691 career rebounds and needs 5 more to pass Tommy Bowman (1968-70) for 10th on Baylor's career rebounds list. With 9 rebounds he'll become the 10th Baylor player to record 700+ career boards.
• Gathers has 17 career double-doubles and the Bears are 15-2 in those games (8-2 this season).
• Royce O'Neale is the Big 12's only player ranked in the league's top 15 in assists and rebounds. He's posted multiple assists in 17 of 19 games this season, and at least 4 rebounds in 18 of 19 games.
• Lester Medford went 8 straight games scoring in single digits before leading the team in scoring in each of the last 2 games. He had a career-high 17 points on Saturday vs. OU and 13 points Tuesday at Oklahoma State.
• Medford has 16 assists and 6 turnovers over his last 4 Big 12 games -- he had 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his first 3 Big 12 contests.
• Johnathan Motley has 32 blocks over his last 11 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Motley has scored in double figures in 5 of the last 12 games, but he's totaled 16 points over the last 4 games.
• Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring 7 times this season, and the Bears have won all of those games.
• Deng Deng played 19 minutes off the bench in the last 2 games, nearly doubling the 10 total minutes he played in?Baylor's first 5 Big 12 contests this season.
• Baylor has had 6 different players lead the team in scoring in its 7 Big 12 games this season.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 15 of its last 16 home games, with the lone loss a 1-point defeat against No. 12 Kansas on Jan. 7.
• Baylor had a 12-game home winning streak that was the 3rd-longest in the Ferrell?Center's 27-year history.
• Among the Bears 15 home court wins since Feb. 15, 2014, are victories over No. 11 Iowa State, No. 16 Iowa State and No. 19 Oklahoma, a double OT win vs. Kansas State and an overtime victory vs. Oklahoma State.
• Baylor also has wins against Texas A&M,?Stephen F.?Austin, Texas Tech and New Mexico State in that span.
• Baylor's 16-point win against SFA on Nov. 24 was the last time SFA?lost before its current 16-game winning streak.
BEST IN TEXAS
• Baylor is 29-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 6-0 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 43-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (6-0 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).
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor is 1 of 9 Division I?teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Cincinnati, George Washington,?Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon State, Saint Peter's, Utah).
• BU?was the only Division I team to hold every non-conference opponent to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor's current 58.2 points per game allowed is 5.8 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 14 of 20 opponents under 30 first-half points, including 10 times at 25 or fewer first-half points.
• For the first time since 2009-10, Baylor has held four Division I opponents below 50 points.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 11.8 PPG
• Through 20 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 11.8 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Baylor?has held 18 of 20 opponents below their season average, including 12 of 20 at least 10 points below.
SHOWING TOUGHNESS IN CLOSE GAMES
• The Bears are 4-2 this season in games decided by 5 or fewer points, with wins at South?Carolina, at Vanderbilt, home against Southern and home against Iowa State. BU also won at TCU in its only overtime game.
• Over the last 7 seasons,?Baylor is 35-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 15-2 this season when scoring 60-plus points and 0-3 when being held under 60 points.
• Baylor is 13-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 2-3 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 12-1 this season when posting 12-plus assists and 3-4 when recording fewer than 12 assists.
• Baylor is 11-3 this season when getting more than 15 points from the bench and 4-2 when getting 15 or less.
• Baylor has held 10 of 20 opponents under 60 points, and the Bears are 82-5 in the Drew era when doing so.
• Baylor is 4-2 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 1-0 in overtime games this season. The Bears are 35-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points over the last 7 seasons and are 10-1 in overtime games over that span.
GATHERS ONE OF NATION'S BEST REBOUNDERS
• Rico?Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total (11.9) rebounds per game. He also leads the Big 12 and ranks 29th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (6.5).
• Gathers leads the Big 12 and ranks 16th nationally with 10 double-doubles this season, more than his first two seasons combined (7) and 4 more than any other player.
• Gathers' 17 career double-doubles and 30 career double-digit rebound games are both tops among active Big 12 players.
• Gathers is 1 of 5 power-5 conference players averaging a double-double (10.7 ppg and 11.9 rpg), joining Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers, Washington State's Josh?Hawkinson, LSU's Jordan Mickey and UCLA's Kevon Looney.
• In his 23 career starts, Gathers is averaging 11.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
• Gathers set Big 12 and Baylor records with 28 rebounds on Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul?Millsap in 2006.
• Gathers is also one of the nation's least turnover-prone players, ranking 9th nationally with a 6.4 turnover rate.
O'NEALE DOES IT ALL
• During his four years of Division I basketball, Royce O'Neale has 1,110 points, 710 rebounds, 346 assists, 140 steals and 38 blocks in 120 games played.
• O'Neale is the only Big 12 Conference player to rank in the league's top 15 in rebounding and assists -- he currently ranks 11th in the Big 12 in assists (3.2) and 8th in rebounding (6.2).
• 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 has started 50 consecutive games against DI opponents -- (sat out vs. Huston-Tillotson on?Jan. 21).
• Including his two seasons at Denver, O'Neale has 25 career games played touching all five stat categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
MOTLEY TAKING GAME TO NEW LEVEL
• Redshirt freshman Johnathan Motley has nearly doubled his production over the last 12 games.
• He's averaging 10.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 2.7 bpg over the last 12 games, up from 6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 0.6 bpg over his first 8 collegiate games.
• After going scoreless in back-to-back games, Motley has led the team in scoring in four of the last 12 games.
• Motley has blocked 32 shots in his last 11 games (2.9 bpg) after blocking 5 shots over his first 9 game (0.6 bpg).
CHERY BACK AT FULL STRENGTH
• Kenny Chery is back at full strength after missing 5 starts with plantar fasciitis (came off bench once).
• Chery has 44 assists and 26 turnovers in 10 games since returning to the starting lineup. He had 14 assists and 16 turnovers in 5 games before taking the time to rest and recover.
• Chery has scored 91 points in his last 6 games, including a season-high 25 points against Kansas on?Jan. 7, and he ranks 6th in the Big 12 with 13.6 points per game in conference play.
PRINCE LEADS TEAM IN SCORING AS 6TH MAN
• 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 12.2 points per game in 25.5 minutes per game.
• Prince has scored in double figures in a team-high 14 of 19 games played this season after never going more than two straight games scoring in double figures in his first two seasons.
• Prince has played 25+ minutes in 13 games this season after doing so in just 2 games over his first two seasons.
• Prince has also led the team in scoring 4 times this season after doing so in just 3 games over his first two seasons at Baylor. He's led the Bears in bench scoring in 10 of 13 games as a reserve this season.
FREEMAN IS FIRST GUARD OFF BENCH
• Redshirt freshman Al Freeman is typically Baylor's first guard to enter the game off the bench, and he has led Baylor in bench scoring in seven of the last 16 games.
• Freeman has posted double figure scoring off the bench three times. He had a career-high 13 points in 22 minutes vs. Norfolk?State and posted 10 points against both Texas A&M and New Mexico State.
• Freeman averages 18.2 minutes per game, mostly at the two-guard spot with either Kenny Chery or Lester Medford running the point.
MEDFORD PROVIDES SECOND OPTION AT PG
• Baylor starting point guard Kenny Chery missed 5 starts with a foot injury and another for rest (vs. Huston-Tillotson), allowing Lester Medford to slide from his starting shooting guard position to the starting point guard role.
• Medford posted 35 assists and 8 turnovers in his 6 starts at point guard. Despite returning to his shooting guard spot, Medford still ranks 4th in the Big 12 with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio and 9th with 3.6 assists per game.
• Medford hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:10 left in the Bears' win over Iowa State on Jan. 14, and in the previous game against TCU he had a game-tying 3-point play with 2:45 left in regulation.
• Medford has led BU in scoring in each of the last 2 games after not doing so in any of his previous 18 games.
WAINRIGHT DROPS WEIGHT, BECOMES DEFENSIVE STOPPER
• Sophomore guard/forward Ishmail Wainright has improved his quickness by dropping 10 pounds to get to 235.
• Wainright has often been used in late game situations because of his defensive presence (7'2 wingspan). He was on the floor for Iowa State's last two offensive possessions in the 74-73 win on Jan. 14.
ONE OF TWO BIG 12 TEAMS RANKED EIGHT STRAIGHT SEASONS
• Baylor joins Kansas as the only Big 12 Conference schools to be ranked in each of the last eight seasons. The Bears were unranked in the preseason for the first time since 2009-10, but cracked the rankings at No. 22 on Dec. 22.
• Baylor has been ranked for at least three weeks in each of the last seven seasons (2008-09 through 2014-15).
BALANCED SCORING ATTACK
• Baylor has benefited from a balanced scoring attack that has seen eight different players combine to score in double figures 56 times this season. Additionally, five different players have scored 20+ points a total of 11 times.
• Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season, and none have done so in more than four games -- Johnathan?Motley four times, Taurean Prince four times, Royce O'Neale four times, Rico?Gathers four times, Kenny Chery three times, Lester?Medford twice and Deng Deng once.
• Prince leads the team with 12.2 points per game, while BU's five starters average between 8.5 and 11.0 ppg.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS PAYING OFF
• Baylor has won 91% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 74-7 when leading through the first 20 minutes in that stretch (13-3 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12).
• BU has won 38% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 20-32 in those.
• BU has led at halftime in 81 of 133 games over the last four seasons. With wins in 74 of those 81 games, and victories in 20 of 52 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 94-39 since 2011-12.
BAYLOR AND LOUISVILLE ONLY SCHOOLS RANKED IN FB, MBB AND WBB
• Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only schools ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
• Baylor football is ranked No. 7, men's basketball is No. 20 and women's basketball is No. 3.
• Baylor, Duke, Louisville and Michigan State were the only teams to finish the 2013-14 academic year ranked in the final AP polls for all three sports.
DREW IS PROGRAM'S ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
• Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 219 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 .586 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.
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 (52), 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 stays home to host TCU at 7:30 p.m. CT?Wednesday on ESPNews.
• The Bears have won all 6 series meetings as Big 12 opponents, including a 66-59 OT?win at TCU on Jan. 10.
• BU is 29-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 43-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
