 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 12:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Lawrence, Kan.; Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | CBS
| | TV Talent | Spero Dedes (pxp), Doug Gottlieb (color)
| | Web Video | N/A | | National Radio | Sirius 137 / XM 199 / TuneIn App
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Kansas
| | Twitter | @BaylorMBB | #SicKU | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 18-6, 6-5 | | Ranking | 16 (AP), 16 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 242-167 (13th season)
| | BU Record: 222-156 (12th season)
| KANSAS JAYHAWKS
| | Record | 20-4, 9-2
| | Ranking | 8 (AP), 9 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Bill Self
| | Career: 552-178 (22nd season)
| | KU Record: 345-73 (12th season)
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STORY LINES
• Saturday is the 27th series meeting.?Baylor is 0-12 all-time in Lawrence and 3-14 vs. KU in the Drew era.
• Baylor is 30-9 in its last 39 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Seven of the nine losses have been away from home (four road, three neutral) and six of the nine losses have been against ranked teams.
• BU is 7-16 in road games vs. AP ranked teams over the last 8 seasons -- prior to that span, Baylor was 2-65 in road games vs. ranked teams. BU has earned 8 of its 9 road wins vs. ranked teams during the Drew era.
• Scott Drew is 1 of 4 coaches to beat Kansas 3 times since 2009 (Tom Izzo,?Fred Hoiberg, Travis Ford).
• Baylor held Kansas to 56 points, 16.2 points below its season average, in a 1-point loss on Jan. 7.
• Baylor is 3rd nationally with a +10.0 average rebound margin, 3rd with 15.5 offensive rebounds per game, 5th with 41.2 total boards per game and 24th in scoring defense (59.3).
• Baylor started the season winning or tying in 2nd-chance points against its first 19 opponents, but the Bears have given up more 2nd-chance points than they've scored in each of the last 5 games.
• Baylor is 1 of 6 Division I teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season?(Baylor, Utah,?New Mexico, Saint Peter's, New Hampshire, Louisiana-Monroe).
• Baylor's defense is holding teams to an average of 10.5 points below their season scoring averages. The Bears have held 22 of 24 opponents under their season scoring averages, including 13 times at least 10 points below.
• Baylor was the only Division I team to hold all non-conference opponents to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor has held teams to 30 or fewer 1st-half points in 18 of 24 games this season, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.0-11.6 points per game, and reserve Taurean Prince leads the team with 12.6 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 Gathers has done so most often (6 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 8 seasons (68-61) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor is 77-8 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 16-4 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 180-31 when leading at the half during the entire Drew era.
• BU?has won 41% of its games (20-29) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 2-2 this season.
QUICK HITS
• Scott Drew is coaching his 379th game at Baylor (222-156). His .587 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .684 winning percentage (188-87) since 2007-08.
• BU is 83-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 11 times this season (10-1).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 24th nationally in scoring defense (59.3).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 21st nationally in 3-point FG defense (29.8%).
• Baylor moved to season-highs of No. 16 in Monday's AP?Top 25 and No. 16 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 won 3 consecutive Big 12 games by 23, 20 and 18 points vs. Texas, TCU and West Virginia, respectively. It was the first time in program history the Bears won 3 straight conference games by 18+ points.
• Baylor is 188-87 (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 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.
• Rico?Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total rebounds (12.6) per game.
• Gathers posted a Big 12 and school-record 28 rebounds Jan. 21, most bya DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
• 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.
• Baylor shot 29.8%?in the Jan.10 win at TCU, the worst shooting in any of Scott Drew's wins at BU.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN?family of networks. The Kansas game will be Baylor's 128th 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 (16th-longest nationally) with at least one 3-point FG made in 756 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs.?Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 27th all-time series meeting between Baylor and Kansas. Baylor trails 4-22 in the series.
• Baylor is 0-12 all-time in Lawrence with an average scoring margin of -15.9 points per game.
• Baylor has defeated Kansas in two of the last six meetings, winning vs.?No 4 KU in Waco in 2013 and at the 2012 Big 12 Championship against No. 3 Kansas.
• Baylor was the nation's only team to defeat Kansas in both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
• The Bears' other two wins vs. KU were on Feb. 12, 2001 in Waco and March 12, 2009 in Oklahoma City.
• Scott Drew, Fred Hoiberg, Travis Ford and Tom Izzo are the only coaches to defeat Kansas 3 times since 2008-09.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Baylor's first-ever win in?Lawrence (1-12)and improve Baylor's record to 5-22 all-time against Kansas.
• Tie Scott Drew with?Travis Ford as the only coaches to beat Kansas 4 times since 2009.
• Give Baylor 19 wins for a 4th straight season and the 7th time in the last 8 seasons -- BU had only 4 seasons with 19+ wins prior to the Drew era (1945-46, 1947-78, 1987-88 and 2000-01).
• Give Baylor a 31-9 record over its last 40 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 27-18 in February games since the 2009-10 season and 38-53 in February games under Drew.
• Give Baylor a 98-37 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 189-87 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .685 winning percentage.
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.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Kenny Chery has scored 147 points in his last 10 games (14.7 ppg) and ranks 6th in the Big 12 with 13.7 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 18 times this season -- he entered the season with 12 career double-figure scoring games in 62 games played over two seasons.
• Prince has scored in double figures in a career-best 8 straight games and is averaging 14.5 ppg during the streak.
• Rico?Gathers has 303 rebounds this season, 9th-most in a season in BU history. He needs 10 more to pass Darrell Hardy (312) and Cory?Jefferson (312) for 7th and 12 more to pass Jerry?Mallett (314) for 6th.
• Gathers has 20 career double-doubles, tied for 8th-most in program history. His 13 double-doubles this season are tied for 7th-most in a season, and his next will tie William Chatmon and Cory Jefferson (14) for 5th-most.
• 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 21 of 23 games played this season, and at least 4 rebounds in 21 of 23 games.
• O'Neale is averaging 14.0 ppg over his last 4 games (19-of-34 FGs) after going scoreless at OSU on Jan. 27.
• Lester Medford has 34 assists and 15 turnovers over his last 8 Big 12 games -- he had 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his first 3 Big 12 contests.
• Johnathan Motley has 35 blocks over his last 15 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring 7 times this season, and the Bears have won all of those games.
• Freeman has contributed 7+ points off the bench 11 times this season, and BU is 10-1 in those games.
6TH STRAIGHT SEASON WITH ROAD WIN VS. TOP-20 TEAM
• Baylor has won a road game against an AP?top 20-ranked opponent in each of the last 6 seasons.
• BU is 7-16 in road games vs. AP Top 25 teams over the last 8 seasons -- prior to that span, Baylor was 2-65 in road games vs. ranked teams. BU has earned 8 of its 9 road wins vs. ranked teams during the Scott Drew era.
• Baylor's all-time road wins vs. ranked teams were: No. 15 West Virginia (2014-15), No. 8 Oklahoma State (2013-14), No. 8 Kentucky (2012-13), No. 18 Kansas State (2011-12), No. 16 Texas A&M (2010-11), No. 6 Texas (2009-10), No. 17?Texas A&M (2007-08), No. 13 Oklahoma State (2002-03) and No. 11 Arkansas (1978-79).
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor is ranked 41st nationally in KenPom.com adjusted defensive efficiency. The only previous times Baylor was in the top 50 nationally under Drew were 2009-10 (No. 45) and 2011-12 (No. 46) -- both Elite Eight seasons.
• Baylor is 1 of 6 Division I?teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, New Mexico, 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 59.3 points per game allowed is 4.7 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 18 of 24 opponents to 30 or fewer first-half points, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• For the first time since 2009-10, Baylor has held four Division I opponents below 50 points.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 10.5 PPG
• Through 24 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 10.5 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Baylor?has held 22 of 24 opponents below their season average, including 13 of 24 at least 10 points below.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 18-3 this season when scoring 60-plus points and 11-0 when scoring 70-plus points.
• Baylor is 13-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 5-4 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 14-1 this season when posting 13 or more assists and 4-5 when recording 12 or fewer assists.
• Baylor has held 11 of 24 opponents under 60 points, and the Bears are 83-5 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 (12.6) rebounds per game. He also leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (7.1).
• Gathers leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally with 13 double-doubles this season, nearly twice as many as his first two seasons combined (7) and 6 more than any other Big 12 player.
• Gathers' 20 career double-doubles and 34 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 (11.2 ppg and 12.6 rpg), joining Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers, Washington State's Josh?Hawkinson, LSU's Jordan Mickey and UCLA's Kevon Looney.
• In his 27 career starts, Gathers is averaging 11.5 points and 12.4 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 15th nationally with an 8.1 turnover rate. He has 50% more steals steals (30) than turnovers (20).
O'NEALE DOES IT ALL
• During his four years of Division I basketball, Royce O'Neale has 1,166 points, 733 rebounds, 364 assists, 147 steals and 40 blocks in 124 games played. If all of his games played were at Baylor, he would rank 19th in school history in scoring, 8th in rebounding, 7th in assists and 9th in steals.
• O'Neale is the only Big 12 Conference player to rank in the league's top 15 in rebounding and assists -- he currently ranks 9th in the Big 12 in rebounding (6.1) and 11th in assists (3.4).
• 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 54 consecutive games against DI opponents -- (sat out vs. Huston-Tillotson on?Jan. 21).
• Including his two seasons at Denver, O'Neale has 27 career games played touching all five stat categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
MOTLEY AT BEST WHEN STAYING OUT OF EARLY FOUL TROUBLE
• Redshirt freshman Johnathan Motley's best games have come when he's avoided early foul trouble.
• In games where he enters halftime with fewer than 2 fouls, Motley is averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. Those numbers drop to 6.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 1.5 bpg in games where he has 2+ first-half fouls.
• Motley has blocked 35 shots in his last 15 games (2.3 bpg) after blocking 5 shots over his first 9 games (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 61 assists and 37 turnovers in 14 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 147 points in his last 10 games (14.7 ppg), including a season-high 25 points against Kansas on?Jan. 7, and he ranks 6th in the Big 12 with 13.7 points per game in conference play.
PRINCE LEADS TEAM IN SCORING AS 6TH MAN
• Taurean Prince averages 12.6 points per game, which ranks 1st nationally among all power-5 conference reserves.
• Prince ranks 6th nationally among all reserves (fewer than 10 starts), trailing only ETSU's Jalen?Riley?(19.7 ppg), BYU's Anson?Winder (14.0), Elon's Elijah Bryant (13.6), Coastal Carolina's Josh?Cameron (13.2) and Charleston Southern's Will?Saunders (12.6).
• Prince leads the team with 18 double-figure scoring games this season after scoring in double figures 12 times in his first two seasons at Baylor combined. He's led BU?in bench scoring in 14 of 17 games as a reserve.
• In his first two seasons, Prince averaged 5.2 ppg in 11.2 minutes per game over 62 games played.
• Prince has played 25+ minutes in 15 games this season after doing so in just 2 games over his first two seasons.
FREEMAN IS FIRST GUARD OFF BENCH
• Redshirt freshman Al Freeman is typically Baylor's first guard to enter the game off the bench.
• Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring seven times, and the Bears are 7-0 in those games.
• Freeman has posted double figure scoring off the bench 4 times. He had a career-high 13 points in 22 minutes vs. Norfolk?State, posted 10 points against both Texas A&M and New Mexico State and had 11 points at West Virginia.
• Freeman averages 18.3 minutes per game, mostly at the two-guard spot with either Kenny Chery or Lester Medford running the point.
LAST TIME ON CBS
• The last time Baylor played on CBS?was Dec. 1, 2012, when the Bears defeated No. 8?Kentucky, 64-55, at Rupp Arena. BU's win snapped Kentucky's 55-game home winning streak and was the first home loss of the Calipari era.
• Baylor's only other regular-season CBS game was a 76-71 win against Texas on Jan. 28, 2012.
• Baylor is 6-3 all-time on CBS. The NCAA?Tournament games were a 2008 loss to Purdue, wins vs. Sam?Houston State, Old Dominion and Saint Mary's and a loss to?Duke in 2010, and a win vs. Xavier and loss vs. Kentucky in 2012.
MEDFORD PROVIDES SECOND OPTION AT THE POINT
• 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 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio and 7th with 3.7 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.
• In his last 6 games, Medford has led BU in scoring twice and had 21 assists with 9 turnovers in the other games.
WAINRIGHT DROPPING WEIGHT TO BECOME 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 72 times this season. Additionally, five different players have scored 20+ points a total of 14 times.
• Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season, and none have done so in more than 6 games -- Rico?Gathers 6 times, Taurean Prince 5 times, Johnathan?Motley 4 times, Royce O'Neale 4 times, Kenny Chery 4 times, Lester?Medford twice and Deng Deng once.
• Prince leads the team with 12.6 points per game, while BU's five starters average between 8.0 and 11.6 ppg.
BAYLOR AND LOUISVILLE ONLY TEAMS 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. 16 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 222 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 .587 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.
20 WINS = POSTSEASON
• Baylor, which has won 20-plus games nine times in the program's first 108 seasons, is seeking to win 20 games for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. The Bears have advanced to the postseason in all nine 20-win years.
• Head coach Scott Drew has led Baylor to 20-win seasons in six of the last seven years after the Bears had only three 20-win seasons in the program's first 101 seasons.
• Drew is the responsible for six of Baylor's nine 20-win season and six of BU's 13 postseason appearances.
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 (60), Louisville's Rick Pitino (62), Wisconsin's Bo Ryan (67), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (67) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (70).
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 188-87 (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.
UP NEXT
• Baylor plays the second half of its first back-to-back road games of the season. The Bears travel to Lubbock to face Texas Tech at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday on ESPN2.
• The Bears are 16-46 all-time in Lubbock, but BU won four in a row in Lubbock prior to last season's 10-point loss.
