 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Saturday, Feb. 28 | 3:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPNU
| | TV Talent | Mitch Holthus (pxp), Bryndon Manzer (color)
| | Web Video | WatchESPN | | National Radio | Sirius 138 / XM 199 / TuneIn App
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | West Virginia
| Social Media
| @BaylorMBB | #SicWVU | #EveryoneInBlack
| BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 21-7, 9-6 | | Ranking | 19 (AP), 20 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 245-168 (13th season)
| | BU Record: 225-157 (12th season)
| WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
| | Record | 22-6, 10-5
| | Ranking | 20 (AP), 19 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Bob Huggins
| | Career: 762-308 (33rd season)
| | WVU Record: 172-97 (8th season)
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STORY LINES ? Saturday is the 7th series meeting, all of which have come since 2011. BU?leads 5-1, including a 1-1 mark in?Waco.
? The game is Baylor's 2nd-annual Everyone In Black game, and BU is hosting more than 600 Fort Hood soldiers and family members, along with approximately 75 veterans who are full-time Baylor students.
? Baylor won 87-69 against WVU in Morgantown on Feb. 7; it was Baylor's 3rd straight win in Morgantown.
? Baylor is looking to win back-to-back games against ranked teams for the first time in program history.
? BU is 5-4 vs. ranked teams this season, tying 2013-14 (5-9) for the most wins vs. ranked teams in school history.
? Baylor is 33-10 in its last 43 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Eight of the 10 losses have been away from home (5 road, 3 neutral) and 7 of the 10 losses have been against ranked teams.
? Baylor has trailed at halftime only 3 times all season -- vs. Memphis, at Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State.
? Baylor is 1 of 3 teams to lead every game by at least 6 points this season (No. 1 Kentucky, No. 3 Gonzaga).
? Baylor is 1 of 5 teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season?(Utah, New Hampshire, Saint Peter's, ULM).
? Baylor is 18-2 at home since Feb. 15, 2014, including 4 wins vs. ranked teams. BU has a +15.2 scoring margin in that span, winning 15 games by double-digits. The losses were to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 OSU?(9 pts).
? Baylor is 3rd nationally with a +9.2 average rebound margin, 5th with 15.1 offensive rebounds per game and 5th with 40.2 total boards per game. The Bears have out-rebounded 25 of 28 opponents this season.
? Baylor's current 59.2 ppg allowed is its lowest season average in 56 years (59.1 ppg in 1958-59). The last time Baylor allowed fewer than 64.0 ppg in a season was 1985-86 (61.2).
? This is Baylor's 7th 20-win season in the last 8 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Drew's arrival.
? Baylor's defense is holding teams to 10.6 points per game below their season averages. Only 3 of 28 opponents have topped their season averages against BU, and 17 of 28 have gone 8 or more points below average.
? 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 21 of 28 games this season, including 11 times at 25 or fewer.
? All 5 Baylor starters average 8.2-11.5 points per game, and reserve
Taurean Prince leads the team with 13.3 ppg.
? Five BU players have scored 20+ points in a game this season (Chery, Gathers, Motley, O'Neale and Prince).
? Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only teams ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
? Baylor is 272-62 in football and men's and women's basketball since 2011-12, the nation's best record in that span.
? Over the last 7 seasons, Baylor is 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
QUICK HITS ?
Scott Drew is coaching his 383rd game at Baylor (225-157). His .589 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .685 winning percentage (191-88) since 2007-08.
? Baylor is 80-9 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 19-5 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 183-31 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.
? Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season; Gathers and Prince have led 7 times each.
? BU is 85-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 13 times this season (12-1).
? Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 8 seasons (71-62) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
? Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 22nd nationally in scoring defense (59.2).
? Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally in 3-point FG defense (28.6%).
? Baylor is ranked No. 19 (AP?poll) and No. 20 (coaches poll), marking BU's 10th consecutive week in the polls. The Bears have been ranked in eight straight seasons, joining Kansas as the only Big 12 schools to make that claim.
? Baylor is 191-88 (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 seven 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.
? 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 posted a Big 12 and school-record 28 rebounds Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
? 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 West Virginia game will be Baylor's 132nd 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 760 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs.?Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY ? Saturday's game is the 7th all-time meeting between?Baylor and West Virginia -- BU leads the series 5-1.
? Baylor won 87-69 when the teams met in Morgantown on Feb. 7, marking BU's 3rd straight win in?Morgantown.
? Baylor is 1-1 at home against West Virginia, with an 80-60 win in 2013 and a 66-64 loss in 2014.
? Baylor won the inaugural series meeting, 83-81 in overtime, in the 2011 Las Vegas Classic championship game.
? Baylor is the only team to win in?Morgantown in each of the last 3 seasons.
A WIN WOULD ... ? Mark the first time in program history the Bears defeated back-to-back ranked opponents.
? Give Baylor a school-record 6 wins vs. AP-ranked teams this season.
? Be the 11th time Baylor has reached double-digit wins in conference play (3 times in Big 12, 8 times in SWC).
? Make Baylor 6-1 in the all-time series against West Virginia, including a 2-1 mark in?Waco.
? Set a school record with 6 ranked opponents defeated in a season, passing the 5 wins from last season.
? Give BU?its 9th-highest win total in a season, breaking a tie for 9th with 21 wins in 2007-08.
? Be the 7th time Baylor has won 4 consecutive Big 12 Conference games.
? Give Baylor a 34-10 record over its last 44 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
? Make Baylor 30-19 in February games since the 2009-10 season and 41-54 in February games under Drew.
? Give Baylor a 101-41 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 192-88 over the last 8 seasons.
? Place
Rico Gathers alone in 8th on Baylor's career Big 12 wins list at 28.
PROTECTING HOME COURT ? Baylor has won 18 of its last 20 home games, with losses to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 Oklahoma State?(9 pts).
? Baylor has a +15.2 scoring margin in that 20-home game stretch, including 15 double-digit victories.
? Baylor had a 12-game home winning streak that was the 3rd-longest in the Ferrell?Center's 27-year history.
? Among the Bears 18 home court wins since Feb. 15, 2014, are victories over No. 11 Iowa State, No. 16 Iowa State No. 19 Texas and No. 19 Oklahoma, a double OT win vs. Kansas State and an OT victory vs. Oklahoma State.
? Baylor also has wins against Texas A&M,?Stephen F.?Austin, K-State, TCU, Texas Tech and NMSU in that span.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR ? Baylor has two streaks to watch. The Bears are 1 of 4 teams nationally to lead every game by at least 6 points this season, and BU is 1 of 5 teams to hold all opponents below 75 points.
?
Kenny Chery has scored 190 points in his last 14 games (13.6 ppg) and ranks 9th in the Big 12 with 12.9 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 in a career-best 12 straight games (15.5 ppg during the streak).
? Prince had 20 points in 24 minutes?Wednesday, the 3rd time he's topped 20 points in the last 5 games.
? Rico?Gathers' 334 rebounds are 6th-most in a season in BU history. He needs 12 rebounds to pass Jerry Mallett (345) for 5th and 42 more rebounds to break Charles McKinney's school record of 375 in 1973-74.
? Gathers has 180 rebounds in?Big 12 Conference play and needs to average 12.0 rpg over the next 3 games to break Blake Griffin's record for rebounds in a Big 12 season (215 in 2008-09).
? Gathers has shot .574 (27-of-47) from the field over his last 5 games, raising his season?FG% from .423 to .452.
?
Royce O'Neale is the Big 12's only player ranked in the league's top 15 in assists and rebounds. He ranks 9th in rebounding (6.0) and 8th in assists (3.4), while posting the league's 3rd-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3).
? O'Neale last 8 games: 11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.4 spg; 33 assists and more steals (11) than turnovers (10).
? Baylor is 11-0 this year when O'Neale scores 10+ points and19-2 in his 21 career double-figure scoring games.
?
Lester Medford has scored 10+ points in a career-best 3 straight games, shooting 8-of-15 on 3s in that span.
? Baylor is 11-1 when Medford scores in double figures and 10-1 when he posts 5+ assists.
? Medford ranks 2nd in the Big 12 with a .467 3-point percentage in league play, up from .340 in non-conference.
?
Johnathan Motley has 37 blocks over his last 19 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 12 times this season, and BU is 11-1 in those games.
SCHOOL-RECORD FIVE RANKED TEAMS DEFEATED ? Baylor's 5 wins vs. AP-ranked teams this season ties the most in school history (5-9 in 2013-14).
? The Bears are 23-44 vs. AP Top 25 teams since 2007-08 after going 17-122 in their first 101 seasons.
? Baylor is 40-166 all-time against AP?Top 25 teams (5-4 this season).
? Baylor has won multiple games vs. AP?Top 25 teams in each of the last eight seasons.
? Prior to winning multiple games vs. ranked teams in each of the last eight seasons,?Baylor had only four seasons with multiple AP Top 25 victories in its first 101 years of basketball (1958-59, 1981-82, 1996-97, 2000-01).
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA ? Baylor is ranked 22nd 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 5 Division I?teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, 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 59.2 points per game allowed is 4.8 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 21 of 28 opponents to 30 or fewer first-half points, including 11 times at 25 or fewer.
? For the first time since 1949-50, Baylor has held six opponents below 50 points.
ONE OF THREE TEAMS TO LEAD EVERY GAME BY 6+ POINTS ? Baylor is one of three teams nationally to lead by at least 6 points in every game this season. The other teams to lead all games by 6+ points are No. 1 Kentucky and No. 3 Gonzaga..
? Baylor has held a double-digit lead in 20 of 28 games this season. BU is 18-2 when building a double-digit lead at any point in a game this season, with the losses at Kansas State (14-point lead) and at Kansas (13-point lead).
? Baylor has won 39 straight home games when building a double-digit lead -- the last loss was when the Bears blew a 10-point lead against Kansas on Feb. 8, 2012.
2ND-MOST WINS OF ANY BIG 12 TEAM SINCE 2011-12 ? Baylor is 100-41 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (110-29) for most wins by a Big 12 team in that span.
? Iowa State (94-38) is 3rd, Oklahoma State (87-50) is 4th, Kansas State (83-47) is 5th, Oklahoma (77-46) is 6th, Texas (77-54) is 7th, West Virginia (71-55) is 8th, TCU (55-69) is 9th and Texas Tech (45-78) is 10th.
LAST TIME VS. WEST VIRGINIA ? Baylor used a 21-0 run to take a 23-3 lead less than 9 minutes into the game, and the Bears led by at least 14 points for the remainder of the game. Baylor shot a season-high 55% from the field and held WVU to 36%.
? The WVU game was the only time this season Baylor topped 40 points in both halves.
? Baylor turned the ball over a season-high 19 times, but the Bears also forced 16 turnovers.
? BU went small with guards Al?Freeman (26 minutes) and
Ishmail Wainright (16 minutes) logging Big 12 season-highs in playing time. Forward
Taurean Prince played 18 minutes, his fewest in a Big 12 game this year.
? A season-high 5 Baylor players scored in double figures, led by Rico?Gathers with 17 points and 17 boards.
? Prince and
Royce O'Neale had 15 points apiece, while
Kenny Chery and Freeman had 11 each.
? O'Neale also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.
? WVU's Devin?Williams led the team with 20 points, and his 15 boards were the most BU has allowed this season.
KENPOM RANKS BEARS AMONG NATION'S BEST ? KenPom.com has Baylor ranked No. 10 nationally in team rankings.
? The Bears' offense is ranked No. 12 in adjusted efficiency, while the defense is No. 22 in adjusted efficiency.
? Baylor's 7 losses are all against KenPom top-100 teams: at No. 11 Kansas, vs. No. 11 Kansas, at No. 9 Oklahoma, at No. 30 Oklahoma?State, vs. No. 30 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 64 Illinois and at No. 85 Kansas State.
? The Bears have 13 wins against KenPom top-100 teams, 10 of which have been against teams in the top 50.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 10.6 PPG ? Through 28 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 10.6 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
? Only 3 of 28 teams have topped their season scoring averages against Baylor.
? The Bears have held 17 of 28 opponents 8 or more points below their season averages.
KEYS TO VICTORY ? Baylor is 12-0 this season when scoring 70+ points and 20-4 when scoring 60+ points.
? Baylor is 9-0 in games with fewer turnovers than its opponent and 12-7 with equal or more turnovers.
? Baylor is 14-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 7-5 when not doing so.
? Baylor is 16-1 this season when posting 14 or more assists and 5-6 when recording 13 or fewer assists.
? Baylor has held 13 of 28 opponents under 60 points, and the Bears are 85-5 in the Drew era when doing so.
? Baylor is 5-2 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 1-0 in overtime games this season. The Bears are 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points over the last 7 seasons and are 10-1 in overtime games over that span.
ELITE OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY ? Baylor's offense has ranked among the nation's top 15 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metric in each of the last four seasons, joining Duke as the nation's only teams to make that claim.
? Baylor is currently 12th in adjusted offensive efficiency this season, and the Bears have been in the top 15 in seven of the last eight seasons. Baylor was No. 9 in 2013-14, No. 14 in 2012-13, No. 8 in 2011-12, No. 3 in 2009-10, No. 11 in 2008-09 and No. 11 in 2007-08.
? Most times ranked in?nation's top-15 since 2007-08: Baylor-7, Duke-7, Arizona-5, Kansas-5, Kentucky-4, North?Carolina-4, Ohio?State-4.
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. 19 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.
BALANCED SCORING ATTACK ? Baylor has benefited from a balanced scoring attack that has seen eight different players combine to score in double figures 87 times this season. Additionally, five different players have scored 20+ points a total of 16 times.
? Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season, and none have done so in more than 8 games --
Taurean Prince 8 times, Rico?Gathers 7 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 13.3 points per game, while BU's five starters average between 8.2 and 11.5 ppg.
TOUGHNESS IN CLOSE GAMES ? The Bears are 5-2 this season in games decided by 5 or fewer points, with wins at South?Carolina, at Vanderbilt, at Texas?Tech, 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 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS PAYING OFF ? Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 80-9 when leading through the first 20 minutes in that stretch (19-5 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 89 of 141 games over the last four seasons. With wins in 80 of those 89 games, and victories in 20 of 52 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 100-41 since 2011-12.
GATHERS ONE OF NATION'S BEST REBOUNDERS... ? Rico?Gathers leads the nation in total rebounds per game (11.9), ranks 2nd in offensive boards (5.0), and ranks 15th in defensive rebounds (6.9). Gathers leads the Big 12 Conference in all three rebounding categories.
? Gathers ranks 15th nationally with 14 double-doubles this season, twice as many as any other Big 12 player.
? Gathers has 180 rebounds in?Big 12 play and needs to average 12.0 rpg over the next 3 games to break Blake Griffin's record for rebounds in a Big 12 conference season (215 in 2008-09).
? Gathers' 21 career double-doubles and 35 career double-digit rebound games are both tops among active Big 12 players.
? Gathers is 1 of 4 power-5 conference players averaging a double-double (11.1 ppg and 11.9 rpg), joining Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers, Washington State's Josh?Hawkinson and LSU's Jordan Mickey.
? 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 28th nationally with an 8.8 turnover rate. He has more steals steals (36) and blocks (28) than turnovers (25).
... AND A KARL MALONE AWARD FINALIST ? Rico?Gathers is one of 16 finalists for the inaugural Karl?Malone Award, given to the nation's top power forward.
? Gathers is joined by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona), Justin?Moss (Buffalo), Kevon?Looney (UCLA), Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), David Laury (Iona), Aaron?White (Iowa), Georges Niang (Iowa State), Perry Ellis (Kansas), Jordan Mickey (LSU), Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), Jake Layman?(Maryland), Christian?Wood (UNLV), Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), Myles Turner (Texas) and Larry?Nance Jr. (Wyoming).
? The list will be trimmed to five finalists on?March 9, and the winner presented on April 10.
O'NEALE DOES IT ALL ? During his four years of Division I basketball,
Royce O'Neale has 1,200 points, 754 rebounds, 379 assists, 151 steals and 42 blocks in 128 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 8th 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 (6.0) and 8th in assists (3.4).
? O'Neale has started 58 consecutive games against DI opponents -- (sat out vs. Huston-Tillotson on?Jan. 21).
? Including his two seasons at Denver, O'Neale has 29 career games played touching all five stat categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
CHASING 400 REBOUNDS AND 200 ASSISTS ?
Royce O'Neale has 366 rebounds and 203 assists in 65 games over his Baylor career. He's needs 34 boards to become the Baylor's 5th 400-rebound, 200-assist player, and the first to reach those numbers in two seasons.
? Players to reach 400-rebounds and 200-assists at Baylor are: Jay Shakir (515r/314a in 110 games), Curtis Jerrells (486r/487a in 119 games), A.J.?Walton (454r/404a in 142 games) and Henry Dugat 418r/222a in 117 games).
? Last season, O'Neale became the first player in program history to post 200+ rebounds (205) and 100+ assists (110) in the same season. He needs 39 rebounds and 7 assists to repeat that feat this season.
'FRESH PRINCE OF BAYLOR'S LEADS TEAM IN SCORING AS 6TH MAN ?
Taurean Prince, dubbed the "Fresh Prince of Baylor"?by ESPN's Adnan Virk, averages 13.3 points per game, which ranks 1st nationally among all power-5 conference reserves.
? Prince ranks 3rd nationally among all reserves (fewer than 10 starts), trailing only ETSU's Jalen?Riley?(20.6 ppg) and BYU's Anson?Winder (14.0).
? Prince leads the team with 22 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 18 of 21 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 19 games this season after doing so in just 2 games over his first two seasons.
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 79 assists and 49 turnovers in 18 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 190 points in his last 14 games (13.6 ppg), including a season-high 25 points against Kansas on?Jan. 7, and he ranks 9th in the Big 12 with 12.9 points per game in conference play.
MOTLEY AT BEST WHEN AVOIDING 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 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 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 36 shots in his last 18 games (2.0 bpg) after blocking 5 shots over his first 9 games (0.6 bpg).
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 5 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 and at home against Kansas State.
? Freeman averages 5.1 points in 17.5 minutes per game, mostly at the two-guard spot with either
Kenny Chery or
Lester Medford running the point.
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 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio and 7th with 3.5 assists per game.
? Medford has scored in double figures 12 times and the Bears are 11-1 in those games.
? 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.
MILLS PROVIDES UNEXPECTED SPARK OFF BENCH ? Walk-on guard
Austin Mills, who was awarded a scholarship for the spring semester, provided an unexpected spark off the bench in?Baylor's 54-49 win in Lubbock on?Feb. 17 and again in BU's win at No. 12 Iowa State on Feb. 26.
? Mills had 2 assists and 0 turnovers in 13 minutes at Tech after playing just 5 minutes over 12 previous Big 12 games.
? Mills played 4 minutes in the 2nd half at Iowa State and hit a crucial 3-pointer to cut ISU's lead to 1 with 10 minutes left.
20 WINS = POSTSEASON ? Baylor, which has won 20-plus games 10 times in the program's 109 seasons, has reached the 20-win milestone for the 7th time in the last eight seasons. The Bears have advanced to the postseason in all previous 20-win years.
? Head coach
Scott Drew has led Baylor to 20-win seasons in seven of the last eight years after the Bears had only three 20-win seasons in the program's first 101 seasons.
? Drew is the responsible for seven of Baylor's ten 20-win season and six of BU's 13 postseason appearances.
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).
? The Bears have been ranked for 11 consecutive weeks, ranging from No. 16 to No. 22 in the AP?poll.
DREW IS PROGRAM'S ALL-TIME WINS LEADER ?
Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 225 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 .589 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.
NATION'S BEST IN 3 MAJOR SPORTS OVER LAST 4 SEASONS ? Since 2011-12, Baylor has the nation's most combined wins across football and men's and women's basketball.
? The Bears are 272-62 in that span, giving Baylor 70 more wins than any other Big 12 team, and 6 more than the next closest team nationally (Louisville at 266-68).
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 (56), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (60), Louisville's Rick Pitino (62), Wisconsin's Bo Ryan (67), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (68) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (70).
UP NEXT ? Baylor heads to Austin for its final road game of the season. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. CT on?ESPNU.
? The Bears then return home for Friday's senior night game against Texas Tech, and tipoff for that game is at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. It will be Baylor's first-ever Big 12 Conference game played on a Friday.
