Jan. 24, 2017  | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Wednesday, Jan. 25 | 7:05 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284) | | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPNEWS and WatchESPN | | TV Talent | Dave Armstrong (pxp), Stephen Howard (color)
| | Satellite Radio | XM 132, Sirius 199, Internet 953
| | BU Radio | Listen Online | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Texas Tech
| | Social Media | @BaylorMBB | #SicTech | #Big12MBB
| BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 18-1, 6-1 | | Ranking | 5th (AP), 5th (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 288-184 (15th season)
| | BU Record: 268-173 (14th season)
| TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
| | Record | 14-5, 3-4
| | Ranking | NR (AP), NR (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Chris Beard
| | Career: 44-10 (2nd season)
| | TTU Record: 14-5 (1st season)
|
|
|
STORY LINES
- No. 5 Baylor hosts Texas Tech at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday in the annual Suits & Sneakers game.
- Baylor's 18-1 record and 6-1 Big 12 record are the best records at those points in program history.
- Baylor has the nation's No. 1 RPI and has 8 top-50 RPI wins, 2nd-most nationally behind FSU (9).
- Wednesday is the 133rd series meeting -- BU is 55-77 all-time vs. Tech, including 34-27 in Waco.
- Baylor has won 16 of its last 21 games vs. Tech and is 16-10 vs. Tech in the Drew era.
- Baylor has been top-10 ranked for 9 consecutive AP Top 25 polls, including 7 weeks in the top-5.
- Baylor has faced a second-half deficit and come back to win in 9 games this season.
- Baylor's defense this season has been its best of the Drew era -- BU ranks 3rd nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, and Drew's previous best defense was ranked No. 23 nationally in 2014-15.
- Baylor is 1 of 3 teams ranked in the nation's top-25 in offensive and defensive field goal percentage. The Bears (23rd O, 7th D) join Gonzaga (5th O, 5th D) and Virginia (11th O, 10th D).
- BU is top-15 in scoring defense (7th, 60.4), rebound margin (10th, +8.2) and scoring margin (14th, +15.3).
- Baylor ranks 11th nationally in 2-point FG defense (42.3) and 13th in 3-point FG defense (30.1).
- BU opponents average 18.5 seconds per possession, 11th-longest nationally according to KenPom.com.
- BU is 6-1 when trailing at half and averages a +10.9 scoring margin in 2nd halves of those games.
- BU is 40-4 over the last two seasons when it takes the lead at any point in the 2nd half of a game.
- Baylor has won 12 straight home games, tying the 4th-longest winning streak in Ferrell Center history.
- Baylor is the nation's only school with both MBB and WBB undefeated at home this season (24-0).
- Baylor is tied for the nation's lead with 5 wins vs. AP Top 25 teams, matching Butler and Florida State.
- Baylor is 5-1 vs. AP Top 25-ranked teams and 3-1 vs. AP Top 10 teams this season (wins vs. No. 4 Oregon, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 10 Louisville, No. 7 Xavier and at No. 25 Kansas State).
- The Bears have defeated three top-10 teams in a season for the first time in program history.
- Baylor has 17 wins over ranked teams in the last three seasons (17-15 since 2014-15).
- Baylor is 143-57 since 2011-12, the 2nd-most wins in the Big 12 behind Kansas (166-38) in that span.
- Drew is 234-104 since 2007-08, the first year he had a full allotment of scholarships.
- Drew has won 22+ games in five straight seasons and won 20+ games in eight of the last nine years.
- Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (112-13).
- BU has won 41% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 31-44 in those.
- BU was picked 5th in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll, behind Kansas, WVU, Texas and Iowa State.
- Baylor is 89-72 in Big 12 play since 2008 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 seasons.
- BU is 36-55 against ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first four rebuilding seasons.
- BU is 1 of 7 teams ranked in KenPom's top-20 in adjusted offensive (20th) and defensive (3rd) efficiency.
- Johnathan Motley has been named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 and is 1 of 19 on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. He's also on Malone, Olson and Naismith Watch Lists.
- Motley earned his school-record 4th career Big 12 Player of the Week honor on Monday (3rd of season).
QUICK HITS
- Head coach Scott Drew is in his 14th season at Baylor and is the school's all-time wins leader (268).
- Baylor climbed to No. 1 in the Jan. 9 AP Top 25, marking the first No. 1 ranking in program history.
- BU's climb from unranked in week 1 to No. 1 in week 9 was the fastest by any team in AP Top 20/25 history.
- BU is one of four teams to reach the No. 1 spot after being unranked in the AP preseason top 20/25.
- BU received 55 first-place votes in the Jan. 9 AP poll and has notched 86 first-place votes this season.
- Prior to this season, the Bears had only received one first-place vote since the first AP poll in 1949.
- Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 10 seasons.
- Baylor is 44-25 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 12-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
- Baylor won the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis with wins over VCU, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 10 Louisville. Johnathan Motley was named tournament MVP after averaging 20.0 points per game.
- Baylor came from behind at half to win all 3 Battle 4 Atlantis games. BU trailed by 8 to VCU, by 3 to Michigan State and by 15 to Louisville. The Bears out-scored all 3 by at least 16 points in 2nd halves.
- Baylor has had a nation-leading four players selected in the NBA Draft since 2010 who weren't ranked in the ESPN100 out of high school -- Quincy Acy, Ekpe Udoh, Pierre Jackson and Taurean Prince.
- Six of BU's seven starting point guards during the Drew era have earned All-Big 12 recognition.
- Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 819 straight games.
- BU did not receive any preseason poll votes for the first time since 2009-10.
BEST OVERALL AND BIG 12 STARTS IN PROGRAM HISTORY
- Baylor's 18-1 start is its best record through the 19 games in the program's 111-season history. The best previous mark was 17-2 in 2011-12.
- Baylor's 6-1 Big 12 record is its best-ever record through seven Big 12 games. The Bears started 5-2 in 1998, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2016, but BU had never been 6-1 through seven Big 12 games.
- Baylor has won 12 straight home games for the 5th time in Ferrell Center history.
- BU's 15-game winning streak to start the year was the second-longest in school history (record is 17 in 2011-12).
NATION'S MOST WINS OVER AP TOP 25 TEAMS
- Baylor's 5 wins over AP Top 25 teams this season are tied for most nationally with Butler and Florida State.
- BU is 5-1 vs. ranked teams this season (wins vs. No. 4 Oregon, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 10 Louisville, No. 7 Xavier and at No. 25 Kansas State; loss at No. 10 West Virginia).
- Baylor has won at least five games vs. APà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Top 25 teams in each of the last four seasons.
- BU's 5 wins over ranked teams this year ties the 2nd-most in program history (7 in 2015; 5 in 2014 and 2016).
- Baylor has gone 17-15 against ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- BU is 36-55 against ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first four rebuilding seasons.
SECOND-HALF TEAM
- Baylor has trailed at halftime seven times this season (VCU by 8, Michigan State by 3, Louisville by 15, Xavier by 3, OSU by 5, at WVU by 7, at TCU by 2), but the Bears came back to win six of those seven games.
- Baylor averages a +10.9 scoring margin in second halves of the seven games it has trailed at halftime.
- In the six wins, BU's defense held opponents to averages of 33.3 first-half points and 25.8 second-half points.
- BU out-scored VCU 43-27, out-scored No. 24 Michigan State 43-25, out-scored No. 10 Louisville 42-24, out-scored No. 7 Xavier 45-27, out-scored Oklahoma State 36-27 and out-scored TCU 36-25.
- BU has out-scored teams by 5.2 ppg in first halves (667-568) and 10.1 ppg in second halves (771-580).
OVERCOMING SECOND-HALF DEFICITS
- Nine times this season Baylor has faced a second-half deficit and come back to win.
- The Bears faced second-half deficits against FGCU (3 points), vs. VCU (8 points), vs. Michigan State (3 points), vs. Louisville (20 points), Xavier (9 points), Iowa State (6 points), Oklahoma State (7 points) at K-State (2 points) and at TCU (2 points).
SERIES HISTORY
- Wednesday is the 133rd all-time series meeting dating back to 1937.
- Baylor is 55-77 in the series, including a 34-27 mark in Waco and a 16-10 mark in the Drew era.
- Baylor is 16-5 vs. Texas Tech since March 2006 and has won 9 of 11 home games in that span.
- Wednesday will be the 11th time in the last 17 series meetings that Baylor enters the game ranked.
LAST SEASON VS. TEXAS TECH
- Baylor and Tech split the season series with the road team winning both games.
- BU beat Tech 63-60 in Lubbock on Jan. 16 with Lester Medford's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
- The Bears built an 11-point first-half lead, but Tech led 51-50 with 5 minutes left.
- Al Freeman had a team-high 14 points, while Terry Maston added 12 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
- Tech won 84-66 in Waco on Feb. 13, scoring 51 points on 67% shooting (16-24) in the second half.
- The game was tied 36-36 with 17 minutes left, but Tech went on a 10-0 run and led by at least 7 the rest of the way.
- Johnathan Motley had 10 points in just 13 minutes off the bench and King McClure added 4 steals in 18 minutes.
BEARS IN AP POLL THIS SEASON
- Baylor went from receiving no votes in the week 1 AP poll to No. 4 nationally just three weeks later on Dec. 5.
- BU remained No. 4 in the Dec. 12, Dec. 19 and Dec. 26 polls, climbed to No. 2 on Jan. 2 and No. 1 in Jan. 9.
- Following a loss at No. 10 West Virginia, BU dropped to No. 6 on Jan. 16 and climbed back to No. 5 on Jan. 23.
- Baylor has been top-10 ranked for 9 consecutive AP Top 25 polls after being top-10 ranked in just 20 polls all-time prior to this season. BU was top-10 ranked in 2010-11, 2011-12 (13 straight weeks) and 2013-14.
- Baylor has now been ranked in each of the last 10 seasons -- one of 13 teams nationally to make that claim.
FASTEST CLIMB FROM UNRANKED TO NO. 1 IN AP POLL HISTORY
- Baylor's climb from unranked in the week 1 AP poll to No. 1 in week 9 was the fastest by any team in AP Top 20/25 history (excludes 1961-68, when only 10 teams were ranked in weekly polls).
- Only two other teams have gone from unranked in the week 1 AP Top 20/25 to No. 1 -- 2009-10 Syracuse climbed to the top spot in week 16, and 1978-79 Indiana State claimed No. 1 in week 14.
- BU is one of four teams to go from unranked in the preseason AP Top 20/25 to the No. 1 spot -- 1978-79 Indiana State, 1989-90 Kansas and 2009-10 Syracuse also accomplished the feat. Additionally, 1963-64 UCLA and 1965-66 Kentucky went from preseason unranked to No. 1, but only 10 teams were listed in those preseason polls.
GAME CONTROL
- Baylor has led for at least 16 minutes of game time in 17 of its 19 games this season.
- The only exceptions were against No. 10 Louisville, when the Bears overcame a 22-point deficit and led for only 3:31, and at No. 10 West Virginia, when BU never took a lead.
- Baylor has led for 68% of game time season (520:26 of 760:00).
- The Bears have trailed for only 25% of game time (192:14 of 760:00) and been tied for 6% (47:20 of 760:00).
A WIN WOULD ...
- Give Baylor its best-ever record through 20 games at 19-1 -- the previous best is 18-2 in 2011-12.
- Give Baylor its best-ever record through 8 Big 12 games at 7-1 -- the previous best is 6-2 in 2012 and 2016.
- Move Baylor within one win of its school-record 6th straight 20-win season.
- Improve Baylor's series record to 56-77 all-time vs. Texas Tech, including a 35-27 mark in Waco.
- Make Baylor 17-5 against Texas Tech since March 2006 and 17-10 vs. Tech in the Scott Drew era.
- Give Baylor a 235-104 record since 2007-08, Drew's first year with a full allotment of scholarships.
- Make Baylor 144-57 since 2011-12, the Big 12's second-most wins in that span behind only Kansas (166).
- Be Ishmail Wainright's 83rd career win, passing Josh Lomers for 8th-most in program history, and his 32nd career Big 12 win, tying LaceDarius Dunn for 6th in program history.
- Improve Baylor's record to 91-35 during Wainright's four-year career, tying for 5th-most wins in a 4-year career.
SECOND-MOST WINS AMONG BIG 12 TEAMS SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor's 143-57 record since 2011-12 trails only Kansas (166-38) among Big 12 teams (thru 1/20/17).
- Iowa State (135-58) is 3rd, Oklahoma (120-68) is 4th, Kansas State (116-69) is 5th, West Virginia (115-72) is 6th, Texas (108-82) is 7th, Oklahoma State (102-82) is 8th, TCU (82-100) is 9th and Texas Tech (79-98) is 10th.
- Baylor has averaged 25 wins per season over the last 5 years.
CONSISTENTLY AMONG NATION'S BEST OFFENSES
- Baylor's offense has consistently ranked among the nation's best over the last nine seasons under Scott Drew.
- The Bears have finished eight of the past nine seasons among the top 20 nationally in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency, joining Duke as the only programs to make that claim.
- This season, Baylor is No. 20 in adjusted offensive efficiency as of Jan. 24.
- BU finished No. 13 in 2015-16, No. 18 in 2014-15, No. 9 in 2013-14, No. 14 in 2012-13, No. 8 in 2011-12, No. 102 in 2010-11, No. 3 in 2009-10, No. 11 in 2008-09 and No. 11 in 2007-08.
BEST DEFENSE OF DREW ERA
- Baylor is known for its efficient offense, but defensive efficiency has the been key in its best seasons under Drew.
- This season, Baylor is No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency as of Jan 23.
- The Bears have been top-100 in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency in seven straight seasons, but the three top-50 years in that span all resulted in the best NCAA Tournament seeds in program history.
- BU was No. 23 in 2015, No. 37 in 2012 and No. 42 in 2010 -- the Bears were NCAA No. 3 seeds all three years.
- The Bears were No. 64 in 2013, No. 70 in 2014, No. 79 in 2011 and No. 84 in 2016.
NO. 1 FOR FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY
- Baylor climbed to No. 1 in the Jan. 9 AP Top 25, marking the first No. 1 ranking in program history.
- BU received 55 first-place votes in the Jan. 9 poll and has notched 86 total first-place votes this season.
- Prior to this season, Baylor had received only one first-place vote in school history (2011-12 week 11 poll).
- It marked the fourth time in poll history that a school from Texas has earned the top spot -- Houston reached No. 1 during the 1967-68 and 1982-83 seasons, and Texas was No. 1 in 2009-10.
- The Big 12 Conference has now had a nation's-best four teams earn No. 1 rankings since 2010 -- Kansas (2010, 2011, 2016), Texas (2010), Oklahoma (2016) and Baylor (2017).
BEST IN TEXAS
- Baylor is 46-8 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, and the Bears have advanced deeper into postseason play than any of Texas' 21 Division I team in four of the last five seasons.
- BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € is a combined 59-12 against Lone Star State teams over the last seven seasons after going 10-27 against in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor (9-3 in 2015-16, 10-1 in 2014-15, 6-3 in 2013-14, 7-1 in 2012-13, 10-0 in 2011-12, 5-3 in 2010-11 and 9-1 in 2009-10).
- Additionally, six of the nine NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft picks fromà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Texas colleges since 2012 have come from Baylor. North Texas, Texas and Texas A&Mà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € have each had one player selected in the last five NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Drafts.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
- Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. BU is 112-13 when leading at the break in that stretch (12-0 this season, 18-2 in 2015-16, 21-7 in 2014-15, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12).
- BU has won 41% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 31-44 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 125 of 200 games over the last six seasons, and BU is 143-57 since 2011-12.
PICKED FIFTH IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
- Baylor was picked to finish fifth in the 2017 Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll in a vote by the league's head coaches in October. It's the sixth time in the last seven seasons BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € has been picked in the top half of the league.
- Preseason Poll: 1. KU, 2. WVU, 3. UT, 4. ISU, 5. BU, 6. OU, T7. OSU, t7. TTU, 9. KSU, 10. TCU.
- In the last 10 seasons, BU has been picked 9th in 2007-08 (NCAA Tournament), 3rd in 2008-09 (NIT runner-up), 10th in 2009-10 (Elite Eight), 4th in 2010-11, 3rd in 2011-12 (Elite Eight), 2nd in 2012-13 (NITà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € champions), 3rd in 2013-14 (Sweet 16), t-6th in 2014-15 (NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tournament), 5th in 2015-16 (NCAA Tournament) and 5th (2016-17).
EXPERIENCED DESPITE ONLY ONE SENIOR
- Baylor may have only one senior on this year's roster, but nine of 10 rotation players are at least 20 years old.
- All five players in Baylor's starting lineup are in their fourth or fifth years of college. Manu Lecomte (21), Johnathan Motley (21) and Al Freeman (22) are fourth-year juniors, Ishmail Wainright (22) is a fourth-year senior and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (22) is a fifth-year junior.
- The Bears also have sophomore guards King McClure (20) and Jake Lindsey (20) and junior forwards Terry Maston (21) and Nuni Omot (22).
MOTLEY ON WOODEN AWARD AND OSCAR ROBERTSON TROPHY MIDSEASON LISTS
- Johnathan Motley was named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 on Jan. 12 and the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List (1 of 19) on Jan. 23.
- Motley is one of four players on the Wooden Award list who weren't included in the Preseason Top 50, joining Duke's Luke Kennard, UCLA's TJ Leaf and Butler's Kelan Martin.
- Motley is one of two Big 12 candidates on the Oscar Robertson list, joining Kansas' Frank Mason.
- Motley is also on watch lists for the Karl Malone Award, Naismith Trophy and Lute Olson Award.
RACKING UP BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS
- Baylor players have been recognized with Big 12 weekly awards a total of seven times in the first 11 weeks.
- Johnathan Motley (11/28, 1/9, 1/23) and Manu Lecomte (12/5) have earned Big 12 Player of the Week recognition, with Motley's three awards tying the Baylor record for most in a season.
- Lecomte (11/14 & 1/3) and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (12/19) have earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
- Motley now has a school-record four career Big 12 Player of the Week honors (first on 2/22/16 last season).
VICTORIOUS AFTER 16 LEAD CHANGES AT TCU
- Baylor faced a 28-26 halftime deficit at TCU on Jan. 21, and despite 13 second-half lead changes, BU won 62-53.
- There were 16 lead changes in the game, the last of which came when Ishmail Wainright hit a 3-pointer with 4:16 left to give BU a 50-48 lead. That started a 15-5 run, as BU held TCU to 1-of-8 shooting in the last 5 minutes.
- The Bears won despite shooting 43% from the field (23-of-54), their lowest field goal percentage of the season, by holding TCU to 29% shooting (17-of-58), including 25% in the second half (7-of-28).
MOTLEY GOES OFF IN WIN OVER TEXAS
- Johnathan Motley posted 32 points and 20 rebounds in a 74-64 win over Texas on Jan. 17. The Bears led by 21 points with 6 minutes left before UT closed the gap to 10 with a 17-6 run the rest of the way.
- It was the first 30-20 game in Big 12 play since Oklahoma's Blake Griffin in 2009, and Motley joined Griffin, Kevin Durant (Texas) and Mario Boggan (Oklahoma State) as the only players to post 30-20 games in Big 12 play.
- Nuni Omot also had a breakout game with 14 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
BOUNCE-BACK WIN AT NO. 25 KANSAS STATE
- Baylor rebounded from its first loss of the season by winning at No. 25 Kansas State, 77-68, on Jan. 14.
- BU trailed 47-45 with 10 minutes left, then went on an 8-0 run and led by at least 5 points the rest of the way.
- BU out-rebounded K-State 37-24 and earned an 18-5 advantage in 2nd-chance points.
- Manu Lecomte scored a career-high 26 points, while Ishmail Wainright added a career-high 15 points and Al Freeman contributed 15 points and a career-high 5 assists.
FIRST LOSS OF SEASON AT NO. 10 WEST VIRGINIA
- Baylor suffered its first loss of the season at No. 10 West Virginia on Jan. 10.
- The Bears committed 29 turnovers, tied for fourth-most in program history and most since Nov. 30, 1999.
- Seven BU players committed 3 or more turnovers, and only Jake Lindsey (3a/3t) had a 1.0 or better A-T ratio.
- Despite out-rebounding WVU 41-32, the Bears attempted 13 fewer shots than the Mountaineers.
- Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had team-highs of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
BEARS OVERCOME SEVEN-POINT SECOND-HALF DEFICIT TO BEAT OSU
- Baylor overcame a 38-31 deficit with 15:48 remaining to knock off Oklahoma State on Saturday.
- The Bears trailed 30-25 at the break, but Johnathan Motley scored six straight to put BU in front 31-30.
- Al Freeman's free throws with 6:29 remaining put the Bears in front for good.
RALLY FROM SIX DOWN WITH FIVE MINUTES LEFT TO BEAT ISU
- Baylor trailed Iowa State 61-55 with five minutes remaining on Wednesday night. It was only the second time this season BU faced a deficit of more than 3 points in a home game (trailed by 9 points vs. Xavier).
- The Bears out-scored ISU 10-2 over the final five minutes, allowing only one field goal on eight ISU possessions.
- Manu Lecomte shook off a 2-for-9 shooting night and made a game-winning runner with 8.6 seconds left.
STATEMENT BIG 12 OPENER AT OKLAHOMA
- Baylor won its Big 12 opener at Oklahoma, 76-50. OU's 50 points were its fewest at home in the Lon Kruger era.
- Baylor's 26-point win was the largest by any team playing at OU since Kansas won by 31 on Feb. 5, 1963.
BU KNOCKS OFF NO. 7 XAVIER FOR THIRD TOP-10 WIN OF SEASON
- Baylor defeated No. 7 Xavier, 76-61, on Dec. 3 for its school-record third top-10 win of the season and its school-record-tying fourth consecutive win in games against ranked opponents.
- It was the 7th matchup of top-10-ranked teams in program history and BU's first-ever win in a top-10 matchup.
- The Bears trailed by 3 at the half, but out-scored Xavier 45-27 after the break.
- Manu Lecomte had a career-high 24 points, including 6-of-9 on 3-pointers, and was named Big 12 Player of the Week.
- The win helped Baylor climb from No. 9 to No. 4 in the AP Top 25, tying the second-best ranking in BU history.
HUGE COMEBACK VS. NO. 10 LOUISVILLE TO CLAIM ATLANTIS
- Baylor claimed its 3rd regular-season tournament title of the Drew era and third win over a ranked team this season by rallying from 22 points down to knock off No. 10 Louisville in the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis title game.
- BU trailed 32-10 with 4 minutes left in the 1st half and trailed 39-24 at the break.
- Baylor still trailed by 20 points at 44-24 with 16:30 remaining, but out-scored UL 42-19 the rest of the way.
- The comeback was keyed by three reserves who played the last 15 minutes -- Jake Lindsey, King McClure and Terry Maston combined to shoot 13-of-15 in the second half.
TOP-5 WIN OVER NO. 4 OREGON
- Baylor knocked off No. 4 Oregon, 66-49, on Nov. 15. The Bears became the first team to hold Oregon below 50 points since Feb. 21, 2013 -- a streak of 119 games.
- The win was Baylor's 4th in its last 11 games against AP Top 5 teams. Prior to that stretch, BU was 3-34 all-time against top-5 ranked opponents. The Bears are now 4-17 against top-5 teams in the Drew era.
- BU was led by Manu Lecomte with 18 points and 7 assists, while Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocks. Lual-Acuil's 7 blocks tied the 10th-most in a game in program history.
- Johnathan Motley made his season debut and had 17 points and 7 boards in 28 minutes.
BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS CHAMPIONS
- Baylor knocked off VCU, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 10 Louisville to claim the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis.
- BU overcame halftime deficits in all three games and rallied back from 20 down with 16:30 to go vs. Louisville.
- Johnathan Motley was named tournament MVP and Big 12 Player of the Week after averaging 20.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Big 12 weekly award was the second on Motley's career.
- It was the third regular-season tournament title of the Drew era -- the 2007 Paradise Jam, 2011 Las Vegas Classic and 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis. BU is now 26-11 in regular-season tournaments under Drew.
- The Bears jumped from No. 20 to No. 9 in the AP poll and from receiving votes to No. 11 in the coaches poll.
HISTORY OF SUCCESS WITH REDSHIRTS
- Baylor has a track record of success when players redshirt under Scott Drew. Ekpe Udoh, Cory Jefferson, Brady Heslip and Royce O'Neale have all gone on to professional careers after redshirting while at BU.
- Four players in Baylor's current starting lineup have redshirted while at Baylor for various reasons.
- Al Freeman and Johnathan Motley redshirted in 2013-14 due to the Bears' depth on a Sweet 16 team.
- Manu Lecomte (transfer), Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (medical issues) and Wendell Mitchell (depth) all redshirted last season.
DREW ERA HIGHLIGHTS
- Drew is coaching his 442nd game at Baylor (268-173). His .608 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 35+ games, and he's the program's all-time wins leader.
- Baylor has a .692 winning percentage (234-104) since Drew's first year with no scholarship restrictions in 2007-08.
- BU has graduated 92 percent of its scholarship seniors since Drew took over in 2003 (24 of 26).
- In Drew's first 13 seasons, 26 players have gone on to professional careers.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT -- FROM UNRANKED TO NBA DRAFT
- Baylor has had a nation-leading four players selected in the NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft since 2010 who weren't ranked in the ESPN100 out of high school.
- The only other schools with three such players were Colorado,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Marquette, Missouri, New Mexico and Connecticut.
- Baylor developed Quincyà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Acy, Ekpe Udoh, Pierre Jackson and Taurean Prince into NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft picks after joining the program as unranked recruits.
SIX NBA DRAFT PICKS IN LAST FIVE SEASONS
- Baylor's six NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft picks over the last five years are the nation's sixth most, trailing only Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Kansas and North Carolina and tied with Arizona, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA.
- A program-record three Baylor players were selected in the 2012 NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft -- Perryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Jones III (28th pick; Oklahoma City Thunder), Quincyà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Acy (37th pick; Toronto Raptors) and Quincy Miller (38th pick; Denver Nuggets). Pierre Jackson (42nd pick, Philadelphia 76ers; traded to New Orleans Pelicans) was chosen in the 2013 draft, Coryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Jefferson (60th pick; San Antonio Spurs; traded toà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Brooklynà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Nets) was selected in 2014 and Taurean Prince (12th pick; Utah Jazz; traded to Atlanta Hawks) was chosen in 2016.
TWENTY-SIX PRO PLAYERS IN DREW ERA
- In Scott Drew's first 13 years at Baylor, 26 of his players went on to professional careers.
- All three scholarship seniors from last year's team are now playing professionally.
- Taurean Prince was selected 12th overall in the NBA Draft, becoming the 2nd lottery pick in program history.
- Rico Gathers decided to pursue a pro football career and was selected in the NFL Draft's 6th round.
- Lester Medford recently began his professional career playing in Hungary.
- Additionally, Isaiah Austin recently signed to play in Serbia, and Pierre Jackson made his NBA debut with Dallas.
GRADUATING 92 PERCENT OF SENIORS
- Since Scott Drew took over the Baylor Basketball program in 2003, 24 of 26 scholarship players who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility have graduated from Baylor.
- Players recruited by Drew who have graduated at Baylor: Tim Bush, Patrick Fields, Aaron Bruce, Mamadou Diene, Delbert Simpson, Curtis Jerrells, Henry Dugat, Kevin Rogers, Tweety Carter, Josh Lomers, Ekpe Udoh, Fred Ellis, Quincy Acy, Anthony Jones, J'mison Morgan, A.J. Walton, Cory Jefferson, Brady Heslip, Gary Franklin, Kenny Chery, Royce O'Neale, Lester Medford, Rico Gathers and Taurean Prince.
FIVE STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
- Baylor has won 20+ games in a school-record five consecutive seasons and in eight of the last nine years. The Bears had just three 20-win seasons in the program's first 101 years (1907-2007).
- Baylor has topped 22 wins in each of the past 5 seasons and is averaging 25.0 wins per season in that span.
RANKED IN 10 STRAIGHT SEASONS
- Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 10 seasons.
- BU went from receiving no votes in the week 1 AP poll to No. 20 in week 2, No. 9 in week 3 and No. 4 in week 4.
- BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € cracked a string of 38 consecutive unranked seasons when it was tabbed No. 25 in 2007-08.
- The Bears reached as high as No. 19 in 2008-09, No. 19 in 2009-10, No. 9 in 2010-11, No. 3 in 2011-12, No. 16 in 2012-13, No. 7 in 2013-14, No. 14 in 2014-15 and No. 13 in 2015-16.
POINT GUARDS THRIVE IN DREW'S SYSTEM
- Six of Baylor's seven starting point guards during the Scott Drew era have earned All-Big 12 recognition.
- Lester Medford (2016), Kenny Chery (2014, 2015), Pierre Jackson (2012, 2013), Tweety Carter (2010), Curtis Jerrells (2007, 2008, 2009) and Aaron Bruce (2005, 2006, 2007) have been named All-Big 12.
- All seven starting point guards in the Drew era are currently playing professionally.
THREE CONSECUTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
- Baylor is on a school-record streak of three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to earning at-large bids in each of the last three seasons, the Bears had never been to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
- The Bears are one of nine teams nationally to earn a top-six seed in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, joining Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Villanova and Virginia.
- Baylor was a No. 6 seed in 2014, a No. 3 seed in 2015 and a No. 5 seed last season.
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS
- Baylor has enjoyed unprecedented success over the last 10 seasons under 14th-year head coach Scott Drew.
- Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Baylor is 234-104 (24 wins per season) and has made eight postseason appearancesà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (NCAA -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016; NITà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € -- 2009, 2013) and posted eight 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 15 postseason appearances (eight under Drew) and won 20+ games just 11 times (eight under Drew) in the program's first 110 seasons.
DREW AMONG NATION'S ELITE
- Head coachà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Scott Drew is the youngest of 12 coaches nationally to take his current program to three Sweet 16 appearances since 2010. Drew (46) is joined by Xavier's Chris Mack (47), Arizona's Sean Miller (48), Ohioà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State's Thad Matta (49), Indiana's Tomà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Crean (50), Kansas' Bill Self (54), Kentucky's John Calipari (57), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (61), Louisville's Rickà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Pitino (64), North Carolina's Roy Williams (66), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (69) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (72).
- Baylor is one of 15 teams to make three Sweet 16 appearances since 2010.
BAYLOR BASKETBALL ON THE RADIO
- Baylor basketball is aired live via the Baylor-IMG College Radio Network on ESPNà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Central Texas and flagship station 1660AM ESPN Radio (KRZI) in Waco and worldwide on Sirius XM Radio.
- Games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley.
- Morris is in his 29th year doing Baylor broadcasts, while Nunley is in his 34th season as color analyst.
- All of Baylor's games can be heard live on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com and via the TuneIn App.
UP NEXT
- BU plays consecutive road games, beginning with Saturday's SEC-Big 12 Challenge at Ole Miss (5 p.m., ESPN2).
- The Bears then head to Kansas for a matchup of the top two teams in the Big 12 standings on Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
- Baylor's next home game is Feb. 4 against Kansas State (2 p.m, ESPNEWS).
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Baylor coach Scott Drew might have peeked in at the TV to watch No. 2 Kansas fall at 18th-ranked West Virginia Tuesday night.
"But, you're so consumed - you can watch as much film as you want on your team, on the opponent's team - and if you're sitting around watching games that other teams play, you're probably not getting your team ready," Drew said. "This time of the year, unfortunately, we don't get to watch as many games on TV as we'd like."
Three of the four teams ahead of the No. 5 Bears (18-1, 6-1) all lost Tuesday night, with top-ranked Villanova getting upset at Marquette and No. 4 Kentucky also going down at Tennessee.
That means Baylor can move up in the polls again with wins in Wednesday's 7 p.m. home game versus Texas Tech (14-5, 3-4) and Saturday's Big 12/SEC Challenge game at Ole Miss (12-7).
The Bears certainly won't have any problem getting motivated for the matchup against the Red Raiders. Tech blew out Baylor, 84-66, in last year's game at the Ferrell Center.
"I think they all remember last year's game here," Drew said. "Obviously, they beat us pretty good. When you lose by 18 at home, that's not a good feeling. But, they really played well, too, really executed and made a lot of tough shots, especially with five seconds or less on the shot clock."
Under first-year head coach Chris Beard, the Red Raiders have pulled off some big wins this season, beating West Virginia and Kansas State at home. But, they're just 1-3 on the road and are coming off a somewhat surprising 83-64 loss at home to Oklahoma State.
"They've had some close games on the road, but just haven't been able to pull some of them out," Drew said. "Starting with Iowa State, I believe that was their first conference game. They led most of that game, had a nine-point lead late in the game. Hopefully, they don't get off the schneid with us."
One thing Baylor's been able to do is close out games. The Bears have come back to win nine of the 10 games they've trailed in the second half, including Saturday's 62-53 win on the road at TCU. Baylor was down two at the break and was still trailing with less than five minutes to go before ending the game on a 15-5 run.
"We just lock down and play better defense in the second half," said 7-0 junior center Jo Lual-Acuil, who is averaging 10.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. "Everybody just gets more comfortable."
Junior point guard Manu Lecomte (12.2 ppg, 4.4 assists) clinched it with clutch free throws down the stretch, but it starts on the defensive end.
"No question. If you're not getting stops, then it's hard to get in transition, it's hard to get separation, it's hard to build on momentum," Drew said. "Definitely, the defensive end has been very important (in the comebacks)."
Tech has a balanced, veteran team that features two seniors and three juniors in the starting lineup. Sharpshooter Keenan Evans leads the way with 14.4 points per game, with 6-8 junior forward Zach Smith averaging 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds and 6-8 grad transfer Anthony Livingston (Arkansas State) also hitting double figures at 11.5 points.
Livingston scored 20 in Arkansas State's 94-72 loss to Baylor last year in Waco.
"Every broadcast, you hear about them being really old, which means they're really experienced," Baylor sophomore guard Jake Lindsey said. "Their guards both return from last year, and they have bigs who can stretch the floor and move. . . . All their guys re another year older and wiser, and they're playing that way. When you have a year to play together, kind of builds camaraderie. They do a good job playing together and know each other pretty well."
Baylor also has a balanced inside-out scoring attack. Johnathan Motley (15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds) is the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week and was also named to the midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy earlier this week, while Lecomte (12.2) and fellow junior guard Al Freeman (10.9) join Lual-Acuil on the double-digit list.
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPNews, with Dave Armstrong and Stephen Howard calling the action, while Saturday's 5 p.m. CDT game at Ole Miss will be on ESPN2.
