BAYLOR BEARS (6-4) Location: Waco, Texas   Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes	BAYLOR (6-4) VS. OREGON (8-3) December 21, 2018 • 6:01 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN2 | Watch ESPN App Talent: Mark Neely (pbp) & Fran Fraschilla (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor-IMG College / ESPN Central Texas Talent: John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (analyst)  Baylor Social Media:
	OREGON DUCKS (8-3) Location: Eugene, Ore. Conference: Pac-12 Head Coach: Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) Roster | Stats | Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
           
Even with only three returning players, one thing Baylor coach Scott Drew expected to see this year was a team that could knock down shots.
           
That certainly hasn't been the case through the first 10 games, though, as the Bears (6-4) are shooting just 43.8 percent from the floor, 27.9 percent from 3-point range and 64.9 percent from the free throw line.
           
"I think the biggest surprise to our staff is how we've shot the ball," said Drew, whose team will host Pac-12 favorite Oregon (8-3) at 6 p.m. Friday at the Ferrell Center. "We thought we were a better shooting team coming into the year. In practice, we've seen us be a better shooting team. The only thing we can attribute it to is 1, we're not as good as we thought; or 2, we're still getting used to game situations and shooting in games. I like to think it's the last one."
           
Sophomore forward Mario Kegler, a transfer from Mississippi State, has particularly struggled. After averaging 12.3 points in his first three games, he was scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting in Tuesday's 59-58 loss to SFA and is just 2-of-17 overall from 3-point range.
           
"I think it will come, he's a great player, very talented," senior guard King McClure said of the 6-7 Kegler. "This is his first time playing in about a year and a half. It takes time for him to get his legs going. We all have faith in him. We know how good he is, how can he can be. He'll get there. It will maybe take a few more games, but we believe in him 100 percent."
           
SFA beat the Bears on a buzzer-beating layup by Shannon Bogues, as the Lumberjacks closed on a 10-1 run. But, the downfall was Baylor's 4-for-24 shooting from 3-point range.
           
"They left us wide open, so we had some great looks," Drew said. "Obviously, we missed them. At the same time, they get out in passing lanes, deny a lot of stuff, which takes you out of your offense. So now, it leads to more freelancing and more motion."
           
The Bears also didn't bring the same energy they did just three nights earlier in a 58-49 win over Arizona, snapping the Wildcats' 52-game home-court non-conference winning streak.
           
"You see upsets each and every night, because coaches know, especially with younger teams, how vulnerable you are," Drew said. "Hopefully we learn lessons that will prepare us for not just this year, but for some of the guys for the next three and four years that they're at Baylor. Sometimes, the harder lesson learned means more for later on. It's like when you burn your finger on the stove, you're a little more cautious after that."
           
Baylor will face an Oregon team that has reeled off four straight wins since losing 65-61 at Houston on its last trip to Texas. The Ducks also lost to Iowa and Texas Southern, but beat then-No. 15 Syracuse, 80-65, on Nov. 16 in the 2K Empire Classic in Madison Square Garden.
           
"Both teams kind of mimic each other from the standpoint of a lot of size, length, athleticism," Drew said. "Depending on (7-2 freshman) Bol Bol playing, that gives them even more size and length. But, this is a team very similar to when we played Arizona. You felt like you were going to get better after the game. Regardless if you win or lose, you'll know more about what you're going to have to do to win in conference."
           
Bol Bol, the son of the late Manute Bol, a 7-foot-7 center who played 10 seasons in the NBA, has missed the last two games with a left foot injury. Ranked as a top draft prospect, Bol leads the Ducks with 21.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
           
"He's an incredible player," said 6-9 sophomore center Tristan Clark, who is averaging 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks for the Bears. "He's 7-2 and can handle the ball and shoot, and he'll be at the next level, for sure. I'm excited to go against him. It will be a good challenge for me as well as my teammates."
           
Other than Bol, the Ducks are led by junior guard Payton Pritchard, who is averaging 13.0 points and 4.6 assists. Sophomore guard Victor Bailey Jr. from Austin made his first career start and scored 16 points in Oregon's 71-64 win over Florida A&M on Tuesday.
           
"I think you saw the real us against Arizona," McClure said. "It's rebounding and playing defense, that's who we really are. We showed glimpses of it (against SFA), but we weren't that for 40 minutes. I think once we finally can do it for 40 minutes, we'll be really good and make tremendous strides."
           
Friday's game will be broadcast by ESPN 2, with Mark Neely calling play-by-play and Fran Fraschilla providing analysis.
           
The Bears will close out pre-conference play with a home game against New Orleans (5-4) at 5 p.m. next Saturday, Dec. 29.
           
"Coach Drew always says you can have a Christmas or a Merry Christmas," McClure said. "We definitely don't want that feeling we had this last game over the break. We've got to make sure we're locked-in and do whatever we can to keep that from happening."
 

---

STORY LINES 
• Baylor hosts Oregon at 6 p.m. CT Friday in the first game of a home-and-home series.
• Friday's game will be televised on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.
• BU and Oregon meet for the 3rd time. The teams split a home-and-home series in 2015 and 2016.
• Oregon won 74-67 in Eugene on Nov. 16, 2015 and Baylor won 66-49 in Waco on Nov. 15, 2016.
• Scott Drew is in his 16th season in Waco and is the Bears' all-time wins leader (302-199).
• Baylor is 10-4 against Pac-12 teams during the Drew era (1-0 vs. Arizona, 4-0 vs. Arizona State, 2-1 vs. Colorado, 1-1 vs. Oregon, 1-0 vs. USC and 1-2 vs. Washington State).
• BU is coming off a buzzer-beater 59-58 loss to SFA on Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center.
• Baylor won 58-49 at Arizona on Saturday. The Bears out-rebounded UA 51-19 and became the first team to hold Arizona below 50 points since Feb. 26, 2011 – breaking a streak of 271 games scoring 50+ points.
• The win at Arizona snapped the Wildcats 52-game non-conference home winning streak.
• BU has used 9 different starters in its first 10 games, including 4 players making their first DI starts.
• Baylor returned 3 letterwinners from last year's team, the nation's fewest among Power-5 teams.
• King McClure is the lone returning senior, while Tristan Clark and Mark Vital are back as sophomores.
• BU added 9 newcomers for 2018-19, including 5 transfers (two Division I, two JuCo, one Division III).
• Makai Mason is the first grad transfer in program history after graduating from Yale in May.
• Mario Kegler (Mississippi State) and Freddie Gillespie (Carleton) are eligible after sitting out 2017-18.
• Darius Allen (Palm Beach State) and Devonte Bandoo (Hutchinson) joined the Bears as JuCo transfers.
• BU also added prep players Jared Butler, Matthew Mayer, Flo Thamba and Jackson Moffatt.
• Clark leads the nation with a 79.2 field goal percentage, which is 8.6% better than the closest player.
• Baylor ranks 4th nationally in block percentage (18.7), while Clark is 18th nationally with 2.6 bpg.
• Drew is 1 of 17 Division I coaches with 300+ wins at his current school (1 of 9 in Power-5 conferences).
• Baylor is 56-4 in its last 60 non-conference home games dating back to Dec. 12, 2012.
• Baylor is 30-5 in home games against unranked opponents since 2016-17.
• Baylor is 121-16 in non-conference home games in the Drew era, including 95-8 since 2007-08.
• Baylor is 56-14 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• BU is 29-2 in December games against unranked opponents dating back to 2013. The Bears' only losses against unranked teams in that span were Dec. 1 at Wichita State and Dec. 18 vs. SFA.
• Baylor is 42-4 in regular-season non-conference games against unranked teams since December 2014.
• Baylor is 32-9 in games against non-Big 12 teams over the last 3 seasons since 2016-17.
• Baylor is 1 of 16 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (5 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• Baylor is 19-2 when leading at halftime since the start of the 2017-18 season (4-2 this season).
• Drew is coaching his 502nd game at Baylor (302-199). His .603 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 40+ games, and his teams have a .673 winning percentage since 2007-08 (268-130).
• BU is 74-17 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (6-2 this season).

QUICK HITS
• Baylor has posted a combined 143-33 record in November and December games during the Drew era, including a 61-11 mark in November and December games since 2013.
• Baylor is one of nine teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 11 seasons dating back to 2007-08 – Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
• BU is 103-86 in Big 12 play in 11 seasons since 2008 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 seasons.
• BU is 38-67 against AP-ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first 4 rebuilding seasons.
• Baylor has defeated 6 top-10 teams in the last two seasons entering 2018-19.
• Baylor is 11-21 against AP Top 10 teams since March 2012. BU started the Drew era 1-26 vs. top-10.
• Baylor has won 88% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (137-18).
• BU has recorded double-digit non-conference wins in 11 of the last 12 seasons (all except 2012-13).
• Baylor is 177-83 over the last 7 seasons, averaging 24.4 wins per season since 2012.
• Baylor's 177 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (220).
• Baylor is 268-130 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Baylor has the nation's 11th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 879 straight games. 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Drew is in his 16th season at Baylor and is the school's all-time wins leader (301).
• Baylor is one of nine teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 11 seasons dating back to 2007-08 – Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
• 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 Baylor players have been selected in the last six NBA Drafts, 10th-most nationally.
• In Drew's first 15 seasons at Baylor, 38 players have gone on to professional careers.
• Drew (48) is the youngest of 11 coaches to take his current program to four Sweet 16s since 2010.
• The Bears have advanced to postseason play in a school-record seven straight seasons (5 NCAA, 2 NIT).
• BU is 20-4 in regular-season tournaments since 2013-14, including wins in 14 of its last 15 games.
• Drew has won 20+ games in nine of the last 11 years — the Bears had 3 seasons of 20+ wins prior to his arrival. 

DREW ERA HIGHLIGHTS
• Drew is coaching his 502nd game at Baylor (302-199). His .603 winning percentage is best in BU history, and he's the program's all-time wins leader by 101 victories over the next closest coach.
• Baylor has a .673 winning percentage (268-130) since Drew's first year with no scholarship restrictions in 2007-08 and a .681 winning percentage (177-83) over the last 7 seasons since 2011-12.
• In Drew's 16 seasons as Baylor head coach, BU has been ranked in 211 of 502 games. Prior to Drew, BU was ranked in 2 of 2,197 games over 97 seasons. In 10 seasons since 2008-09, BU has been ranked in 208 of 367 games.
• BU has graduated 91 percent of its scholarship seniors since Drew took over in 2003 (31 of 34).
• In Drew's first 15 seasons at Baylor, 38 players have gone on to professional careers.
• Baylor has won 5 tournament titles under Drew — 2007 Paradise Jam, 2011 Las Vegas Classic, 2013 Postseason NIT, 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis and 2017 Hall of Fame Classic. BU is 20-4 in regular-season tournaments since 2013-14. 

A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Scott Drew's 303rd win at Baylor, 102 more than any coach in program history.
• Be Baylor's 4th straight win against Pac-12 opponents (vs. Oregon, vs. USC, at Arizona, vs. Oregon).
• Improved the Bears' record to 11-4 against Pac-12 teams during the Drew era.
• Make Baylor 33-9 in games against non-Big 12 teams since 2016-17.
• Make Baylor 144-33 in November/December games under Drew, including 72-19 in December games.
• Improve BU's record to 75-39 during King McClure's 4-year career and 72-39 in games McClure has played.
• Make Baylor 43-4 in its last 47 non-conference games against unranked teams.
• Improve Baylor to 57-4 in its last 61 non-conference home games, 122-16 in non-conference home games in the Drew era and 31-5 in home games vs. unranked teams since 2016-17. 

CLARK EFFICIENT ON BOTH ENDS 
• Sophomore forward Tristan Clark leads the nation with a .792 field goal percentage, which is more than 8% better than the closest player (Tennessee Tech's Micaiah Henry at .706). Clark is averaging just 1.5 missed field goals per game. 
• Clark also ranks 3rd in the Big 12 and 18th nationally with 2.6 blocks per game, and with 26 blocks through 10 games, he's nearly surpassed last season's blocked shots total (29 blocks in 33 games). 
• Clark's 26 blocked shots are more than 66 Division I teams (thru Dec. 19), and he's blocked multiple shots in 9 of 10 games this season after doing so in 9 of 33 games as a freshman last season. 

MCCLURE LEADING AS LONE RETURNING SENIOR 
• Senior King McClure, Baylor's lone player with 3+ years in the program, has taken his game to a new level this season. He's averaging 11.4 points per game, up 3.3 points from last year's 8.1 ppg average. 
• McClure is shooting 44% from the field (up 5% from last year), 39% from 3-point range (up 4%), has more than doubled his rebounding average to 5.2 rpg (up from 2.5 rpg) and is averaging 2.7 assists per game (up from 1.7 apg). 
• McClure has posted 20+ points 3 times this season after doing so in 1 of 100 games over his first 3 years. 
• McClure set a program record for rebounds by a guard when he grabbed 14 boards against George Mason (11/24). 

MASON BATTLING THROUGH INJURED ANKLE 
• Makai Mason has started the last 7 games after missing the majority of the previous 2+ seasons due to injury. 
• Mason played in only 1 game over his last two seasons at Yale before joining the Bears as a grad transfer. He also missed the first 3 games at Baylor with an ankle injury before debuting as the first grad transfer in program history on Nov. 16. 
• Mason leads the team with 14.1 points per game and ranks 2nd with 2.6 assists per game. 
• Mason led the Bears to a huge road win at Arizona (12/15) with a game-high 22 points and career-high 7 rebounds. 
• He has scored 9+ points in all 7 games played, including 3 games with 18+ points. 

DREW'S CREW VS. THE PAC-12 CONFERENCE 
• Scott Drew has posted a 10-4 record against Pac-12 teams during his 16 seasons at Baylor. The most recent game against a Pac-12 team was Baylor's 58-49 win at Arizona on Dec. 15, 2018. 
• Drew's 10-4 record includes games against 6 Pac-12 teams: Arizona (1-0), Arizona State (4-0), Colorado (2-1), Oregon (1-1), USC (1-0) and Washington State (1-2). BU is 3-1 in home games, 4-2 at neutral sites and 3-1 in road games. 
• Baylor's wins were vs. No. 14 Arizona State (2008-09), at Washington State (2008-09), at Arizona State (2009- 10), at home against Arizona State (2010-11), vs. Colorado (2011-12), at home against Arizona State (2012-13), vs. Colorado (2013-14), at home against No. 4 Oregon (2016-17), vs. USC (2016-17) and at Arizona (2018-19). 
• Baylor's losses against Pac-12 teams under Drew were at home against No. 6 Washington State (2007-08), vs. Washington State (2010-11), vs. Colorado (2012-13) and at No. 25 Oregon (2015-16). 

IMPRESSIVE NON-CONFERENCE NUMBERS AT HOME 
• Baylor is 56-4 in its last 60 non-conference home games dating back to Dec. 12, 2012. 
• Baylor is 30-5 in home games against unranked opponents since 2016-17 (losses vs. K-State (2), Miss. St, Texas So., SFA). 
• Baylor is 121-16 in non-conference home games in the Drew era, including 95-8 since 2007-08. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. OREGON 
• Friday's game is the 3rd series meeting between Baylor and Oregon. The teams split a home-and-home series in that included a 74-67 Oregon win in Eugene on Nov. 16, 2015, and a 66-49 Baylor win in Waco on Nov. 15, 2016. 
• No. 25 Oregon knocked off No. 20 Baylor in Eugune in the first series meeting. The Bears trailed by 16 points at 50-34 with 13:50 remaining, and the Bears cut it to 64-61 with 3 minutes left, but they wouldn't get any closer. 
• Unranked Baylor knocked off No. 4 Oregon in Waco in the second game of the 2016-17 season. The Bears limited Oregon to 33% shooting and 14% from 3-point range, and the Bears out-rebounded the Ducks 41-30. 

BEARS FALL ON BUZZER-BEATER AFTER SFA'S LATE RALLY 
• Baylor fell at the buzzer, 59-58, against SFA on Dec. 18. The Bears led 57-49 with 3 minutes left, but SFA closed on a 10-1 run capped by Shannon Bogues' 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining and layup at the buzzer. 
• BU led 33-25 at the half, but SFA began the 2nd half on a 9-0 run to take a 34-33 lead. 
• Baylor's 7 possessions in the final 3 minutes included 2 turnovers, 0-of-3 field goals and 1-of-4 at the foul line. 
• Tristan Clark went a perfect 9-of-9 from the field for 24 points, and Mark Vital added 12 rebounds and 5 steals.