Baylor
UConn
No. 8/7 WBB Hosts No. 1/1 UConn on National Stage Thursday
1/2/2019 2:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lady Bears and Huskies meet for the seventh time on ESPN at 8 p.m.
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#8/7 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (9-1) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
#8/7 BAYLOR (8-1) vs #1/1UCONN (11-0) Jan. 3, 2019 • 8 p.m. Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284)  LIVE STATS: StatBroadcastWATCH: ESPN / WatchESPN Talent: Adam Amin (PBP), Rebecca Lobo (Color), Kara Lawson (Color), Holly Rowe (Sideline) LISTEN: BaylorBears.com/1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:    Channel Lineup: DISH: 140 DIRECTV: 206 UVERSE: 602 GRANDE: 24 |
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#1/1 UCONN HUSKIES (11-0) Location: Storrs, Conn. Conference: AAC Head Coach: Geno Auriemma (West Chester, 1981) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Kim Mulkey likes the idea of maybe playing a tune-up game or two before the start of conference play.
Facing top-ranked Connecticut can never be mistaken for a tune-up.
Before jumping right into defending their eight consecutive Big 12 regular-season championships, the No. 8/7 Baylor Lady Bears (9-1) host No. 1 UConn (11-0) at 8 p.m. Thursday in a nationally televised game (ESPN) at the Ferrell Center.
"The fun part is we get to laugh at all the media who speculate that if we don't win the UConn game, we're not going to get a No. 1 seed. Well, my gosh, is the world going to come to an end?" Mulkey said. "It's January 2, so many things can happen. . . . If we beat UConn, are they going to lose a No. 1 seed? Nah. And they shouldn't. They're the best team in the country. It's just funny to me when I read some of that."
Two of the premier teams in the country over the last 20 years, Baylor and Connecticut are meeting for just the seventh time. The Huskies, who have won 11 national titles in the last 24 years under coach Geno Auriemma, lead the all-time series, 4-2.
In the last meeting two years ago in Storrs, the Huskies used a late 16-2 run and a 19-point night from then-freshman point guard Crystal Daingerfield to pull away for a 72-61 win. Baylor's lone holdovers from that game, 6-foot-7 senior All-American Kalani Brown had nine points and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench, while 6-4 junior Lauren Cox was 0-for-4 from the floor and had zero points in five minutes.
"I watched the film and showed it to her," Mulkey said of Cox, who is averaging 11.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. "She looked like a totally different player, but she got in the game. I hope she doesn't forget it. A lot of freshmen got in the Stanford game (68-63 loss on Dec. 15). If we ever play Stanford again down the road, I'll show them, 'Hey, this is what you looked like as a freshman. Has your body transformed? Are you a better basketball player?'''
Auriemma says Cox and Brown, who's averaging 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks and shooting 61.4 percent from the floor, present "a real test for us." UConn's only player that can come close to matching up with the Lady Bears' imposing inside duo is 6-4 freshman Olivia Nelson-Oboda, who averages just 11.3 minutes per game.
"As much as you think you might be able to (prepare for their size), you really can't," Auriemma said. "There's very little ways that you can simulate how they play and how big they are and how physical they are. You just have to go down and play the game and try to figure out different ways defensively that you can try to negate some of that. Other than what we normally do with some of the guys we have at practice, there's really no way to prepare."
Mulkey said Auriemma will "figure it out. I don't feel sorry for him."
In that road loss to Stanford, Brown and Cox combined for just seven points and shot 3-of-11 from the floor.
"I would think they're going to look at the Stanford film and go, 'OK, what happened?' Those two only got seven points," Mulkey said. "They'll real quickly see that I didn't play Cox in the second half. It's kind of hard to shoot it from the bench. . . . Size is something they will have to deal with but he dealt with it two years ago and he didn't have the size then. Now, he had more experienced players then and he had more depth."
While the Lady Bears used all 12 players in Monday's 98-37 blowout of UTRGV and routinely have 10 players record double-digit minutes, Auriemma rarely goes deeper than one to three players on his bench and has a pretty steady rotation of just six players.
Seniors Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier lead the way with 20.1 and 18.6 points per game, respectively, combining for nearly half of the Huskies' scoring average. Daingerfield and 5-11 freshman Christyn Williams each chip in with 13.8 points, while 6-1 sophomore Megan Walker (10.8 ppg) gives UConn a fifth double-figure scorer.
"It boils down to this, they have All-Americans at every position," Mulkey said. "There's an old adage, you don't need but five. In the game of basketball, you don't need but five players. We've got to score with them. They score at every position."
Mulkey calls the 6-3 Samuelson and 6-1 Collier "nightmares to guard."
"They're just so fluid with what they do," she said. "What are their weaknesses? When you do scouting reports, it's like, 'We'll take this away or make her do this' With those two kids, they're just such all-around ball players. Samuelson's size on the perimeter, most kids with that size are post players, but she's such a great shooter. And then Collier's ability to get them extra shots and get everybody on the team involved and make them better. They're just really good."
Since his first trip to the Ferrell Center on Dec. 18, 2011, when the record-tying crowd of 10,627 gave him a warm greeting before the Lady Bears' 66-61 home-court victory, Auriemma said the Baylor crowds have "always amazed me."
"I remember walking into their gym the very first time we played down there and thought, 'I'd like to bring them home with me.' These people are great, they appreciate me."
Cox said earlier road games this season against Stanford, Arizona State and South Carolina "helped us a lot. Especially the Arizona State and Stanford games, just because they were a lot closer."
"We played those big games away, but now we're coming back home and we have the crowd advantage on our side," she said. "I think we got lazy, sometimes, in that game (against Stanford), and we were tired. We didn't have a lot of energy. We have to come out and have a quick start in the game and have a lot of energy."
After closing out non-conference play, Baylor opens league play with a matchup against Texas Tech (9-3, 0-1) at noon Sunday in Lubbock. In one of four conference openers on Wednesday, Tech lost on the road at Oklahoma, 66-61.
TOP 10 CLASH IN WACO ON ESPN
Baylor's history with UConn will reach seven games Thursday with the 8 p.m. nationally-televised matchup on ESPN. The series includes three sets of back-to-back wins with UConn book-ending on the front and back end. Baylor and UConn's first meeting came in the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio on April 4, 2010 when Baylor, as a No. 4 seed, surprised the nation by reaching the national semifinals despite nine losses heading into the tournament. The No. 1 ranked and seeded Huskies took a 20-point win and went on to win the national title.
Just seven months later with a new season in 2010-11, the teams were ranked No. 1 & No. 2 heading into a matchup that saw the top-ranked Huskies edge Baylor 65-64 Nov. 16, 2010. The Lady Bears were ranked No. 1 in each of the next two matchups and Baylor took a 66-61 win over the No. 2 Huskies in their first trip to Waco Dec. 18, 2011 on ESPN. Baylor would go on to a perfect 40-0 season capturing the program's second national title. The Lady Bears returned to Hartford, Conn. Feb. 18, 2013 in another No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, and top-ranked Baylor took a 76-70 victory over the Huskies on their home floor to even the all-time series.
On Jan. 13, 2014, the No. 7-ranked Baylor Lady Bears welcomed UConn back to Waco, but the Huskies won 66-55, and the last time the two schools met No. 2/5 Baylor fell to No. 3/2 UConn 72-61 in Storrs, Conn. In each of the last five matchups the two teams have been ranked in the top 7, and Thursday will continue that trend as Baylor ranks No. 7 in the WBCA poll with UConn ranking first in both polls. Thursday will mark the third time that the two programs will play televised on ESPN's flagship network while all seven contests have been broadcast on the ESPN family of networks.
HOME FLOOR STREAKS ON THE LINE VS. UCONN
The Lady Bears have a pair of home win streaks on the line Thursday when No. 1/1 UConn comes to town. Overall, Baylor has 27 consecutive victories at the Ferrell Center after Monday's 98-37 win over UTRGV. And, the last time Baylor lost a non-conference game at home was also to UConn Jan. 13, 2014 (66-55). Since that loss, Baylor has 44 consecutive wins in Waco over non-conference opponents. The Lady Bears an keep that streak alive with a win Thursday.
BAYLOR VS. NO. 1'S
Thursday will mark the 15th time that Baylor has faced the nation's top-ranked team, including the AIAW era and the NCAA era in teams vs. the No. 1 team in the AP or WBCA poll. The Lady Bears have yet to knock off a top-ranked program in any of those matchups. In the Kim Mulkey era, Baylor has faced the No. 1 team four times with three of those occasions coming against UConn. The other was a loss to Texas Tech, ranked No. 1 in the coach's poll and No. 2 in the AP, Jan. 17, 2004.
UCONN IN SHORT
The Huskies have just three losses in the previous five seasons and have begun the 2018-19 campaign with an unblemished 11-0 record. After four consecutive NCAA titles from 2013-2016, UConn has been stopped short in the Final Four in each of the last two seasons, including a loss to eventual national champion Notre Dame last season. However, UConn's signature win this year came in revenge against the Fighting Irish as the Huskies downed top-ranked Notre Dame on the road 89-71 Dec. 2, and UConn has been ranked No. 1 since. UConn survived a scare from Oklahoma after trailing for three quarters before defeating the Sooners 72-63 Dec. 19 on the road. Then, in their final game before facing Baylor, the Huskies took down No. 14/13 Cal on the road 76-66. UConn is coached by Geno Auriemma in his 34th season; he's led the Huskies to 11 NCAA Championships and 19 Final Fours. This season's team has five players averaging in double figures with Katie Samuelson averaging 20.1 points per contest to lead the way.
BAYLOR'S LAST OUTING
In a final tune-up before the showdown matchup Thursday, Baylor took down UTRGV (formerly UT Pan American) 98-37 Monday in a New Year's Even contest. As has been the story for Baylor this season, a balanced scoring effort highlighted the win and for the third time this season, and just the fourth time in program history, the Lady Bears had seven players score in double figures with Lauren Cox's 17 leading the way. In addition, Baylor tied a school record with 75 rebounds in the game extending its home win streak to 27 games and its non-conference home win streak to 44.
POUND THE PAINT, CLEAN THE GLASS: LADY BEARS AMONG NATION'S BEST IN REBOUNDING, SCORING EFFICIENCY
In 11 statistical categories, the Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally. But, the Lady Bears (thru games Dec. 31) rank tops in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (36.0), rebound margin (+22.9) and field goal percentage defense (.295) while ranking second in field goal percentage (.525). The Lady Bears boast two players in the nation's Top 25 in field goal percentage with Kalani Brown ranking 14th (.614) and NaLyssa Smith checking in at 23rd (.588). Baylor's rebounding is a staple of the program, and the Lady Bears have out-rebounded all 10 opponents this season, Baylor won the rebounding battle in 34 of 35 contests last year, and in 79 of the last 82 contests, BU has had the upper hand on the boards.
LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
Baylor had four separate runs of at least 10 unanswered points Monday vs. UTRGV giving the Lady Bears 12 runs this season of at least 10 unanswerd. The Lady Bears have also put together three runs of 20 or more points, and the only games in which BU hasn't had a run of 10 or more came in a 21-point win over Georgetown (11/24), a 38-point win over Morehead State (12/12) and a five-point loss at Stanford (12/15). In addition, Baylor is out-scoring opponents 135-34 on the fast break this season.
SHARING IS CARING: BAYLOR LEADS NATION IN ASSISTS PER GAME
Baylor's 24.0 assists per contest ranks best in the nation led by Chloe Jackson's 6.2 assists per contest (ranks 12th nationally) and DiDi Richards' 2.75:1 assists-to-turnover ratio ranks 24th in the nation. In fact, out of Baylor's 341 made field goals this season, the Lady Bears have assisted on 240 marking 70.4 percent of the team's buckets coming on an assist from a teammate.
50 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: BAYLOR NEARLY UNBEATABLE WHEN HITTING HALF ITS SHOTS
In just one occurrence since Kim Mulkey's arrival at Baylor in the 2000-01 season have the Lady Bears lost a game when shooting 50 percent or better. Baylor's record under Mulkey when shooting 50 percent or better is 206-1, and the Lady Bears are 33-0 when shooting 60 percent or better. The lone loss came in the 2017 NCAA Tournament when Baylor fell to Mississippi State in the Elite 8, 94-85 on March 26 despite shooting 53.3 percent from the floor.
JACKSON, LANDRUM THRIVING AT POINT GUARD OUT OF POSITION
Head Coach Kim Mulkey said at the Big 12 Women's Basketball Tipoff Oct. 16 that she had never entered a season without knowing who her point guard would be. Despite that fact, Baylor has had no trouble distributing or sharing the ball through nine games this season. Through Dec. 41, Baylor ranked tops in the nation in assists per game (24.0) and No. 5 in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.56).
Chloe Jackson and Juicy Landrum, true-two guards, are the Lady Bears' primary point guards this season and both have met the challenge thus far with success. Jackson ranks 12th in nation in assists per game (6.2) while Landrum ranks 29th in the country in assists-to-turnover ratio at 2.63:1. Landrum is third on the team with 42 assists (4.2 p/g), and DiDi Richards is averaging 4.4 assists per contest through 10 games.
I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE, SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME: BROWN & COX EARN ANOTHER SPOT ON PROMINENT WATCH LIST
Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox garnered recognition from several voting entities for the upcoming season. The latest came Nov. 20 when the WBCA put both players on the Wade Trophy Watch List – Brown's second time to be a selection. The John Wooden Award selected both players to the Top 30 Watch List for its annual All-American team and Most Outstanding Player award.
The senior, Brown, and junior Cox have been tabbed by many as the best post combo in the nation, and the pair has combined for six preseason All-America honors with Brown taking home four and Cox a pair. Brown was a first-team selection by the Associated Press, Athlon, Street & Smith's and Lindy's Sports while Cox earned second-team nods from Athlon and Street & Smith's.
Both players were selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 team and Brown was selected to repeat as Big 12 Player of the Year. Brown is also on the WBCA's Lisa Leslie Award Watch List for the nation's top center while Cox is on the Katrina McCalin Award Watch List for top power forward.
BAYLOR SIGNS TOP-10 PROSPECT OLIVER AS LONE ADDITION TO 2019 SIGNING CLASS
A year after signing five players and accepting a graduate transfer, Jordyn Oliver gets all the Lady Bears' attention this season as the No. 10-ranked national prospect (Collegiate Girls Basketball Report) signed with Baylor. Oliver, a Prosper, Texas native is a 3-time TABC All-State selection, and was also ranked No. 11 by ESPN Hoopgurlz.
MULKEY'S MIDAS TOUCH: 1,100 WINS
Everything head coach Kim Mulkey touches doesn't necessarily turn to gold, but if it has to do with college basketball, nearly everything she touches results in a win. Baylor's win vs. Nicholls (Nov. 6) gave Mulkey 1,100 wins combined as a collegiate player (130, La. Tech), assistant coach (430, La. Tech) & head coach (540, Baylor). In those capacities, Mulkey's teams are a combined 1,100-192 for an astounding .851 winning percentage.
FIERCE FIVE: FISH EAGER TO MAKE MARK AFTER SELECTION AS NO. 1 RECRUITING CLASS
For the second time in program history, the Baylor women's basketball team signed the nation's top recruiting class and the "Fierce Five" freshmen are three games deep into 2018-19. Caitlin Bickle, Aquira DeCosta, Queen Egbo, Honesty Scott-Grayson and NaLyssa Smith all signed with the Lady Bears and all were ranked in the Top 30 overall by ESPN Hoopgurlz and boasted a five-star rating. Smith is shining brightest through the first nine games averaging 12.1 points and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per contest while picking up the Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Week award Nov 12.
UCONN CONCLUDES NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE BOASTING FOUR FROM PRESEASON TOP 25
Top ranked UConn marks the fourth nationally-ranked opponent Baylor has faced this season in the Lady Bears' final game before closing the season with 18-straight Big 12 contests. Baylor defeated No. 23 Arizona State on the road Nov. 1, beat No. 18/19 South Carolina on the road Dec. 2 and fell to No. 11/11 Stanford on the road Dec. 15.
