Baylor
Butler
No. 11 MBB Hosts No. 18 Butler in Inaugural Big 12/Big East Battle
12/9/2019 1:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Baylor is 2-0 vs. AP Top 25 teams so far this season
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11/11 BAYLOR BEARS (7-1) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
BAYLOR (7-1) vs. BUTLER (9-0) Dec. 10, 2019 • 8 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: www.baylorstats.com WATCH: ESPN2 and ESPN app Talent: Rich Hollenberg (pxp), Chris Spatola (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor-IMG College | ESPN Central Texas Talent: John Morris (pxp), David Kaye (analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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18/19 BUTLER (9-0) Location: Indianapolis, Ind. Conference: Big East Head Coach: LaVall Jordan (Butler, 2001) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
After playing what amounted to a road game at their own gym in Saturday's 63-58 win over then-No. 12 Arizona, the 11th-ranked Baylor Bears (7-1) get another top-20 test when they host No. 18 Butler (9-0) in the inaugural Big 12/Big East Battle at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
"We're going to check and see if we can get credit for a road win," coach Scott Drew said of Saturday's crowd of 7,872 that was filled with Wildcat fans as a large Baylor contingent was in Arlington at the same time for the Big 12 Championship football game. "We know we can't clone people and have them in two spots at the same time. But, for those that supported football or basketball, Coach (Matt) Rhule and I can't thank them enough."
The Bears, who moved up seven spots after their second ranked win of the season, won't have that problem Tuesday night. Nine years removed from back-to-back appearances in the national championship game, Butler doesn't have the large Texas fanbase that Arizona does.
But, the Bulldogs will have at least one proud alum in the house. Drew is a 1993 graduate of the Indianapolis university and served as a manager with the basketball program under current athletics director Barry Collier.
"After you play a team in non-conference, you're always rooting for them, because it affects your net rating," Drew said. "Well, I always cheer for Butler anyway, so after this game it will be real easy to cheer for them. Coach Collier is the one who really started it off on the basketball front. He's helped a lot of coaches throughout the years in the coaching profession and has a ton of respect. A lot of people really look up to what he's done, not only as a coach but as an athletic director."
Current Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was at the helm when Butler made consecutive Final Four appearances, losing to Duke in the 2010 final and then UConn the next year.
Under the tutelage of another Butler alum, third-year head coach LaVall Jordan, the Bulldogs are one of eight remaining undefeated NCAA Division I teams in the country. Picked eighth in the Big East preseason coaches' poll, Butler has reeled off wins over Minnesota, Missouri, Stanford, Ole Miss and Florida to go from not receiving votes to 18th in the country.
"I think the confidence level was really high," Drew said after his team's wins over Villanova and Arizona, "and then they started watching film on Butler and realized we've got another tough opponent to get ready for. That's the great thing about playing a quality opponent right after a big win. I know they're in the same situation."
What's been impressive about Baylor's six-game winning streak is the Bears have been able to do it in different ways. They kept pace with Villanova's up-tempo offense and handed the then-No. 17 Wildcats their first loss, 87-78, at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, then grinded out a defense-dominated battle to knock Arizona from the unbeaten ranks, 63-58.
"We try not to be limited," said junior guard MaCio Teague, who's second on the team with 15.4 points per game. "We try to play defense and let that fuel our offense. So, on nights that we miss shots, we still have a chance to win games because we're locked-in defensively."
Baylor's defense was its best against Arizona, holding the Wildcats to a miserable 26.9 percent from the field overall (14-of-52) and just 2-of-18 from outside the arc. Senior forward Freddie Gillespie, who earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors, had career highs of 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.
"We don't win against Arizona without him, for sure, and it's great when people have an opportunity they step up," Drew said of Gillespie, who is averaging 9.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game with 6-9 Tristan Clark limited in his return from injury.
"I definitely didn't expect it," Gillespie said of his first Big 12 honor, "but I'm praying for (Clark)), wishing the best for him. Mark (Vital) was playing really well, but got in foul trouble. Me and Flo (Thamba) got to spend some good time together on the court, so that was fun."
Butler, averaging just 71.7 points per game, runs a much slower, methodical offense that likes to shorten the game by using nearly all of the shot clock on each possession.
"For us, it's going to be a war to see if we can get second-chance opportunity and see if we can get in transition," Drew said, "because they do a great job of not turning the ball over. They're one of the best in the country."
This will be a test for a Baylor defense that has forced 15 or more turnovers in seven of eight games this season after doing that just seven times in 34 games last year. The Bulldogs are second nationally with just 9.9 turnovers per game.
"It's something that will definitely be in our head," Gillespie said. "We always want to take care of the ball (12.3 turnovers per game), but for this game we'll definitely be focused on limiting our turnovers. Offensively, I just think we'll do what we always do, which is take good shots and offensive rebound. Just stick to our bread and butter."
Tuesday's game will be televised by ESPN2, with Rich Hollenberg and Chris Spatola calling the action.
Baylor will take a break for final exams before returning to face UT Martin (3-5) in The Battleground 2K19 at 9 p.m. next Wednesday, Dec. 18, at the Toyota Center in Houston.
STORY LINES
• No. 11 Baylor hosts No. 18 Butler in the inaugural Big 12/Big East Battle at 8 p.m. CT Tuesday.
• Baylor's 8-2 record in conference challenge games is best in the Big 12 (5-1 vs. SEC, 3-1 vs. Pac-12)
• Baylor is coming off a 63-58 win over No. 12 Arizona. The Bears won despite shooting .304 from the field (17-56), and they held Arizona to its lowest FG percentage (.269; 14-of-52) since at least 2000.
• Baylor head coach Scott Drew is facing his alma mater for the first time as a head coach. He faced Butler twice previously as an assistant at Valpo (Valpo won in 1993, Butler won in 1994).
• BU is facing a top-20 team for the 3rd time in 4 games – No. 17 Villanova, No. 12 Arizona, No. 18 Butler.
• Tuesday is BU's 10th non-conference home game vs. a ranked team in program history (8th-highest ranked).
• This is the 5th all-time matchup of ranked non-conference teams in Waco and 2nd such game in the last 4 days – No. 25 BU vs. No. 16 Vanderbilt (2015), No. 9 BU vs. No. 7 Xavier (2016), No. 16 BU vs. No. 8 Wichita State (2017), No. 18 BU vs. No. 12 Arizona (2019) and No. 11 BU vs. No. 18 Butler (2019).
• Baylor's defense has forced 15+ turnovers in 7 of 8 games after doing so in 7 of 34 games last year.
• Baylor is 10-1 against Big East members during the Drew era, including 1-0 this season (Villanova).
• Drew is 7-0 against Big East teams in neutral-site games, 3-0 at home and 0-1 on the road.
• BU is No. 11 in the most recent AP Top 25 and has been ranked in all 6 AP polls this season.
• Baylor's No. 11 ranking is its highest since the Bears were No. 9 entering the 2017 Big 12 tournament.
• BU has won 6 straight games, its longest non-conference winning streak since starting 15-0 in 2017.
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th among Power-5 teams (45th overall) in 3-point shooting (.378).
• BU ranks 23rd nationally in turnover margin (+4.9) and 24th nationally in defensive turnover pct. (24.2).
• BU won its third tournament title in 4 years by beating Villanova to win the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
• Baylor is 1 of 6 Power-5 programs to win 18+ games in each of the last 12 seasons since 2008, joining Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and North Carolina.
• Baylor is 43-11 in games against non-Big 12 teams over the last 4 seasons since 2016-17.
• Baylor is the only school with FB, MBB, WBB & VB all ranked. Those teams are a combined 53-5 this year. All of those teams are currently top-11 ranked (No. 1 VB, No. 7 WBB, No. 8 FB, No. 11 MBB).
• Head coach Scott Drew is in his 17th season in Waco and is BU's all-time wins leader (323-210).
• Drew is coaching his 534th game at Baylor (323-210). His .606 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 40+ games, and his teams have a .672 winning percentage since 2007-08 (289-141).
• Baylor is playing its 220th game as a ranked team under Drew – BU was ranked in 2 of 2197 games over the program's 97 seasons prior to Drew. Since 2008-09, BU has been ranked in 217 of 399 games.
• Baylor is coming off its 10th 20-win season in the last 12 years. The Bears were a No. 9 seed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, where they knocked off Syracuse before falling to No. 1 seed Gonzaga.
• BU was picked 2nd in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, tying the highest in program history (2012-13). The Bears were picked 9th in last year's poll, but overcame a multitude of injuries to finish in 4th place.
• Baylor is 102-8 in non-conference home games since 2007-08, including 63-4 since December 2012.
QUICK HITS
• BU returned 8 letterwinners from last season, including 5 players who made at least 7 starts – Mark Vital (34), Jared Butler (21), Tristan Clark (14), Freddie Gillespie (11) and Devonte Bandoo (7).
• Baylor returned 9 players with at least 26 games of Division I experience, including a pair of transfers who are now starters after sitting out last season – Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague.
• Eight of Baylor's 14 players either have used or are currently using a redshirt year. Five after transferring to BU – Flagler, Gillespie, Mitchell, Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Teague, and three as freshmen — Moffatt, Turner and Vital.
• Eight of Baylor's nine starting point guards under Drew have earned All-Big recognition (14 of last 15 seasons).
• BU is 43-72 against AP-ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first 4 rebuilding seasons.
• Baylor is 12-23 against AP Top 10 teams since March 2012. BU started the Drew era 1-26 vs. top-10.
• Baylor has defeated 7 top-10 teams in the last 3 seasons, including a 6-3 mark vs. top-10 teams in Waco.
• Baylor is 34-4 when leading at halftime over the last 3 seasons since 2017-18.
• Baylor has won 88% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (152-20).
• Baylor has won 20+ games in 10 of the last 12 seasons after recording only three 20-win seasons in the previous 100 years of Baylor Basketball (1946, 1948, 1988).
• The Bears are one of 11 programs nationally (1 of 6 in Power-5) to win 18+ games in every year since 2008.
• Baylor is 1 of 14 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (6 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• BU is 95-21 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (7-1 this season).
• Baylor is 198-94 over the last 9 seasons, averaging 24 wins per season since 2012.
• Baylor's 198 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (243).
• Baylor is 289-141 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Baylor is 5-1 all-time in Big 12/SEC Challenges, the best record of any team in either league.
• Baylor has the nation's 11th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 911 straight games — the last time Baylor failed to make a 3-pointer was more than 29 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1990 vs. Texas Tech (0-8).
• BU has recorded double-digit non-conference wins in 11 of the last 12 seasons (all except 2012-13).
• Baylor has won 6 tournament titles under Drew (2007 Paradise Jam, 2011 Las Vegas Classic, 2013 NIT, 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis, 2017 Hall of Fame Classic and 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational).
SERIES HISTORY
• Tuesday is the first series meeting. It's also the first time Scott Drew has coached against his alma mater as a head coach. Valpo went 1-1 vs. Butler in Drew's first 2 years on staff as an assistant at Valpo (1993-94).
• Tuesday is also the first Big 12/Big East Battle game for both teams. The Big East leads 4-1 after winning the first 4 games in the matchup before Iowa State took the Big 12's first win against Seton Hall on Sunday.
• BU is 10-8 all-time against current Big East members, but the Bears are 10-1 vs. the Big East during the Drew era.
DREW'S BEARS 10-1 AGAINST BIG EAST
• Tuesday is Baylor's first time facing Butler and the Bears' 12th game against Big East members under Drew.
• Baylor is 10-1 against Big East teams during the Drew era, with the lone loss at Xavier in 2017. Drew has faced six Big East teams – Xavier (3-1), Creighton (2-0), Providence (2-0), St. John's (1-0), Villanova (1-0) and Georgetown (1-0).
• Baylor is 10-0 under Drew against the Big East in home or neutral games (7-0 neutral, 3-0 home, 0-1 road).
• After Tuesday's game vs. Butler, the only Big East opponent the Bears will have never faced is Seton Hall.
• Drew vs. Big East – 2008 win vs. Providence (n), 2009 win vs. Georgetown (h), 2009 win vs. Xavier (n), 2012 win vs. Xavier (n), 2012 win vs. St. John's (n), 2013 win vs. Providence (h), 2014 win vs. Creighton (n), 2016 win vs. Xavier (h), 2017 win vs. Creighton (n), 2017 loss at Xavier, 2019 win vs. Villanova (n).
BIG 12'S BEST RECORD IN CONFERENCE CHALLENGES
• Baylor is 8-2 in conference challenges – 5-1 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and 3-1 in the Big 12/Pac-10 Series.
• BU's 5-1 record in the Big 12/SEC Challenge includes wins over Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama.
• Baylor's 5-1 record is best by any team in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech are all 4-2, Iowa State, K-State and Texas are all 3-3 and West Virginia is 1-5.
• Baylor's 8-2 record in conference challenges is best in the Big 12, followed by Kansas (7-3), Oklahoma State (7-4), Oklahoma (6-4), Texas (6-4), Iowa State (6-5), K-State (5-6), Texas Tech (5-6), TCU (4-2) and West Virginia (1-6).
NON-CONFERENCE MEETING OF RANKED TEAMS
• Tuesday will be the 5th time a non-conference matchup of ranked teams has been played at the Ferrell Center.
• No. 25 Baylor defeated No. 16 Vanderbilt, 69-67, on Dec. 6, 2015.
• No. 9 Baylor defeated No. 7 Xavier, 76-61, on Dec. 3, 2016.
• No. 16 Baylor lost to No. 8 Wichita State, 69-62, on Dec. 2, 2017.
• No. 18 Baylor defeated No. 12 Arizona, 63-58, on Dec. 7, 2019.
• Tuesday is the 10th time a ranked non-conference opponent has visited Waco – No. 18 Butler (2019), No. 12 Arizona (2019), No. 8 Wichita State (2017), No. 7 Xavier (2016), No. 16 Vanderbilt (2015), No. 6 Washington State (2007), No. 21 Purdue (2004), No. 6 Arizona (1997), No. 20 Oklahoma State (1958) and No. 14 Wyoming (1951).
• BU is 4-5 all-time in non-conference home games against ranked opponents (3-3 in Drew era).
