BAYLOR BEARS (15-8, 6-4) Location: Waco, Texas   Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes	BAYLOR (15-8, 6-4) vs. OKLAHOMA (15-9, 3-8) February 11, 2018 • 8:01 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN2 | ESPN App Talent: Mark Neely (pxp), Chris Spatola (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor-IMG College / ESPN Central Texas Talent: John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (analyst) Baylor Social Media:
	OKLAHOMA SOONERS (15-9, 3-8) Location: Norman, Okla. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Lon Kruger (K-State, 1975) Roster | Stats | Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
           
Probably now more than ever, Scott Drew looks to the Bible for inspiring messages and examples he can share with his Baylor basketball team.
           
Having already lost two projected starters to season-ending injuries, Drew's Bears had to play Saturday's game against league-leading and now 18^th-ranked Kansas State without starting guards Makai Mason (bruised toe) and King McClure (knee). And fought the Wildcats down to the wire in a 70-63 loss that dropped the Bears to 15-8 overall and 6-4 in the Big 12.
           
Drew, the eternal optimist, brought up the challenges Job faced. But ultimately, he settled on Gideon, who started out with an Israelite army of 32,000 but was sent to attack the Midian camp with just 300 men armed with nothing more than trumpets and torches hidden inside clay pitchers.
           
"We were kind of talking about Gideon the other day," said Drew, whose Bears will host Oklahoma (15-9, 3-8) at 8 p.m. Monday at the Ferrell Center. "Kind of feels like that with the losses we've had."
           
But like Gideon, Drew will take the ones he's got and go into battle with the Sooners, whether Mason or McClure are ready or not.
           
"He's the same every day," sophomore forward Mario Kegler said of Drew. "He brought you here for a reason, so a man goes down, the next one's got to step up and be ready to play. Coach Drew's not going to change for anyone."
           
Drew, who came into Sunday afternoon's press conference beaming from ear to ear, said it's the lesson he learned from his dad that life is short.
           
"There's only one way to live, and we don't know when it's coming to an end, so you want to make every day count," he said. "At the end of the day, we get to play basketball. It's not the toughest, it's not the hardest thing. It keeps you up when you lose, but at the same time it's a blessing and a privilege. We get to work with great young men every day, and it's our job to put them in the best position to be successful – not only academically, not only in basketball, but also for the rest of their lives."
           
Asked if the latest injuries have tested his always-sunny optimism, he said, "Fake it till you make it, right?"
           
As long as Mason and McClure are sidelined, Drew and the Bears may have to fake it, but they put up a heck of a fight in Saturday's game and had a seven-point lead with under 10 minutes to play.
           
"It just goes to show what our team is about," said freshman point guard Jared Butler, who is averaging 8.6 points and 2.7 assists per game. "The whole season, we've had like four or five different lineups. It just shows that we're all bought-in, we're all trying to win, we're all capable of playing. That's one thing I really like about this team is that everybody knows their role and everybody's trying to step up."
           
That was the case again on Saturday, when Division III transfer Freddie Gillespie had 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. The Bears also got a team-high 15 points from Devonte Bandoo in his first conference start, 13 points from Butler and seven points off the bench from freshman Matthew Mayer.
           
"If you sit there and just focus on what's happened and the bad and all that, then you're going to end up playing bad," said Kegler, who's averaging 9.1 points and 5.7 rebounds. "You've got to flush that out and be ready for the next game. It is what it is. You can't go back and change anything."
           
Baylor is facing an Oklahoma team the Bears just destroyed two weeks ago in Norman, blowing out the Sooners, 77-57, on their home court. OU has lost four in a row and won't have 6-10 senior center Jamuni McNeace, who sat out Saturday's 66-54 loss at home to Texas Tech with a right ankle injury.
           
"We'll try to get him a full week here and see how he responds to that," said OU coach Lon Kruger, who ruled him out for Monday's game.
           
"I think everybody makes tweaks, makes adjustments," Drew said. "Might not make as many this game, because the original game plans might work better with different personnel."
           
Baylor's lack of veteran leadership and experience showed in the K-State game, when the Wildcats outscored the Bears 29-15 in the last 9 ½ minutes. That's where the return of Mason or McClure would be a big boost for Monday's game.
           
"Each game these guys play in those situations, they gain experience," Drew said. "Unfortunately, you don't get experience until you get experience. That's why coaches alwys like juniors and seniors being out there and freshmen and sophomores learning from watching or having someone else to lead that way. But it is what it is, and it's a great opportunity for young people to step up."
           
Senior guard Christian James leads a balanced Oklahoma attack with 15.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, with sophomore forward Brady Manek adding 11.6 points and 6.5 boards.
           
Indicative of Baylor's depth situation, former walk-on football player Obim Okeke played a career-high 10 minutes. And while he didn't score, the 6-0 junior guard played solid defense and had one rebound and a steal.
           
"He probably knew more what our opponents do on the defensive end since he's used to playing their defense more than ours," Drew said of Okeke. "Last year, when he was in our zone, he would guard from one sideline to the other. And this time, he was a little more reserved. He's a special kid. He's a great, great teammate, a great person, and he does so much to help our team."

STORY LINES 
• Baylor looks to snap a season-long 2-game losing streak when it hosts Oklahoma at 8 p.m. CT Monday.
• Monday's game is televised on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Chris Spatola on the call.
• Baylor is looking to sweep the season series vs. OU for a 4th time since 2010 (2010, 2012, 2017).
• The Bears won 77-47 at OU on Jan. 28, handing OU its largest home loss since 1963.
• BU is coming off a 70-63 loss to K-State on Saturday and an 84-72 loss at Texas on Wednesday.
• The Bears played without Makai Mason (toe) and King McClure (knee) in Saturday's game, and with Tristan Clark and Jake Lindsey out for the season, BU played without 4 projected starters.
• BU entered the season with 3 returning letterwinners after losing its top 4 scorer's from last season.
• Prior to 2 losses last week, BU was on a 6-game winning streak and hadn't lost consecutive games.
• In 9 games since Tristan Clark's season-ending injury, BU is shooting 39% on 3-pointers and making 9.7 treys per game. Those numbers are up from 29% and 6.6 made 3's per game prior to the injury.
• Clark was ruled out for the season after suffering a left-knee injury in the Jan. 20 win over Iowa State.
• Four Bears are shooting 39%+ from 3-point range and making 1.5+ 3FGs/game since Clark's injury – Mason (46%, 2.8), Devonte Bandoo (44%, 1.6), McClure (43%, 1.9) and Jared Butler (39%, 2.4).
• BU is averaging 74.9 ppg in 9 games since Clark's injury, up from 71.4 ppg prior to losing Clark.
• BU has scored 72+ points in 7 of its last 8 games after doing so in only 7 of its first 15 games.
• Scott Drew is in his 16th season in Waco and is the Bears' all-time wins leader (311-203).
• Baylor is 28-2 when leading at halftime since the start of the 2017-18 season (13-2 this season).
• Mario Kegler is averaging 11.7 ppg and 5.2 rpg while shooting 53% over his last 6 games.
• Jared Butler joined the starting lineup with Clark out and is averaging 11.9 ppg and 3.9 apg in 9 starts.
• Butler is shooting 39% on 3FGs (22-56) since becoming a starter after 23% (10-44) in his first 14 games.
• Butler is 6th in the Big 12 with 3.6 assists/gm in league play. He had a season-high 6 assists Wednesday at Texas and has 47 assists in his last 12 games after posting 14 assists in his first 11 games. 
• Mason needs 15 points to reach 1,000 for his Division I career (680 at Yale, 305 at Baylor).
• Mark Vital is the nation's only player with as many offensive as defensive rebs. (81-81; min. 140 total).
• Flo Thamba and Freddie Gillespie have combined for 9.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 1.9 bpg in 31.8 mpg in 9 games since Clark's injury. Prior to the injury they averaged 2.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 0.9 bpg in 12.8 mpg.
• Bandoo joined the starting lineup Saturday and had 15 points in 36 minutes, both his most since Nov. 12.
• Gillespie is averaging 9.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.4 bpg and shooting 79% (22-28) in 21.4 mpg over the last 5 games. He entered that stretch with 25 points all season, including 8 DNPs in 9 games preceding Clark's injury.
• BU is 2nd nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (38.5), its 6th straight year in the nation's top 10.
• In conference games, Baylor leads the Big 12 in scoring (75.5), effective FG% (.539), 3-point pct. (.386), 3FGs made (9.3/game), scoring margin (+5.8), assists (15.7/game), rebounding margin (+6.3), offensive efficiency (113.7), rebounding offense (36.7)
and rebounding defense (30.4).
• Drew is coaching his 515th game at Baylor (311-203). His .605 winning percentage is best in BU history. 

ON THE CALL
• Monday's game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Chris Spatola calling the action. 
• Neely is called his 3rd Baylor game this season. He called Baylor wins over Oregon and No. 7 Texas Tech. 
• Spatola is calling his 6th Baylor game this season and 8th overall. He called Baylor's Big 12 opener at TCU, its win over No. 20 Iowa State and three straight Monday games at Oklahoma State, at West Virginia and at Oklahoma. 

QUICK HITS 
• BU is 83-18 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (15-3 this season). 
• BU is 95-73 in Big 12 play in 10 seasons since 2010 after going 59-149 in the league's first 13 seasons. 
• 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 40-68 against AP-ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first 4 rebuilding seasons. 
• Baylor defeated 7 top-10 teams in the last 3 seasons, including a 6-3 mark vs. top-10 teams in Waco. 
• Baylor is 12-22 against AP Top 10 teams since March 2012. BU started the Drew era 1-26 vs. top-10. 
• Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (146-18). 
• Baylor is 186-87 over the last 7 seasons, averaging 24.4 wins per season since 2012. 
• Baylor's 186 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (228). 
• Baylor is 277-134 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships. 
• Baylor beat Alabama to move to 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 892 straight games — the last time Baylor failed to make a 3-pointer was nearly 29 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1990 vs. Texas Tech (0-8). 

SERIES HISTORY VS. OKLAHOMA 
• Baylor trails 16-45 in the all-time series, including a 8-19 mark in Waco and an 11-22 record in the Drew era. 
• Baylor has won 4 of its last 5 games vs. Oklahoma, including a 77-47 win in Norman earlier this season. 
• Baylor is 11-10 against OU since snapping a 30-game losing streak in the series in 2010. 
• Both teams have swept the season series 3 times since 2010 (BU in 2010, 2012, 2017; OU in 2013, 2014, 2016). 

FOUR PROJECTED STARTERS MISSED SATURDAY'S GAME 
• Baylor was playing without four projected starters in Saturday's game against Kansas State. Makai Mason (toe) and King McClure (knee) are day-to-day, while Tristan Clark (knee) and Jake Lindsey (hip) are out for the season. 
• Clark is out for the year after suffering a left-knee injury in the Jan. 8 win over Iowa State. 
• Clark started the first 14 games this season and was leading the nation with a .737 field goal percentage. He averaged 14.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.8 minutes per game prior to the injury. 
• Lindsey had played in all 103 games and made 18 starts over his first 3 seasons at Baylor. 

SHORT-HANDED BEARS UNABLE TO FINISH POTENTIAL UPSET OF K-STATE 
• A short-handed Baylor squad playing without 4 projected starters nearly pulled off an upset against the Big 12's top team before falling 70-63 on Feb. 9. The Bears led by 7 points with 9:50 remaining, but K-State closed on a 29-15 run. 
• Devonte Bandoo posted a team-high 15 points in 36 minutes, both his most since Nov. 12. 
• Freddie Gillespie made his first start since Nov. 12 and had career-highs with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 31 minutes. 
• Walk-on Obim Okeke played a career-high 10 minutes as back-up point guard, doubling his previous career-high. 

3-GUARD LINEUP LEADING BEARS' RESURGENCE 
• Baylor switched to a 3-guard lineup after Tristan Clark's season-ending injury, swapping freshman guard Jared Butler into the starting lineup. The Bears moved 6-foot-5 sophomore Mark Vital to the starting 5-spot. 
• In 9 games without Clark, Baylor is making 3.3 more 3-pointers per game (97 from 6.4) and shooting 9.6% higher from 3-point range (38.8 from 29.2). BU's 2-point percentage has suffered, dropping from 55% to 51%. 
• Baylor is averaging 3.5 more points per game despite missing Clark's 14.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG. 
• Butler is averaging 5.4 more ppg, 1.6 more rpg and 2.0 more apg in 9 games since joining the starting lineup. 
• Freddie Gillespie and Flo Thamba are combining for 9.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 1.9 bpg in 31.8 mpg in 9 games since Clark's injury. Prior to the injury they averaged 2.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 0.9 bpg in 12.8 mpg. 

A WIN WOULD ... 
• Be Scott Drew's 312th win at Baylor and the 332nd of his Division I coaching career. 
• Give Baylor 3 straight wins vs. OU, matching BU's longest winning streak in series history (1953-54, 2010-11). 
• Make Baylor 12-10 against Oklahoma since snapping a 30-game series losing streak in 2010. 
• Give Baylor its 4th season sweep of OU since 2010. BU was swept by OU in the first 13 seasons of Big 12 play. 
• Make BU's record to 84-43 during King McClure's 4-year career and 81-42 in games McClure has played. 
• Improve Baylor's record to 96-73 in Big 12 play since 2010 after going 59-149 in the league's first 13 seasons. 

PROTECTING HALFTIME LEADS 
• Baylor went 15-0 last season when leading at halftime and is 31-2 in its last 33 games when leading at the half. 
• Baylor has won 89% of its games (146-18) when leading at the half since 2011-12 (13-2 in 2018-19, 15-0 in 2017-18, 18-3 in 2016-17, 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 37% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 40-69 in those. 
• BU has led at halftime in 164 of 273 games over the last eight seasons, and BU is 186-87 since 2011-12. 

UP NEXT 
• BU heads out for consecutive road games at Texas Tech (Saturday) and at Iowa State (Feb. 19). 
• The Bears have four remaining home games, with West Virginia up next on Feb. 23.