Baylor
Texas
No. 6 MBB Opens Big 12 Play vs. Texas
1/3/2020 11:32:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bears are 5-0 when opening Big 12 play at home in the Drew era
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6/4 BAYLOR BEARS (10-1) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
BAYLOR (10-1) vs. TEXAS (10-2) Jan. 4, 2020 • 7 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: baylorstats.com WATCH: ESPN2 and ESPN app Talent: Jon Sciambi (pxp), Fran Fraschilla (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor-IMG College | ESPN Central Texas Talent: John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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NR/NR TEXAS (10-2) Location: Austin, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Shaka Smart (Kenyon, 1999) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Take away "maybe 20 seconds" in a 67-64 loss to Washington back on Nov. 8, and the Baylor Bears (10-1) might be ranked No. 1 in the country.
As it is, the Bears still enter Big 12 play as one of the hottest teams in the country, riding a nine-game winning streak that includes resume-stuffing victories over 10th-ranked Villanova, No. 11 Butler and No. 25 Arizona.
Ranked fourth by the coaches, fifth in the NCAA Net rankings and No. 6 in the AP poll, Baylor puts that winning streak on the line when the Bears host Texas (10-2) in a conference-opening tilt at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
"Ready or not, it's here now," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Record-wise, we accomplished everything we wanted except maybe 20 seconds (in the loss to Washington). . . . Now, it's a situation of what can you do in conference. For us, we've had some second and third finishes. And like everyone in the league, first game out everyone wants to win it, and so do we."
Baylor has won seven of its last eight against Texas, but the Bears lost 84-72 in Austin last year and had to rally from a 19-point second-half deficit to beat the Longhorns, 84-83, in overtime in the game at the Ferrell Center.
"Last year, we got down big, and I thought the crowd really helped us get back into the game and win it," Drew said. "When you're playing in the Big 12, it's so tough to win on the road, and that means you have to win your home games. When you play a team like Texas, obviously Baylor Nation and Central Texas know the importance of rivalry games. Our guys will be excited."
This game pits arguably two of the better backcourt combos in the country. Texas' balanced scoring attack is led by guards Matt Coleman III (12.6), Andrew Jones (11.5), Jase Febres (10.9) and Courtney Ramey (10.9), while Baylor's starting trio of Jared Butler (17.6), MaCio Teague (14.6) and Davion Mitchell (9.8) has accounted for 54 percent of the team's points.
Coleman was 8-of-9 from the line and scored 18 points in the first meeting, while Febres pumped in 23 points off the bench in the game in Waco.
"Matt has given a lot of people some problems," Drew said. "Texas has real athletic guards, real quick guards, and guards who can shoot it and get to the rim. . . . A lot of good weapons, and it's a team that shoots the 3 like we do. They shoot a lot, and when they're on, they're really, really good. Sometimes, you live by the 3 and die by the 3."
In a 70-66 road win at then-No. 23 Purdue, Coleman hit four 3-pointers and scored 22 points. But, to Drew's point, the Longhorns were 3-of-21 from outside the arc in a 70-48 loss to Providence two weeks ago.
Mitchell, a sophomore transfer from Auburn, said he relishes the challenge of going against the Texas guards.
"We've been playing really good defense, keeping everybody on the side and dictating what everybody is going to do," Mitchell said. "I just feel like if we keep playing like we've been playing, we should be good."
The Bears are coming off an 83-57 win over Jackson State five days ago that saw preseason All-Big 12 forward Tristan Clark score seven points in 20 minutes off the bench as he continues his return from a knee injury that sidelined him the second half of last season.
"Mentally is half the battle, if not more," Drew said of the 6-10 Clark, who is averaging 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. "At the same time, physically you can see that his knee when he does play, it does swell. You see there are some physical issues you're still overcoming. Rehabbing is part of the process as well. I thought mentally he was tremendous last game, and physically he looked good. Hopefully, we can keep that headed in a positive direction."
With Clark missing four games and playing limited minutes, 6-9 senior forward Freddie Gillespie has stepped up to average 9.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. He had his fifth double-double of the season and sixth of his career with 10 points and 13 boards in the win over Jackson State.
"He always plays within himself and his role," Drew said. "So many times, what you do on the offensive end . . . if you don't get the ball, that affects you. Freddie is one of those guys where it doesn't affect him. He just plays to his strengths and his role. If he does or doesn't get the ball, he's going to do what he does."
Gillespie said he's looking forward to matching up against 6-9 junior forward Jericho Sims. With Big 12 Freshman of the Year Jaxson Hayes leaving after one year, and being drafted eighth overall, Sims is averaging 8.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in a bigger role.
"I think he's really improved his game since last year," Gillespie said of Sims. "He really uses his athleticism, his strength. He's definitely gotten more confident, more comfortable on the floor. I've just worked with the coaches looking at his film, and I think we have a good game plan and a good way to go win."
Saturday's game will be broadcast by ESPN2, with Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.
The Bears are on the road for their next two, facing 22nd-ranked Texas Tech (9-3) at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Lubbock and No. 3 Kansas (10-2) at 12 noon next Saturday, Jan. 11, in Lawrence.
STORY LINES
• No. 6/4 Baylor opens Big 12 play by hosting Texas at 7 p.m. CT Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
• Saturday is the 255th series meeting – the most-played rivalry in Baylor history dating back 105 years.
• BU is 16-8 vs. Texas since snapping a 24-game series losing streak at the 2009 Big 12 Championship.• Baylor is 7-1 in its last 8 games vs. Texas and 4-1 in its last 5 home games vs. Texas.
• Baylor is riding a 9-game winning streak, tied for the 9th-longest streak in program history. It's also the nation's 4th-longest active streak behind San Diego State (14), Auburn (12) and Memphis (10).
• Baylor is 7-5 in Big 12 openers since 2008 and 10-13 all-time in Big 12 openers.
• The Bears are opening Big 12 play at home for the first time since 2013 (86-79 OT win vs. Texas).
• BU is 5-0 when opening Big 12 play at home during the Drew era with wins vs. 5 different teams.
• BU defeated 3 ranked teams prior to January for the 2nd time in program history (4-0 in 2016-17).
• BU is 1 of 10 teams ranked top-30 nationally in adjusted offensive (109.2; 26th) and defensive (88.4; 14th) efficiency. BU's No. 14 defense is on pace to be Drew's best defense (16th at 92.9 in 2016-17).
• BU reached double-digit non-conference for the 6th time in the last 7 seasons and 12th time in 14 years.
• Baylor has led or been tied for 98% of game time over its last 5 games (195:13 of 200:00).
• Baylor's defense has forced 15+ turnovers in 9 of 11 games after doing so in 7 of 34 games last year.
• BU is No. 6 in the most recent AP Top 25 and has moved up in the rankings in 6 consecutive weeks.
• Baylor's No. 6 AP ranking is its highest since the Bears were No. 4 on Feb. 13, 2017.
• Baylor's streak of 9 consecutive AP polls ranked is the 7th-longest in program history (all since 2009).
• The Bears have now been ranked in every AP Top 25 spot except No. 8 during the 17-year Drew era.
• 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 the only school with FB, MBB, WBB & VB all ranked. Those teams are a combined 61-7 this year and all four are currently top-10 ranked (No. 3 VB, No. 6 WBB, No. 7 FB, No. 7 MBB).
• Head coach Scott Drew is in his 17th season in Waco and is BU's all-time wins leader (326-210).
• Drew is coaching his 537th game at Baylor (326-210). His .608 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 40+ games, and his teams have a .674 winning percentage since 2007-08 (292-141).
• Baylor is playing its 223rd 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 220 of 402 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 has been in the Preseason AP Top 25 in 7 of 10 seasons since its first preseason ranking in 2010-11.
• BU has advanced to the postseason in 8 straight seasons, tied as the nation's 10th-longest active streak.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor is 37-4 when leading at halftime over the last 3 seasons since 2017-18.
• Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (155-20).
• BU is 98-21 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (10-1 this season).
• Baylor is 201-94 over the last 9 seasons, averaging 24 wins per season since 2012.
• Baylor's 201 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (246).
• Baylor is 292-141 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• 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 44-72 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 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 5-1 all-time in Big 12/SEC Challenges, the best record of any team in either league. Combined with a 3-1 mark in the Big 12/Pac-10 Series and 1-0 in the Big 12/Big East Battle, Baylor is 9-2 in conference challenges.
• Baylor has the nation's 11th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 914 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 12 of the last 13 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
• Saturday is the 255th all-time meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played rivalry for both schools.
• Baylor has won 16 of 24 games in the series after snapping a 24-game series losing streak in March 2009.
• Baylor is 91-163 all-time against Texas, including a 52-66 mark in Waco and a 16-21 mark in the Drew era.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS
• Baylor trailed 40-29 at halftime and 62-45 with 9 minutes left, but the Bears rallied to force overtime, and Mario Kegler hit the game-winning free throws with 3.2 seconds left to give Baylor an 84-83 win over Texas on Feb. 27.
• Kegler posted his 2nd-straight 20-point game with a career-high 24 points, while Devonte Bandoo scored 16 of his 18 points in the 2nd half, and Jared Butler hit crucial shots in crunch time as part of his 15 points.
• It was the largest deficit overcome in the last 10 minutes of a game in the Drew era, and the 19-point deficit overcome was Baylor's largest in a win since rallying from 22 down to beat Louisville in the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis championship.
HISTORY IN BIG 12 OPENERS
• Baylor is 7-5 in Big 12 Conference openers since 2008 and 10-13 all-time in Big 12 openers.
• Baylor won 6 straight openers from 2008-13 before losing 5 of the last 6 Big 12 openers (win in 2017). All five of those losses were on the road, with four of them against top-25 ranked opponents.
• Baylor is opening Big 12 play at home for the first time since 2013 (86-79 OT win vs. Texas). The Bears have started conference play on the road in each of the last six seasons, with four of those games against top-25 ranked teams.
• Baylor is 5-0 when opening Big 12 play at home during the Drew era, with wins against five different teams – 2008 vs. Iowa State, 2009 vs. Texas Tech, 2010 vs. Oklahoma, 2012 vs. Texas A&M, 2013 vs. Texas.
• BU enters Big 12 play ranked for the 6th time in 7 seasons since 2014 – 3rd time in top-10 (2014, 2017, 2020).
