 |
2/2 BAYLOR BEARS (11-0, 4-0)
Location: Waco, Texas
Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993)
Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF)
|
BAYLOR (11-0, 4-0) at TEXAS TECH (11-3, 4-2)
Jan. 16, 2021 • 3 p.m. CT
Lubbock, Texas • United Supermarkets Arena (15,000)
LIVE STATS: baylorstats.com
WATCH: ESPN
Talent: Bob Wischusen (pxp), Dick Vitale (analyst)
LISTEN: Baylor Sports Network | ESPN Central Texas
Talent: John Morris (pxp) and Pat Nunley(analyst)
Baylor Social Media:    |
|
 |
15/15 TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (11-3, 4-2)
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Head Coach: Chris Beard (Texas, 1995)
Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF) |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Playing its first ranked opponent since an 82-69 win over No. 5 Illinois five weeks ago, No. 2 Baylor (11-0, 4-0) goes on the road to face No. 15 Texas Tech (11-3, 4-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.
After losing two of their first three conference games, the Red Raiders have reeled off three-straight wins and beat fourth-ranked Texas, 79-77, Wednesday night on Georgetown transfer Max McClung's long jumper with three seconds left.
"I don't think they're a team that's going to go away. You're going to have to play 40 minutes," said Baylor junior guard Jared Butler, who is averaging 16.4 points and 5.4 assists. "Texas was in control pretty much the whole game, I felt like. Texas Tech's ability to just stay in the game and not lose confidence, that's what the Big 12 is."
With Tuesday's scheduled game against 13th-ranked West Virginia postponed because of COVID issues with the Mountaineers, the Bears haven't played since coming back from a one-point halftime deficit to defeat TCU, 67-49, for their school-record 11th-consecutive double-digit win.
"The good thing is we're always going to practice at what we need to get better at, No. 1," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Then No. 2, it just allows us to adjust to who we're playing. Obviously, not having a midweek game, we were able to give the guys off (Wednesday), and they were fresh and ready to go (Thursday). They were better today."
With five games against top-25 teams canceled or postponed, the Bears have been able to keep their edge in practice.
"We play 5-on-5 and the teams are split up, and it's like we're playing against the No. 1 defense in the country," Butler said. "That keeps us sharp, that keeps us humble, I would say, because when you're going against the best players in the country on the best team, it's hard to score, it's hard to do things you normally do. That's really what keeps us going."
Baylor leads the nation in scoring margin (+27.8) and ranks top-10 nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (3rd, 42.8), turnover margin (4th, +7.3), scoring (5th, 19.7), turnovers forced (5th, 19.3) and assist-turnover ratio (10th, 1.64).
Tech leads the Big 12 and ranks ninth nationally in scoring defense, giving up just 59.4 points per game, while the Bears are second in the league and 18th nationally at 61.2.
In addition to McClung (15.8 ppg), Tech coach Chris Beard brought in 6-4 guard Jamarius Burton (4.7 ppg) from Wichita State, 6-8 forward Marcus Santos-Silva (8.9 ppg, 6.0 rebounds) from VCU and three freshmen in a roster makeover.
"When you have several additions, it takes time for your team to get in that rhythm," Drew said. "Motion teams (like Tech) might even take a little longer to get into a rhythm. . . . You knew it was a very talented Tech team, and that's why they've been ranked. I think they'll keep getting better and better, because that's what good teams do, and Coach Beard is a good coach."
A guard-dominated team, the Red Raiders feature three other double-figure scorers in Terrance Shannon Jr. (13.6), Kevin McCullar (11.4) and Kyler Edwards (10.4). McCullar, the son of former Tech and Green Bay Packers linebacker Kevin McCullar, missed the first nine games of the season with a high ankle sprain.
One of the challenges for the Bears will be limiting Tech's fast-break opportunities.
"The first thing is you can't turn it over," Drew said. "There's not much transition defense for (1-on-0, 2-on-1). If you don't turn it over, it's real important that your guys are getting back, and it's real important that you're communicating and matching up. It used to be a little bit easier back when everybody ran one guy to the rim, one guy as a trailer and one to each side. Nowadays, with four-out and five-out offenses, you've got to make sure everyone is guarded."
Saturday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Bob Wischusen and Dick Vitale calling the action.
In a quick turnaround, the Bears will return home to host No. 6 Kansas (10-3, 4-2) at 8 p.m. Monday at the Ferrell Center. The Jayhawks are coming off a 75-70 loss at Oklahoma State and had their game against Iowa State on Saturday postponed because of COVID issues.
STORY LINES
• No. 2 Baylor heads to Lubbock for a top-15 matchup against Texas Tech at 3 pm CT Saturday.
• Saturday is the 141st series meeting dating back to 1937 and the first with both teams top-15 ranked.
• Baylor is 21-9 vs. Texas Tech since 2006, including 8-7 in games in Lubbock.
• BU won 57-52 in Lubbock on Jan. 7 last season, recording its first win in Lubbock since 2016.
• Baylor is 1 of 5 undefeated teams (min. 5 gms) and joins Michigan as the only undefeated Power-5 teams.
• BU leads the nation in scoring margin (+27.8) and ranks top-10 nationally in 3FG% (3rd, .428), turnover margin (4th, +7.3), scoring (5th, 89.0), assists (5th, 19.7), effective FG% (5th, .590), steal percentage (5th, 13.4), turnovers forced (5th, 19.3), offensive rebound pct. (6th, .387) and assist-turnover ratio (10th, 1.64).
• Baylor has won a school-record 11 consecutive games by double-digits (previous record 8 in 2011-12).
• Baylor is the nation's only team to win every game by 8+ points this season (min. 4 games played).
• BU has led by at least 13 points in every game this season and has led by 13+ at halftime in 8 of 11.
• Baylor's largest deficit this season is 4 points, and BU has trailed for only 19:07 of 440 minutes (4.3%).
• With a win, BU will start a season 12-0 for the 5th time in program history (1912, 2001, 2012, 2017).
• Baylor looks to start 5-0 in Big 12 play for the 3rd time in program history (1998, 2020).
• Baylor is 7-1 against ranked teams over the last two seasons, including a 4-0 mark away from home.
• BU's bench is out-scoring opposing benches 36-17 on average and has scored 33+ points in 9 of 11 games.
• Three members of the BU bench average 9+ ppg – Flagler (10.1), Mayer (9.3) and Tchatchoua (9.0).
• Six Bears are averaging at least one made 3-pointer per game and shooting at least 40% from 3-point range: Mayer (48), Cryer (46), Flagler (44), Butler (43), Mitchell (41) and Teague (40).
• Head coach Scott Drew is in his 18th season in Waco and is BU's all-time wins leader (353-213).
• Baylor is playing its 253rd 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 250 of 432 games.
• Baylor has been top-5 ranked for 19-straight weeks. BU was top-5 for 12 weeks all-time prior to this streak.
• BU's streak of 28-straight AP polls ranked is the nation's 5th-longest active streak and longest in BU history.
• Baylor has led by at least 5 points in all 41 games since the start of 2019-20 (double-digit lead in 35 of 41).
• Baylor is 44-40 in Big 12 road games over the last 10 seasons, second-best behind Kansas (56-28).
• BU is 10-2 in Big 12 road games over the last 2 seasons (rest of league is 36-65 in B12 road games).
• BU has held 6 of its last 8 opponents to season-lows in points-per-poss., including each of the last 3 games.
• BU's defense has forced 14+ turnovers in 7 of its last 8 games, including 5 games with 20+ TOs forced.
• Baylor joins Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas as the only programs ranked No. 1 in 3 of the last 5 seasons.
• BU is 1 of 5 Power-5 schools (Duke, Kentucky, UNC, Michigan St.) to win 18+ every year since 2008.
• Baylor returned four All-Big 12 players from a 2019-20 team which went 26-4 and spent five weeks ranked No. 1 nationally. The Bears finished last season ranked No. 4 in the coaches poll (No. 5 in AP).
• Baylor signed the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history (No. 4) in November. BU inked 5-star Kendall Brown, 4-star Langston Love and 4-star Jeremy Sochan for the 2021-22 season.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor needs a win to tie the 5th-longest winning streak in program history at 12-straight.
• BU was picked to win the Big 12 in the league's preseason coaches' poll for the first time.
• Baylor is 61-5 when leading at halftime over the last 4 seasons (31-2 last 2 seasons, 10-0 this season).
• Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (179-21).
• BU is 125-23 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (37-3 last 2 seasons).
• Baylor's 23-game winning streak last season was the longest ever by a Big 12 team (previously 22 by 1996-97 KU).
• BU's 13-game conference winning streak last year was the longest in school history (previously 11 in 1946 SWC).
• Baylor has won 20+ games in 11 of the last 13 seasons after recording only three 20-win seasons in the previous 100 years of Baylor Basketball (1946, 1948, 1988).
• Baylor is 228-97 over the last 10 seasons, averaging 24 wins per season since 2011-12.
• Baylor's 228 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (273).
• Baylor is 319-144 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Eight of Baylor's players either have used or are currently using a redshirt year. Four after transferring to BU – Flagler, Mitchell, Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Teague, and four as freshmen — Moffatt, Turner, Vital and Dainja.
• Nine of Baylor's 10 starting point guards under Drew have earned All-Big recognition (15 of last 16 seasons).
• Baylor is 1 of 14 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (6 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• Baylor has the nation's 10th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 943 straight games — the last time Baylor failed to make a 3-pointer was more than 30 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1990 vs. Texas Tech (0-8).
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Drew's 354th win at Baylor and improve Baylor's record to 320-144 since 2007-08.
• Tie the 5th-longest winning streak in program history and mark the 6th winning streak of 12+ games by Baylor.
• Make Baylor 12-0 for the fifth time in program history (1912, 2001, 2012, 2017, 2021).
• Mark the 3rd time Baylor has started Big 12 play 5-0 (1998, 2020, 2021).
• Improve Baylor to 40-10 all-time when playing as an AP Top 5 team.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 141st all-time series meeting between Baylor and Texas Tech dating back to 1937.
• The teams have met twice annually since 1958, but this is the first meeting with both teams top-15 ranked.
• Baylor is 60-80 in the series, including a 19-49 mark in Lubbock and a 21-13 mark in the Scott Drew era.
• Baylor is 21-9 vs. Texas Tech since 2006, including 8-7 in Lubbock.
LAST SEASON VS. TEXAS TECH
• BU swept the season series for the first time since 2015 with a 57-52 win in Lubbock and a 71-68 win in Waco.
• Baylor held No. 22 Texas Tech to a season-low 52 points in the win in Lubbock on Jan. 7. The 52 points were the fewest scored in a home game by a Chris Beard-coached team in his 5-year collegiate career.
• Baylor out-rebounded Texas Tech 44-25, grabbing more of its own misses than Tech (17 offensive rebounds vs. Tech's 15 defensive rebounds) and turning 17 offensive boards into 15 second-chance points.
• The rematch in Waco on March 2 went to OT, with BU pulling out a 71-68 victory. Devonte Bandoo hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 60 with 1:40 left, and the teams combined for 5 turnovers and only 1 shot the rest of regulation.
• MaCio Teague's step-back 3-pointer with 1:13 left in OT gave BU a 69-65 lead and provided the winning points.
