2/2 BAYLOR BEARS (9-0, 2-0) Location: Waco, Texas  Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF)	BAYLOR (9-0, 2-0) vs. OKLAHOMA (6-2, 2-1) Jan. 6, 2021 • 8 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284)   LIVE STATS: baylorstats.com WATCH: ESPN2 Talent: Rich Hollenberg (pxp), Chris Spatola (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor-Sports Network | ESPN Central Texas Talent: John Morris (pxp) and Pat Nunley(analyst) Baylor Social Media:
	NR/NR OKLAHOMA SOONERS (6-2, 2-1) Location: Norman, Okla. Head Coach: Lon Kruger (Kansas State, 1975)  Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF)

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Coming off its stiffest test of the season, No. 2 Baylor (9-0, 2-0) could be in for another big one Wednesday night when the Bears host an Oklahoma team (6-2, 2-1) that already has a top-10 win under its belt. 
            Waco native and former University High standout Umoja Gibson hit eight 3-pointers and poured in 29 points in the Sooners' 75-71 win over No. 9 West Virginia on Saturday. This is the third of four-straight matchups against top-15 opponents, with OU losing at then-No. 15 Texas Tech, 69-67, on Dec. 22 and heading to Lawrence on Saturday to face No. 6 Kansas. 
            "He's somebody who can really score," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of Gibson, a 6-1 junior transfer from North Texas who was named the Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Week. "He's a great young man. We got a chance to really know him and excited for his success. Obviously, followed him at North Texas. But, somebody who is capable of putting 30 up on any given night."
            Baylor junior guard Davion Mitchell (12.0 ppg, 6.7 assists) said the defense has to "make sure we try not to let (Gibson) get hot like he did against West Virginia."  
            "We've just got to try to slow him down in the beginning, not let him get some open looks and see some go in," said Mitchell, who had 13 points in the Bears' 76-65 win at Iowa State on Saturday. "Watching the Iowa State game, we were getting beat on a lot of things we usually don't get beat on, like getting beat middle or not calling ball or two people going to the ball. Oklahoma will really hurt us if we don't get locked-in."
            Featuring arguably the two best 3-point-shooting teams in the Big 12, this game could come down to who gets hot outside the arc. Baylor leads the nation in 3-point percentage (43.8) and ranks eighth in made 3-pointers per game (11.0), while the Sooners are second in the Big 12 in 3-pointers per game (8.6) and third in shooting percentage (35.6). 
            What makes Oklahoma hard to defend is all five positions are capable of shooting the 3. Brady Manek (13.6 ppg, 5.4 rebounds), a 6-9 senior forward, is second on the team with 19 3-pointers made. 
            "The big thing they have is the versatility in their offense," Drew said. "With Manek on the floor, at times he plays at center, it gives you five guards out there. A lot of teams don't play with five guards. And in transition, anyone can hit a 3 on you. At the same time, in the half-court, it makes you really spread out, and you have to make sure you can get to the shooters."
            Of course, Oklahoma's defense has the same issue in facing a Baylor attack that includes four players ranked in the top 11 in the Big 12 in 3-pointers made per game. Jared Butler (16.0 ppg) and MaCio Teague (15.9) rank 3-4 in the league in scoring, with Mitchell and sophomore transfer Adam Flagler (10.9 ppg) also averaging double-digit points. 
            The Bears struggled from outside the arc against Iowa State, going 0-for-6 in the first half and 4-of-19 for the game. 
            "We didn't get a lot of catch-and-shoot 3's in the beginning," Mitchell said. "And we didn't really get into the paint and find each other on the 3-point line. It was more off the-bounce 3's. Iowa State did a really good job staying with our shooters when we got in the paint. They fanned out, so we couldn't get a lot of catch-and-shoot 3's. There weren't a lot of open looks, so I think that's why we were kind of off."
            One thing that could help an offense that already ranks No. 2 in the nation, averaging 92.9 points per game, is the continued development of 6-10 junior Flo Thamba (4.6 ppg, 4.6 rebounds) and 6-8 sophomore Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (9.9 ppg, 8.0 rebounds) on the offensive end. 
            Thamba got off to a quick start with four points in the first two minutes against Iowa State and finished with a Big 12 career-high 10 points in 13 minutes, hitting 3-of-3 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line. 
            "First, our guards made good reads and got him the ball where he can be effective," Drew said of Thamba. "That's predicated on teams' defenses and what they're going to give up. At the same time, he did a great job catching, finishing and running to the rim and being active, being aggressive and setting great screens. Hopefully, he continues to progress and finish the passes that are thrown to him, because he's got a 7-5 wingspan. He's a big target."
            Wednesday's game will be broadcast by ESPN2, with Rich Hollenberg and Chris Spatola calling the action. 


STORY LINES
• No. 2 Baylor hosts its first Big 12 home game of the season vs. Oklahoma at 8 pm CT Wednesday on ESPN2.
• Wednesday is the 65th series meeting. BU trails 19-45, but the Bears are 14-10 vs. OU since 2010.
• Baylor is 7-1 vs. Oklahoma over the last 4 seasons, including season sweeps in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
• BU has won 5-straight vs. OU for the first time. The Bears' longest previous streak was 3 vs. OU.
• Baylor is 1 of 10 remaining undefeated teams and joins Michigan as the only undefeated Power-5 teams.
• BU leads the nation in 3-point percentage (.438) and scoring margin (+30.3), ranks 2nd nationally in scoring (92.9) and assists (20.8), 4th in turnover margin (+7.9), 9th in steals (10.1) and 9th in A-T ratio (1.72).
• Baylor has won a school-record 9 consecutive games by double-digits (previous record 8 in 2011-12).
• Baylor is the nation's only team to win every game by 10+ points this season (min. 3 games played).
• BU has built a lead of at least 13 points in every game this season and has won 7 of 9 by 25+ points.
• BU is looking to start a season 10-0 for the 5th time in program history (1912, 2001, 2012, 2017).
• Baylor is seeking the 9th double-digit winning streak in program history (5th in last 10 years).
• BU's bench is out-scoring opposing benches 39-19 on average and has scored 33+ points in 8 of 9 games.
• Four members of the BU bench average 8+ ppg – Flagler (11), Tchatchoua (10), Mayer (9), Cryer (8).
• Head coach Scott Drew is in his 18th season in Waco and is BU's all-time wins leader (351-213).
• With a win, Drew would pass his father Homer Drew's career Division I wins total (371 in 22 years at Valpo).
• Baylor is playing its 251st 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 248 of 430 games.
• Baylor has been top-5 ranked for 18-straight weeks. BU was top-5 for 12 weeks all-time prior to this streak.
• BU's streak of 27-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 39 games since the start of 2019-20 (double-digit lead in 33 of 39).
• Baylor's defense forced 15+ turnovers in 24 of 39 games since the start of the 2019-20 season.
• BU became the first team since 1992 to score 100 points in Manhattan in the Dec. 19 win at K-State.
• 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 is 43-40 in Big 12 road games over the last 10 seasons, second-best behind Kansas (55-27).
• Baylor signed the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history (No. 4) earlier this month. BU inked 5-star Kendall Brown, 4-star Langston Love and 4-star Jeremy Sochan for the 2021-22 season.
• BU has advanced to 8 consecutive postseasons, tied as the nation's 10th-longest active streak. 
• Baylor joins Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas as the only programs ranked No. 1 in 3 of the last 5 seasons.
• Among BU returners is Jared Butler, who is the first preseason AP All-American in program history.
• BU also welcomes back MaCio Teague, an all-conference pick in all 3 of his collegiate seasons.
• BU returns two players who were semifinalists for the 2020 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. Mark Vital was 1 of 4 finalists, while Davion Mitchell joined Vital among the 10 semifinalists.
• The Bears have now been ranked in every AP Top 25 spot except No. 8 during the 17-year Drew era.

QUICK HITS 
• BU was picked to win the Big 12 in the league's preseason coaches' poll for the first time. 
• Baylor is 60-5 when leading at halftime over the last 4 seasons since 2017-18 (21-2 in 2019-20, 9-0 this season). 
• Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (178-21). 
• BU is 123-23 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (35-3 since 2019-20). 
• 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 226-97 over the last 10 seasons, averaging 24 wins per season since 2011-12. 
• Baylor's 226 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (272). 
• Baylor is 317-144 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. 
• Baylor joins Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas as the nation's only teams ranked No. 1 in 3 of the last 5 seasons. 
• 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 941 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). 

SERIES HISTORY 
• Baylor trails 19-45 in the all-time series, including a 7-23 mark in Norman and a 14-22 record in the Drew era. 
• BU has won 7 of its last 8 games vs. Oklahoma, including sweeping the season series in 2017, 2019 and 2020. 
• BU has won 5 straight vs. OU for the first time in series history, which has been played twice annually since 1997. 
• Baylor is 14-10 against OU since snapping a 30-game losing streak in the series in 2010. 
• Baylor has swept the season series 5 times in the last 11 years (2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020), while OU has swept the season series 3 times in the last 11 years (2013, 2014, 2016). The teams split in 2011, 2015 and 2018. 

LAST SEASON VS. OKLAHOMA 
• Baylor took an 11-point halftime lead and led for the final 31 minutes in a 61-57 win in Waco on Jan. 20. 
• The Bears led 59-51 with 1:30 remaining, but OU hit consecutive 3-pointers to cut it to 59-57 with 42 seconds remaining. After a Baylor turnover, OU missed a potential go
ahead 3-pointer with 6 seconds left. 
• In the rematch in Norman, BU rushed out to a 13-point lead with 4 minutes left in the first half, but OU cut it to 39-38 with 12 minutes to play. Baylor responded with a 6-0 run and led by at least 5 points the rest of the game. 
• Jared Butler had a game-high 22 points in the win at OU, while Mark Vital added 10 points and 6 boards.