Baylor
Villanova
No. 2 MBB For Sunday Matinee Showdown with No. 6 Villanova
12/10/2021 1:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
First Home Non-Conference Matchup of Top-6 Ranked Teams in Program History
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BAYLOR BEARS (8-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
VILLANOVA (7-2) vs. BAYLOR (8-0) December 12, 2021 • 2:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ABC Talent: John Sciambi (pxp), Dick Vitale (analyst), Kris Budden (reporter) LISTEN: Learfield/ ESPN 1660 AM in Central Texas Talent: John Morris (PBP), Pat Nunley (Analyst) SIRIUS XM: Sirius 98, XM, 199, Internet 953 Baylor Social Media:    |
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VILLANOVA WILDCATS (7-2) Location: Villanova, Pa. Conference/Affiliation: Big East Head Coach: Jay Wright (Bucknell, 1983) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
If "Dickie V" is coming to town, it must be a big game.
When second-ranked Baylor (8-0) hosts No. 6 Villanova (7-2) in the Big 12/Big East Challenge at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dick Vitale will be courtside at the Ferrell Center for the first time, calling the game on ABC with Jon Sciambi and Kris Budden.
"We are so excited to have Dick and his wife here in Waco," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of the 82-year-old Vitale, who returned to the broadcast booth on Nov. 23, just five weeks after he was diagnosed with lymphoma.
"It's a great honor to have him here. I know our fans will show him a lot of love and appreciation. He's someone that has meant so much to college basketball and brought exposure to our game, but he's touched the world with the fight for cancer. We can't thank him enough for making this a better world because of his fight."
This is Baylor's first home non-conference matchup of top-6 ranked teams in program history and a rematch of last year's Sweet 16 game in the NCAA Tournament. In arguably their stiffest test on the road to a national championship, the Bears rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Villanova, 62-51.
After having never played before, Sunday's game marks the third meeting in the last 25 months between Baylor and Villanova. The Bears also rallied from a halftime deficit to beat the Wildcats, 87-78, in winning the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational.
"After these kinds of games, you find out exactly what you need to improve on . . . iron sharpens iron. We'll get better from this game," Drew said. "Playing each other the last two years, these types of games make us better coaches, better players. If you have a weakness, it gets exposed."
Not that Baylor has shown a lot of weaknesses in an 8-0 start highlighted by a 75-58 win over Michigan State in the final of the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Bears have won a national-best 14 games in a row and a Ferrell Center-record 18-straight home games.
Similar to last year, when they had a starting trio of Jared Butler, Donovan Mitchell and MaCio Teague, the guards are leading the way again with sophomore LJ Cryer (15.4 ppg), grad transfer point guard James Akinjo from Arizona (9.9 ppg, 6.1 assists) and junior Adam Flagler (8.4 ppg).
"I think we've got some of the best guards in the country," said Akinjo, named tournament MVP at Battle 4 Atlantis. "You look at the way we play offense and the way we move the ball, and you put that together with the way we defend, I think over the course of a game we just wear teams down and we become tough to deal with."
While Baylor lost four starters and is having to break in four newcomers, including freshmen Kendall Brown (13.4 ppg) and Jeremy Sochan (7.9 ppg, 6.1 rebounds), Villanova is loaded with experience.
Graduate students Collin Gillespie (17.3 ppg, 3.7 assists) and Jermaine Samuels (12.0 ppg, 6.1 rebounds) are joined by senior Brandon Slater (12.9 ppg), junior guard Justin Moore (15.7 ppg) and 6-8 sophomore forward Eric Dixon (7.4 ppg). Gillespie, Samuels and 6-9 forward Dhamir Crosby-Rountree were part of Villanova's 2018 national championship team.
"I see a lot of experienced players and talented players that have returned, starting with Samuels and Gillespie," Drew said. "Those guys, when they come back, instantaneously you're a top-10 team, because guys like that are normally making money at the next level. it says a lot for the Villanova program that they'd want to come back for another year."
In the Wildcats' two losses, they had double-digit leads in the last 10 minutes of an 86-78 overtime loss at then-No. 2 UCLA and an 80-74 setback in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic to a Purdue team that's now ranked No. 1.
With Purdue falling to unranked Rutgers, 70-68, on a buzzer-beating shot near half-court by Ron Harper Jr., a win in Sunday's game could potentially lift Baylor or Villanova to the No. 1 spot. The Bears have been ranked No. 1 in three of the previous five seasons.
"That (loss by Purdue) has nothing to do with us, honestly," Cryer said. "We're just focused on Villanova. That's our top priority."
Drew said the game will be decided by which team is "able to execute and stay disciplined."
"Going into it, there's an added thing where I'm sure their players and our players feel the same thing: Whoever wins has a chance to be No. 1," Drew said. "Again, it will be great for us to find out just what this team needs to get better at and where we're stronger than maybe we anticipated."
After Sunday, the Bears will take a few days off for semester final exams before facing Oregon (5-4) at 9 p.m. CT next Saturday, Dec. 18, in Eugene, a game that will be televised by ESPN2.
Story lines
• No. 2 Baylor hosts No. 6 Villanova in the third-annual Big 12/Big East Battle at 2 pm CT Sunday.
• This is Baylor's first home non-conference matchup of top-6 ranked teams in program history.
• BU has trailed at halftime in both prior meetings vs. Villanova (41-38 in 2019-20; 30-23 in 2020-21), but the Bears have out-scored Villanova 88-58 in the second halves (39-21 in 2021 Sweet 16).
• There are 35 scouts representing 26 NBA teams who have requested credentials to this game.
• BU and Villanova are among six teams still undefeated in the Big 12/Big East Battle.
• BU's 11-2 record in conference challenge games is best in the Big 12 (6-1 SEC, 3-1 Pac-12, 1-0 Big East).
• Baylor is 12-1 against Big East teams during the Scott Drew era (8-0 neutral, 4-0 home, 0-1 road).
• BU has the nation's longest winning streak (14), with 9 at neutral sites and all wins by 8+ points.
• Baylor has won 32 straight non-conference games (+22.9 average margin) dating back to Nov. 2020.
• BU has won 18-straight home games, setting a new Ferrell Center record for longest winning streak.
• Baylor is 30-1 at home over the last 2+ seasons, with the lone loss by 3 to Kansas on Feb. 22, 2020.
• BU is 17-3 against ranked teams since beating No. 17 Villanova to win the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invite.
• Baylor has won 7-straight games against top-10 ranked teams, defeating Nos. 5, 9, 6, 6, 10, 6 and 1.
• Baylor is now 26-4 in regular-season tournaments since 2013-14, including 5 regular-season tournament titles. BU (2016, 2021) joined Villanova (2013, 2017) as the only 2-time Battle 4 Atlantis Champions.
• Baylor has won 4 of its last 5 regular-season tournaments – 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis (Louisville), 2017 Hall of Fame Classic (Creighton), 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational (Villanova), 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis (Michigan State).
• BU is allowing only 5.4 second-chance points per game, while scoring 14.4 second-chance points.
• Baylor is averaging 15 more field goal attempts per game than its opponents (BU 67.3, OPP 52.5).
• BU is the nation's only team ranked top-25 in scoring offense (15th, 84.0) and scoring defense (9th, 56.4).
• Baylor ranks top-10 nationally in scoring margin (2nd, +27.6), steals (4th, 11.5), turnover margin (5th, +7.8), turnovers forced (5th, 20.1), assists (6th, 18.9) and offensive rebounds (6th, 15.5).
• Baylor is the nation's only team with 8+ steals in every game this season.
• Baylor and LSU are the nation's only teams to hold every opponent to 63 or fewer points this season.
• BU defeated now-No. 19-ranked Michigan State, 75-58, in the Nov. 26 Battle 4 Atlantis title game.
• BU's 42-straight weeks ranked in the AP Top 25 is the nation's 3rd-longest behind Gonzaga and Villanova.
• Baylor was No. 8 in the preseason AP Top-25, snapping a school-record streak of 29-straight weeks top-5 ranked. The Bears are currently on a school-record streak of 34-straight weeks top-10 ranked.
• Baylor has been ranked in all 25 spots in the AP Top 25 at some point in the last 7 years.
• Head coach Scott Drew is in his 19th season at Baylor with a school-record 378 career victories, including a 17-8 mark in NCAA Tournaments, which is the 7th-best mark among active coaches.
• Drew has swept AP and coaches' Big 12 Coach of the Year honors each of the last two seasons.
• BU has led by at least 4 points in all 68 games since the start of the 2019-20 season and built a double-digit lead in 59 of 68 games, including 35 of 38 games since the start of last season.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor's 62-6 record since the start of the 2019-20 season is the nation's best among Power-5 conference teams.
• BU is playing its 287th game as a ranked team under Drew – BU was ranked in 2 of 2,197 games over the program's 97 seasons prior to Drew. Since January 2010, BU has been ranked in 271 of 408 games.
• Baylor joins Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas as the only programs ranked No. 1 in 3 of 5 seasons since 2017.
• Baylor and Kansas are the only Power-5 schools to win 18+ games every year since 2008.
• BU finished last season ranked top-10 nationally in offensive rebounding pct (No. 8) for a 7th consecutive year.
• BU led the nation in 3-point pct. last season (.413) and ranked 3rd nationally in turnover margin (+5.5) and scoring margin (+17.4). The Bears were also top-10 in scoring (6th, 82.9), steals (9th, 8.9/gm) and assists (10th, 16.9/gm).
• Baylor's streak of 9 consecutive postseasons is tied as the nation's 7th-longest active streak.
• Baylor's 2 losses last seasons were its fewest losses since going 13-0 in 1911-12.
• Baylor is 40-21 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last 13 seasons.
• Baylor has won 20+ games in 12 of the last 14 seasons after recording only three 20-win seasons in the previous 100 years of Baylor Basketball (1946, 1948, 1988).
• Baylor is 14-3 in Big 12 road games over the last 2 seasons (rest of league is 59-99 in B12 road games).
• Baylor is 83-5 when leading at halftime over the last 4+ seasons (53-2 over last 2+ seasons, 24-0 last season).
• In the last two seasons, Baylor has recorded the longest winning streak in the Big 12 Conference's 26-year history (23 wins in 2019-20) and 4th-longest winning streak in Big 12 history (18 wins in 2020-21).
• Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (201-21).
• BU is 62-4 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game over the last 2+ seasons.
• Baylor is 253-99 over the last 10+ seasons, averaging 24.5 wins per season since 2011-12.
• Baylor's 253 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (292).
• Baylor is 344-146 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Five of Baylor's players have used or are currently using a redshirt year. Two after transferring to BU (Flagler, Tchamwa Tchatchoua), one before transferring (Bonner) and two as freshmen — Turner and Langston Love.
• Ten of Baylor's 11 starting point guards under Drew have earned All-Big recognition (16 of last 17 seasons).
• Baylor is 1 of 10 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (7 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• Baylor has the nation's 10th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 970 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).
• BU is 7-1 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 11-2 in conference challenges.
• Baylor has won 8 tournament titles under Drew – 2007 Paradise Jam, 2011 Las Vegas Classic, 2013 NIT, 2016 & 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis, 2017 Hall of Fame Classic, 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational and 2021 NCAA Championship.
Drew's Bears 12-1 Against Big East
• BU is 12-1 against the Big East under Scott Drew, with the lone loss at Xavier in 2017. Drew has beaten seven Big East teams – Xavier (3-1), Villanova (2-0), Creighton (2-0), Providence (2-0), St. John's (1-0), Georgetown (1-0) and Butler (1-0).
• Baylor is 12-0 under Drew against the Big East in home or neutral games (8-0 neutral, 4-0 home, 0-1 road).
• 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), 2019 win vs. Butler (h). 2021 win vs. Villanova (n).
Click the link to find full versions of Baylor's Game Notes and Villanova's Game Notes.
