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#1/1 BAYLOR (15-1, 3-1)
Location: Waco, Texas
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993)
Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
OKLAHOMA STATE (8-7, 1-3) vs. #1/1 BAYLOR (15-1, 3-1)
Jan. 15, 2022 • 4:00 p.m. CT
Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
WATCH: ESPN
Talent: Rich Hollenberg (pxp), Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
LISTEN: Learfield/ ESPN 1660 AM in Central Texas
Talent: John Morris (PBP), Pat Nunley (Analyst)
SIRIUS XM: Sirius 137, XM, 199, Internet 953
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OKLAHOMA STATE (8-7, 1-3)
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Mike Boynton
(South Carolina, 2004)
Roster | Stats | |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Strapped with a loss for the first time in 305 days, Baylor coach Scott Drew didn't have to look too hard to find the critical issues in Tuesday's 65-62 loss to 19th-ranked Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders scored 19 points off the Bears' 14 turnovers and finished with a 12-6 edge in second-chance points, resulting in a 14-point difference in those two areas alone.
"You just want to focus on the areas you can control," said Drew, whose top-ranked Bears (15-1, 3-1) host Oklahoma State (8-7, 1-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center. "Sometimes, you grow a lead and you stop doing the things that got you the lead. That was case in point for us. And then, we had some shots we didn't make, but only six second-chance points. That's uncharacteristic as well."
In a twist of fate, the Bears are getting the team that handed them their last previous loss – OSU pulled out an 83-74 win in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals in Kansas City on March 12, 2021. Baylor reeled off 21-straight wins, including beating Gonzaga in the national championship game last April, before seeing the streak end against Tech.
"In the Big 12, you've got to have a short-term memory," Drew said. "You can't let a game beat you twice, or win a game and let the next one be affected. . . . Sometimes, you just need a reset. You never want to reset, but you're fighting human nature. No one's gone undefeated since 1976 for a reason."
Matthew Mayer, who had seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the loss to Tech, said Thursday's practice was one of the longest and hardest that he could remember.
"It was tough, man," said Mayer, who is averaging 8.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. "It was very long film, then a hard lift and very long on the court. I've never had a practice that long in my life."
After taking a 15-point first-half lead on Tech, the Bears "quit getting those opportunities" to score in transition, sophomore guard LJ Cryer said.
"Whenever you get stops, it leads to transition and we're able to play faster," who is second on the team with 12.8 points per game. "We've got to put together consecutive stops so we can continue to do that."
While the Bears scored their second-fewest points of the season, Drew said it starts on the defensive end. Tech shot 51% from the floor, only turned it over 12 times and scored 12 points off seven offensive rebounds.
"The hardest thing to guard is transition. And to get transition, you have to get stops, you have to get turnovers," Drew said. "When our defense is clicking, our offense is benefitting. And vice versa. If we're turning it over offensively, it's hard on the defense."
Arguably, the Tech game came down to two ankles. The Red Raiders' Kevin McCullar returned from an ankle injury to contribute 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Baylor freshman forward Jeremy Sochan missed his first game of the year after spraining his left ankle in last Saturday's game against Oklahoma.
"I think it affects you in a big way from the standpoint that he's so versatile, he's so efficient," Drew said of the 6-9 Sochan, who is averaging 7.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists while playing right at 22 minutes per game.
"Whenever someone's out, it puts more responsibility on those guys that are playing. Maybe they can't be as aggressive, can't get in foul trouble, have to play more minutes. It gives an opportunity for people to step up off the bench, but it does affect you and it is different."
While Oklahoma State is banned from postseason play because of recruiting violations, the Cowboys have a "talented team, they return a lot from last year," Drew said.
That includes 6-3 junior guard Avery Anderson III, who scored 20 in last year's win over Baylor and is second on the team with 10.8 points per game. Bryce Williams is averaging a team-high 11.1 points on a balanced offense, with guard Isaac Likekele contributing across the board with 7.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
OSU coach Mike Boynton also loaded up on transfers, getting McDonald's All-American Bryce Thompson from Kansas, Tyreek Smith from Texas Tech and 7-footer Moussa Cisse from Memphis.
"You can go up and down the roster," Drew said. Cisse is a very talented (transfer) from Memphis. A lot of guys on the edge of being in the (NBA) draft, coming out. The fifth and sixth year make parity an all-time high. Because at 24, your bigs have an advantage. When you're in year 5 of college, you've seen a lot of stuff."
OSU leads the all-time series, 56-33, but Baylor has won 11 of the last 13 games and is 16-6 since 2012.
Saturday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Rich Hollenberg and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.
STORY LINES
• No. 1 Baylor looks to begin a new winning streak when it hosts Oklahoma State at 4 pm CT Saturday.
• Baylor is 11-2 vs. Oklahoma State since 2016 and 16-6 vs. the Cowboys since 2012.
• Baylor is 13-2 at home against Oklahoma State since 2007, when BU snapped a 1-18 skid vs. OSU.
• BU is 30-0 vs. unranked teams over the last 2 seasons (+24.7 avg margin) with all wins by 5+ points.
• BU is 20-1 in home games over the last 2 seasons, with an average scoring margin of +26.3.
• Baylor is 34-2 at home over the last 3 seasons, with both losses by 3 points against ranked teams.
• BU had the 3rd-longest winning streak in Big 12 history (21) snapped in Tuesday's loss to Texas Tech.
• BU went 305 days between losses, the longest in program history (March 12, 2021 – Jan. 11, 2022).
• Despite Tuesday's loss, Baylor remains No. 1 in NCAA NET rankings and is No. 2 in KenPom rankings.
• Baylor's 31-5 Big 12 conference record over the last 3 seasons is the best of any Power-5 team.
• Baylor has been No. 1 ranked in 4 of the last 6 seasons (Gonzaga, Duke and Kansas are only others).
• Saturday is Baylor's 23rd all-time game as a No. 1-ranked team – BU is 19-3 while ranked No. 1.
• For a second-straight season, Baylor was one of the nation's final two undefeated teams.
• Baylor's 43-3 record over the last two seasons is the nation's best, and the Bears' 69-7 record over the last three seasons is 2nd-best nationally, trailing only Gonzaga (74-5).
• Baylor's bench has out-scored the opponents' bench in 13 of 16 games and by an average of 29-20.
• BU is allowing only 6.6 second-chance points per game, while scoring 12.7 second-chance points.
• Baylor is averaging 10 more field goal attempts per game than its opponents (BU 64, OPP 54).
• Baylor is the nation's only team ranked top-25 in scoring offense (19th) and scoring defense (20th).
• Baylor ranks top-20 nationally in scoring margin (3rd, +21.7), assists (10th, 18.1), steals (12th, 9.9), rebounding margin (12th, +9.0), turnovers forced (13th, 18.0), turnover margin (15th, +5.1),
field goal percentage (17th, .491) and offensive rebound percentage (7th, 39.0).
• BU's defense has forced 10+ turnovers in 24-straight games, including 12+ in all 16 games this season.
• BU's 47-straight weeks ranked in the AP Top 25 is the nation's 3rd-longest behind Gonzaga and Villanova.
• Baylor is on a school-record streak of 39-straight weeks top-10 ranked (top-5 ranked in 36 of those).
• Baylor has been ranked in all 25 spots in the AP Top 25 at some point in the last 7 years.
• Baylor has built leads of 11+ points in all 22 games since the start of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
• BU has led by at least 4 points in all 76 games since the start of the 2019-20 season and built a double-digit lead in 67 of those games, including 43 of 46 games since the start of last season.
• Adam Flagler (Player of the Week) and James Akinjo (Newcomer of the Week) swept this week's Big 12 awards. It's the 7th time Baylor players have won both awards in the same week.
• BU has defeated 3 currently top-15 ranked teams this season – No. 10 Michigan State (75-58 in Battle 4 Atlantis title game), No. 14 Villanova (57-36 in Waco) and No. 15 Iowa State (77-72 in Ames).
• Drew has swept AP and coaches' Big 12 Coach of the Year honors each of the last two seasons.
• The Bears are 19-4 against ranked teams over the last 3 seasons, including 13-3 in the last 2 years.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor is the first program to start consecutive seasons 15-0 since Syracuse in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• Head coach Scott Drew is in his 19th season at Baylor with a school-record 385 career victories, including a 17-8 mark in NCAA Tournaments, which is the 7th-best mark among active coaches.
• Baylor's streak of 18-straight wins by 8+ points was snapped in a 5-point win at Iowa State. BU was the first returning national champion to win its first 12 games by 8+ points since 1990-91 UNLV.
• Baylor has won 36 straight non-conference games (+23.2 average margin) dating back to Nov. 2019.
• BU ranks 7th nationally in KenPom's offensive rebound pct (39.0), its 8th-straight year ranked top-10.
• BU is playing its 295th 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 279 of 416 games.
• Baylor and Kansas are the only Power-5 schools to win 18+ games every year since 2008.
• Baylor's streak of 9 consecutive postseasons is tied as the nation's 7th-longest active streak.
• 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 88-6 when leading at halftime over the last 5 seasons (58-3 over last 3 seasons, 24-0 last season).
• Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (205-22).
• BU is 69-5 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game over the last 3 seasons.
• Baylor is 260-100 over the last 10+ seasons, averaging 24.5 wins per season since 2011-12.
• Baylor's 260 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (298).
• Baylor is 351-147 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 9th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 978 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.
BEARS MAKE BIG 12 HISTORY
• In the last three seasons, Baylor has recorded the longest winning streak in the Big 12 Conference's 26-year history (23 in 2019-20), the 3rd-longest in Big 12 history (21 in 2021-22) and tied the 5th-longest (18 in 2020-21).
LONGEST WINNING STREAKS IN BIG 12 HISTORY
1. 23 – Baylor, 2019-20
2. 22 – Kansas, 1996-97
3. 21 – Baylor, 2021-22
4. 20 – Kansas, 2007-08
T5. 18 – Baylor, 2020-21; Kansas 2016-17; Kansas 2012-13; Kansas, 2010-11
T9. 17 – Kansas 2015-16; Baylor 2011-12, Texas 2009-10
For the full version of Baylor's game notes, click here.
