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#8/8 BAYLOR BEARS (19-3, 7-2)
Location: Waco, Texas
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993)
Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
#8/8 BAYLOR (19-3, 7-2) at 10/10 KANSAS (18-3, 7-1)
Feb. 5, 2022 • 3:00 p.m. CT
Lawrence, Kan. • Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
WATCH: ESPN
Talent: Bob Wischusen (pxp), Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
LISTEN: Learfield / 1660 AM & 92.3 FM in Central Texas
Talent: John Morris (PBP), Pat Nunley (Analyst)
National Radio: ESPN Radio
Talent: Sean Kelley (pxp), Bob Valvano (analyst)
SIRIUS XM: Sirius 81, XM, 81, Internet 81
Baylor Social Media:    |
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#10/10 KANSAS JAYHAWKS (18-3, 7-1)
Location: Lawrence, Kan.
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Bill Self
(Oklahoma State, 1985)
Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
In a battle of the Big 12's top two teams, it feels like eighth-ranked Baylor has already won half the battle by just making it to Lawrence, Kan., for Saturday's 3 p.m. game at Kansas.
Unable to fly out of Waco because of Thursday's freeze, the Bears (19-3, 7-2) bused to Austin and flew to Kansas, arriving Friday night.
"We've had to change some things," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat West Virginia, 81-77, Monday night. "In college basketball, you have to be flexible. You have injuries, you have other things. Normally, it's not ice in Texas, but last year actually prepared us for it."
The Bears, who have had a revolving door of injuries, were missing leading scorer LJ Cryer (13.9 ppg) and junior guard Adam Flagler (12.7 ppg, 3.5 assists) in Monday's game with foot and knee injuries, respectively.
Senior point guard James Akinjo, who had missed two of the previous three games with a tailbone injury, returned to score 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to help Baylor sweep the season series with West Virginia.
With Cryer and Flagler, "basically it's a pain-tolerance situation," Drew said.
"If they can handle the pain, then they're able to play at a level that helps the team, we can put them out there," Drew said. "Doctor-wise, they're not restricted. If they were, I'd say they're not available. So really, it's just a matter of pain tolerance and how it affects them on the court. Game time decision for both. Obviously, that's one of my biggest prayers every night that they wake up pain-free."
With all the injuries, including freshman forward Jeremy Sochan (8.6 ppg, 6.0 rebounds) missing four games with a sprained ankle, junior transfer Dale Bonner has seen his playing time increase dramatically. From not playing at all in the first two conference games, he's played 20-plus minutes in the last three games and averaged 6.7 points and 3.3 assists.
"Understandably, when you only play a few minutes, it's hard to get into a rhythm," Drew said. "What's impressed us on the offensive end is his ability to take care of the basketball. Last game, he had four assists, zero turnovers. He's someone that God's blessed with talent and ability, and he's worked hard and gotten better.
"That is one blessing whenever you have injuries, it gives other people an opportunity to step forward, gain minutes, gain trust. Hopefully, that just makes you a better team when they come back."
No. 10 Kansas (18-3, 7-1), which has a half-game lead on Baylor atop the Big 12 standings, is dealing with issues of its own. Despite missing senior guard Ochai Agbaji and Arizona State transfer Remy Martin, the Jayhawks picked up a 70-61 road win over No. 20 Iowa State.
Agbaji (20.9 ppg), the Big 12's leading scorer, was out due to COVID health and safety protocols, but has been cleared to play Saturday. Martin (8.2 ppg, 3.0 assists) was out with a bruised knee his status is uncertain.
Regardless, Drew said Baylor is game-planning for Agbaji and Martin to both be in the lineup.
"I learned early on that when you don't plan for someone and then they do play, it's a lot worse," Drew said. "We always plan on people playing. And, obviously, those are two very good players as well."
Junior guard Christian Braun (15.1 ppg) is Kansas' only other double-figure scorer, but the Jayhawks have an imposing frontline with 6-10 senior center David McCormack (9.0 ppg, 6.8 rebounds) and 6-8 sophomore forward Jalen Wilson (9.1 ppg, 6.8 rebounds).
"Ochai has closed out a lot of close games. But, they've got a lot of great players, a lot of great scorers," said 6-8 Baylor freshman forward Kendall Brown (10.0 ppg, 4.7 rebounds). "We're just locked in on each player and know what we've got to do."
Brown, who ultimately picked Baylor over Kansas, said "it's going to be fun" playing in Allen Fieldhouse
"(The recruiting websites) had my crystal ball 100% to there," Brown said, "so I might hear people shout at me. It will be a fun experience."
. The Bears lost their first 17 games in Lawrence before pulling out a 67-55 win two years ago. Kansas handed eventual national champion Baylor its first loss of the year last season, with McCormack scoring 20 points before fouling out in a 71-58 upset of then-No. 2 Baylor.
"He's a tremendous player, he's somebody who's really talented," Drew said of McCormack. "I don't know how much his foot injury has affected him this year, but he's definitely one of the best bigs in the country."
Agbaji, a top-10 pick in the latest NBA mock drafts, has scored at least 20 points 12 times and poured in a career-high 37 points in a 94-91 double-OT win at home over Texas Tech. The Jayhawks suffered their only home-court loss to No. 12 Kentucky, 80-62, last Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Saturday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla and Krus Budden calling the action.
STORY LINES
• No. 8 Baylor travels to face No. 10 Kansas in a top-10 matchup for first place in the Big 12 standings.
• Baylor has won 9-straight games against top-10 ranked teams, beating Nos. 5, 9, 6, 6, 10, 6, 1, 6 and 8, respectively. Baylor is the 6th team all-time to win 9-straight vs. top-10 teams (list on pg. 3).
• Saturday is the 42nd series meeting. BU is 3-4 in the last 7 meetings after starting 4-30 in the series.
• In last year's meeting in Lawrence, BU led 30-26 with less than 2 minutes left in the first half, but KU used a 13-1 run and the Bears couldn't get closer than 3 points the rest of the way in a 71-58 loss.
• The loss ended BU's 18-0 start and was Baylor's only Big 12 road loss in the last 2 seasons (11-1).
• BU won 67-55 in Lawrence in 2020, snapping a 17-game losing streak in games at Kansas.
• The Bears are 19-4 against ranked teams over the last 3 seasons, including 13-3 in the last 2 years.
• Baylor is 18-3 in Big 12 road games over the last 3 seasons (rest of league is 73-124 in B12 road games).
• BU has won 14 of its last 15 games away from home – 9-0 neutral, 5-1 road (lone loss at Alabama).
• Baylor's 19-3 record is its lowest winning percentage through 22 games since 2018-19. BU was 21-1 in both 2020 & 2021. The Bears are a combined 61-5 through their first 22 games over the last 3 seasons.
• Baylor is coming off a comeback win against West Virginia on Monday, where the Bears trailed 57-48 with 10 minutes left. BU went on a 16-6 run and didn't trail the rest of the game.
• BU is 7-2 or better halfway through Big 12 play for a 3rd-straight season (once in first 23 seasons – 2012).
• BU is playing its 300th 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 285 of 422 games.
• Baylor has been No. 1 ranked in 4 of the last 6 seasons (Gonzaga, Duke and Kansas are only others).
• Baylor's 35-6 Big 12 conference record over the last 3 seasons is the best of any Power-5 team.
• Baylor's 47-5 record over the last 2 seasons is the nation's best among Power-5 teams, and the Bears' 73-9 record over the last 3 seasons is 2nd-best nationally, trailing only Gonzaga (80-5).
• BU is 16-0 this season when winning points off turnovers and 15-0 when winning points in the paint.
• Baylor is the nation's only team ranked top-40 in scoring offense (30th) and scoring defense (22nd).
• Baylor ranks top-25 nationally in scoring margin (6th, +17.4), assists (10th, 17.2), steals (12th, 9.5), rebounding margin (19th, +7.4), turnovers forced (19th, 17.1), turnover margin (23rd, +4.0),
offensive rebound percentage (5th, 38.1) FG% (25th, .481) and effective FG% (21st, .552).
• Over the last 3 seasons, Baylor is 61-3 when leading at the half and 73-5 when taking a 2nd-half lead.
• BU has forced 10+ turnovers in 30-straight games, including 12+ TOs in 21 of 22 games this season.
• Baylor is on a school-record streak of 42-straight weeks top-10 ranked (top-5 ranked in 38 of those).
• BU is on a school-record streak of 50-straight weeks ranked in the AP Top 25 (previous record was 25). It's the nation's 3rd-longest active streak behind Gonzaga (108) and Villanova (53).
• Baylor has been ranked in all 25 spots in the AP Top 25 at some point in the last 7 years.
• BU has defeated 3 currently top-25 ranked teams this season – No. 12 Villanova (57-36 in Waco),
No. 13 Michigan State (75-58 in Battle 4 Atlantis title game) and No. 20 Iowa State (77-72 in Ames).
QUICK HITS
• Baylor and Kansas are the only Power-5 schools to win 18+ games every year since 2008.
• Baylor is 4-0 in Big 12 road games this season, while the rest of the league is a combined 14-25.
• Baylor has built leads of 10+ points in 26 of 28 games since the start of the 2021 NCAA Tournament (25-3 record).
• BU has built double-digit leads in 71 of 82 games over the last 3 seasons (47 of 52 last 2 seasons).
• Head coach Scott Drew is in his 19th season at Baylor with a school-record 389 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.
• For a second-straight season, Baylor was one of the nation's final two undefeated teams.
• BU went 305 days between losses, the longest in program history (March 12, 2021 – Jan. 11, 2022).
• BU had a 36-game non-conference winning streak with 813 days between losses (Nov. 8, 2019 – Jan. 29, 2022).
• BU went 1,038 days without consecutive losses before dropping back-to-back games Jan. 11 and Jan. 15.
• Baylor became the first program to start consecutive seasons 15-0 since Syracuse in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• BU ranks 5th nationally in KenPom's offensive rebound pct (37.1), its 8th-straight year ranked top-10.
• Baylor's streak of 9 consecutive postseasons is tied as the nation's 7th-longest active streak.
• Baylor needs one more win to record the 13th 20-win season in the last 15 years. Prior to that, BU recorded only three 20-win seasons in the first 100 years of Baylor Basketball (1946, 1948, 1988).
• Baylor is 91-6 when leading at halftime over the last 5 seasons (61-3 over last 3 seasons, 24-0 last season).
• Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (208-22).
• BU is 73-5 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game over the last 3 seasons.
• Baylor is 264-102 over the last 10+ seasons, averaging 24.5 wins per season since 2011-12.
• Baylor's 264 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (303).
• Baylor is 355-149 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 984 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).
• 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.
NOTABLE STREAKS
• Baylor has won 9-consecutive games against AP Top-10 ranked opponents (last loss Feb. 22, 2020 vs. Kansas).
• Baylor has taken a lead in 108-consecutive games (last wire-to-wire loss Dec. 1, 2018 at Wichita State).
• BU has won 58-straight when shooting a higher percentage than its opponent (last loss March 2, 2019 at K-State).
• Baylor has won 35-straight games when shooting 50% or higher (last loss March 18, 2018 vs. Mississippi State).
• Baylor has won 35-straight games when scoring 80+ points (last loss Jan. 5, 2019 vs. TCU).
• Baylor has had at least 3 players make 3-pointers in 25-consecutive games (last on March 27, 2021 vs. Villanova).
• Baylor has made 3+ 3-pointers in 111-consecutive games (last on Nov. 23, 2018 vs. Ole Miss).
• Baylor has won 9-consecutive neutral-site games – (last loss Nov. 8, 2019 vs. Washington in Alaska).
• Baylor has won 21-consecutive non-conference home games (last loss Dec. 18, 2018 vs. SFA).
For full version of Baylor game notes, click here.
