No. 11 MBB Returns Home to Host Texas Tech
2/3/2023 11:06:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BU is looking to sweep the season series from the Red Raiders
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11/11 BAYLOR BEARS (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
TEXAS TECH (12-10, 1-8) vs. 11/11 BAYLOR (16-6, 5-4) Feb. 4, 2023 • 12:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • The Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: CBS Talent: Ian Eagle (pxp), Bill Raftery (analyst) LISTEN: Learfield/ ESPN 1660 AM / 92.3 FM in Central Texas and on the Varsity Network App. Talent: John Morris (PBP), Pat Nunley SIRIUS XM: Sirius 199, XM 199, Internet 953 Baylor Social Media:    |
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TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (12-10, 1-8 Big 12) Location: Lubbock, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mark Adams (Texas Tech — 1979) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
During the first three games of a six-game winning streak, the 11th-ranked Baylor Bears averaged 79.3 points per game and shot an efficient 46.3% from the floor.
In the four games since then, including Monday's 76-71 loss at No. 10 Texas, those numbers dropped to 68.8 points per game and just 36% shooting.
"It's just having the wherewithal to maybe turn down a good shot to get a better one," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose Bears (16-6, 5-4) will host last-place Texas Tech (12-10, 1-8) at 12 p.m. Saturday at a sold-out Ferrell Center.
"We have a group of guys who are great teammates. We don't have selfish players, we have confident players. And sometimes, that means taking tougher shots. . . . We have the No. 1 offense in the Big 12 for a reason. We've got a lot of talented players, and they play the right way. Can we improve? Always. You're always going to have mistakes, it's a mistake-filled game, but the fewer the better."
Senior guard Adam Flagler, who's averaging 15.3 points and 4.9 assists, said there are times when the players "may settle."
"If we see a shot, we don't lack confidence that it's going to go in," Flagler said. "But that doesn't mean it's always the best shot. We just have to learn and trust each other and just try to get the best shot. And if we don't, then we get back on defense and try to get a stop. The offense will take care of itself. We don't worry about offense as much when we're getting stops or being able to run in transition."
Baylor is coming off that loss to Texas in the Bears' first trip to the new Moody Center in Austin. After scoring five points in less than a minute and pulling BU within one late, freshman Keyonte George missed a deep 3-pointer from beyond NBA range that would have tied it.
"I feel like the last game, Texas was the toughest team," Flagler said. "We pride ourselves on that. The fact that we weren't able to get as many second-chance points as we usually get, our shot selection. But most importantly, we gave up a lot of transition baskets. We can't do things like that and expect to win at this level, especially in the Big 12."
Although the Red Raiders (12-10, 1-8) are languishing in last place in the league, they have proven they're no pushovers. After dropping its first eight conference games, Tech bounced back with a 76-68 road win at LSU in last Saturday's Big 12/SEC Challenge, then rallied from a 23-point second-half deficit to defeat 13th-ranked Iowa State in overtime, 80-77.
"You look at all the Big 12 games, and two possessions or less and your season changes dramatically," Drew said. "They lost a lot of close games, now they're winning close games, and that gives them confidence. Coach (Mark) Adams and the squad have always been tough, they always fight and compete and now they're getting some wins to go with that."
Tech has actually strung together back-to-back wins despite being without freshman point guard Pop Isaacs (11.6 ppg) and 6-11 senior center Fardaws Aimaq (10.0 ppg, 6.7 rebounds). Aimaq has only played three games all season, while Isaacs suffered an ankle injury in Tech's 76-61 loss to West Virginia last week.
Isaacs had 14 points and five assists, while Aimaq narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine boards, in Tech's 81-74 loss to Baylor three weeks ago in Lubbock.
"I see a team that's excited, thankful that they have many more games to play, and them playing really well, extremely together and playing hard," Flagler said. "Even with two of their main guys out, they've come together, similar to how we faced adversity with losing three games, to come back. I feel like they have that same energy and same vibe over there. So, it's going to be an exciting game, but we have to be ready."
George (17.2 ppg, 4.5 rebounds) hit five 3-pointers and scored 27 points in the first meeting with Tech, but the biggest difference in the game was the Bears turning it over just three times.
"They're extremely elite with their ball pressure, especially as of late, their length and their size," Flagler said. "But it just goes back to getting into the paint, playing off of two feet and just finding your teammates. I know that when you are overly aggressive and looking for your shot, there are a lot of times where you can go too deep and you cause a turnover. Anytime we can penetrate and pitch it out for an easier shot, that's what we try to do."
Saturday's game is a national broadcast on CBS, with Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery calling the action.
STORY LINES
• No. 11 Baylor returns home for a nationally televised tussle with Texas Tech on CBS.
• BU is aiming to sweep the season series from the Red Raiders for the eighth time in the Scott Drew era.
• Saturday marks BU's first regular-season game on CBS since 2021 and its first home game on CBS since Feb. 10, 2018.
• This is the 146th series meeting between the two, with Baylor holding a 24-15 edge in the Drew era.
• The Bears have won nine of the last 11 meetings in Waco (39-28 overall).
• In the last meeting, BU led by as many as 16 in the second half, before holding off a hard-charge from the Red Raiders to win 81-74, for a third-straight conference win.
• Last time out, Baylor had its six-game winning streak snapped at Texas (76-71), just its second loss in its last 14 games against AP top-10 teams.
• BU is 78-22 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, and the Bears have advanced deeper into postseason play than any of Texas' 23 Division I teams in five of the last nine seasons.
• In its last home game, BU beat Arkansas 67-64 in the final SEC/Big 12 Challenge game in front of the second-largest crowd in program history.
• The Bears defeated eight different teams in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and won all five meetings at the Ferrell Center.
• The Bears are 25-9 vs. AP top-25 teams over the last four years, with 15 of those wins coming away from home.
• Baylor's seven quad-one wins are tied for the second-most in the nation.
• Baylor's starting guard trio of George, Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer ranks as the sixth-highest scoring back court trio in college basketball (47.2 ppg, second-best in the power six — NC State).
• Keyonte George's 17.2 points per game rank third among freshman in Division I.
• George Has nine 20-point games this season are tied for the most by a BU freshman since Aaron Bruce had nine in 2004-2005.
• At 24-7, BU has the best Big 12 road record over the last four seasons, and is one of just three teams with a .500+ road record in the conference during that span.
• The Bears had a season-high 30 second-chance points against the Sooners (1/21), the most since they had 32 against Washington State on 12/23/2010.
• Baylor's 47-12 Big 12 record over the last four seasons is the best of any Power-5 team.
• BU is 161-93 in Big 12 play in 13 seasons since 2010 after going 59-149 in the league's first 13 seasons.
• After a one-week absence from the AP Top 25 in January, the Bears are back in the top 25 and have now been ranked in 68 of the last 69 AP Polls.
• All six of BU's losses have come against teams currently ranked in the top 15 of the AP poll, and in the top 19 of the latest NCAA Net rankings.
• The Bears are the fourth-best offense in the nation (best in the conference) according to Ken Pom (120.0 Adj. Efficiency rating), averaging 78.5 points per game.
