Baylor
Tennessee
No. 13 MBB Readies for Baha Mar Championship Game against No. 11 Tennessee
11/22/2024 8:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Bears are poised for an eighth mid-season tournament title under Scott Drew
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13/14 BAYLOR BEARS (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
13/14 BAYLOR (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. 11/9 TENNESSEE (5-0, 0-0 SEC) Nov. 22, 2024 • 8:30 p.m. CT Nassau, Bahamas • Baha Mar Convention Center (2,000) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: CBS Sports Network Talent: Chris Sylvester (pxp), Kyle Macy (analyst), Sam Hyman (sideline) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via ESPN 1660 AM / 92.3 FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com Talent: Pat Nunley (PBP), David Kaye (Analyst) SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 198 or on the SXM App Baylor Social Media:    |
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11/9 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (5-0, 0-0 SEC) Location: Knoxville, Tenn. Conference/Affiliation: SEC Head Coach: Rick Barnes (Lenoir Rhyne, 1977) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
Story lines
• No.13/14 Baylor takes on No. 11/9 Tennessee in the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship Game on CBS Sports Network
• Thursday's matchup will be Baylor's fourth against a ranked opponent in six games this season (2-1)
• The Bears are the first team to have multiple ranked wins this season
• BU is 34-17 against ranked teams over the last six seasons, including a 17-13 mark away from home
• Baylor is 43-13 in regular-season tournaments during the Drew era, including titles in 4 of the last 5 tournaments
• The Bears have won seven regular-season tournament titles under Drew – 2023 NIT Season Tip-Off, 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis, 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational, 2017 Hall of Fame Classic, 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis, 2011 Las Vegas Classic and 2007 Paradise Jam.
• BU is 30-5 in its eight regular-season tournaments since 2013-14, going 3-1, 3-1, 3-1, 4-0, 4-0, 3-1, 3-0, 3-0, 1-1, 2-0 and 1-0
• While Tennessee and Baylor have never met, the Bears are no stranger to Rick Barnes facing him 39 times from 1999-2015 when he was the head coach at Texas
• After Barnes and Texas won the first 24 meetings, Scott Drew and the Bears won nine of the next 15 meetings
• Barnes and Drew are two of the three winningest coaches in Big 12 history, and join Bill Self as one of three coaches with 150+ Big 12 wins
• Drew boasts a 21-11 against SEC foes, including a 16-7 mark since 2012-13
• Baylor is coming off a thrilling double-overtime win over No. 22 St. John's, thanks to Jeremy Roach's buzzer-beating three-pointer, BU's first buzzer-beater since Lester Medford hit a triple at the buzzer to beat Texas Tech in 2016
• Norchad Omier had a game-high in points (24) and rebounds (10) giving him 71 double-doubles for his career, building on his lead as the NCAA's active career-leader in that stat
• Omier is the first bear since Ekpe Udoh in 2009 to have three double-doubles in his first five games in a Baylor uniform
• BU's 14-point halftime deficit was its largest in a comeback win since it trailed by 15 at the break against Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals in the Battle '4' Atlantis Championship in 2016.
• The Bears have scored 307 points in the last three games combined, the most points in a three-game stretch since December of 2017 (322)
• A balanced scoring attack, the Bears have six players in double figures, and welcomed back a key piece in Langston Love, getting his first game action since March in a double-overtime win vs. St. John's
• Through the early part of this season, BU has the toughest strength of schedule among power-five conference teams
• Ranked as the 24th-toughest schedule by Ken Pom, the next hardest schedule by a power-conference team is Alabama at No. 72.
• Against Tarleton, Baylor allowed just 13 first-half points, the second fewest allowed by the Bears in the Big 12 era
• The 63-point margin of victory over the Texans marked just the second 60+ point win over a D1 team (and fourth overall) for BU since 1980
