 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Friday, March 14 | 8:30 p.m. CT | | Location | Kansas City, Mo.; Sprint Center (18,972)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online
| | TV | ESPNU
| | TV Talent | Brent Musburger (pxp), Fran Fraschilla (color), Holly Rowe (reporter)
| | Web Video | WatchESPN | | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | Listen Online
| | Radio Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Satellite Radio | Sirius 84 / XM 84
| | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Texas
| | Twitter | @BaylorMBB | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 23-10 | | Ranking | rv (AP), rv (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 221-159 (12th season)
| | BU Record: 201-148 (11th season)
| TEXAS LONGHORNS
| | Record | 23-9
| | Ranking | rv (AP), rv (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Rick Barnes
| | Career: 583-298 (27th season)
| | UT Record: 381-164 (16th season)
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STORY LINES
• Friday is the 243rd all-time meeting between €ˆBaylor and Texas and the 5th meeting at the Big 12 Championship.
• Head coach Scott Drew is seeking his 202nd win at Baylor, which would break Bill Henderson's school record (201).
• Baylor is 9-1 since Kenny Chery returned to the starting lineup after a turf toe injury.
• Baylor has 9 top-50 RPI wins (Iowa State, Kentucky, €ˆColorado, Oklahoma, K-State [2], Oklahoma State [2], Dayton).
• Baylor is looking to advance to the Big 12 Championship finals for the 3rd time (2009, 2012; both losses to €ˆMissouri).
• Eight of Baylor's 10 losses are to teams ranked in the RPI top 35. BU is 17-2 against teams with RPIs above 35.
• Cory Jefferson has double-doubles in 6 of his last 9 games, averaging 17.1 ppg and 9.4 rpg in that span.
• Royce O'Neale is averaging 10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds in his last 9 games. He's posted double-digit rebounds in 4 of the last 5 games - including both at the Big 12 Championship - after not doing so in any previous games.
• Kenny Chery is averaging 16.3 ppg in his last 6 games, including a career-high 29 at K-State on €ˆSaturday.
• Isaiah Austin has scored 18 points and blocked 5 shots in both games at the Big 12 Championship.
• Baylor is 13-16 all-time in the Big 12 Championship, including a 9-9 mark under Drew and an 8-5 record since 2009.
• All five Baylor starters scored 12+ points, had multiple assists and hit at least one 3-pointer in €ˆThursday's win vs. €ˆOU.
• Drew's nine Big 12 Championship wins tie Bob Knight for 6th on the league's all-time list. They trail Eddie Sutton-13, Roy Williams-14, Kelvin Sampson-17, Rick €ˆBarnes-20 and Bill Self-21.
• Baylor has won 23+ games in five of the last six seasons.
• Baylor has its sixth 20-win season in the last seven years - BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to the Drew era.
• Baylor is 32-25 in March/April games under Drew, including a 29-15 mark over the last six seasons (since 2008-09).
• Baylor is 22-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Baylor is 58-3 when leading at the half since 2011-12 - 15-1 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12.
• Baylor has overcome halftime deficits to win four times (out of five) in the last nine games. The Bears €ˆwon after trailing at the break by 9 vs. K-State, 5 vs. Oklahoma State, 6 at West Virginia and 8 at K-State.
• Baylor is 9-3 this season in games decided by 5 points or less or in OT - BU was 3-8 in those games last year.
• Baylor is 28-10 in its last 38 games, with seven of the 10 losses against ranked teams.
• Baylor has the nation's best postseason winning percentage over the last five years (15-3; .833).
• Eight Baylor players average 14+ minutes, and Baylor's bench is averaging 23.9 points per game, while holding opponents to 13.9 bench points per game. BU has been out-scored in bench points only seven times this season.
• Baylor leads the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (.388) and offensive rebound percentage (.420).
A WIN WOULD ...
• Give Baylor 24 wins, tying 4th-most in program history.
• Be Scott Drew's 202nd career win as Baylor head coach -- breaking Bill Henderson's school record.
• Advance Baylor to the Big 12 Championship title game for the 3rd time (2009, 2012, 2014).
• Make Baylor 29-10 in its last 39 games dating back to 2012-13, with seven of the 10 losses to ranked teams.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS PAYING OFF
• Baylor trailed at the half in five of its last nine games (by 9, 5, 6, 15 and 8 points), but the Bears rallied to win four of those five (vs. Kansas State, vs. €ˆOklahoma State, at West Virginia, at Kansas State). The lone loss was a 15-point halftime deficit at Texas, which the Bears cut to 1 in the final minute.
• Baylor has won 95% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 58-3 when leading through the first 20 minutes in that stretch, including 15-1 this season, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12.
• BU has won 38% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 18-29 in those.
• BU has led at halftime in 61 of 108 games over the last three seasons, but Baylor has won 76 of those 108 games.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 12-0 when recording more assists than its opponent and 11-10 when posting equal/fewer assists.
• BU is 23-5 when holding opponents under 50% shooting and 0-5 when allowing 50% or better.
• Baylor is 17-3 when recording more points in the paint than opponents and 6-7 with equal/fewer points in paint.
• Baylor is 14-2 when attempting fewer than 20 3-pointers and 9-8 when shooting 20+ treys.
• BU is 16-3 when holding opponents under 70 points and 7-7 when allowing 70+ points. Conversely, BU €ˆis 19-3 when scoring 70+ points and 4-7 when being held under 70 points.
BRACKETOLOGY
• Baylor is projected to make the NCAA €ˆTournament for the 8th time in program history (4th in last 7 years).
• The Bears have the nation's No. 5 strength of schedule and are No. 34 in the latest CBSSports.com €ˆRPI rankings.
• Baylor has eight wins against RPI top-50 teams, which ranks 4th nationally behind only KU, Iowa State and Arizona.
• No team with seven or more top-50 wins has been left out of the NCAA €ˆTournament field in recent history.
• Eight of Baylor's 10 losses are to RPI top-35 teams. Others were vs. No. 84 West Virginia and at No. 114 Texas €ˆTech.
• Here are the latest bracket projections from several national media outlets:
ESPN.com -- No. 9 Baylor vs. No. 8 Oregon; Buffalo (March 10)
CBSSports.com -- No. 8 Baylor vs. No. 9 Arizona State; Orlando (March 9)
USA €ˆToday -- No. 8 €ˆBaylor vs. €ˆNo. 9 €ˆArizona State; Orlando (March 10)
Sports Illustrated -- No. 9 Baylor vs. No. 8 Oregon; Orlando (March 10)
Yahoo! Bracket Big Board -- No. 28 overall, 7 seed (March 9)
Sporting News -- No. 10 seed (March 3)
DREW ONE WIN FROM BREAKING SCHOOL RECORD
• Scott Drew is tied for the Baylor school record with 201 career wins as the Bears' head coach. Drew needs one win to pass Bill Henderson (201 wins; 1941-43 and 1945-61) for the all-time wins record.
• Drew's .576 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with four or more years at the helm.
NATION'S BEST POSTSEASON WINNING PERCENTAGE
• BU has the nation's best postseason winning percentage over the last five seasons (15-3, .833).
• Baylor has won at least three games in each of its last four postseason appearances.
• Baylor was the last Texas Division I team (out of 21) playing postseason basketball in each of the last two years.
• Baylor is 15-4 in five postseason appearances under Scott Drew -- 6-3 in NCAA €ˆTournament and 9-1 in NIT.
20 WINS = POSTSEASON
• With 20 wins this season, €ˆBaylor now has nine 20-win seasons in program history, and the Bears have advanced to the postseason in all eight previous 20-win seasons -- six times to NCAA €ˆTournament, twice to NIT.
• Head coach Scott Drew has led Baylor to 20-win seasons in six of the last seven years after the Bears had only three 20-win seasons in their first 101 seasons of basketball.
• Drew is the only Baylor coach to lead the program to five postseason appearances.
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS
• Baylor has enjoyed unprecedented success over the last six-plus seasons under 11th-year head coach Scott Drew. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Baylor is 167-79 (24 wins per season) and has made five postseason appearances €ˆ(2008 NCAA, 2009 NIT, 2010 NCAA, 2012 NCAA, 2013 NIT) and posted six 20-win seasons.
• Prior to 2007-08, Baylor won only 135 games in the first 11 seasons of the Big 12 era (12.3 wins per season).
• Baylor has made 12 postseason appearances (five under Drew) and won 20+ games just nine times (six under Drew) in the program's first 108 seasons.
UP NEXT
• The Baylor-UT winner will take on the winner of the first semifinal game between No. 1 seed Kansas and No. 4 seed Iowa State. KU-ISU tips off at 6 p.m. Friday on ESPNU.
• The winners of the BU-UT and KU-ISU semifinal games will play Saturday's championship game, which is scheduled for 8 p.m. on ESPN.
