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No. 22/21 Baylor (0-0) vs. nr/rv Stephen F. Austin (0-0) Nov. 13, 2015 | 8:30 p.m. CT Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284) TV: FCS Atlantic (National), FSSW-Plus (Texas) Radio: ESPN Central Texas

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MEDIA INFORMATION Date Friday, Nov. 13 | 8:30 p.m. CT Location Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284) Tickets Purchase Tickets Online TV FCS Atlantic (National), FSSW-Plus (Texas) TV Talent John Morris (pxp), Jim Haller (color) Satellite Radio Sirius 108 BU Radio ESPN Central Texas BU Talent Pat Nunley (pxp), Nick Joos (color) Stats Game Notes Baylor | McNeese State Social Media @BaylorMBB BAYLOR BEARS Record 0-0 Ranking 22 (AP), 21 (Coaches) Head Coach Scott Drew Career: 248-171 (14th season) BU Record: 228-160 (13th season) STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LUMBERJACKS Record 0-0 Ranking nr (AP), rv (Coaches) Head Coach Brad Underwood Career: 61-8 (3rd season) SFA Record: 61-8 (3rd season)

STORYLINES
- Baylor is No. 22 in the AP Top 25 Poll and has now been ranked No. 22 or better in 13 consecutive AP polls.
- Baylor has been ranked in the AP Preseasonà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Poll in 5 of the last 6 seasons -- last year was the lone exception.
- Friday will mark the 16th series meeting between Baylor and SFA.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € The Bears won last season's meeting, 67-51, which marked the teams' first meeting since 2003. Baylor leads the series 9-6, including a 4-2 mark inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Waco.
- Baylor is 44-6 in November/December games when ranked in the AP poll, including a 31-1 mark in home games.
- Baylor was the only major conference team to hold every opponent under 75 points last season.
- Baylor was the only Division I team to hold all non-conference opponents to 66 or fewer points last season.
- Baylor is 82-11 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 21-7 last season.
- BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € has won 39% of its games (21-33) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 3-3 last season.
- Baylor is 37-22 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
- Baylor is 36-13 in its last 49 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Eleven of the 13 losses have been away from home (6 road, 5 neutral) and eight losses have been against ranked teams.
- Baylor's game against SFA is the first of eight this season that will be televised on FOXà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Sports Southwest as part of Baylor Vision on FOXà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Sports -- the Bears' third-tier TVà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € network.
- Scouts from 6 NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € teams have requested credentials to Friday's game -- Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Goldenà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz.
- Baylor is 194-91 (24 wins per season) over the last 8 seasons and has made 7 postseason appearancesà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (NCAA Tournament -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015; NIT -- 2009, 2013).
- Baylor made back-to-back NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tournaments for the first time in program history in 2014 and 2015.
- BU has won 20+ games in 7 of the last 8 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Scott Drew's arrival.
- Drew is coaching his 389th game at Baylor (228-160). His .588 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .681 winning percentage since 2007-08.
- Baylor's 17-5 postseason record since 2009 is the nation's 4th-best among teams with 3+ NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € appearances.
- Baylor is one of only 14 schools nationally to play in the Sweet 16 in 3 of the last 6 seasons.
- Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 766 consecutive games.
- Baylor is one of two Big 12 schools to be ranked in each of the last 9 seasons (Kansas).
- Baylor was picked 5th in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, behind Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Texas.
- Drew is tied with Kansas' Bill Self as the longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference (13th seasons).
- Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 7 seasons (73-63) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
- Baylor is 28-12 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last seven seasons.
- Baylor is one of six schools nationally ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball, joining Michigan,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Michiganà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State, Northà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Carolina, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
- Baylor is 290-67 in football and men's and women's basketball since 2011-12, the nation's best record in that span.
- Baylor's 5 NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft picks in the last 4 years ranks 8th nationally behind Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, Arizona, North Carolina and UCLA.
- BU is 85-6 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, including a 12-2 mark last season.
- Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak (16th-longest nationally) with at least one 3-point FG made in 766 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Texas Tech.

SERIES HISTORY
- Friday's game will be the 16th meeting in the series.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € The Bears are 9-6 all-time vs. SFA, including 4-2 at home.
- The majority of games were played prior to World War II, with nine of 15 meetings between 1930-31 and 1940-41.
- Baylor is 43-13 all-time against current Southland Conference members, and nearly half of those losses (6 of 13) have come against Stephen F. Austin.

BEST IN TEXAS
- Baylor is 33-5 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' 21 Division I team in each of the last four seasons.
- BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € is a 47-9 against Lone Star State teams over the last six seasons after going 10-27 against in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor ...
(10-1 in 2014-15, 6-3 in 2013-14, 7-1 in 2012-13, 10-0 in 2011-12, 5-3 in 2010-11 and 9-1 in 2009-10).

SUCCESS IN SEASON OPENERS UNDER DREW
- Baylor is 11-1 in season openers during the Scott Drew era, with the lone loss coming at Texas Tech in 2005-06, when the Bears did not play a non-conference schedule.
- Last season,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Baylor defeated McNeese State, 80-39, in the season opener at the Ferrell Center.
- Baylor has won its last nine season openers by an average of 29.2 points per game.

PICKED FIFTH IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
- Baylor was picked to finish fifth in the 2016 Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll in a vote by the league's head coaches in October. It's the fifth time in the last six seasons BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € has been picked in the top half of the league.
- In the last nine seasons, BU has been picked 9th in 2007-08 (NCAA Tournament), 3rd in 2008-09 (NIT runner-up), 10th in 2009-10 (Elite Eight), 4th in 2010-11, 3rd in 2011-12 (Elite Eight), 2nd in 2012-13 (NITà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € champions), 3rd in 2013-14 (Sweet 16), t-6th in 2014-15 (NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tournament) and 5th (2015-16).

UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS
- Baylor has enjoyed unprecedented success over the last seven seasons under 13th-year head coach Scott Drew. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Baylor is 194-91 (24 wins per season) and has made seven postseason appearancesà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (NCAA -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014; NITà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € -- 2009, 2013) and posted seven 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 14 postseason appearances (seven under Drew) and won 20+ games just 10 times (seven under Drew) in the program's first 109 seasons.

RANKED IN NINE STRAIGHT SEASONS
- Baylor joins Kansas as the only two Big 12 Conference schools to be ranked in each of the last nine seasons.
- Baylor has been ranked for at least three weeks in each of the last eight seasons (2008-09 through 2014-15), including 13 consecutive weekly polls entering the 2015-16 season.

2ND-MOST WINS OF ANY BIG 12 TEAM SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor is 103-44 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (115-32) for most wins by a Big 12 team in that span.
- Iowa State (99-40) is 3rd, Oklahoma State (88-54) is 4th, Kansas State (84-49) is 5th, Oklahoma (82-49) is 6th, Texas (80-57) is 7th, West Virginia (74-59) is 8th, TCU (56-73) is 9th and Texas Tech (46-80) is 10th.

ELITE OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
- Baylor's offense has ranked among the nation's top 20 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metric in 7 of the last 8 seasons, joining Duke as the only teams to make that claim.
- Baylor was No. 18 in 2014-15, No. 9 in 2013-14, No. 14 in 2012-13, No. 8 in 2011-12, No. 3 in 2009-10, No. 11 in 2008-09 and No. 11 in 2007-08.
- Most times ranked inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € nation's top-20 since 2007-08: Duke-8, Baylor-7, Arizona-5, Kansas-5, Kentucky-4, Northà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Carolina-4, Ohioà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State-4.

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
- Baylor has won 88% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 82-11 when leading through the first 20 minutes in that stretch (21-7 in 2014-15, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12).
- BU has won 39% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 21-33 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 93 of 147 games over the last four seasons. With wins in 82 of those 93 games, and victories in 21 of 54 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 103-44 since 2011-12.

NATION'S BEST IN 3 MAJOR SPORTS OVER LAST 5 SEASONS
- Since 2011-12, Baylor has the nation's most combined wins across football and men's and women's basketball.
- The Bears are 290-67 in that span, giving Baylor 77 more wins than any other Big 12 team, and 11 more than the next closest team nationally (Louisville at 279-78).

ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
- Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 228 career wins as head coach.
- Drew's .588 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.

DREW AMONG NATION'S ELITE
- Head coach Scott Drew is the youngest of 11 coaches nationally to take his current program to three Sweet 16 appearances in the last six seasons.
- Drew (45) is joined by Xavier's Chris Mack (45), Arizona's Sean Miller (46), Ohio State's Thad Matta (48), Kansas' Bill Self (52), Kentucky's John Calipari (56), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (60), Louisville's Rick Pitino (63), Wisconsin's Bo Ryan (67), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (68) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (70).

FOUR NEWCOMERS
- Baylor welcomes four newcomers to its 2015-16 roster, including three prep standouts and one JuCo transfer.
- BU added three guards from the high school ranks -- Jake Lindsey (Salt Lake City, Utah), King McClure (Ovilla, Texas) and Wendellà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas).
- Additionally, the Bears added 7-footer Jo Acuil (Melbourne,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Australia) out of Neosho Community College.

NATION'S 4TH-BEST POSTSEASON RECORD
- Baylor's 17-5 postseason record over the past seven seasons is the nation's fourth-best among teams with three or more NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tournament berths since 2009.
- The Bears' 17 postseason wins trail only Kentucky (24), North Carolina (20), Michiganà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State (20), Duke (19) and Louisville (18) during that span.
- Baylor went 4-1 and advanced to the 2009 NIT Championship game, 3-1 on their way to NCAA Tournament Elite Eight berths in 2010 and 2012, 5-0 to claim the 2013 NIT title and 2-1 on its way to the 2014 Sweet 16.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE
- For the fourth consecutive season, all 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised in 2015-16.
- Baylor has 21 games on the ESPNà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € family of networks, nine games on FOXà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Sports Southwest and one game on CBS.
- With 21 games on ESPNà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € networks this season, Baylor will have 149 ESPN games in the last nine seasons.

BAYLOR BASKETBALL ON THE RADIO
- Baylor basketball is aired live via the Baylor-IMG College Radio Network on ESPNà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Central Texas and flagship station 1660AM ESPN Radio (KRZI) in Waco and worldwide on Sirius XM Radio. All games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley. Morris is in his 28th year doing Baylor broadcasts, while Nunley is in his 33rd season as color analyst.
- The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard live on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com.

BEARS ADD PAIR OF 2016 SIGNEES
- Baylor signed a pair of highly-rated 2016 prospects during the early signing period.
- The Bears inked prep forward Mark Vital (Lake Charles,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € La.) and JuCo forward Nuni Omot (Mahtomedi, Minn.).
- Vital is a 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward, who is ranked as high as No. 55 nationally by 247Sports.com. He began his prep career at Washington-Marion HS inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Lake Charles and currently attends Dallas'à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Advanced Preparatory International.
- Omot is a 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward, who is ranked the No. 1 JuCo prospect at his position. He began his collegiate career at DII Concordia in St. Paul, Minn., and is currently plays at Indian Hills CCà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € in Ottumwa, Iowa.

MEASURABLES
- Johnathan Motley has Baylor's longest wingspan at 7'3.5", followed by Jo Acuil at 7'3", Ishmail Wainright at 7'1.5", Taureanà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Prince at 6'11.5", Terry Maston at 6'11" and Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers at 6'10.5".
- John Heard has Baylor's highest vertical jump at 39.5", followed by Lester Medford and Alà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman at 37". Motley's 36" vertical is best among big men, followed by Prince, Gathers and Maston at 34.5".
- Gathers has the longest hands at 10.5", followed by Maston, Acuil and Prince at 9".
- Jake Lindsey has the team's widest hands at 10.25", followed by Motley and Wainright at 9.5".
- Wendell Mitchell recorded the fastest NBA Sprint Test at 3.01, followed by Prince and Manu Lecomte at 3.02.

UP NEXT
- The Bears head to Eugene, Ore., to face Oregon on Monday night at 10:30 p.m. CT as part of ESPN's College Basketball Tip-Off Marathon. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.
- Baylor and Oregon will be meeting for the first time, and the Bears are 24-41 all-time against current Pac-12 teams.

---

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Scott Drew and the 21st-ranked Baylor Bears aren't just dipping their toes in, trying to test the waters. They're jumping in the deep end.

Rather than warming up with a few cupcakes, the Bears will tip off the season Friday with a matchup against a Stephen F. Austin team that has won 61 games the last two seasons under Brad Underwood. And if that's not enough of a test, then they go on the road three days later to play a 26-win Oregon team that lost to eventual national runner-up Wisconsin by just seven.

"I think this will be one of those NCAA Tournament types of games," senior forward Rico Gathers says of the Bears' season opener, which tips at 8:30 p.m. as part of the back end of a doubleheader with the women.

One thing's for sure, though: "After these first two, I think we'll know a lot more about what we need to work on for the rest of nonconference," Drew said.

"Going into that first game, I think every coach would like a little more practice time or get a chance to get your feet wet," he said. "But it's a great opener for us, because we'll know a lot about what areas we need to work on and what areas where maybe we're stronger than we thought. It's a great test for us."

This is an experienced SFA team that returns six of its top seven from last year's 29-5 squad, including Southland Conference Player of the Year and preseason All-American Thomas Walkup. The 6-4 senior guard averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season.

"He brings a lot of toughness to the team and is good around the basket," Gathers said of Walkup. "It's going to be a good matchup with him, because he's got size and is real skilled around the basket." Baylor, picked fifth in the coaches' Big 12 preseason poll, counters with a frontline that could be one of the best in the country.

The 6-8 Gathers is a returning All-Big 12 pick who averaged 11.6 points and 11.6 rebounds, while 6-8 senior forward Taurean Prince earned Sixth Man of the Year honors after averaging 13.9 points and 5.6 boards. Joining them is 6-9 Johnathan Motley, who is coming off an inconsistent freshman campaign.

"That's a typical freshman. You get more inconsistency," Drew said of Motley, who averaged 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds. "Now, he's a year older, more mature, so we expect more consistency out of him. We expect him to take another step forward this year."

Putting last year's frustrating 57-56 NCAA Tournament loss behind him, Gathers said he has "let everything go from last year, and I'm really dialed in and ready to get down to business."

"That game never really set well with me," Gathers said. "I've still never watched film on it, just because it hurt my heart that bad. It's a new season, a new team, a new era."

The "new era" begins with a lot of old -- three starters and five of the top seven scorers returning from last year's 24-10 team.

But the backcourt has gone through a makeover after losing point guard Kenny Chery and 6-6 wing Royce O'Neale, a senior duo that averaged a combined 21.4 points and 6.8 assists.

Expected to take over at point guard is Lester Medford, a 5-10 senior who averaged 7.6 points and 3.1 assists while sharing the backcourt duties with Chery last season.

"He just has to do it on a consistent basis," Drew said. "Lester likes to hit the home run, when singles and doubles get runs in, too. That's the consistency we're looking for from him."

Al Freeman, a 6-4 sophomore guard, could be part of a two-guard lineup with Medford after hitting 20 3-pointers and averaging 4.8 points last season. But the Bears are also expecting contributions from freshman guards King McClure and Jake Lindsay, the son of former BU guard and current Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey.

Drew said McClure has "made huge strides" since being medically cleared. "In the last month, he's gone from being tired on a treadmill for five minutes to being able to practice for three hours. One thing about King is he hasn't lost that shooting touch at all."

Another player that's apparently made huge strides is 6-5 junior wing Ishmail Wainright. After averaging just 1.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 10.0 minutes his first two seasons, Wainright has dropped 30 pounds and could step into a role similar to the versatile O'Neale.

"When he was weighing 258 pounds, he really struggled to get around people," Drew said. "And now at 228, losing 30 pounds, he's a lot more athletic and he can drive on guards and big guys. . . . He's so strong and God-gifted in athleticism to begin with. And now, with 30 pounds off and just that explosiveness he has, we look forward to him taking a major step forward this year."

After Friday's season opener, the Bears will face Oregon at 10:30 p.m. CDT Monday in Eugene, Ore., in a game that will be nationally televised by ESPN2 as part of the network's eighth annual Tip-Off Marathon.

"You'd rather play a lot of them later down the stretch," Drew said. "But one thing we've done over the years is play nationally televised games, where other people may not. Early in the year, later in the year, we'll do what we need to do to put Baylor out there."