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No. 25 Baylor (3-1) vs. Arkansas State (2-3) Nov. 27, 2015 | 12:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284) TV: FOX Sports Southwest Radio: ESPN Central Texas |
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 | MEDIA INFORMATION | Date | Friday, Nov. 27 | 12:00 p.m. CT | Location | Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284) | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | TV | FOX Sports Southwest | TV Talent | John Morris (pxp), Jim Haller (color) | Web Video | BaylorBears.com | Satellite Radio | N/A | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | BU Talent | Pat Nunley (pxp), Nick Joos (color) | Stats | | Game Notes | Baylor | Arkansas State | Social Media | @BaylorMBB | BAYLOR BEARS | Record | 3-1 | Ranking | rv (AP), 25 (Coaches) | Head Coach | Scott Drew | | Career: 251-172 (14th season) | | BU Record: 231-161 (13th season) | ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES | Record | 2-3 | Ranking | nr (AP), nr (Coaches) | Head Coach | John Brady | | Career: 393-328 (25th season) | | ASU Record: 112-112 (8th season) |
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STORYLINES
- Friday's game will be televised on FOXà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Sports Southwest and various regionalà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € sports networks.
- Friday will mark the 5th series meeting. Baylor is 1-3 vs. Arkansas State, including a 1-0 mark in Waco.
- Baylor has won 27 consecutive non-conference home games - last loss toà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Northwestern on Dec. 4, 2012.
- Baylor has won 18 straight home games against unranked opponents - last loss to WVU on Jan. 28, 2014.
- Baylor leads the Big 12 in assists (21.5) and ranks 2nd in steals (9.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6).
- Baylor also ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting (.427), scoring defense (62.5) and scoring margin (+22.8)
- Baylor is No. 25 in the coaches poll and has been top-25 ranked by the AP or coaches in 15 consecutive polls.
- Baylor fell to No. 28 in the week's APà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € poll, snapping a streak of 14 consecutive weeks ranked in the AP top 25.
- Baylor has been ranked in the AP Preseasonà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Poll in 5 of the last 6 seasons - last year was the lone exception.
- Baylor was the only major conference team to hold every opponent under 75 points last season, and the Bears have gone 49 consecutive games without allowing 75 points.
- Baylor has a .702 winning percentage over the last four-plus seasons (106-45).
- Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers has 881 career rebounds and needs 35 more to break Brian Skinner's school record of 915.
- Taureanà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Prince has scored in double figures in 21 of the last 22 games, averaging 15.4 ppg in that stretch.
- Al Freeman has scored in double figures in all 4 games this season - he had 7 double-digit scoring games last year.
- Sophomores Johnathan Motley and Terryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Maston and freshman King McClure combine to average 26.0 points per game off the bench. They've accounted for 87 percent of Baylor's bench scoring (104 of 120 points).
- Baylor is 85-11 when leading at the half over the last four seasons, including 3-0 this season.
- BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € has won 38% of its games (21-34) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 0-1 this season.
- Baylor is 39-14 in its last 53 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Twelve of the 14 losses have been away from home (7 road, 5 neutral) and nine losses have been against ranked teams.
- Baylor is 197-92 (24 wins per season) over the last 8-plus seasons and has made 7 postseason appearancesà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (NCAA Tournament - 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015; NIT - 2009, 2013).
- Baylor is 42-15 all-time against current Sunà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Belt Conference teams.
- Drew is coaching his 393rd game at Baylor (231-161). His .589 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .681 winning percentage since 2007-08.
- Baylor was picked 5th in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, behind Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Texas.
- Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last nine seasons.
- 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 298-69 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 86-6 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 770 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 fifth series meeting and the first time the teams have met in more than 17 years.
- Arkansas State leads the series 3-1, but the Bears won the only previous meeting in Waco.
- The teams first met on Dec. 3, 1983, a 58-46 ASU win in Iowa City, Iowa. The next meeting was Dec. 12, 1987, in Jonesboro, Ark., a 62-43 ASU win. BU won, 73-68, inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Waco on Dec. 3, 1997, and ASU won the return trip to Jonesboro, 66-64, on Nov. 16, 1998.
- BU is 42-15 all-time against current Sunà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Belt Conference members.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
- Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 85-11 when leading at the break in that stretch (3-0 in 2015-16, 21-7 in 2014-15, 18-2 in 2013-14, 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 21-34 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 96 of 151 games over the last four-plus seasons. With wins in 85 of those 96 games, and victories in 21 of 55 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 106-45 since 2011-12.
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 entering 2015-16, joining Duke as the only teams to make that claim.
- Through four games this season,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Baylor is No. 15 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency.
- 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 from 2007-08-2014-15: Duke-8, Baylor-7, Arizona-5, Kansas-5, Kentucky-4, Northà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Carolina-4, Ohioà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State-4.
PRINCE IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN 21 OF LAST 22
- Taureanà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Prince has scored in double figures in 21 of the last 22 games, averaging 15.4 ppg during that span.
- Prince has seven 20-point games in that 22-game stretch after scoring 20+ in three of 77 previous games.
- Since Jan. 17, his only game not scoring 10+ points was the 2015 Big 12 Championship semifinals vs. Kansas.
- Prior to this 22-game span,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Prince had 22 career double-figure scoring games in 77 career games played.
GATHERS CHASING REBOUNDING RECORD
- Rico Gathers ranks 2nd in Baylor history with 881 career rebounds, just 34 back of Brian Skinner's school record of 915 boards. At his current career average, he'll need 5 more games to break the record.
- Gathers has 25 career double-doubles, tops among active Big 12 players and tied for 4th in Baylor history.
- Gathers and Prince are in a race to become Baylor's 29th player to reach 1,000 career points. Gathers needs 96 more points and Prince needs 166 more. The first one to reach 1,000 will be the 11th of the Scott Drew era.
FREEMAN GROWING INTO STARTING ROLE
- Sophomore Alà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman has moved into the starting shooting guard role after coming off the bench last year.
- Freeman has scored in double figures in all four games this season after scoring 10+ points in back-to-back games just once as a freshman. He also posted back-to-back 20-point games against Oregon and Jackson State.
- Freeman lead the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.923), ranks 2nd in 3-pointers made (11), 5th in minutes played (32.0), 6th in scoring (16.8), 7th in 3-point percentage (.524) and 13th in field goal percentage (.564).
MOTLEY, MASTON, MCCLURE PROVIDING BENCH SCORING
- Sophomores Johnathan Motley and Terryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Maston and freshman King McClure combine to average 26.0 points per game off the bench. They've accounted for 87 percent of Baylor's bench scoring (104 of 120 points).
- Motley started all 34 games as a redshirt freshman last year, but he's come off the bench this season and is averaging 13.0 points in 21.5 minutes per game, including double-digit scoring in three of four games.
- Maston has already scored more points (22) and played more minutes (52) than all of last seasonà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (19 points in 36 mintues). He's averaging 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game.
- McClure is averaging 7.5 points in 14.3 minutes per game off the bench. He's scored in double-figures twice and connected on at least one 3-pointer in every game. McClure is shooting .615 from 3-point range (8-of-13).
SECOND-MOST WINS OF ANY BIG 12 TEAM SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor is 106-45 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (119-33) among Big 12 teams (thru 11/21/15).
- Iowa State (102-40) is 3rd, Oklahoma State (92-55) is 4th, Kansas State (88-50) is 5th, Oklahoma (85-49) is 6th, Texas (81-59) is 7th, West Virginia (78-59) is 8th, TCU (59-75) is 9th and Texas Tech (49-81) is 10th.
NATION'S BEST IN THREE MAJORS SPORTS 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 298-69 in that span, giving Baylor 76 more wins than any other Big 12 team, and seven more than the next closest team nationally (Notre Dame at 291-71).
PICKING 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).
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 an active streak of 15 consecutive weeks ranked by at least one of the two national polls.
- Baylor is one of 13 schools to be nationally ranked in each of the last nine seasons.
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 (47), 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 (71).
ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
- Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 231 career wins as head coach.
- Drew's .589 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.
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.
UP NEXT
- Baylor continues its stretch of six consecutive home games with Wednesday's 8:30 p.m. game vs.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Prairie View A&M.
- Wednesday's game will be televised on FOXà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Sports Southwest-Plus and various regional sports networks.