 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Wednesday, Jan. 27 | 8:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Stillwater, Okla.; Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPNU and WatchESPN | | TV Talent | Clay Matvick (pxp), Tim Welsh (color)
| | Satellite Radio | Sirius 157 / XM 199
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Nick Joos (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Oklahoma State
| | Social Media | @BaylorMBB | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 15-4, 5-2 | | Ranking | 17 (AP), 18 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 263-175 (14th season)
| | BU Record: 243-164 (13th season)
| OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
| | Record | 10-9, 2-5
| | Ranking | nr (AP), nr (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Travis Ford
| | Career: 343-246 (19th season)
| | OSU Record: 153-100 (8th season)
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STORYLINES
- Wednesday is the 78th series meeting. BU is 23-54 all-time vs. OSU, including a 5-26 mark in Stillwater.
- Baylor is 11-9 against OSU since 2007 after going 11-45 against the Cowboys from 1918-2006.
- Baylor's 5-2 record is tied for the Big 12's best through 7 games, the latest BU has ever led in the league standings.
- All 4 of Baylor's losses have been against current top-8 RPI teams (at Oregon, at TAMU, at Kansas, vs. OU).
- Baylor is No. 17 in the AP Top 25 and No. 18 in the coaches poll, and has been ranked for 24 consecutive weeks.
- Baylor leads the nation in assists/game and ranks top-12 in offensive rebound percentage (5th), assist-to-turnover ratio (7th), rebound margin (9th) and steal percentage (12th).
- In Big 12 play, Baylor leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), assists (17.6), rebounding defense (27.7), rebounding margin (+8.6) and offensive rebound percentage (.396).
- Six BU players are averaging 9+ ppg in Big 12 play (Prince, Motley,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman, Medford, Maston,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers).
- Baylor is the nation's only school top-17 ranked by the AP in football, men's basketball and women's basketball.
- Baylor has won 118 games since 2011-12, which ranks 2nd in the Big 12 behind Kansas (131).
- Baylor is 78-65 in Big 12 play since 2007-08 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 years.
- Taurean Prince is the only player in the Big 12's top-20 in scoring (6th), rebounding (11th), assists (17th) and steals (9th).
- Rico Gathers ranks 24th on Baylor's all-time scoring list (1,082) and has a school record 1,050 career rebounds.
- Gathers ranks 7th on the Big 12's all-time rebounding list (1,050). He needs 2 more boards to pass Iowa State's Melvin Ejim for 6th place and 4 more rebounds to pass Colorado's Stephane Pelle for 5th place.
- Al Freeman has 13 double-figure scoring games this season. BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € is 18-2 inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman's 20 career games with 10+ points.
- Lester Medford has 25 career starts at point guard and has 174 assists and 50 turnovers in those games (3.5 A-T ratio).
- Medford is the nation's only player ranked in the NCAA top 25 in assists (4th), A-T ratio (24th) and steals (21st).
- Medford has 124 assists with 30 turnovers (4.1 A-T ratio) and 36 steals in his last 16 games.
- Ishmail Wainright has 99 points this season after scoring 103 points over his first two seasons combined.
- BU's bench is averaging 35 ppg in the last 5 games, led by Johnathan Motley (71 pts) and Terry Maston (52 pts).
- King McClure is averaging 8.3 ppg in the last 4 games, up from 3.4 ppg in his 15 previous collegiate games.
- Jake Lindsey has 48 assists and 13 turnovers, and his 3.7 assist-to-turnover ratio trails only Iowa State Monte Morris (4.5) and Oklahoma State's Tyree Griffin (3.9) among all Big 12 players.
QUICK HITS
- Wednesday's game will be televised on ESPNU,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Baylor's 157th straight televised game.
- Scott Drew is coaching his 408th game at Baylor (243-164). His .597 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .688 winning percentage (209-95) since 2007-08.
- King McClure has made 7-of-12 from 3-point range in his last 4 games, scoring 33 points in 59 minutes.
- Sophomores Johnathan Motley and Terryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Maston combine to average 18.4 points per game off the bench. They've accounted for 70 percent of Baylor's bench scoring (349 of 502 points).
- Baylor has a .711 winning percentage over the last five seasons (118-48).
- Baylor is 95-11 when leading at the half since 2011-12, including 13-0 this season.
- BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € has won 38% of its games (23-37) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 2-4 this season.
- Baylor has held opponents under 75 points in 60 of its last 64 games overall, and BU is 47-18 in that stretch.
- Baylor is 51-17 in its last 68 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Fourteen of the 17 losses have been away from home (9 road, 5 neutral) and 12 of the losses have been against ranked teams.
- Baylor is 326-74 in football and men's and women's basketball since 2011-12, the nation's best record in that span.
- Baylor is 209-95 (24 wins per season) over the last 9 seasons and has made 7 postseason appearancesà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (NCAA Tournament -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015; NIT -- 2009, 2013).
- 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 made back-to-back NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tournaments for the first time in program history in 2014 and 2015.
- Baylor is 40-22 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 11-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
- Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last nine seasons.
- 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 is 28-12 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last seven seasons.
- 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.
- Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak (16th-longest nationally) with at least one 3-point FG made in 785 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Texas Tech.
KEYS TO VICTORY
- Baylor is 13-0 this season when leading at the half and 95-11 when leading at the break since 2011-12.
- Baylor is 14-1 this season when posting 16+ assists and 1-3 when recording 15 or fewer assists.
- Baylor is 14-1 this season when holding opponents below 35 rebounds and 1-3 when allowing 35+à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € boards.
- Baylor is 12-1 when out-rebounding its opponent and 3-3 when tying or losing the rebounding battle.
- Baylor is 15-1 this season when shooting 40%à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € or better from the field and 0-3 when shooting less than 40%.
- Baylor is 11-0 when holding opponents below 70 points and 14-1 when holding teams below 80 points.
- BU is 10-0 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent and 12-0 when getting more points off turnovers.
- Baylor is 18-2 when Alà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman scores 10+ points, including an 11-2 mark this season.
- Baylor is 15-3 when Johnathan Motley scores 10+ points, including an 8-2 mark this season.
- Baylor is 24-3 when Lester Medford records 5+ assists, including a 14-2 mark this season.
- Baylor is 10-0 when Ishmailà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Wainright records 5+ assists, including a 6-0 mark this season.
SERIES HISTORY
- Wednesday's game is the 78th all-time meeting betweenà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Baylor and Oklahoma State.
- Baylor is 11-9 against OSU since 2007. The Bears went 11-45 against OSU through 2006.
- Baylor lost both games against OSUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € last season, the first time the Bears were swept by OSU since 2006.
- Baylor's wins in Stillwater came in 1959, 1972, 2003, 2012 and 2014.
A WIN WOULD ...
- Improve Baylor's Big 12 record to 6-2, tying its best-ever start to Big 12 play (2012).
- Give Baylor a 16-4 record, its best record through 20 games since starting 18-2 in 2011-12. It would tie the 2nd-best 20-game record in the Drew era, equaling the 16-4 marks from the 2007-08 and 2009-10 seasons.
- Be the 3rd time in 20 Big 12 seasons that Baylor has swept the home-and-home vs. Oklahoma State (2012, 2014).
- Make Baylor 24-54 all-time against Oklahoma State, including a 6-26 mark inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Stillwater.
- Improve Baylor's record to 12-9 against OSU since 2007, surpassing Baylor's win total from the previous 56 series meetings (11-45) from 1918-2006.
- Give Baylor a 52-17 record over its last 69 games, including a 12-12 record against AP-ranked teams in that span.
- Give Baylor a 119-40 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 210-95 since 2007-08.
LAST SEASON VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
- Baylor lost both meetings against Oklahoma State for the first time since 2006.
- BU had a 0.79 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2 games against OSUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (23a/29t), while OSUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € had a 1.95 ratio (37a/19t).
- In the 64-53 loss in Stillwater, Baylor built an early 7-point but was limited to 21 first-half points and trailed by 9 at the break. Lester Medford had 13 points, while Taurean Prince had 12 and Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers added 11.
- In the 74-65 loss inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Waco, Baylor had an 8-point led midway through the first half, but OSU closed it to 33-32 at half. The Cowboys made 6-of-9 second-half 3-pointers, while the Bears went 0-for-9 from long range. Gathers had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Prince scored a team-high 20 points off the bench.
- Baylor lost the meeting in Waco despite getting a 25-0 edge in bench scoring.
- Gathers averaged 13.5 points and 13.5 rebounds against Oklahoma State last season, while Prince averaged 16.0 points and 6.5 boards and Medford averaged 7.0 points and 3.5 assists.
THIS SEASON VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
- Baylor shot 56% to build a 45-33 halftime lead, and the Bears led by as many as 20 in a 79-62 win on Jan. 5.
- Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers had 17 rebounds, one shy of the Oklahoma State team total, as BU out-rebounded OSU 44-18.
- Gathers finished with 17 points and 17 boards, recording his 31st career double-double.
- Alà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman scored a game-high 21 points on only 8 field goal attempts (5-of-8), while Taurean Prince added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and Lester Medford finished with 11 points and 7 assists.
LINEUP NOTES
- Baylor has used the same starting lineup in every game this season -- 1 of 2 Big 12 teams to do so (BU, OU).
- Baylor's starting lineup has 431 games of combined experience, including 182 starts.
- Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers and Lester Medford have both started 53 consecutive games.
- Gathers has played in all 128 games during his Baylor career. The Big 12 consecutive games played record is 142 by Texas' Damion James, and Gathers can reach 140 consecutive games entering the Big 12 Championship.
ONLY SCHOOL RANKED IN AP TOP 17 IN FB, MBB AND WBB
- Baylor is the nation's only school top-17 ranked by the AP in football, men's basketball and women's basketball.
- Baylor joins Michigan State and Oklahoma as the only schools ranked anywhere in the AP Top 25 in all three sports.
- Baylor men's basketball is ranked No. 17, football is No. 13 and women's basketball is No. 4.
- Michigan State is ranked No. 6 in football, No. 12 in men's basketball and No. 18 in women's basketball. Oklahoma is No. 5 in football,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € No. 1 in men's basketball and No. 21 in women's basketball.
- Baylor, Louisville and Michigan State were the only teams to finish the 2014-15 academic year ranked in the final AP Polls for all three sports.
AMONG NATION'S BEST STATISTICALLY
- Baylor ranks top 12 nationally in assists per game, offensive rebound percentage, assist-to-turnover ratio, rebound margin and steal percentage.
- BU leads the nation in assists/game (1st, 20.8) and ranks top-12 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (7th, 1.62), offensive rebound percentage (5th, 41.2), rebounding margin (9th, +10.3) and steal percentage (12th, 11.8).
- Individually, Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers ranks 2nd in offensive rebound percentage (19.9) and 24th in defensive rebound percentage (27.4), while Lester Medford ranks 16th in assist rate (37.1) and 28th in steal percentage (4.0).
DEFENSIVE STREAKS
- Baylor has held teams under 75 points in 60 of its last 64 games is 47-17 during that stretch, including a 12-12 record against AP-ranked opponents.
- Baylor is holding opponents to an average of 63.3 points per game during that 64-game stretch.
- Baylor went 54 consecutive games without allowing 75 points before that nation-leading streak was snapped at Texas A&M on Dec. 19, when the Bears gave up 80 points.
SECOND-MOST WINS IN BIG 12 SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor is 118-48 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (131-35) among Big 12 teams (thru 1/22/16).
- Iowa State (115-44) is 3rd, Oklahoma (99-51) is 4th, Oklahoma State (98-63) is 5th, Kansas State (96-56) is 6th, Texas (92-64) is 7th, West Virginia (90-62) is 8th, TCU (65-83) is 9th and Texas Tech (58-86) is 10th.
DREW VS. RANKED TEAMS
- Baylor is 9-9 against top-25 ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- Drew is 28-49 against ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in his first four rebuilding seasons at Baylor.
- Baylor is 2-4 vs. ranked teams this season with wins over No. 16 Vanderbilt and at No. 13 Iowa State, and losses at No. 25 Oregon, at No. 24 Texas A&M, at No. 2 Kansas and vs. No. 1 Oklahoma.
LATEST IN SEASON TO LEAD BIG 12 STANDINGS
- This is the first time Baylor has had a share of the lead in the Big 12 standings through seven or more games.
- Baylor's 5-2 record ties its best through seven games in the league's 20-year history (1998, 2012 and 2013).
- A win vs. Oklahoma State would tie Baylor's best record through eight Big 12 games (6-2 in 2012).
SIX AVERAGING 9+ PPG IN BIG 12 PLAY
- Baylor has six players averaging 9+ points per game in Big 12 Conference play, which leads the league.
- BU has four forwards averaging 9+ points per game, led by starters Taurean Prince (14.1) and Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers (9.1). Their backups, Johnathanà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Motleyà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (12.1) and Terryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Maston (9.6), also average 9+ ppg.
- BU's starting backcourt of Alà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman (11.3) and Lester Medford (9.9) both average 9+ ppg in Big 12 play.
MEDFORD RUNNING OFFENSE WITH EFFICIENCY
- Lester Medford is the nation's only player ranked in the NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € top-25 in assists/gm (4th, 7.3), steals/gm (24th, 2.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (21st, 3.3). He leads the Big 12 in steals and assists and ranks 4th in A-T ratio.
- Medford has two game-winning shots this season. He hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to give Baylor a 69-67 win against No. 13 Vanderbilt on Dec. 6, then made a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to win 63-60 at Texas Tech on Jan. 16.
- In 17 games since the loss at Oregon, Medford has posted 129 assists and 32 turnovers (4.0 A-T ratio).
- Medford has five double-digit assist games this season, including a pair of games with 11+ assists and 0 turnovers.
- In 25 career starts as point guard (6 last season, 19 this season), Medford has 174 assists and 50 turnovers, posting a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
GATHERS AND PRINCE JOIN 1,000-POINT CLUB
- Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers became Baylor's 29th 1,000-point scorer (11th of Drew era) on Dec. 23 vs. New Mexico State.
- Taurean Prince became Baylor's 30th 1,000-point scorer (12th of Drew era) on Jan. 9 at Iowa State.
- Gathers (1,082 career points) ranks 24th on BU's all-time scoring list, 12 points back of Roddrick Miller in 23rd.
- Prince (1,066 career points) ranks 25th on BU's scoring list, 16 points behind Gathers in 24th.
PRINCE DOING IT ALL
- Taureanà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Prince is the only player ranked in the Big 12's top 20 in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Prince ranks 6th in scoring (15.0), 9th in steals (1.6), 11th in rebounding (5.9) and 17th in assists (2.8).
- Prince has scored in double figures in 31 of the last 37 games dating back to Jan. 17, 2015.
- Prince has 10 games with 20+ points in that stretch, including a pair of 30-point efforts.
- Prince earned his first career Big 12 Player of the Week award after a career-high 30 points inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € the Dec. 6 win over No. 13 Vanderbilt. Prince scored 16 of 18 Baylor points in a 6-minute span during the first half.
- Prince joined Rico Gathers (Nov. 16) to give Baylor multiple Big 12 Players of the Week for a 5th straight season.
GATHERS SETS ANOTHER REBOUNDING RECORD
- Rico Gathers broke Brian Skinner's school record with his 916th career board in the Dec. 6 win vs. No. 13 Vandy.
- Gathers already held Baylor's single-season (394) and single-game (28) rebounding records, both set last season.
- Gathers has 1,050 career rebounds, which ranks 7th on the Big 12's career list. He trails ISU's Melvin Ejim (1,051), CU's Stephan Pelle (1,053), UT's James Thomas (1,077), MU's Arthur Johnson (1,083), KU's Nickà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Collison (1,143) and UT's Damionà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € James (1,318).
- Gathers has 31 career double-doubles, 2nd-most in Baylor history and 3 back of Skinner's school record of 34.
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 nearly doubled his assist-to-turnover ratio from 0.87 last year to 1.62 this season.
- Freeman already has 13 double-digit scoring games, surpassing his total (7) from all 34 games last season. He's posted four 20-point games, including a career-high 22 points at No. 25 Oregon.
- Freeman ranks 18th in the Big 12 in scoring (12.5), 6th in free-throw percentage (.833), 6th in 3-pointers made (1.8/gm) and 7th in 3-point pct. (.411).
ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
- Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 243 career wins as head coach.
- Drew's .597 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.
WAINRIGHT FILLING STAT SHEET
- Junior forward Ishmail Wainright stepped into the starting small forward role with the graduation of Royce O'Neale.
- Wainright, who has lost 30 pounds to improve his quickness, ranks 13th in the Big 12 in assists per game (3.0) and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9).
- Wainright has more than doubled his point total from last season (99 this season, 42 last season).
- Wainright has already posted season highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. He's made 12-of-35 from 3-point range (33%) this season, after shooting 5-of-20 from long range (25%) over his first two years combined.
LINDSEY STEADY AS BACKUP POINT GUARD
- Freshman Jake Lindsey serves as the backup point guard to Lester Medford, averaging 13.1 minutes per game.
- Lindsey has 48 assists and just 13 turnovers on the season, averaging a team-best 19.2 minutes per turnover.
- Lindsey's 3.7 A-T ratio ranks 3rd among all Big 12 players, trailing ISU's Monte Morris and OSU's Tyree Griffin.
- Lindsey, the son of Utah Jazz GMà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Dennis Lindsey, has also played a crucial role as a reserve shooting guard and small forward. He locked down Georges Niang late in the game in a triangle-and-2 defense in the Jan. 9 win at Iowa State.
MOTLEY AND MASTON PROVIDING FRONTCOURT DEPTH
- Sophomores Johnathan Motley and Terryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Maston combine to average 18.4 points per game off the bench. They've accounted for 70 percent of Baylor's bench scoring (349 of 502 points).
- The duo has combined for 123 points in the last 5 games (Motley 71, Maston 52), which is 28 more bench points than the Bears' four opponents combined (95) in those games.
- The duo ranks 1-2 in the Big 12 in field goal percentage in league play (Motley .679, Maston .580).
- Motley leads the Big 12 with a .629 field goal percentage, which is a 21% improvement from last year's 42%. He ranks 2nd among Big 12 reserves with 11.2 points in 19.8 minutes per game, including 9 double-digit scoring games.
- Maston is averaging 9.6 points in 19.0 minutes per game in league play, up from 5.8 points and 11.7 minutes in non-conference action. He's scored in double-digits in 3 of the last 5 games.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
- Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 95-11 when leading at the break in that stretch (13-0 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 23-37 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 106 of 166 games over the last five seasons. With wins in 95 of those 106 games, and victories in 23 of 60 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 108-48 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 326-74 in that span, giving Baylor 80 more wins than any other Big 12 team, and nine more than the next closest team nationally (Notre Dame at 317-79).
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.
- Baylor is No. 17 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency this season.
- 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.
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 nine seasons, including an active streak of 24 consecutive weeks ranked.
- Baylor is one of 13 schools to be nationally ranked in each of 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.
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 209-95 (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.
UPCOMING GAMES AND PROMOTIONS
- The Bears return home for another set of back-to-back home games against Georgia (Jan. 30)à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € and Texas (Feb. 1).
- The Big 12/SECà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Challenge game vs. Georgia is #SicEmSellout with a neon t-shirt giveaway for the first 5,000 fans, and the Texas game is #EveryoneInBlack on ESPN's Big Monday.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Having already won at a place where top-ranked Oklahoma and Kansas couldn't, the 17th-ranked Baylor Bears go back on the road and into another Big 12 lion's den.
Coming off a frustrating 82-72 home loss to top-ranked OU, Baylor (15-4, 5-2) will face Oklahoma State (10-9, 2-5) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. The Cowboys are 3-6 away from their home arena but 7-3 at Gallagher-Iba, including last week's 86-67 blowout of Kansas.
"There's not an easy place to play in the Big 12, and that's what makes it such a great conference - great fans, great coaches, great players, atmosphere," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Oklahoma State has always played well at home and their crowd gives them a great lift, just like every other Big 12 place. They've done a great job protecting their home court."
Baylor has already won two road games in league play, including a huge 94-89 victory at Iowa State. The Cyclones' only two home losses over the last two seasons have come against the Bears.
"I think the road games that we've played up to this point, including that one, all give us a mental boost," said sophomore guard Al Freeman, who is averaging 12.5 points and shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range. "Going through adversity on the road allows our younger players and even the guys that haven't been through it as much the experience of what it's like to face a crowd like that, to be put in an atmosphere like that. When you're on the road, you have to have a different level of focus."
The Bears will also have to bring a different level of defensive intensity than they did in Saturday's loss, when Oklahoma was 16-of-28 from outside the arc, shot 62 percent from the field overall and scored 28 points off Baylor's 16 turnovers.
"Some of the things we did were self-inflicted," Drew said. "When you get turnovers, there's no defense for transition layups. (OU) is as good as anybody at converting in transition. That allows them to get runs and separation. Taking care of the basketball is so important."
In the first matchup with OSU three weeks ago, Baylor hit 21-of-24 from the line and completely dominated the boards, 44-18. Rico Gathers had a double-double with 17 points and 17 rebounds, coming within one board of matching the Cowboys' team.
"We didn't fare too well on the backboard at all," said OSU head coach Travis Ford. "They're a physical, aggressive team inside, around the paint area. When a shot goes up, they've got multiple guys that can go get offensive rebounds. They also did a great job of getting out in transition and scoring some easy buckets against us. We've got to compete a little better on the glass and try to eliminate some of those easy buckets they got on us the first time."
With senior guard Phil Forte out most of the season with an elbow injury, the Cowboys have had other players like freshman guard Jawun Evans (12.8 ppg, 4.9 assists), senior guard Jeff Newberry (11.5 ppg) and 6-7 junior forward Leyton Hammonds (9.8 ppg, 5.0 rebounds) step up.
"When Forte first went out, it took them some time," Drew said. "They got some other players back, but Jawun Evans has really stepped up and had some monster games. He's near double-double, triple-double, and is feeling more confident out there. Coach Ford does a great job putting them in a lot of tough things to guard."
Following its three previous losses to Oregon, Texas A&M and Kansas, Baylor bounced back with multiple wins. After opening league play with a 28-point road loss at Kansas, the Bears strung together five straight wins before losing to OU.
"It shows you that you have a resilient group, a competitive group," Drew said. "And it also shows that the team has short-term memory, because if you're worried or thinking about the last game, now you're compounding the issue and you're losing the next one. In sports, there's always ups and downs. You're going to make a shot, miss a shot. You've got to move on to the next shot and have confidence in what you're doing."
Baylor returns home to host Georgia (11-7) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center. The Bulldogs are 4-4 in the SEC and lost on the road at LSU, 89-85, Tuesday night.
