 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Saturday, Jan. 30 | 5:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPN2 and WatchESPN | | TV Talent | Bob Wischusen (pxp), Paul Biancardi (color)
| | Satellite Radio | Sirius 136 / XM 199
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Georgia
| | Social Media | @BaylorMBB | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 16-4 | | Ranking | 17 (AP), 18 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 264-175 (14th season)
| | BU Record: 244-164 (13th season)
| GEORGIA BULLDOGS
| | Record | 11-7
| | Ranking | nr (AP), nr (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Mark Fox
| | Career: 240-139 (12th season)
| | UGA Record: 117-96 (7th season)
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STORYLINES
- Saturday is the first meeting between Baylor and UGA. BU is 33-10 against first-time opponents in the Drew era.
- Baylor is 7-1 against SECà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € teams since the start of the 2012-13 season, including a pair of wins vs. Kentucky, two wins against Vanderbilt, two wins against Southà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Carolina and one win over Texas A&M.
- Baylor has the Big 12's best record in "conference challenge" games at 5-1. BU went 3-1 during the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series and is 2-0 in the Big 12/SECà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Challenge, with wins over Kentucky and at Vanderbilt.
- Baylor has won 33 consecutive non-conference home games -- last loss toà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Northwestern on Dec. 4, 2012.
- Baylor has won 26 straight home games against unranked opponents -- last loss to WVU on Jan. 28, 2014.
- Baylor has won 15 of its last 16 home games, with the lone loss against No. 1 Oklahoma on Jan. 23.
- Baylor is 16-0 this season when it has had the lead at any point in the 2nd half of a game.
- Baylor's 6-2 record is tied for the Big 12's best through 8 games, the latest BU has ever led in the league standings.
- Baylor's 6-2 Big 12 record ties its best start to conference play since 1968 (began 7-1 in Southwest Conference).
- All 4 of Baylor's losses have been against current top-15 RPI teams (at Oregon, at TAMU, at Kansas, vs. OU).
- Baylor has a 85% defensive rebound percentage in the last 2 games, allowing 6 offensive rebounds on 41 misses.
- 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-10 in offensive rebound percentage (5th), assist-to-turnover ratio (9th), rebound margin (10th) and steal percentage (10th).
- In Big 12 play, Baylor leads the league in assists (16.8), rebounding margin (+8.1), offensive rebound percentage (.388) and defensive rebound percentage (.749). BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € ranks 2nd in field goal percentage (.483) and A-T ratio (1.2).
- Five BU players are averaging 10+ ppg in Big 12 play (Prince, Motley,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman, Medford andà ¢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 119 games since 2011-12, which ranks 2nd in the Big 12 behind Kansas (131).
- Baylor has a .713 winning percentage over the last five seasons (119-48).
- Baylor is 41-22 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 11-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
- Baylor is 79-65 in Big 12 play since 2007-08 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 years.
- Baylor is 95-11 when leading at the half since 2011-12, including 13-0 this season.
- BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € has won 39% of its games (24-37) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 3-4 this season.
QUICK HITS
- Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN2,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Baylor's 158th straight televised game.
- Scott Drew is coaching his 409th game at Baylor (244-164). His .598 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .689 winning percentage (210-95) since 2007-08.
- Taurean Prince is the only player in the Big 12's top-20 in scoring (6th), rebounding (12th), assists (18th) and steals (9th).
- Rico Gathers ranks 23rd on Baylor's all-time scoring list (1,098) and has a school record 1,059 career rebounds.
- Gathers ranks 5th on the Big 12's all-time rebounding list (1,059). He needs 18 more boards to pass Texas'à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € James Thomas (1,077) for 5th place and 25 more rebounds to pass Missouri's Arthur Johnson (1,083) for 3rd 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 26 career starts at point guard and has 176 assists and 51 turnovers in those games (3.5 A-T ratio).
- Medford is the nation's only player ranked in the NCAA top 30 in assists (7th), A-T ratio (20th) and steals (28th).
- Medford leads the Big 12 in assists (7.1) and steals (2.1) and ranks 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.3).
- Ishmail Wainright has 105 points this season after scoring 103 points over his first two seasons combined.
- King McClure is averaging 6.8 ppg in the last 5 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's Monte Morris (4.8) and Texas Tech's Toddrick Gotcher (3.8) among all Big 12 players.
- King McClure has made 7-of-13 from 3-point range in his last 5 games, scoring 34 points in 68 minutes.
- Sophomores Johnathan Motley and Terryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Maston combine to average 18 points per game off the bench. They've accounted for 70 percent of Baylor's bench scoring (360 of 514 points).
- BU's bench is averaging 31.2 ppg in the last 6 games, led by Johnathan Motley (79 pts) and Terry Maston (55 pts).
- Baylor has held opponents under 75 points in 61 of its last 65 games overall, and BU is 48-17 in that stretch.
- Baylor is 52-17 in its last 69 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 328-74 in football and men's and women's basketball since 2011-12, the nation's best record in that span.
- Baylor is 210-95 (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 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 786 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Texas Tech.
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 436 games of combined experience, including 187 starts.
- Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers and Lester Medford have both started 54 consecutive games.
- Gathers has played in all 129 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.
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 2-3 when recording 15 or fewer assists.
- Baylor is 15-1 this season when holding opponents below 35 rebounds and 1-3 when allowing 35+à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € boards.
- Baylor is 13-1 when out-rebounding its opponent and 3-3 when tying or losing the rebounding battle.
- Baylor is 16-1 this season when shooting 40%à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € or better from the field and 0-3 when shooting less than 40%.
- Baylor is 12-0 when holding opponents below 70 points and 15-1 when holding teams below 80 points.
- BU is 11-0 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.
A WIN WOULD ...
- Improve Baylor's record to a Big 12-best 6-1 in "conference challenge games," 3-1 vs. Pac-10, 3-0 vs. SEC.
- Make Baylor 8-1 against SEC teams over the last four seasons.
- Be Baylor's 34th consecutive non-conference home win and its 27th straight home win vs. unranked opponents.
- Give Baylor a 17-4 record, its best record through 21 games since starting 19-2 in 2011-12. It would tie the 2nd-best 21-game record in the Drew era, equaling the 17-4 marks from the 2007-08 and 2009-10 seasons.
- Make Baylor 34-10 against first-time opponents in the Drew era, including 28-6 since 2007-08.
- Give Baylor a 53-17 record over its last 70 games, including a 12-12 record against AP-ranked teams in that span.
- Give Baylor a 120-40 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 211-95 since 2007-08.
SUCCESS AGAINST SEC TEAMS
- Baylor is 7-1 against Southeastern Conference teams since the 2011-12 season.
- The Bears have wins at Kentucky, at Vanderbilt and at Southà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Carolina, as well as a neutral-site win against Kentucky and home wins against Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Texas A&M.
- BU's lone loss against an SECà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € opponent was on the road at Texas A&Mà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € earlier this season.
33 CONSECUTIVE NON-CONFERENCE HOME WINS
- Baylor has won 33 consecutive non-conference home games, dating back to a Dec. 12, 2012, win vs. Lamar.
- The Bears' last non-conference home loss was Dec. 4, 2012, vs. Northwestern.
- BU is 61-2 in non-conference home games since 2009-10 and 98-12 in non-conference home games during the Drew era.
HOME WINNING STREAK VS. UNRANKED TEAMS
- BU has won 26 straight home games against unranked teams, with the last loss on Jan. 28, 2014, vs. West Virginia.
- Baylor's last home loss against an unranked opponent was Jan. 28, 2014, a 66-64 loss to West Virginia.
- Baylor is 15-1 in its last 16 games played at the Ferrell Center, with the lone loss to No. 1-ranked Oklahoma.
FIRST TIME SUCCESS
- Baylor is 33-10 against first-time opponents in the Scott Drew era.
- Since 2007-08, Baylor is 27-6 against first-time opponents, including seven postseason games (W vs. Georgetown in 2009 NIT; W vs. Saint Mary's in 2010 NCAA; L vs. Duke in 2010 NCAA; W vs. South Dakota State in 2012 NCAA; W vs. Creighton in 2014 NCAA; L vs. Wisconsin in 2014 NCAA; L vs. Georgia State in 2015 NCAA).
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 10 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, 20.3) and ranks top-10 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (9th, 1.59), offensive rebound percentage (5th, 40.8), rebounding margin (10th, +10.1) and steal percentage (10th, 12.2).
- Individually, Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers ranks 2nd in offensive rebound percentage (19.8) and 20th in defensive rebound percentage (27.5), while Lester Medford ranks 23rd in assist rate (25.9) and 37th in steal percentage (3.9).
SECOND-MOST WINS IN BIG 12 SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor is 119-48 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (131-36) among Big 12 teams (thru 1/29/16).
- Iowa State (116-44) is 3rd, Oklahoma (100-51) is 4th, Oklahoma State (98-64) is 5th, Kansas State (96-57) is 6th, Texas (93-64) is 7th, West Virginia (91-62) is 8th, TCU (65-84) is 9th and Texas Tech (58-87) is 10th.
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 eight or more games.
- Baylor's 6-2 record ties its best through eight games in the league's 20-year history (2012).
- Baylor's 6-2 Big 12 record ties its best start to conference play since 1968 (began 7-1 in Southwest Conference).
- A win vs. Texas would tie Baylor's best record through nine Big 12 games (7-2 in 2012).
FIVE AVERAGING DOUBLE-DIGIT PPG IN BIG 12 PLAY
- Baylor has five players averaging 10+ points per game in Big 12 Conference play, tied for the league lead.
- Taurean Prince (14.5 ppg), Johnathan Motley (11.6), Al Freeman (10.6), Lester Medford (10.1) and Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers (10.0) all average double-digit scoring in league play.
- BU also gets 8.8 points per game from Terry Maston, who is playing 18.8 minutes per game off the bench.
MEDFORD RUNNING EFFICIENT OFFENSE
- Lester Medford is the nation's only player ranked in the NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € top-30 in assists/gm (7th, 7.1), steals/gm (28th, 2.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (20th, 3.3). He leads the Big 12 in steals and assists and ranks 3rd in A-T ratio.
- Medford's current 7.1 assists per game ranks 4th in Baylor single-season history, and his 4.57 career assists per game ranks 5th on Baylor's all-time list. His 141 assists this year are 20 shy of Baylor's single-season top-10.
- 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 18 games since the loss at Oregon, Medford has posted 131 assists and 33 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 26 career starts as point guard, Medford has 176 assists and 51 turnovers, posting a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
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 (15.1), 9th in steals (1.6), 12th in rebounding (5.9) and 18th in assists (2.7).
- Prince has made 23-of-24 free throws in Big 12 play, tying for the league lead at .958.
- Prince has scored in double figures in 32 of the last 38 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 1,059 career rebounds, which ranks 5th on the Big 12's career list. He trails 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 1.68 this season.
- Freeman already has 13 double-digit scoring games, nearly doubling 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 19th in the Big 12 in scoring (12.2), 6th in free-throw percentage (.844), 7th in 3-point pct. (.402) and 9th in 3-pointers made (1.8/gm).
ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
- Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 244 career wins as head coach.
- Drew's .598 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 14th in the Big 12 in assists per game (3.0) and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9).
- Wainright has more points this season (105) than his first two seasons combined (103)>
- Wainright has already posted season highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. He's made 12-of-36 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 12.7 minutes per game.
- Lindsey has 48 assists and just 13 turnovers on the season, averaging a team-best 19.5 minutes per turnover.
- Lindsey's 3.7 A-T ratio ranks 3rd among all Big 12 players, trailing ISU's Monte Morris and TTU's Toddrickà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gotcher.
- 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 points per game off the bench. They've accounted for 70 percent of Baylor's bench scoring (360 of 514 points).
- The duo has combined for 134 points in the last 6 games (Motley 79, Maston 55), which is 14 more bench points than the Bears' six opponents combined (120) in those games.
- The duo ranks 1-2 in the Big 12 in field goal percentage in league play (Motley .667, Maston .588).
- Motley leads the Big 12 with a .626 field goal percentage, which is a 21% improvement from last year's 42%. He ranks 2nd among Big 12 reserves with 11.0 points in 20.0 minutes per game, including 9 double-digit scoring games.
- Maston is averaging 8.8 points in 18.8 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 6 games.
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 (1,098 career points) ranks 23rd on BU's all-time scoring list, 6 points back of William Chatmon in 22nd.
- Prince (1,083 career points) ranks 25th on BU's scoring list, 11 points behind Roddrick Miller in 24th.
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 39% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 24-37 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 106 of 167 games over the last five seasons. With wins in 95 of those 106 games, and victories in 24 of 61 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 109-48 since 2011-12.
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.
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 328-74 in that span, giving Baylor 80 more wins than any other Big 12 team, and 11 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. 16 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.
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 210-95 (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 stay home to host Texas on Monday as part of ESPN's Big Monday, with tipoff at 8 p.m. CT
- The Texas game is #EveryoneInBlack. The team will wear black uniforms and fans are encouraged to wear black.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation For the last three seasons, the computers have ranked Big 12 men's basketball as the top-rated conference in the nation.
But Saturday, 17th-ranked Baylor and the rest of the Big 12 will get a chance to prove it on the court in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. All 10 games will be played on the same day, with the Bears (16-4) hosting the Georgia Bulldogs (11-7) at 5 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
"It's not just about us, it's about the Big 12," said junior Ishmail Wainright. "We're playing against them to represent the Big 12 to see what is the best conference. The Big 12 won it last year (6-4) and the year before (7-3). We've got to step up. We have a great conference and so do they, so it's a big game."
While some coaches don't like the idea of a break during the middle of league games to play a non-conference opponent, Baylor coach Scott Drew said "it's a great opportunity to showcase both leagues."
"(Georgia is) coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, so this is a team a lot of people think will be in the NCAA Tournament or have a chance to be," he said. "It will be an NCAA Tournament-type of game between two teams like us."
Georgia struggled early, losing non-conference games to Chattanooga, Seton Hall and Kansas State. But the Bulldogs have righted the ship somewhat in SEC play with a 4-4 record, already sweeping Missouri and winning home games against Arkansas and Tennessee.
"I think they're playing much better basketball now than at the beginning of the year when they lost some close games," Drew said. "That's what happens when you have younger teams. The more you watch them on film, Coach (Mark) Fox has done a great job of getting them better. He needed some new guys to blend in."
The Bulldogs have a talented and experienced backcourt with seniors Kenny Gaines (14.2 ppg) and Charles Gaines (10.4 ppg) and junior J.J. Frazier (16.3 ppg, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists) and a strong inside presence with 6-8 sophomore forward Yante Maten (15.6 ppg, 7.7 rebounds). But there's little help from a short bench.
"They have three guards who are really good," said Baylor senior point guard Lester Medford, who is averaging 9.0 points and a Big 12-high 7.05 assists. "(Frazier) shoots the ball really well, (Mann) gets out in transition and attacks the basket really well and (Gaines) is another shooter. In our zone, we have to get out on the shooters and scramble around and talk on defense."
Tied atop the Big 12 standings at 6-2 with top-ranked Oklahoma and No. 9 West Virginia, the Bears are coming off a come-from-behind 69-65 road win over Oklahoma State and will have a quick turnaround, hosting Texas (13-7, 5-3) at 8 p.m. Monday in an ESPN "Big Monday" matchup.
"I like it, because I can play basketball," Medford said. "I know it's wear and tear on your body, but it's something you love to do. It gets you in a rhythm the more you play basketball. The more you do something, the better it gets. It gives us momentum going into Texas."
"After the game, you hop in the cold tub and get your body right and prepare for Monday," Wainright said.
Drew said playing a "name school like Georgia" should help fill the Ferrell Center the way it was last Saturday, when a season-high crowd of 10,206 watched the Bears' 82-72 loss to the top-ranked Sooners.
"When you play a team like Georgia, you know your guys are going to take them seriously and they're going to be respectful, because when you watch them on film you know how good they are," Drew said. "You're playing a top-75 RPI team, so there is no drop off in preparation. The guys don't view it as a game off. They view it like a conference game, it just doesn't count in the conference standings."
