Dec. 20, 2016  | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Wednesday, Dec. 21 | 6:35 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284) | | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | FSSW and Fox Sports Go | | TV Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color)
| | Satellite Radio | XM 108, Sirius 381, Internet 963 | | BU Radio | Listen Online | | BU Talent | Rick May (pxp), Nick Joos (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor
| | Social Media | @BaylorMBB | #SicTSU | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 11-0 | | Ranking | 4th (AP), 6th (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 281-183 (15th season)
| | BU Record: 261-172 (14th season)
| TEXAS SOUTHERN TIGERS
| | Record | 4-8 | | Ranking | nr (AP), nr (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Mike Davis (Thomas Edison, 2000)
| | Career: 317-217 (17th season)
| | TSU Record: 80-65 (5th season)
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STORY LINES
- No. 4 Baylor faces Texas Southern in its final non-conference game before opening Big 12 play.
- Wednesday is the 10th series meeting. Baylor is 9-0 in the series with +17.8 average scoring margin.
- Baylor's No. 4 AP ranking ties the 2nd-best in program history -- BU was No. 3 on Jan. 16, 2012.
- Wednesday is the 10th game in program history that the Bears entered with a top-5 ranking.
- Baylor is one of six remaining undefeated DI teams (Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, UCLA, USC, Villanova).
- BU is 11-0 for the 4th time in program history and the first time since starting 17-0 in 2011-12.
- Baylor's 11 straight wins are tied for 5th-longest in program history. It's BU's 8th streak of 11+ wins.
- Baylor has the nation's 2nd-longest non-conference home winning streak at 42 straight. Duke has the longest streak at 132 games, followed by Baylor at 42 and Arizona at 38 (thru 12/19).
- The Bears' last non-conference home loss was vs. Northwestern on Dec. 4, 2012. BU averages a 22.3-point margin of victory and has nine wins over high-major teams during the streak.
- Baylor has won all 11 games this season by at least 3 points and averages a +20.5 scoring margin.
- Baylor is 4-0 vs. ranked teams (No. 4 Oregon, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 10 Louisville, No. 7 Xavier).
- BU is 4-0 when trailing at half and has out-scored all four teams by at least 16 points after the break.
- The Bears have defeated three top-10 teams in a season for the first time in program history.
- Baylor in top-25 of national rankings: scoring defense (6th, 58.3), scoring margin (8th, +20.5), blocked shots (10th, 6.2), fewest fouls (12th, 15.4), FG percentage (18th, 49.8), FG percentage defense (20th, 37.5), AST-TO ratio (20th, 1.48), assists (22nd, 17.9), rebound margin (24th, +8.0).
- Head coach Scott Drew is in his 14th season at Baylor and is the school's all-time wins leader (261).
- Baylor won the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis with wins over VCU, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 10 Louisville. Johnathan Motley was named tournament MVP after averaging 20.0 points per game.
- Baylor came from behind at half to win all 3 Battle 4 Atlantis games. BU trailed by 8 to VCU, by 3 to Michigan State and by 15 to Louisville. The Bears out-scored all 3 by at least 16 points in 2nd halves.
- Baylor has 16 wins over ranked teams in the last two-plus seasons (16-14 since 2014-15).
- BU is 35-54 against ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first four rebuilding seasons.
- Baylor returned six letterwinners from last season's 22-12 NCAA Tournament team.
- Baylor's starting lineup has an average age of 21.9 years old and all five are at least 21 years old.
- All five players in Baylor's starting lineup are in at least their fourth years of college basketball.
- BU is 33-4 since the start of 2015-16 when it takes the lead at any point in the 2nd half of a game.
- Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 10 seasons.
- The Bears are coming off a school-record third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
- Six Baylor players have been selected in the last five NBA Drafts, sixth-most nationally.
- Baylor's 136 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (158).
- Drew is 227-103 since 2007-08, the first year he had a full allotment of scholarships.
- Drew (46) is the youngest of 12 coaches to take his current program to three Sweet 16s since 2010.
QUICK HITS
- Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (107-13).
- BU has won 40% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 29-43 in those.
- Baylor has had a nation-leading four players selected in the NBA Draft since 2010 who weren't ranked in the ESPN100 out of high school -- Quincy Acy, Ekpe Udoh, Pierre Jackson and Taurean Prince.
- Six of BU's seven starting point guards during the Drew era have earned All-Big 12 recognition.
- Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 811 straight games.
- BU did not receive any preseason poll votes for the first time since 2009-10.
- The Bears didn't receive any votes in the week 1 AP poll, but they climbed to No. 4 just three weeks later.
- Point guard Manu Lecomte was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 14 and Big 12 Player of the Week on Dec. 5. Lecomte was also picked by the league's coaches as the preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
- Johnathan Motley was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Nov. 28, following his MVP performance at Battle 4 Atlantis. He is on preseason watch lists for the Naismith Award, Karl Malone Award and Lute Olson Award.
- Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. was selected Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 19 after leading the Bears to a 3-0 week.
ONE OF SIX REMAINING UNDEFEATED TEAMS
- Baylor is the last remaining undefeated Big 12 team and is one of six undefeated teams -- Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, UCLA, USC and Villanova.
- BU has four wins over ranked teams, while none of the other undefeated teams have more than two ranked wins.
FOURTH-BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
- Baylor is off to a 11-0 start for the fourth time in the program's 111-season history.
- BU's only better starts were 17-0 in 2011-12, 13-0 in 1911-12 and 12-0 in 2000-01.
- The Bears' 11-game winning streak is tied for 5th-longest in school history.
SECOND-BEST RANKING IN PROGRAM HISTORY
- Baylor went from receiving no votes in the week 1 AP poll to No. 4 nationally just three weeks later.
- Baylor's No. 4 AP ranking ties the second-best in program history. BU's highest ranking was No. 3 on Jan. 16, 2012, after starting 17-0, and the Bears lost their next two games at No. 7 Kansas and vs. No. 5 Missouri.
- BU was also No. 4 on Jan. 2, 2012 and Jan. 9, 2012. This season's Dec. 5, Dec. 12 and Dec. 19 AP polls marked the 4th, 5th and 6th times in program history the Bears have been ranked in the top 5 nationally.
SIX FIRST-PLACE VOTES
- Baylor received 6 first-place votes in each of the last three AP polls and one first-place vote on Nov. 28.
- Baylor has earned 19 of the 20 first-place votes in program history this season. The only time Baylor received a first-place vote prior to this season was when it received one first-place vote on Jan. 16, 2012.
RANKED NO. 4 IN THIS WEEK'S AP TOP 25
- Baylor climbed to No. 4 in the Dec. 5 AP Top 25, just three weeks after receiving no votes in the poll.
- The Bears are top-5 ranked for the first time since they were No. 3 on Jan. 16, 2012.
- This is the 6th week in program history in which the Bears have been ranked in the AP Top 5.
- BU is 7-2 all-time when playing as a top-5 team and 7-0 all-time when ranked No. 4 in the AP poll.
- Baylor has now been ranked in each of the last 10 seasons -- one of 13 teams nationally to make that claim.
NATION'S SECOND-LONGEST NON-CONFERENCE HOME WINNING STREAK
- Baylor has won 42 consecutive non-conference home games, which is the nation's 2nd-longest active streak.
- The only team with a longer non-conference home winning streak is Duke (132).
- Baylor's last non-conference home loss was Dec. 4, 2012, a 74-70 loss to Northwestern.
- Included in the streak are nine wins over high-major teams -- No. 4 Oregon, No. 7 Xavier, No. 16 Vanderbilt, BYU, Arizona State, Providence, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Georgia, and a pair of wins over Stephen F. Austin.
- Baylor's average margin of victory during the 40-game streak is 21.5 points per game.
- BU has won by double-digits in 35 of its last 42 non-conference home games, including 27 of the last 30 games.
SERIES HISTORY
- Wednesday is the 10th series meeting between Baylor and Texas Southern, all of which have been in Waco.
- BU is 9-0 in the all-time series with an average scoring margin of +17.8 points per game.
- The closest game in the series was a 68-60 Baylor win on Jan. 2, 2011.
- Baylor is playing Texas Southern for a 3rd straight season. BU won 75-49 in 2014 and 72-59 in 2015.
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER SUCCESS
- Baylor has posted a combined 125-26 record in November and December games during the Drew era.
- The Bears are 62-11 in November games and 63-15 in December contests.
- BU is 21-1 in December games since 2013, with the lone loss at No. 24 Texas A&M last season.
SECOND-HALF COMEBACKS
- Baylor has trailed at half four times this season (VCU by 8, Michigan State by 3, Louisville by 15, Xavier by 3).
- The Bears out-scored all four opponents by at least 16 points in the second halves. BU out-scored VCU 43-27, out-scored No. 24 Michigan State 43-25, out-scored No. 10 Louisville 42-24 and out-scored No. 7 Xavier 45-27.
- Baylor has trailed by 8+ points in four games this season and has come back to win each time -- BU trailed VCU by 8 points, trailed Michigan State by 10 points, trailed Louisville by 22 points and trailed Xavier by 9 points.
SIXTEEN WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS IN LAST THREE SEASONS
- Baylor has gone 16-14 against ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- BU is 4-0 vs. ranked teams this season (No. 4 Oregon, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 10 Louisville and No. 7 Xavier).
- Baylor's 4-game winning streak vs. AP-ranked teams ties the longest in program history -- the Bears also won four straight from Jan. 14-Feb. 7, 2015, but none of those were against top-10 teams.
- BU had a school record seven wins over ranked teams in 2014-15.
- Five wins over ranked teams last season tied the second-most in program history (5 in 2013-14).
- Last season, Baylor had wins over No. 16 Vanderbilt, at No. 13 Iowa State, vs. No. 13 Iowa State, at No. 24 Texas and vs. No. 23 Texas.
- BU is 35-54 against ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first four rebuilding seasons.
- Baylor has won at least five games vs. APà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Top 25 teams in each of the last 3 seasons entering 2016-17.
SECOND-MOST WINS AMONG BIG 12 TEAMS SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor has averaged 25 wins per season over the last 5 years -- 2nd-most in the Big 12 in that span. Baylor's 136-56 record since 2011-12 trails only Kansas (158-38) among Big 12 teams (thru 12/19/16).
- Iowa State (130-55) is 3rd, Oklahoma (118-61) is 4th, Kansas State (111-66) is 5th, West Virginia (109-69) is 6th Texas (105-75) is 7th, Oklahoma State (99-76) is 8th, TCU (78-95) is 9th and Texas Tech (75-94) is 10th.
BU KNOCKS OFF NO. 7 XAVIER FOR THIRD TOP-10 WIN
- Baylor defeated No. 7 Xavier, 76-61, on Dec. 3 for its school-record third top-10 win of the season and its school-record-tying fourth consecutive win in games against ranked opponents.
- It was the 7th matchup of top-10-ranked teams in program history and BU's first-ever win in a top-10 matchup.
- The Bears trailed by 3 at the half, but out-scored Xavier 45-27 after the break.
- Manu Lecomte had a career-high 24 points, including 6-of-9 on 3-pointers, and was named Big 12 Player of the Week.
- The win helped Baylor climb from No. 9 to No. 4 in the AP Top 25, tying the second-best ranking in BU history.
BEARS MOUNT HUGE COMEBACK VS. NO. 10 LOUISVILLE TO CLAIM ATLANTIS
- Baylor claimed its 3rd regular-season tournament title of the Drew era and third win over a ranked team this season by rallying from 22 points down to knock off No. 10 Louisville in the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis title game.
- BU trailed 32-10 with 4 minutes left in the 1st half and trailed 39-24 at the break.
- Baylor still trailed by 20 points at 44-24 with 16:30 remaining, but out-scored UL 42-19 the rest of the way.
- The comeback was keyed by three reserves who played the last 15 minutes -- Jake Lindsey, King McClure and Terry Maston combined to shoot 13-of-15 in the second half.
BU BEATS NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE
- Baylor earned its second ranked win of the season by knocking off No. 24/20 Michigan State, 73-58, in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. BU advanced to its 3rd regular-season tournament title game in the last 4 seasons.
- The Bears were led by Johnathan Motley's 26 points, including 20 in the first half.
- Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. added 14 points, and Ishmail Wainright had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 0 turnovers.
TOP-5 WIN OVER NO. 4 OREGON
- Baylor knocked off No. 4 Oregon, 66-49, on Nov. 15. The Bears became the first team to hold Oregon below 50 points since Feb. 21, 2013 -- a streak of 119 games.
- The win was Baylor's 4th in its last 11 games against AP Top 5 teams. Prior to that stretch, BU was 3-34 all-time against top-5 ranked opponents. The Bears are now 4-17 against top-5 teams in the Drew era.
- BU was led by Manu Lecomte with 18 points and 7 assists, while Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocks. Lual-Acuil's 7 blocks tied the 10th-most in a game in program history.
- Johnathan Motley made his season debut and had 17 points and 7 boards in 28 minutes.
BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS CHAMPIONS
- Baylor knocked off VCU, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 10 Louisville to claim the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis.
- BU overcame halftime deficits in all three games and rallied back from 20 down with 16:30 to go vs. Louisville.
- Johnathan Motley was named tournament MVP and Big 12 Player of the Week after averaging 20.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Big 12 weekly award was the second on Motley's career.
- It was the third regular-season tournament title of the Drew era -- the 2007 Paradise Jam, 2011 Las Vegas Classic and 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis. BU is now 26-11 in regular-season tournaments under Drew.
- The Bears jumped from No. 20 to No. 9 in the AP poll and from receiving votes to No. 11 in the coaches poll.
HISTORY OF SUCCESS WITH REDSHIRTS
- Baylor has a track record of success when players redshirt under Scott Drew. Ekpe Udoh, Cory Jefferson, Brady Heslip and Royce O'Neale have all gone on to professional careers after redshirting while at BU.
- Four players in Baylor's current starting lineup have redshirted while at Baylor for various reasons.
- Al Freeman and Johnathan Motley redshirted in 2013-14 due to the Bears' depth on a Sweet 16 team.
- Manu Lecomte (transfer), Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (medical issues) and Wendell Mitchell (depth) all redshirted last season.
EXPERIENCED DESPITE ONLY ONE SENIOR
- Baylor may have only one senior on this year's roster, but nine of 10 rotation players are at least 20 years old.
- All five players in Baylor's starting lineup are in their fourth or fifth years of college. Manu Lecomte (21), Johnathan Motley (21) and Al Freeman (22) are fourth-year juniors, Ishmail Wainright (22) is a fourth-year senior and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (22) is a fifth-year junior.
- The Bears also have sophomore guards King McClure (20) and Jake Lindsey (20) and junior forwards Terry Maston (21) and Nuni Omot (22).
CONSISTENTLY AMONG NATION'S BEST OFFENSES
- Baylor's offense has consistently ranked among the nation's best over the last nine seasons under Scott Drew.
- The Bears have finished eight of the past nine seasons among the top 20 nationally in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency, joining Duke as the only programs to make that claim.
- This season, Baylor is No. 15 in adjusted offensive efficiency as of Dec. 20.
- BU finished No. 13 in 2015-16, No. 18 in 2014-15, No. 9 in 2013-14, No. 14 in 2012-13, No. 8 in 2011-12, No. 102 in 2010-11, No. 3 in 2009-10, No. 11 in 2008-09 and No. 11 in 2007-08.
DEFENSE IS THE KEY
- Baylor is known for its efficient offense, but defensive efficiency has the been key in its best seasons under Drew.
- The Bears have been top-100 in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency in seven straight seasons, but the three top-50 years in that span all resulted in the best NCAA Tournament seeds in program history.
- BU was No. 23 in 2015, No. 37 in 2012 and No. 42 in 2010 -- the Bears were NCAA No. 3 seeds all three years.
- This season, Baylor is No. 12 in adjusted defensive efficiency as of Dec. 20.
- The Bears were No. 64 in 2013, No. 70 in 2014, No. 79 in 2011 and No. 84 in 2016.
DREW ERA HIGHLIGHTS
- Drew is coaching his 434th game at Baylor (261-172). His .603 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and he's the program's all-time wins leader.
- Baylor has a .688 winning percentage (227-103) since Drew's first year with no scholarship restrictions in 2007-08.
- BU has graduated 92 percent of its scholarship seniors since Drew took over in 2003 (24 of 26).
- In Drew's first 13 seasons, 25 players have gone on to professional careers.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT -- FROM UNRANKED TO NBA DRAFT
- Baylor has had a nation-leading four players selected in the NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft since 2010 who weren't ranked in the ESPN100 out of high school.
- The only other schools with three such players were Colorado,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Marquette, Missouri, New Mexico and Connecticut.
- Baylor developed Quincyà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Acy, Ekpe Udoh, Pierre Jackson and Taurean Prince into NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft picks after joining the program as unranked recruits.
SIX NBA DRAFT PICKS IN LAST FIVE SEASONS
- Baylor's six NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft picks over the last five years are the nation's sixth most, trailing only Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Kansas and North Carolina and tied with Arizona, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA.
- A program-record three Baylor players were selected in the 2012 NBAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Draft -- Perryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Jones III (28th pick; Oklahoma City Thunder), Quincyà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Acy (37th pick; Toronto Raptors) and Quincy Miller (38th pick; Denver Nuggets). Pierre Jackson (42nd pick, Philadelphia 76ers; traded to New Orleans Pelicans) was chosen in the 2013 draft, Coryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Jefferson (60th pick; San Antonio Spurs; traded toà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Brooklynà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Nets) was selected in 2014 and Taurean Prince (12th pick; Utah Jazz; traded to Atlanta Hawks) was chosen in 2016.
TWENTY-FIVE PRO PLAYERS IN DREW ERA
- In Scott Drew's first 13 years at Baylor, 25 of his players went on to professional careers.
- All three scholarship seniors from last year's team are now playing professionally.
- Taurean Prince was selected 12th overall in the NBA Draft, becoming the 2nd lottery pick in program history.
- Rico Gathers decided to pursue a pro football career and was selected in the NFL Draft's 6th round.
- Lester Medford recently began his professional career playing in Hungary.
GRADUATING 92 PERCENT OF SENIORS
- Since Scott Drew took over the Baylor Basketball program in 2003, 24 of 26 scholarship players who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility have graduated from Baylor.
- Players recruited by Drew who have graduated at Baylor: Tim Bush, Patrick Fields, Aaron Bruce, Mamadou Diene, Delbert Simpson, Curtis Jerrells, Henry Dugat, Kevin Rogers, Tweety Carter, Josh Lomers, Ekpe Udoh, Fred Ellis, Quincy Acy, Anthony Jones, J'mison Morgan, A.J. Walton, Cory Jefferson, Brady Heslip, Gary Franklin, Kenny Chery, Royce O'Neale, Lester Medford, Rico Gathers and Taurean Prince.
FIVE STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
- Baylor has won 20+ games in a school-record five consecutive seasons and in eight of the last nine years. The Bears had just three 20-win seasons in the program's first 101 years (1907-2007).
- Baylor has topped 22 wins in each of the past 5 seasons and is averaging 25.0 wins per season in that span.
POINT GUARDS THRIVE IN DREW'S SYSTEM
- Six of Baylor's seven starting point guards during the Scott Drew era have earned All-Big 12 recognition.
- Lester Medford (2016), Kenny Chery (2014, 2015), Pierre Jackson (2012, 2013), Tweety Carter (2010), Curtis Jerrells (2007, 2008, 2009) and Aaron Bruce (2005, 2006, 2007) have been named All-Big 12.
PICKED FIFTH IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
- Baylor was picked to finish fifth in the 2017 Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll in a vote by the league's head coaches in October. It's the sixth time in the last seven seasons BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € has been picked in the top half of the league.
- In the last 10 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), 5th in 2015-16 (NCAA Tournament) and 5th (2016-17).
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
- Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 107-13 when leading at the break in that stretch (18-2 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 40% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 29-43 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 120 of 192 games over the last six seasons. With wins in 107 of those 120 games, and victories in 29 of 72 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 136-56 since 2011-12.
RANKED IN 10 STRAIGHT SEASONS
- Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 10 seasons.
- BU went from receiving no votes in the week 1 AP poll to No. 20 in week 2, No. 9 in week 3 and No. 4 in week 4.
- BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € cracked a string of 38 consecutive unranked seasons when it was tabbed No. 25 in 2007-08.
- The Bears reached as high as No. 19 in 2008-09, No. 19 in 2009-10, No. 9 in 2010-11, No. 3 in 2011-12, No. 16 in 2012-13, No. 7 in 2013-14, No. 14 in 2014-15 and No. 13 in 2015-16.
THREE CONSECUTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
- Baylor is on a school-record streak of three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to earning at-large bids in each of the last three seasons, the Bears had never been to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
- The Bears are one of nine teams nationally to earn a top-six seed in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, joining Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Villanova and Virginia.
- Baylor was a No. 6 seed in 2014, a No. 3 seed in 2015 and a No. 5 seed last season.
DREW AMONG NATION'S ELITE
- Head coachà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Scott Drew is the youngest of 12 coaches nationally to take his current program to three Sweet 16 appearances since 2010. Drew (46) is joined by Xavier's Chris Mack (46), Arizona's Sean Miller (48), Ohioà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State's Thad Matta (49), Indiana's Tomà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Crean (50), Kansas' Bill Self (53), Kentucky's John Calipari (57), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (61), Louisville's Rickà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Pitino (64), North Carolina's Roy Williams (66), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (69) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (72).
- Baylor is one of 15 teams to make three Sweet 16 appearances since 2010.
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS
- Baylor has enjoyed unprecedented success over the last 10 seasons under 14th-year head coach Scott Drew.
- Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Baylor is 227-103 (24 wins per season) and has made eight postseason appearancesà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (NCAA -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016; NITà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € -- 2009, 2013) and posted eight 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 15 postseason appearances (eight under Drew) and won 20+ games just 11 times (eight under Drew) in the program's first 110 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.
- Games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley.
- Morris is in his 29th year doing Baylor broadcasts, while Nunley is in his 34th season as color analyst.
- All of Baylor's games can be heard live on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com and via the TuneIn App.
UP NEXT
- The Bears open Big 12 play with a road game at Oklahoma at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, Dec. 30.
- Baylor then returns home to host Iowa State (Jan. 4) and Oklahoma State (Jan. 7).
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation With fourth-ranked Baylor (11-0) taking four days off for Christmas following Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. game against Texas Southern (4-8), coach Scott Drew is just hoping they don't check out early.
"You're always worried, because you have to make sure they haven't gone on vacation mentally," he said. "If they're too wrapped up with how I'm getting to the airport, my ride, when I'm leaving, what am I doing when I get home, you forget about the game. We like to say, it's going to be Christmas, we just want to make sure It's a merry Christmas . . . because that taste stays in your mouth over the holidays."
To this point, everything the Bears have tasted has been sweet. After beating four nationally ranked teams earlier in the season, Baylor won three games in five days by an average margin of 36.3 points.
"It's definitely more enjoyable than the other way," Drew said. "Some games, some people play a little better than others, but it's always been team-first. . . . Sometimes, you play games where you get a big lead and people can become stat-hungry or more about themselves. And we haven't had that. We've stayed focused on playing the right away, improving as a team, trying to do the right that that will help us throughout the rest of the season. So far, so good."
Completing a tour of the Southwestern Athletic Conference's top three teams, the Bears face a Texas Southern team that is playing its 13th of 16 consecutive road games to start the season. The Tigers have already played UTA, Arizona, Louisville, Cincinnati and LSU and are coming off a 96-59 loss at TCU on Sunday.
Mike Davis, who is in his fifth season at Texas Southern after leading Indiana to the 2002 Final Four, said he "knew it would be a challenge for us to win just by the way our schedule is set up." Their game in Fort Worth on Sunday followed an 88-80 loss at LSU the night before.
"I thought we did a great job at LSU, but unfortunately we had to play the next day at TCU," Davis said. "We had a bus ride for six hours, getting in at 3:30 in the morning. It was really unfair to TCU, because we didn't give them anything from a basketball standpoint."
The Tigers feature one of the country's top rebounders in 6-7 sophomore Derrick Griffin. After earning SWAC Player of the Year honors as a freshman, Griffin is averaging 11.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game and had an NCAA-high 26 in a 102-71 loss at Louisville.
Drew compares Griffin to Rico Gathers, the former Baylor rebounding phenom who was taken in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Griffin was a four-star receiver when he came out of high school and originally signed with Miami, but was academically ineligible at the time and was suspended from the TSU football team this year after repeated program violations.
"I think most people in the state remember him," Drew said. "He's probably going to be playing on Sundays in football. He had 15 offensive rebounds, 26 total, at Louisville. When you can get those kinds of numbers against Louisville's size and athleticism, that's pretty impressive. He's one of the best double-double guys in the country, and this is a guy that just plays basketball in his spare time."
Baylor will counter with its own "Twin Towers" - 7-footer Jo Lual-Acuil (10.5 ppg, 7.3 rebounds, 4.2 blocks) and 6-10 junior forward Johnathan Motley (16.9 ppg, 8.5 rebounds). Lual-Acuil was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday after averaging 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 blocks in the Bears' three-game sweep of Southern, Jackson State and John Brown.
Motley had a career-high five assists in Sunday's 107-53 rout of John Brown, including an off-the-backboard alley-oop to Lual-Acuil for a monster dunk on a fastbreak opportunity.
"He allows me to be able to throw lobs to him at the rim. . . . I just know he's going to finish it," said Motley, who is fourth on the team in assists (2.4). "Also, he blocks shots, so I know if I get beat, I've got a rim-protector at the rim, knowing that I can be a little more aggressive on the ball. He allows us to spread our defense out and be more aggressive."
Following Wednesday's game, the Bears will take the next four days off for Christmas before returning on Monday to prepare for the Dec. 30 Big 12 opener at Oklahoma (6-4).
"It can be hard, but it's not hard, because we have to take care of business," said 6-5 senior forward Ishmail Wainright, who is averaging 6.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists. "We have to approach the game like every other game and not think about the break. Like Coach Drew said, we want to have a merry Christmas. And a merry Christmas is a win."
