 | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Tuesday, Feb. 23 | 7:00 p.m. CT | | Location | Waco, Texas; Ferrell Center (10,284)
| | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPN2 and WatchESPN | | TV Talent | Dave Flemming (pxp), Miles Simon (color)
| | Satellite Radio | Sirius 108 / XM 199
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas and TuneIn App | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | Kansas
| | Social Media | @BaylorMBB | BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 20-7, 9-5 | | Ranking | 19 (AP), 16 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 268-178 (14th season)
| | BU Record: 248-167 (13th season)
| KANSAS JAYHAWKS
| | Record | 23-4,11-3
| | Ranking | 2 (AP), 2 (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Bill Self
| | Career: 582-187 (23rd season)
| | KU Record: 375-82 (13th season)
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STORYLINES
- Tuesday will be the 30th series meeting. BU is 4-25 all-time vs. Kansas, including a 2-10 mark inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Waco.
- Baylor is 0-15 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP Top 25.
- Baylor lost 102-74 when the teams met inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Lawrence on Jan. 2, the first time BU allowed 100+ points since 2008.
- Baylor has never won three straight games all against ranked teams -- a win vs. Kansas would achieve that feat.
- Baylor is 20-0 this season when it has taken the lead at any point in the 2nd half of a game.
- Baylor is 14-0 this season when winning the turnover battle and 13-1 when getting more points off turnovers.
- Baylor is 20-2 this season when shooting 40%à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € or better from the field and 0-5 when shooting less than 40%.
- Baylor's 9-5 record ties its best-ever mark through 14 Big 12 Conference games.
- Baylor is the nation's only team no losses outside the RPI top-30. BU losses: at Kansas (1), vs. Oklahoma (3), at Oregon (4), at West Virginia (15), vs. Texasà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tech (23), at Texas A&Mà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (24) and vs.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Texas (28).
- Baylor's average RPI loss is No. 14, which ties West Virginia for the nation's best mark.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (14), WVUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (14) and Villanova (15) are the only other teams with average RPI losses of 20 or better.
- Baylor is 16-0 this season when leading at the half and 98-11 when leading at the half since 2011-12.
- Baylor is 6-0 this season in games decided by 5 or fewer points or in overtime.
- Baylor has won 18+ games in 9 straight seasons, more than the program's previous 101 seasons combined (8).
- Baylor has 20+ wins for a 5th straight season and 8th time in the last 9 years; BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € had 3 previous 20-win seasons.
- Baylor is 11-10 against top-25 ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- Baylor is No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and No. 16 in the coaches poll, and has been ranked for 28 consecutive weeks.
- Baylor ranks top-15 nationally in assists per game (2nd), offensive rebound percentage (4th), steal percentage (8th), rebound margin (13th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (15th).
- Baylor is 1 of 3 schools nationally ranked by the AP in football, men's basketball and women's basketball (Mich. St., OU).
- Baylor has won 123 games since 2011-12, which ranks 2nd in the Big 12 behind Kansas (138).
- Baylor is 82-68 in Big 12 play since 2007-08 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 years.
- Baylor has won 38% of its games (25-40) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 4-7 this season.
- Baylor is 5-2 in Big 12 Conference road games this season, the best road record of any Big 12 team.
- Baylor is 13-12 in Big 12 road games over the last 3 seasons, the league's best road record in that span.
- Baylor is 22-21 in Big 12 road games over the last 5 seasons, trailing only Kansas at 25-17.
INDIVIDUAL QUICK HITS
- Scott Drew is coaching his 416th game at Baylor (248-167). His .598 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .686 winning percentage (214-98) since 2007-08.
- Drew is tied with Kansas' Bill Self as the longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference (13th season).
- Taurean Prince is the only player in the Big 12's top-14 in scoring (5th), rebounding (11th) and steals (10th).
- Prince needs 10 points to become the 19th player in program history to reach 1,200 career points.
- Rico Gathers ranks 21st on Baylor's all-time scoring list (1,153) and has a school record 1,096 career rebounds.
- Gathers (1,096 boards) ranks 3rd in Big 12 history behind KU's Nickà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Collison (1,143) and UT'sà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Damionà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € James (1,318).
- Al Freeman has 16 double-figure scoring games this season. BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € is 21-2 inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman's 23 career games with 10+ points.
- Lester Medford has 33 career starts at point guard and has 222 assists and 64 turnovers in those games (3.5 A-T ratio).
- Medford is the nation's only player ranked in the NCAA top 45 in assists (8th), AST-TO ratio (20th) and steals (42nd).
- Medford leads the Big 12 in steals (1.9) and ranks 2nd in the league in assists (6.9) and AST-TOà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € ratio (3.3).
- Ishmail Wainright has 152 points this season after scoring 103 points over his first two seasons combined.
- Wainright is 8-of-12 on 3-pointers in the last 5 games -- more 3-pointers made than his first two seasons combined (5).
- King McClure is averaging 5.8 ppg and shooting .414 from 3-point range (12-of-29) in the last 12 games.
- Jake Lindsey has 62 assists and 19 turnovers, and his 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 4th among all Big 12 Conference players behing Iowa State's Monte Morris (4.8), Texas Tech's Toddrick Gotcher (3.4) and Medford (3.3)
- Sophomore forwards Johnathan Motley and Terryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Maston combine to average 18.1 points per game. They've accounted for 67 percent of Baylor's bench scoring (429 of 636 points).
TEAM QUICK HITS
- Tuesday's game will be televised on ESPN2,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Baylor's 165th straight televised game.
- Baylor has a .707 winning percentage over the last five seasons (123-51).
- Baylor is 41-22 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 12-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
- Baylor is 56-20 in its last 76 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Fifteen of the 20 losses have been away from home (10 road, 5 neutral) and 13 of the losses have been against ranked teams.
- Baylor is 338-76 in football and men's and women's basketball since 2011-12, the nation's best record in that span.
- Baylor is 214-98 (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.
- 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 793 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
- Tuesday is the 30th all-time series meeting between Baylor and Kansas. Baylor trails 4-25 in the series.
- Baylor was the nation's only team to defeat Kansas in both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
- The Bears' other two wins vs. KU were on Feb. 12, 2001 in Waco and March 12, 2009 in Oklahoma City.
- Scott Drew, Bobà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Huggins, Travis Ford and Tom Izzo are the only current coaches to beat KU 3 times since 2008-09.
LINEUP NOTES
- Baylor has used the same starting lineup in 24 of 27 games this season -- the lone exceptions were whenà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Rico Gathers missed starts due to illness onà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Feb. 10, Feb. 16 and Feb. 20.
- Baylor's projected starting lineup has 469 games of combined experience, including 219 starts.
- Lester Medford has started all 61 games at Baylor since joining the team prior to the 2014-15 season.
- Rico Gathers played a school-record 132 straight games before missing the Feb. 10 game at K-State due to illness. He ranks 3rd on Baylor's games played list (134) and needs 7 more to tie A.J.à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Walton's record (141).
- Johnathan Motley, who typically comes off the Baylor bench, has 37 career starts (3 this season).
KEYS TO VICTORY
- Baylor is 16-0 this season when leading at the half and 98-11 when leading at the break since 2011-12.
- BU is 14-0 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent and 14-1 when getting more points off turnovers.
- Baylor is 20-2 this season when shooting 40%à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € or better from the field and 0-5 when shooting less than 40%.
- Baylor is 17-1 this season when posting 16+ assists and 3-6 when recording 15 or fewer assists.
- Baylor is 18-4 this season when holding opponents below 35 rebounds and 1-3 when allowing 35+à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € boards.
- Baylor is 13-1 when holding opponents below 70 points and 18-2 when holding teams below 80 points.
- Baylor is 21-2 when Alà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Freeman scores 10+ points, including a 14-2 mark this season.
- Baylor is 18-4 when Johnathan Motley scores 10+ points, including an 11-3 mark this season.
- Baylor is 27-5 when Lester Medford records 5+ assists, including a 17-4 mark this season.
A WIN WOULD ...
- Make Baylor 10-5 in Big 12 play, tying the program's best 15-game start in the league's 20-year history (2010, 2012).
- Give Baylor double-digit wins in Big 12 play for the 4th time (2010, 2012, 2015, 2016).
- Improve Baylor's record to 12-10 against top-25 ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- Make Baylor 5-25 all-time against Kansas, including a 3-10 mark in Waco.
- Give Baylor a 57-20 record over its last 77 games, including a 15-13 record against AP-ranked teams in that span.
- Make Baylor 93-43 during Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers' and Taurean Prince's 4-year careers.
- Give Baylor a 124-51 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 215-98 since 2007-08.
LAST SEASON VS. KANSAS
- Baylor lost all three meetings against Kansas: 56-55 in Waco on Jan. 7, 74-64 in Lawrence on Feb. 14 and 62-52 in Kansas City on March 13.
- Baylor held Kansas to an average of 23.7 first-half points in those three meetings. KU averaged 34.5 first-half points in its 33 games against other opponents.
- BU had a 22-18 halftime lead in Waco and a 33-27 halftime lead inà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Lawrence, but trailed 26-18 at half in Kansas City.
- The Bears shot 35 percent as a team against KU and averaged 9.7 assists with 12.7 turnovers per game.
- Six of the eight BU players to play against Kansas last season are back this season. Only graduating seniors Kenny Chery (20.7 ppg vs. KU) and Royce O'Neale (5.3 ppg vs. KU) did not return.
- Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers averaged 12.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in three games against Kansas last season.
THIS SEASON VS. KANSAS
- Baylor lost 102-74 when the teams met in Lawrence for their Big 12 openers on Jan. 2.
- Baylor's 8 assists against KU were its fewest in any game this season.
- Baylor's 102 points allowed were its most since 2008, and Kansas set season-highs for Baylor opponents in points (102), field goals (36), 3-point percentage (.579) and defensive rebounds (29).
- Baylor shot 39% to Kansas' 54%, and the Bears made just 27% of their 3-pointers against Kansas' 58%.
- Taurean Prince led BU with 17 points, and his 12-of-12 free throw shooting marked the most makes without a miss in a Big 12 game in program history.
- Lester Medford added 15 points and Rico Gathers added 12 points and 9 rebounds.
FIFTH STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASON
- Baylor has won 20+ games in each of the last five 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 won 18+ games in 9 consecutive seasons, surpassing the total number of 18-win seasons in the program's prior 101 seasons combined (8; 1946, 1948, 1969, 1971, 1987, 1988, 1997, 2001).
- Baylor's 9-season streak of 18+ wins trails only Kansas among Big 12 teams. The next closest is Iowa State (5).
- Scott Drew is responsible for 8 of Baylor's 11 seasons of 20+ wins and half of BU's 14 postseason appearances.
ONE OF THREE RANKED IN FB, MBB AND WBB
- Baylor joins Michigan State and Oklahoma as the only schools ranked in the APà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Top 25 in football, men's basketball and women's basketball.
- Baylor men's basketball is ranked No. 19, football is No. 13 and women's basketball is No. 4.
- Michigan State is ranked No. 6 in football, No. 6 in men's basketball and No. 20 in women's basketball. Oklahoma is No. 5 in football,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € No. 3 in men's basketball and No. 23 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.
SECOND-MOST WINS IN BIG 12 SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor is 123-51 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (138-36) among Big 12 teams (thru 2/21/16).
- Iowa State (119-48) is 3rd, Oklahoma (104-54) is 4th, Oklahoma State (100-69) is 5th, Kansas State (99-61) is 6th, Texas (97-67) is 7th, West Virginia (94-66) is 8th, TCU (67-89) is 9th and Texas Tech (63-89) is 10th.
TOP-15 NATIONALLY IN REBOUNDING, ASSISTS AND STEALS
- Baylor ranks top-15 nationally in assists per game (2nd, 19.1), offensive rebound percentage (4th, 40.3), assist-to-turnover ratio (15th, 1.52), steal percentage (8th, 12.0) and rebound margin (13th, +8.4).
- Ricoà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Gathers leads the nation in offensive rebound percentage (19.6) and ranks 32nd in defensive rebound percentage (26.3), while Lester Medford ranks 20th in assist rate (35.9) and 65th in steal percentage (3.5).
STRONG START TO BIG 12 PLAY
- Baylor's 9-5 start to Big 12 play ties its best record through 14 games in the league's 20-year history (2010, 2012).
- Baylor is 5-2 in Big 12 road games, the program's second-most Big 12 road wins in a season (6-3 in 2012).
- The Bears' 5-2 record in Big 12 road games is the league's best, and only Kansas and West Virginia at 4-3 are within one game of the Bears.
MEDFORD RUNNING EFFICIENT OFFENSE
- Lester Medford is the nation's only players ranked in the NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € top-45 in assists/game (8th, 6.9), steals/game (42nd, 1.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (20th, 3.3).
- Medford's 187 assists this year ranks 7th on BU's single-season list. His current 6.93 assists per game ranks 5th in Baylor single-season history, and his 4.80 career assists per game ranks 5th on Baylor's all-time list.
- 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 25 games since the loss at Oregon, Medford has posted 177 assists and 46 turnovers (3.8 A-T ratio).
- Medford has five double-digit assist games this season, including a pair of games with 11+ assists and 0 turnovers.
- In 33 career starts as point guard, Medford has 222 assists and 64 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 14 in points, rebounds and steals. Prince ranks 5th in scoring (15.1), 11th in rebounding (5.7) and 10th in steals (1.4).
- Prince was 1 of 10 players named a Karlà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Malone Award finalist on Feb. 4.
- Prince ranks 5th in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.833) and 6th in offensive rebounds per game (2.4).
- Prince has scored in double figures in 39 of the last 45 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.
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 1,096 career rebounds, which ranks 3rd on the Big 12's career list. He trails Kansas' Nickà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Collison (1,143) and Texas' 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.
MOTLEY AND MASTON PROVIDING FRONTCOURT DEPTH
- Sophomores Johnathan Motley and Terryà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Maston combine to average 18.1 points per game off the bench. They've accounted for 67 percent of Baylor's bench scoring (429 of 636 points).
- Motley's .670 field goal percentage leads the Big 12 in conference play. Maston doesn't qualify for the Big 12 rankings (min 4.0 fgm/gm), but his .584 would rank 2nd in the conference in league play.
- Motley leads the Big 12 with a .640 field goal percentage, which is a 22% improvement from last year's 42%. He ranks 2nd among Big 12 reserves with 11.5 points in 20.2 minutes per game, including 13 double-digit scoring games.
- Maston is averaging 7.5 points in 14.9 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 5 times in Big 12 play.
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.
- Prince (1,190 points) ranks 19th and Gathers (1,153 points) ranks 21st on BU's all-time scoring list.
ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
- Scott Drew holds Baylor's school record with 248 career wins as head coach.
- Drew's .598 winning percentage is the best ever by a Baylor coach with 60+ games at the helm.
DREW VS. RANKED TEAMS
- Baylor is 11-10 against top-25 ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- Drew is 30-50 against ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in his first four rebuilding seasons at Baylor.
- Baylor is 4-5 vs. ranked teams this season with wins over No. 16 Vanderbilt, at No. 13 Iowa State, vs. No. 13 Iowa State and at No. 24 Texas, and losses at No. 25 Oregon, at No. 24 Texas A&M, at No. 2 Kansas, vs. No. 1 Oklahoma and at No. 14 West Virginia.
PICKED FIFTH IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
- Baylor was picked to finish fifth in the 2016 Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll in a vote by the league's head coaches in October. It's the fifth time in the last six seasons BUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € has been picked in the top half of the league.
- In the last nine seasons, BU has been picked 9th in 2007-08 (NCAA Tournament), 3rd in 2008-09 (NIT runner-up), 10th in 2009-10 (Elite Eight), 4th in 2010-11, 3rd in 2011-12 (Elite Eight), 2nd in 2012-13 (NITà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € champions), 3rd in 2013-14 (Sweet 16), t-6th in 2014-15 (NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tournament) and 5th (2015-16).
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 28 consecutive weeks ranked.
- Baylor is one of 13 schools to be nationally ranked in each of the last nine seasons.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
- Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. The Bears are 98-11 when leading at the break in that stretch (16-0 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 25-40 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 109 of 174 games over the last five seasons. With wins in 98 of those 109 games, and victories in 25 of 65 games it has trailed or been tied at the half, Baylor is 123-51 since 2011-12.
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 improved his assist-to-turnover ratio from 0.87 last year to 1.45 this season.
- Freeman already has 16 double-digit scoring games, more than double his total (7) from all 34 games last season. He's posted five 20-point games, including a career-high 22 points at No. 25 Oregon.
- Freeman ranks 19th in the Big 12 in scoring (11.6), 3rd in free-throw percentage (.847), 8th in 3-point pct. (.400) and 11th in 3-pointers made (1.6/gm).
WAINRIGHT FILLING STAT SHEET
- Junior forward Ishmail Wainright stepped into the starting small forward role with the graduation of Royce O'Neale.
- Wainright, who lost 30 pounds in the offeseason to improve his quickness, has scored in double-figures 5 times this season after not doing so in any of his 63 games played in his first two seasons.
- Wainright has more points this season (153) than his first two seasons combined (103).
- Wainright has made 21 3-pointers this season, quadruipling the total from his first two seasons combined (5-of-20).
- Wainright has already posted season highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. He's made 21-of-51 from 3-point range (41%) 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 13.4 minutes per game.
- Lindsey has 62 assists and just 19 turnovers on the season, averaging a team-best 19.1 minutes per turnover.
- Lindsey's 3.3 A-T ratio ranks 4th among all Big 12 players, trailing Monte Morris, Toddrick Gotcher and Lester Medford.
- 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.
MCCLURE COMING ON STRONG
- Freshman guard King McClure missed the majority of preseason workouts after being diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) in June. He had an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrilator (ICD) surgically implated as a precaution for his HCM in August, and he was cleared to resume basketball activities on Oct. 1.
- McClure is averaging 5.8 ppg in the last 12 games, up from 3.4 ppg in his 15 previous collegiate games.
- McClure has made 12-of-29 from 3-point range in his last 12 games, scoring 69 points in 178 minutes.
UPCOMING GAMES AND PROMOTIONS
- BU has two home games and two road games before heading to the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.
- Baylor's only remaining home games are against Kansas (Feb. 23) and West Virginia (March 5).
- Baylor's road games are at TCUà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (Feb. 27)à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € and at Oklahoma (March 1).
LATEST BRACKETOLOGY
- ESPN: No. 6 seed in Brooklyn vs. Temple (East Region) -- Feb. 22
- USAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Today: No. 5 seed in Denver vs. Sanà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Diego State (South Region) -- Feb. 22
- Yahoo!: No. 5 seed, No. 19 on S-curve -- Feb. 22
- CBS: No. 4 seed in Denver vs. Akron (Westà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Region) -- Feb. 22
- Realà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Time RPI: No. 6 seed in Columbus vs. Princeton (Midwestà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Region) -- Feb. 21
- Bracket Matrix: No. 6 seed, No. 21 on S-curve -- Feb. 22
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. 9 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.
BEST BIG 12 ROAD RECORD SINCE 2014
- Baylor is 13-12 in Big 12 road games over the last 3 seasons, tying the league's best road record in the span.
- Baylor is 22-21 in Big 12 road games over the last 5 seasons, trailing only Kansas at 26-17.
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 338-76 in that span, giving Baylor 82 more wins than any other Big 12 team, and 11 more than the next closest team nationally (Notre Dame at 326-81).
SEVENTH STRAIGHT SEASON WITH ROAD WIN VS. RANKED TEAM
- Baylor has won a road game against an APà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € top 20-ranked opponent in each of the last 7 seasons.
- BU is 10-22 in road games vs. AP Top 25 teams over the last 9 seasons -- prior to that span, Baylor was 2-65.
- Baylor's all-time road wins vs. ranked teams are: No. 24 Texas (2015-16), No. 13 Iowa State (2015-16), No. 12 Iowa State (2014-15), No. 15 West Virginia (2014-15), No. 8 Oklahoma State (2013-14), No. 8 Kentucky (2012-13), No. 18 Kansas State (2011-12), No. 16 Texas A&M (2010-11), No. 6 Texas (2009-10), No. 17à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Texas A&M (2007-08), No. 13 Oklahoma State (2002-03) and No. 11 Arkansas (1978-79).
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 214-98 (24 wins per season) and has made seven postseason appearancesà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (NCAA -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014; 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 14 postseason appearances (seven 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. 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.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation While chasing a little history of their own, the 19th-ranked Baylor men are trying to do their part to end the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks' historical Big 12 dominance.
Kansas (23-4, 11-3) is gunning for its 12th consecutive Big 12 championship under coach Bill Self, but the Jayhawks are facing the league's toughest schedule the remainder of the way, starting with Tuesday's 7 p.m. matchup at the Ferrell Center against the Bears (20-7, 9-5). They also have home dates against 17th-ranked Iowa State and a surging Texas Tech team, as well as a road trip to No. 25 Texas.
Baylor is trying to beat three straight Top-25 teams for the first time in program history after a 100-91 overtime win over Iowa State and Saturday's 78-64 road victory over Texas, handing the Longhorns their first conference loss at home this season.
"(A win over Kansas) puts you in a position where you have a chance to win a conference title," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. "Obviously it's a big game if you want to stay in the conference race. The other thing is it's a big game for seeding, momentum, everything else that's involved at the end of the year."
Not only are the Bears trying to possibly end Kansas' historical run, they're trying to beat a No. 1 or No. 2 team for the first time in program history, losing the 15 previous matchups. After looking somewhat vulnerable with road losses at West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Iowa State, the Jayhawks have reeled off seven straight, starting with a 90-84 overtime victory against Kentucky on Jan. 30.
"Since Day 1, when I arrived on campus, Coach said we've never won a conference championship and this could be the year," said junior forward Ishmail Wainright, a Kansas City, Mo., native who originally committed to Missouri. "This is kind of like a must-win game, just because it's KU and the guys who have been here haven't beaten KU."
That included a 102-74 loss at Kansas in the Jan. 2 Big 12 opener, when the Jayhawks jumped out to a 24-4 lead in the first 6 ½ minutes. With Wayne Selden Jr. hitting 5-of-6 treys and scoring a game-high 24 points, KU shot 54 percent from the field overall and 11-of-19 from 3-point range.
"They knocked us out early and we were playing catch-up," Drew said, "and that's hard to do up there."
Baylor had a similar performance in an 84-66 loss at home to Texas Tech 10 days ago, allowing the Red Raiders to shoot 58 percent overall and 9-of-16 from outside the arc. But the next day, the team had a players-only meeting and "got some stuff off their chest."
"It was players-only, no managers, no coaches," Wainright said. "The coaches had no idea. They all came into the locker room an hour our two hours after practice, and we were still in there. We kicked them out. It was just get it off your chest and what we need to do to finish this season out as a team."
The answer was a different intensity level, particularly on the defensive end. Asked about the team's intensity level after the road win at Texas, senior forward Taurean Prince called it 15 on a scale of one to 10.
"A lot of times, players have more influence on players than anybody else," Drew said. "What they say in the locker room, what they believe amongst themselves, is so much more important. That's why player-led teams are always the best. We've been fortunate and blessed to have some great leaders throughout the years - guys that have developed and wanted that mantle, and been able to reinforce what the coaches are saying. And at the same time, get young guys to buy in."
Prince leads a balanced Baylor attack with 15.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, with 6-8 senior forward Rico Gathers (12.2 ppg, 10.0 rebounds) averaging a double-double and Al Freeman (11.6 ppg) and Johnathan Motley (11.5 ppg) chipping in with double-digit points.
Motley earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors after posting a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa State and following that up with 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting versus Texas.
"Last year, he was really good at the beginning of the year, and then people started double-teaming him and it took him some time to get used to it," Drew said of Motley. "Now, he's better prepared for that. Handling success for young guys, sometimes, is harder than handling failure."
Gathers, who missed two of the previous three games with the flu before playing 15 minutes in Saturday's win at Texas, is "focused on getting himself well."
"Right now, that's taking his medicine and doing what he needs to do and getting as much sleep as he can," Drew said of Gathers. "It's just whatever he can do to help the team, if that's playing five minutes or it's playing 30 minutes. A lot depends on how he can perform. When you come off what he's coming off of, you're not your normal self-endurance wise."
Like Baylor, Kansas has a balanced scoring attack led by 6-8 senior forward Perry Ellis (16.5 ppg, 6.3 rebounds. Junior guards Wayne Selden Jr. (14.1) and Frank Mason III (13.3 ppg, 4.6) are also averaging in double figures.
All Baylor fans are encouraged to wear white to White Out the Ferrell Center.
