Feb. 24, 2017  | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Saturday, Feb. 25 | 3:05 p.m. CT | | Location | Ames, Iowa | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) | | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | ESPN and WatchESPN | | TV Talent | Bob Wischusen, Miles Simon
| | Mobile Radio | Sirius 134, XM 199, Internet 953, TuneIn
| | BU Radio | Listen Online | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | Gametracker | | Game Notes | Baylor | Iowa State
| | Social Media | @BaylorMBB | #SicISU | #Big12MBB
| BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 23-5, 10-5 | | Ranking | 9th (AP), 9th (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 293-188 (15th season)
| | BU Record: 273-177 (14th season)
| IOWA STATE CYCLONES
| | Record | 18-9, 10-5
| | Ranking | RV (AP), RV (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Steve Prohm
| | Career: 145-50 (6th season)
| | ISU Record: 41-21 (2nd season)
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
With seeding in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments on the line, the ninth-ranked Baylor Bears (23-5, 10-5) will face Iowa State (18-9, 10-5) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
One of the hottest teams in the Big 12, the Cyclones have reeled off four straight wins since a 67-65 loss at Texas on Feb. 7. They are 5-1 in the month of February, with impressive road wins over Kansas, Kansas State and Texas Tech, moving from the back of the pack to a second-place tie with the Bears and No. 12/13 West Virginia.
Baylor coach Scott Drew said the difference is "they're making shots."
"As a team, they're shooting 45 percent from 3 in the last five games," Drew said. "They've always shot them and now they're making them. . . . They went to Kansas and hit 18 of 32 from 3. When you're watching them on film, you're like, `Those were tough shots.' That's what makes it tough is that every team knows you have to take away the shoots, and they're still getting shots. Kind of like (Oklahoma State's) Phil Forte, they just keep backing up."
Iowa State leads the Big 12 and ranks 18th nationally with 9.7 3-pointers made per game and is hitting 39.1 percent of its shots from 3-point range. The Cyclones' four-guard offense is led by Mote Morris with 16.3 points and 6.0 assists per game.
"I'm excited he's going to graduate," Drew said of Morris, who leads the nation with a 5.79 assist-to-turnover ratio. "His assist-to-turnover ratio is amazing, truly record-setting. Anybody who's able to do what he's done with the ball in his hands so much is really impressive. Looking forward to watching him the NBA and not the Big 12."
The challenge for Baylor's defense is that Iowa State has shooters at every position, with Naz Mitrou-Long (15.9 ppg), 6-5 guard/forward Deonte Burton (13.9 ppg, 6.6 rebounds) and 6-5 Matt Thomas (11.9 ppg).
"First and foremost, we've got to do a great job in transition defense," Drew said. "They had 40 of their points in the first 10 seconds when we played in Waco. So, you've got to stop them in tradition. A lot of those transition baskets are 3's, so you've got find the shooters. It's tough when they're running to the 3-point line instead of running inside."
Baylor is coming off a 70-64 win at home over last-place Oklahoma, when the Bears saw a 15-point lead whittled down to just two. They hit five free throws in the last minute to snap a two-game losing streak.
In the first meeting with Iowa State on Jan. 4 in Waco, junior point guard Manu Lecomte knocked down a short baseline jumper with 8.6 seconds left to pull out a 65-63 win despite giving up 45 percent shooting from 3-point range (10-of-22). Long (17), Morris (12) and Burton (11) scored in double figures for the Cyclones, who dropped their fifth straight to Baylor.
"We've been blessed," Drew said of a stretch that includes a pair of road victories at Hilton Coliseum. "We'd love to make it six in a row, but we know every Bog 12 game usually comes down to a couple possessions. It might come down to free throws, a free throw block-out. We've got to control everything we can control and try to limit their shooters, limit their transition and do a great job of getting the ball inside and getting to the free throw line."
With Iowa State starting just one player over 6-5, the Bears need 7-0 junior center Jo Lual-Acuil (9.5 ppg, 6.8 rebounds) and 6-10 forward Johnathan Motley (16.9 ppg, 9.7 rebounds) to dominate inside. They combined for 29 points and 20 rebounds in the first matchup.
"Just controlling the paint and rebounding, like we know we can," Motley said. "We've got to feed the post and get kick-outs from there and just do what we do. If we control the paint, and me and Jo rebound and we're a presence down there, it should be good for us."
Lecomte, who sprained his ankle in last Saturday's 67-65 loss at home to No. 3 Kansas, scored 11 in the win over Oklahoma. But, he has not practiced in the last week.
Drew said Lual-Acuil (calf) senior forward Ishmail Wainright (ankle) have also been limited with injuries but are expected to play.
"Sprained ankles are a 10-day thing, and we don't have 10 days," Drew said. "But hopefully we can get everything we can get out of them and then after the Monday game (against West Virginia) get a little time to rest."
STORY LINES - No. 9 Baylor looks for its 24th win when it travels to Iowa State for a 3 p.m. CT game on Saturday.
- Saturday is the 33rd series meeting. ISU leads the series 17-15, including a 12-2 mark in Ames.
- Baylor lost its first 12 games in Ames before winning at Hilton Coliseum each of the last two years.
- The home team has won 24 of 28 campus site games in the series, and BU is 1-3 vs. ISU at neutral sites.
- BU has won 5 straight vs. Iowa State, the longest winning streak for either team in series history.
- Baylor won 65-63 when the teams met in Waco on Jan. 4.
Manu Lecomte made a runner with 8.6 seconds left to put BU ahead, and Monte Morris missed a potential game-tying jumper at the buzzer.
- BU trailed 61-55 with 5 minutes left, but the Bears held ISU to only 2 points the rest of the way.
- BU out-scored ISU 40-24 in the paint and 21-12 in bench points, with
Johnathan Motley recording 13 points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes and
Jake Lindsey posting 10 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
- Baylor was the No. 3 overall seed (No. 1 in South) in the Feb. 11 CBS Early Bracket Reveal.
- A win would give Baylor an 11-5 Big 12 record, tying its best-ever record through 16 Big 12 games.
- With one more win Baylor would tie its 5th-most wins in a season in program history and mark the 4th time Baylor has reached 11 wins in Big 12 play (12 in 2012, 11 in 2010 and 2015).
- BU has reached the 20-win mark for a school-record 6th straight season and 9th time in the last 10 years.
- Baylor is No. 5 nationally in RPI, trailing only Kansas, Villanova, North Carolina and Oregon.
- Baylor has been top-10 ranked for a school record-tying 13 consecutive weeks (2012).
- Baylor has faced a second-half deficit and come back to win in 10 games this season.
- BU is 7-2 when trailing at half and averages a +11.0 scoring margin in 2nd halves of those games.
- BU is 45-7 over the last two seasons when it takes the lead at any point in the 2nd half of a game.
- BU is 18-16 in Big 12 road games since 2014 and 27-25 since 2012, both trailing only Kansas.
- Baylor's defense is holding teams to 64.0 ppg in Big 12 play, which leads the league by 8.6 ppg.
- BU has held opponents to an average of 10.0 ppg below their scoring averages in Big 12 play.
- BU leads the league in FG% defense (40%) and rebounding margin (+7.7) in Big 12 play.
- Baylor's defense this season has been its best of the Drew era -- BU ranks 6th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency -- Drew's best previous defense was ranked No. 23 nationally in 2014-15.
- Baylor's defense ranks 9th nationally in effective field goal percentage defense (44.4), 13th in 2-point FG defense (43.3), 22nd in 3-point FG defense (31.0) and 18th in block percentage (14.0).
- BU is top-25 in scoring defense (11th, 62.1), rebound margin (12th, +7.8) and scoring margin (25th, +11.0).
- BU opponents average 18.5 seconds per possession, 8th-longest nationally according to KenPom.com.
- Baylor (148), Iowa State (141) and Kansas (173) are the only Big 12 teams with 125+ wins since 2011-12.
- Drew is 239-108 since 2007-08, the first year he had a full allotment of scholarships.
- Baylor is 93-76 in Big 12 play since 2008 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 seasons.
- Motley is on the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, Naismith Top 30, Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List (1 of 19) and is 1 of 10 finalists for the Karl Malone Award.
QUICK HITS
- Baylor is 5-3 vs. AP Top 25-ranked teams and 3-3 vs. AP Top 10 teams this season (wins vs. No. 4 Oregon, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 10 Louisville, No. 7 Xavier and at No. 25 Kansas State).
- Baylor has 17 wins over ranked teams in the last three seasons (17-17 since 2014-15).
- BU has won 22+ games every year since 2012, one of 19 teams to make that claim entering 2016-17.
- Head coach Scott Drew is in his 14th season at Baylor and is the school's all-time wins leader (273).
- Baylor has won 88% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (116-16).
- BU has won 42% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 32-45 in those.
- The Bears have defeated three top-10 teams in a season for the first time in program history.
- Baylor climbed to No. 1 in the Jan. 9 AP Top 25, marking the first No. 1 ranking in program history.
- BU's climb from unranked in week 1 to No. 1 in week 9 was the fastest by any team in AP Top 20/25 history.
- BU is one of four teams to reach the No. 1 spot after being unranked in the AP preseason top 20/25.
- BU received 55 first-place votes in the Jan. 9 AP poll and has notched 92 first-place votes in AP polls this season.
- Prior to this season, the Bears had only received one first-place vote since the first AP poll in 1949.
- Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 10 seasons.
- Baylor is 47-28 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 12-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
- 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 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 828 straight games.
- BU did not receive any preseason poll votes for the first time since 2009-10.
SEEKING PROGRAM BESTS
- With three regular season games remaining, Baylor has a chance to set a number of program records.
- The Bears can still win 13 Big 12 games, which would break the previous record of 12 set in 2012.
- BU has a chance to earn the highest Big 12 Championship seed in program history (No. 3 in 2010).
- BU's best previous finish in the Big 12 standings was a 3-way tie for second place in 2010.
- Baylor has a shot to earn the highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history (No. 3 in 2010, 2012 and 2015).
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday is the 33rd series meeting. Baylor trails 15-17 in the series, including a 2-12 mark in Ames.
- Baylor has won five straight in the series, tying the longest winning streak by either team in series history.
- The home team has won 24 of 28 campus site games in the all-time series, and BU is 1-3 vs. ISU at neutral sites.
- Baylor lost its first 12 games in Ames before winning at Hilton Coliseum in each of the last two years.
BIG 12 SEEDING SCENARIOS
- With three games remaining, Baylor can still finish anywhere from 1st through 5th in the Big 12 standings.
- If the Bears win out they'll finish alone in second place in the Big 12 standings for the first time in program history.
- A win vs. ISU would mean Baylor can finish no worse than tied for 4th place, and the Bears would own head-to-head tiebreakers over Oklahoma State and Iowa State, two of the three teams they could tie for 4th place.
SEVEN WINS AFTER TRAILING AT HALFTIME
- Baylor has trailed at halftime nine times this season (VCU by 8, Michigan State by 3, Louisville by 15, Xavier by 3, OSU by 5, at WVU by 7, at TCU by 2, at Ole Miss by 7, vs. K-State by 15), but BU is 7-2 in those games.
- Baylor averages a +11.0 scoring margin in second halves of the nine games it has trailed at halftime.
- In the seven wins, BU's defense has allowed 34.6 first-half points and 26.9 second-half points.
- BU has out-scored opponents by 9+ points in second halves in all 7 of those wins -- VCU 43-27, Michigan State 43-25, Louisville 42-24, Xavier 45-27, Oklahoma State 36-27, TCU 36-25 and Ole Miss 43-33.
OVERCOMING SECOND-HALF DEFICITS
- Ten times this season Baylor has faced a second-half deficit and come back to win.
- BU is 45-7 over the last two seasons when it takes a lead at any point in the second half of a game.
- The Bears overcame second-half deficits against FGCU (3), vs. VCU (8), vs. Michigan State (3), vs. Louisville (20), Xavier (9), Iowa State (6), Oklahoma State (7) at K-State (2), at TCU (2) and at Ole Miss (10).
THIS SEASON VS. IOWA STAE
- Baylor trailed Iowa State 61-55 with five minutes left on Jan. 4, but BU held ISU to 2 points the rest of the way.
- The Bears out-scored ISU 10-2 over the final five minutes, allowing only one field goal on eight ISU possessions.
- Manu Lecomte shook off a 2-for-9 shooting night and made a game-winning runner with 8.6 seconds left.
- Ishmail Wainright 8 assists, 7 rebounds and only 1 turnover in 25 minutes, and he played strong defense on ISU's final possession, forcing a Monte Morris miss on a fadeaway baseline jumper that could've tied the game.
- Johnathan Motley posted 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. led BU with 15 points.
LAST SEASON VS. IOWA STATE
- Baylor swept the season series vs. Iowa State for a second straight year, with ISU ranked No. 13 in both games.
- Unranked Baylor won 94-89 in Ames on Jan. 9, and No. 25 Baylor won 100-91 in overtime in Waco on Feb. 16.
- Johnathan Motley averaged 27.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and shot 72% (23-of-32) vs. Iowa State.
- Baylor trailed 73-70 with 4:30 left in Ames, but scored 24 points the rest of the way, including a 14-3 run.
- BU scored 19 points in overtime, including 7 from Motley, to knock off ISU in Waco.
A WIN WOULD ...
- Tie Baylor's 2nd-best record through 29 games at 24-5 -- best is 25-4 in 1946. BU was 24-5 in 2012.
- Tie BU's best-ever record through 16 Big 12 games at 11-5 -- BU was 11-5 in 2010 and 2012.
- Be Baylor's 24th win of the season, tying the 5th-most in program history.
- Be the 4th time Baylor has reached 11 Big 12 wins (12 in 2012, 11 in 2010 and 2015).
- Improve Baylor's record against Iowa State to 16-17, including a series-best 6-game winning streak.
- Be Baylor 3rd consecutive win in Ames after losing its previous 12 trips to Hilton Coliseum.
- Give Baylor a 240-108 record since 2007-08, Drew's first year with a full allotment of scholarships.
- Make Baylor 149-61 since 2011-12, the Big 12's second-most wins in that span behind only Kansas (173).
- Be Ishmail Wainright's 88th career win, passing LaceDarius Dunn for 6th-most in program history. It would also be Wainright's 36th Big 12 win, passing Quincy Acy and Taurean Prince for 4th-most in program history.
- Improve Baylor's record to 96-39 during Wainright's four-year career, passing Rico Gathers and Prince for 4th-most wins in a 4-year career.
MOTLEY JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB
- Johnathan Motley became the 31st player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark on Feb. 8 at OSU.
- Motley became the 13th player of the Drew era to reach the milestone, joining LaceDarius Dunn, Curtis Jerrells, Tweety Carter, Kevin Rogers, Quincy Acy, Aaron Bruce, Taurean Prince, Pierre Jackson, Henry Dugat, Rico Gathers, Cory Jefferson and Brady Heslip.
- Motley (1,097 points) ranks 25th on Baylor's all-time scoring list. He needs 8 points to pass William Chatmon (1,104) for 24th place and 24 points to pass Larry Gatewood for 23rd place.
- Motley needs 20 rebounds to become the first BU player with 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 assists.
MOTLEY AN ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATE
- Johnathan Motley has a chance to become the third player in program history to be named AP first or second-team All-American, joining Vinnie Johnson (2nd team, 1979) and Terry Teagle (2nd team, 1982).
- Motley is on the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, Naismith Trophy Top 30, Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List (1 of 19) and is 1 of 10 finalists for the Karl Malone Award. He's also on the Lute Olson Award watch list.
- Motley currently ranks 4th in KenPom.com's National Player of the Year standings, trailing only Villanova's Josh Hart, Purdue's Caleb Swanigan and Saint Mary's Jock Landale.
NO. 1 SEED IN FIRST EARLY BRACKET REVEAL
- Baylor was the nation's No. 3 overall seed (No. 1 in South Region) in the Feb. 11 CBS Early Bracket Reveal.
- Villanova (No. 1 overall), Kansas (No. 2) and Gonzaga (No. 4) were the other No. 1 seeds.
- The South Region consisted of No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Butler.
- Sixteen teams listed: 1. Villanova, 2. Kansas, 3. Baylor, 4. Gonzaga, 5. North Carolina, 6. Florida State, 7. Louisville, 8. Oregon, 9. Arizona, 10. Virginia, 11. Florida, 12. Kentucky, 13. Butler, 14. West Virginia, 15. UCLA, 16. Duke.
BEST DEFENSE OF DREW ERA
- Baylor's defense is holding opponents to 64.0 points per game in Big 12 play, which leads the league by 8.6 ppg. That margin is greater than the 4.9 ppg difference between No. 2 (WVU, 72.6) and No. 10 (OSU, 77.7) in the league.
- BU opponents are averaging 10.0 points per game below their season averages in Big 12 play.
- BU is No. 6 in adjusted defensive efficiency as of Feb. 23. Its best previous defense under Drew was No. 23 in 2015.
- The Bears have been top-100 in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency in seven straight seasons.
- 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.
- The Bears were No. 64 in 2013, No. 70 in 2014, No. 79 in 2011 and No. 84 in 2016.
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. 33 in adjusted offensive efficiency as of Feb. 23.
- 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.
FIVE WINS OVER AP TOP 25 TEAMS
- Baylor is 5-3 vs. ranked teams this season (wins vs. No. 4 Oregon, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 10 Louisville, No. 7 Xavier and at No. 25 Kansas State; losses at No. 10 West Virginia, at No. 3 Kansas and vs. No. 3 Kansas).
- Baylor has won at least five games vs. APà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Top 25 teams in each of the last four seasons.
- BU's 5 wins over ranked teams this year ties the 2nd-most in program history (7 in 2015; 5 in 2014 and 2016).
- Baylor has gone 17-17 against ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- BU is 36-57 against ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first four rebuilding seasons.
GAME CONTROL
- Baylor has led for at least 15 minutes of game time in 23 of 28 games this season.
- The only games BU didn't lead for 15+ minutes were vs. Louisville (win), at West Virginia (loss), at Ole Miss (win), at Kansas (loss) and vs. Kansas State (loss). Baylor has led for 32+ minutes in 15 of its 28 games.
- Baylor has led for 66% of game time season (742:38 of 1120:00).
- The Bears have trailed for only 27% of game time (305:36 of 1120:00) and been tied for 6% (71:56 of 1120:00).
BEARS IN AP POLL THIS SEASON
- Baylor went from receiving no votes in the week 1 AP poll to No. 4 nationally just three weeks later on Dec. 5.
- BU has been top-10 ranked for a school-record-tying 13 consecutive weeks, including nine weeks in the top-5.
- Prior to this season, BU had been top-10 ranked in 20 weekly polls in program history, all during 2010-11, 2011-12 (13 straight weeks) and 2013-14.
- Baylor has now been ranked in each of the last 10 seasons -- one of 13 teams nationally to make that claim.
FASTEST CLIMB FROM UNRANKED TO NO. 1 IN AP POLL HISTORY
- Baylor's climb from unranked in the week 1 AP poll to No. 1 in week 9 was the fastest by any team in AP Top 20/25 history (excludes 1961-68, when only 10 teams were ranked in weekly polls).
- Only two other teams have gone from unranked in the week 1 AP Top 20/25 to No. 1 -- 2009-10 Syracuse climbed to the top spot in week 16, and 1978-79 Indiana State claimed No. 1 in week 14.
- BU is one of four teams to go from unranked in the preseason AP Top 20/25 to the No. 1 spot -- 1978-79 Indiana State, 1989-90 Kansas and 2009-10 Syracuse also accomplished the feat. Additionally, 1963-64 UCLA and 1965-66 Kentucky went from preseason unranked to No. 1, but only 10 teams were listed in those preseason polls.
- Prior to this season, Baylor had received only one first-place vote in school history (2011-12 week 11 poll).
EXPERIENCED DESPITE ONLY ONE SENIOR
- Baylor has only one senior on this year's roster, but BU's top nine in minutes per game are all 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).
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
- Baylor has won 88% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. BU is 116-16 when leading at the break in that stretch (16-3 this season, 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 42% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 32-45 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 132 of 209 games over the last six seasons, and BU is 148-61 since 2011-12.
BIG 12'S BEST ROAD RECORD LAST YEAR
- Baylor went 6-3 in Big 12 road games last season, tying Kansas and West Virginia for the league's best road mark.
- Baylor is 18-16 in Big 12 road games since 2014, trailing only Kansas (21-13).
- BU is 27-25 in Big 12 road games since 2012, trailing only Kansas (34-18).
- Big 12 road teams are a combined 30-45 in conference play this season (thru 2/24).
RACKING UP BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS
- Baylor players have been recognized with Big 12 weekly awards a total of eight times in the first 14 weeks.
- Johnathan Motley (11/28, 1/9, 1/23) and Manu Lecomte (12/5) have earned Big 12 Player of the Week recognition, with Motley's three awards tying the Baylor record for most in a season.
- Lecomte (11/14, 1/3, 2/13) and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (12/19) have earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
- Motley now has a school-record four career Big 12 Player of the Week honors (first on 2/22/16 last season).
- Lecomte's three Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors tie the most by any player in program history, joining Ekpe Udoh (2010), Perry Jones III (2011) and Pierre Jackson (2012).
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.
SECOND-MOST WINS AMONG BIG 12 TEAMS SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor's 148-61 record since 2011-12 trails only Kansas (173-40) among Big 12 teams (thru 2/24/17).
- Iowa State (141-61) is 3rd, West Virginia (122-74) is 4th, Oklahoma (121-76) is 5th, Kansas State (118-76) is 6th, Texas (111-88) is 7th, Oklahoma State (109-83) is 8th, TCU (85-106) is 9th and Texas Tech (82-104) is 10th.
- Baylor has averaged 25 wins per season over the last 5 years.
DEFENSE OVERCOMES POOR BU SHOOTING IN WIN OVER OKLAHOMA
- Baylor built a 10-point halftime lead and held off a late rally to defeat Oklahoma, 60-54, in Waco on Feb. 21.
- The Bears shot only 38% from the field, including making only 7 field goals while shooting 30% in the second half, but they held OU to 33% for the game, blocked 10 shots and out-rebounded the Sooners 43-34.
- Johnathan Motley had 21 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks in 34 minutes.
- Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. tied his career-high with 7 blocks and added 11 points and 9 rebounds in 28 minutes.
LATE FREE THROWS SINK BEARS VS. NO. 3 KANSAS
- Baylor led for 33 minutes of game time against KU on Feb. 18, but the Jayhawks closed on an 8-0 run to win 67-65.
- Landen Lucas gave KU a 67-65 lead on free throws with 8.6 seconds left, and Manu Lecomte's buzzer-beater missed.
- Baylor built a 12-point first half lead and led 35-29 at the break. KU used an 11-0 run to take a 52-47 lead with 10 minutes left, but the Bears answered with a 9-0 run and were ahead 65-59 with 3:30 remaining.
- BU made one more field goal than KU and three more 3-pointers, but the Jayhawks out-shot the Bears at the free throw line, converting 16-of-20 against Baylor's 9-of-11.
- Johnathan Motley led BU with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in 37 minutes.
FOUL-PRONE BEARS FALL AT TEXAS TECH
- Baylor overcame an early 11-0 deficit to take a 36-32 halftime lead on Feb. 13 at Texas Tech, but the Bears were whistled for 25 second-half fouls leading to 35 free throws and three players fouling out in an 84-78 loss.
- Tech set season highs by a BU opponent in FG percentage (51%), free throws made (30) and free throw attempts (43)
- Terry Maston led the Bears with a career-high 22 points in 21 minutes off the bench, and Manu Lecomte added 16 points, but he fouled off with the Bears leading 59-56 with 8:28 remaining.
FIFTH STRAIGHT SEASON SWEEP OF TCU
- Baylor swept the season series over TCU for a 5th straight year with a 70-52 win on Feb. 11 in Waco.
- Johnathan Motley had 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting, while Manu Lecomte added 17 points and King McClure contributed 13 points, as the Bears shot 54% for the game, including 57% in the second half.
- Baylor held TCU to 17 points in the first half, tying a season-low for a Baylor opponent, on 23% shooting.
TWO-GAME SKID ENDS WITH WIN AT OKLAHOMA STATE
- Baylor built a 4-point halftime lead and extended it to 13 points with 4 minutes remaining, but the Bears had to fight off a furious OSU rally that cut the deficit to 1 point before BU came out on top 72-69 in Stillwater on Feb. 8.
- Jo Lual-Acuil blocked a potential go-ahead shot with 26 seconds left, and Manu Lecomte's free throws sealed the win.
- Johnathan Motley reached the 1,000-point mark and had his 7th career 20-10 game with 24 points and 11 boards.
- King McClure and Jake Lindsey had 10 points apiece while filling in for shooting guard Al Freeman.
LATE RALLY FALLS SHORT VS. KANSAS STATE
- Baylor missed two shots that would've tied the game in the final seconds and fell 56-54 against K-State on Feb. 4.
- The Bears trailed by as many as 19 points (37-18 with 3 minutes left in 1st half), and were behind 46-28 with 11 minutes remaining, then went on a 26-10 run that came up just short, as BU missed jumpers in the final 3 seconds.
- Johnathan Motley posted 17 points and 14 rebounds, but was the only BU player in double-figures.
TOUGH LOSS AT NO. 3 KANSAS
- Baylor built a 34-28 halftime lead and had a 56-55 lead with 6:30 remaining at Kansas, but KU converted on 20-of-27 free throws, while the Bears made only 4-of-6 in a 73-68 loss in Lawrence on Feb. 1.
- Baylor made 6 more field goals than KU (28-22), and both teams committed 15 turnovers, but KU turned those turnovers into 23 points, while Baylor had only 8 points off turnovers.
- Johnathan Motley had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Manu Lecomte had 16 points and 4 assists and Terry Maston added 14 points in 12 minutes off the bench.
STILL PERFECT IN BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE AFTER WIN AT OLE MISS
- Baylor improved to 4-0 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge with a 78-75 win at Ole Miss on Jan. 28.
- Ole Miss led by 15 points early and had a 52-42 lead with 14:30 left, but BU went on a 12-2 run to tie it up and made clutch shots down the stretch, including 3-pointers from Jake Lindsey and Manu Lecomte in the final 2:15.
- BU overcame a 7-point halftime deficit by holding Ole Miss to 35% (8-of-23) shooting in the second half.
- Lecomte led BU with 17 points, while Johnathan Motley and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had 16 points apiece.
HARD-FOUGHT WIN OVER TEXAS TECH
- Baylor shot a season-low 35% and made seven fewer field goals (17) than Texas Tech (24), but the Bears posted the 9th-best free throw performance in program history (93%, 26-of-28) on their way to a 65-61 win on Jan. 25.
- BU won despite making seven fewer field goals (24-17) and getting out-scored 32-18 in the paint.
- Tech tied the game at 37-37 with 18 minutes left, but BU scored the next 5 points and led the rest of the way.
- Ishmail Wainright blocked a potential game-winning 3-pointer with 2 seconds left and BU leading 63-61.
- Johnathan Motley made 15-of-16 free throws on his way to game-highs of 25 points and 9 rebounds.
VICTORIOUS AFTER 16 LEAD CHANGES AT TCU
- Baylor faced a 28-26 halftime deficit at TCU on Jan. 21, and despite 13 second-half lead changes, BU won 62-53.
- There were 16 lead changes in the game, the last of which came when Ishmail Wainright hit a 3-pointer with 4:16 left to give BU a 50-48 lead. That started a 15-5 run, as BU held TCU to 1-of-8 shooting in the last 5 minutes.
- The Bears won despite shooting 43% from the field (23-of-54), their lowest field goal percentage of the season, by holding TCU to 29% shooting (17-of-58), including 25% in the second half (7-of-28).
MOTLEY GOES OFF IN WIN OVER TEXAS
- Johnathan Motley posted 32 points and 20 rebounds in a 74-64 win over Texas on Jan. 17. The Bears led by 21 points with 6 minutes left before UT closed the gap to 10 with a 17-6 run the rest of the way.
- It was the first 30-20 game in Big 12 play since Oklahoma's Blake Griffin in 2009, and Motley joined Griffin, Kevin Durant (Texas) and Mario Boggan (Oklahoma State) as the only players to post 30-20 games in Big 12 play.
- Nuni Omot also had a breakout game with 14 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
BOUNCE-BACK WIN AT NO. 25 KANSAS STATE
- Baylor rebounded from its first loss of the season by winning at No. 25 Kansas State, 77-68, on Jan. 14.
- BU trailed 47-45 with 10 minutes left, then went on an 8-0 run and led by at least 5 points the rest of the way.
- BU out-rebounded K-State 37-24 and earned an 18-5 advantage in 2nd-chance points.
- Manu Lecomte scored a career-high 26 points, while Ishmail Wainright added a career-high 15 points and Al Freeman contributed 15 points and a career-high 5 assists.
FIRST LOSS OF SEASON AT NO. 10 WEST VIRGINIA
- Baylor suffered its first loss of the season at No. 10 West Virginia on Jan. 10.
- The Bears committed 29 turnovers, tied for fourth-most in program history and most since Nov. 30, 1999.
- Seven BU players committed 3 or more turnovers, and only Jake Lindsey (3a/3t) had a 1.0 or better A-T ratio.
- Despite out-rebounding WVU 41-32, the Bears attempted 13 fewer shots than the Mountaineers.
- Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had team-highs of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
BU OVERCOMES SEVEN-POINT SECOND-HALF DEFICIT TO BEAT OSU
- Baylor overcame a 38-31 deficit with 15:48 remaining to knock off Oklahoma State on Jan 7.
- The Bears trailed 30-25 at the break, but Johnathan Motley scored six straight to put BU in front 31-30.
- Al Freeman's free throws with 6:29 remaining put the Bears in front for good.
RALLY FROM SIX DOWN WITH FIVE MINUTES LEFT TO BEAT ISU
- Baylor trailed Iowa State 61-55 with five minutes left on Jan. 4, but BU held ISU to 2 points the rest of the way.
- The Bears out-scored ISU 10-2 over the final five minutes, allowing only one field goal on eight ISU possessions.
- Manu Lecomte shook off a 2-for-9 shooting night and made a game-winning runner with 8.6 seconds left.
STATEMENT BIG 12 OPENER AT OKLAHOMA
- Baylor won its Big 12 opener at Oklahoma, 76-50. OU's 50 points were its fewest at home in the Lon Kruger era.
- Baylor's 26-point win was the largest by any team playing at OU since Kansas won by 31 on Feb. 5, 1963.
BU KNOCKS OFF NO. 7 XAVIER FOR THIRD TOP-10 WIN OF SEASON
- 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.
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.
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.
SEVENTEEN-POINT 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.
DREW ERA HIGHLIGHTS
- Drew is coaching his 451st game at Baylor (273-177). His .607 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 35+ games, and he's the program's all-time wins leader.
- Baylor has a .689 winning percentage (239-108) 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, 26 players have gone on to professional careers.
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.
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.
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 239-108 (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 nine 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 12 times (nine under Drew) in the program's first 111 seasons.
TWENTY-SIX PRO PLAYES IN DREW ERA
- In Scott Drew's first 13 years at Baylor, 26 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.
- Additionally, Isaiah Austin recently signed to play in Serbia, and Pierre Jackson made his NBA debut with Dallas.
SIX STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
- Baylor has won 20+ games in a school-record six consecutive seasons and in nine of the last 10 years. The Bears had just three 20-win seasons in the program's first 101 years (1907-2007).
- Baylor has topped 22 wins in all six seasons from 2011-12 to 2016-17. BU entered this season as one of only 19 teams nationally to record 22+ wins in all five seasons 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.
- 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, No. 13 in 2015-16 and No. 1 in 2016-17.
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.
- All seven starting point guards in the Drew era are currently playing professionally.
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.
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.
- Preseason Poll: 1. KU, 2. WVU, 3. UT, 4. ISU, 5. BU, 6. OU, T7. OSU, t7. TTU, 9. KSU, 10. TCU.
- 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).
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 and the TuneIn App.
- 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
- BU returns home for senior night against West Virginia at 6 p.m. CT Monday on ESPNU. Baylor's lone senior, Ishmail Wainright, will be recognized in a postgame ceremony.
- Baylor then wraps up the regular season with a 3 p.m. ESPN game at Texas on March 4 in Austin.
- The Bears have clinched no worse than a No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Championship, which runs March 8-11 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Baylor's first game will be in the quarterfinals on March 9.
