March 21, 2017  | | MEDIA INFORMATION | | Date | Friday, March 24 | 6:29 p.m. CT | | Location | New York, N.Y. | Madison Square Garden (19,812) | | Tickets | Purchase Tickets Online | | TV | TBS and March Madness App
| | TV Talent | Verne Lundquist (pxp), Jim Spanarkel (analyst),
Allie LaForce (reporter) | | Mobile Radio | Sirius, XM, Westwood One
| | BU Radio | ESPN Central Texas | | BU Talent | John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color) | | Stats | | | Game Notes | Baylor | South Carolina
| | Social Media | @BaylorMBB | #SicUSC | #SicMarch
| BAYLOR BEARS
| | Record | 27-7, 12-6 Big 12 | | Ranking | 12th (AP), 11th (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Scott Drew
| | Career: 297-190 (15th season)
| | BU Record: 277-179 (14th season)
| | SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS | | Record | 24-10, 12-6 SEC
| | Ranking | NR (AP), RV (Coaches)
| | Head Coach | Frank Martin | | Career: 211-127 (10th season)
| | USC Record: 94-73 (5th season)
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
NEW YORK, N.Y. - It takes a village to raise a child. And for the third-seeded Baylor Bears, it will take a team to defend South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell.
Thornwell and the seventh-seeded Gamecocks (24-10) will face Baylor (27-7) in the East Region semifinals at 6:29 p.m. CDT Friday at Madison Square Garden.
"The whole team will be defending him," said 6-5 Baylor senior guard/forward Ishmail Wainright, when asked who would be matched up against Thornwell. "It's not just me, but the whole team. . . . He's just a great player. He's their main player on the team, their go-to guy, and he does about everything for them."
A native South Carolina son who stayed home, the 6-5 Thornwell averaged 21.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game in leading the Gamecocks to their first NCAA tournament wins in 44 years and earning SEC Player of the Year honors.
In an 88-81 upset of second-seeded Duke, Thornwell hit three 3-pointers and scored 24 points as the Gamecocks rallied from an early 10-point deficit by scoring 65 second-half points.
"He's such a tough matchup, so versatile," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "What you do is you try to make everything as difficult as possible and hope he doesn't have a 44-point game."
South Carolina has some other scoring threats as well in 6-6 sophomore guard P.J. Dozier (13.8), 6-2 senior guard Duane Notice (10.3) and 6-9 sophomore forward Chris Silva (10.1 ppg, 5.8 rebounds).
But, Drew said the Gamecocks' defense is their biggest weapon. They've allowed just 65.1 points per game and rank fifth nationally in turnovers forced with 17.3 per game.
"They really do a good job on defense, causing turnovers, getting into you, denying and then packing it in after a while," sophomore guard Jake Lindsey said.
Since South Carolina coach Frank Martin comes from West Virginia coach Bob Huggins' coaching tree, Drew said it helps that the Bears have faced similar defenses with the Mountaineers, Brad Underwood at Oklahoma State and Andy Kennedy at Ole Miss.
"Everyone does something a little different and tailor-made for their team and personnel," he said, "but the toughness, the rebounding and the defensive intensity, that's pretty consistent. . . . It doesn't make it a guarantee that we'll be successful against it, because the first time we played West Virginia I think we tried to set an NCAA record with turnovers. It's just a tough team to play or prepare for."
Baylor can hang its hat on defense as well. The Bears rank among the best nationally, allowing just 60.5 points per game, and are second in rebounding margin at 9.1.
A big part of that is the inside duo of 7-foot junior center Jo Lual-Acuil (9.7 ppg, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks) and 6-10 junior forward Johnathan Motley (17.3 ppg, 9.9 rebounds), who was named a second-team All-American Friday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
They will be tested by a South Carolina defense that has given up just 19 points per game in the paint in the NCAA Tournament.
"We've got to make sure we force it into the paint and just do what we do and not get away from that," Motley said. "The teams that lost to them shot over 50 percent of their threes, so we just can't fall into that same pattern."
The Sweet 16 matchup pits two coaching friends against each other. Martin said he was the "new kid" in the Big 12 when he followed Huggins at Kansas State in 2007, "and Scott was in the process of establishing his Baylor program."
That's about the time Drew hired New York native Tim Maloney as his director of basketball operations.
"Tim and I are dear friends," Martin said. "He's one of the most incredible human beings that I've ever met and he's a heck of a basketball coach. . . . He got me and Scott to become friends because of his passion for both of us."
And when Martin moved to South Carolina five years ago, "nobody would schedule us," he said.
"Scott said, `Let's do this,''' Martin said. "He knew he would have a lot more to lose if they lost to South Carolina than we would. But, he wasn't scored of giving us the opportunity."
In that two-game series, the Bears pulled out a 66-64 win in Waco on Nov. 12, 2013, then beat the Gamecocks on the road, 69-65, in Columbia on Nov. 18, 2014.
Thornwell said the Bears haven't changed much since then. Just the names are different.
"They were good my freshman year with Cory Jefferson and Isaiah Austin and Brady Heslip," he said. "And they're good now. They've just got guys that are committed to winning and they have a winning program. The way their bigs attack the rim, the way they attack the paint, the way guys make shots, they're just a good team. We're going to have a tough matchup."
The Baylor-South Carolina winner advances to the Elite Eight and would face either fourth-seeded Florida (26-8) or eighth-seeded Wisconsin (27-9) in Sunday's region final for a spot in next week's Final Four in Phoenix.
STORY LINES - Baylor faces South Carolina in the 2017 NCAA Tournament East Regional semifinals Friday on TBS.
- Baylor is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for a school-record fourth consecutive season.
- Baylor is 13-12 in 11 NCAA Championships trips, including 10-6 in the
Scott Drew era.
- Drew has led Baylor to two Elite Eights (2010, 2012) and four Sweet 16s (2010, 2012, 2014, 2017).
- Baylor is one of 13 teams nationally to make four or more Sweet 16 appearances since 2010.
- Baylor's No. 3 NCAA Tournament seed ties its best-ever (2010, 2012, 2015).
- Baylor is 31-15 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last nine seasons.
- BU is seeking its 28th win, which would tie the 2nd-most in program history (30 in 2012, 28 in 2010).
- Baylor's 25 regular season wins tied its most in program history (2012), its 12 Big 12 wins tied its most in conference play (2012) and its tie for 2nd place tied its best-ever Big 12 finish (2010).
- Friday is the 7th series meeting, all since 2006. Baylor leads 4-2, including 3 straight wins.
- Baylor and South Carolina last met in Columbia on Nov. 18, 2014, a 69-65 BU win.
- Baylor is 9-1 against SEC teams since the 2012-13 season, including two wins over South Carolina.
- Baylor, Gonzaga and UCLA are the nation's only teams still undefeated vs. non-conference opponents.
- BU is 15-0 vs. non-conference teams, including 9 wins over non-Big 12 NCAA Tournament teams.
- BU has reached the 20-win mark for a school-record 6th straight season and 9th time in the last 10 years.
- Baylor has faced a second-half deficit and come back to win in 13 games this season.
- BU is 9-2 when trailing at half and averages a +11.8 scoring margin in 2nd halves of those games.
- BU is 49-9 over the last two seasons when it takes the lead at any point in the 2nd half of a game.
- Baylor's defense held teams to 64.3 points per game in Big 12 play, which led the league by 7.7 ppg.
- Baylor's defense this season has been its best of the Drew era - BU ranks No. 13 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency - Drew's best previous defense was ranked No. 23 nationally in 2014-15.
- Baylor's defense ranks 20th nationally in effective field goal percentage defense (45.9), 24th in 2-point FG defense (44.9), 32nd in 3-point FG defense (31.9) and 26th in block percentage (13.3).
- BU has been out-rebounded just 4 times (all BU wins) and has out-rebounded its opponent by double-digits in 6 straight games and 19 times this season. BU ranks 3rd nationally with a +9.1 rebounding margin.
- BU opponents average 18.5 seconds per possession, 9th-longest nationally according to KenPom.com.
- Drew was named Basketball Times National Coach of the Year.
- Drew is 243-110 since 2007-08, the first year he had a full allotment of scholarships.
- Baylor is 152-63 over the last 6 seasons, averaging 25.3 wins per season since 2012.
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Johnathan Motley is a Naismith Trophy semifinalist (10), on the Wooden Award National Ballot (15) and a Karl Malone Award finalist (5). He's a 2nd Team All-American by USBWA, Sporting News and NBC.
- Motley is the 16th All-American in BU history and the first-ever unanimous first-team All-Big 12 pick.
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Manu Lecomte is Baylor's 2nd player to win Big 12 Newcomer of the Year (Ekpe Udoh, 2010).
- BU had 4 All-Big 12 honorees, as
Ishmail Wainright and
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. were also recognized.
QUICK HITS
- Baylor (152), Iowa State (147) and Kansas (178) are the only Big 12 teams with 125+ wins since 2011-12.
- BU held opponents to an average of 9.4 ppg below their scoring averages in Big 12 play.
- BU led the Big 12 in FG defense (41%), rebounding (38.3) and rebounding margin (+9.5) in league play.
- Baylor is 6-3 vs. AP Top 25-ranked teams and 4-3 vs. AP Top 10 teams this season (wins vs. No. 4 Oregon, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 10 Louisville, No. 7 Xavier, at No. 25 Kansas State and No. 10 West Virginia).
- BU is 19-17 in Big 12 road games since 2014 and 28-26 since 2012, both trailing only Kansas.
- Baylor has 18 wins over ranked teams in the last three seasons (18-17 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 (277).
- Baylor has won 88% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (118-16).
- BU has won 42% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 34-47 in those.
- The Bears have defeated four 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 48-29 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 12-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
- Baylor has the nation's 2nd-longest non-conference home winning streak at 43 straight. Duke has the longest streak at 132 games, followed by Baylor at 43 and Arizona at 39.
- 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 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 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.
- Seven of BU's eight 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 834 straight games.
- BU did not receive any preseason poll votes for the first time since 2009-10.
MOTLEY BECOMES 16TH ALL-AMERICAN IN PROGRAM HISTORY
- Johnathan Motley was named to the All-America 2nd team by USBWA, Sporting News and NBC Sports and to the 3rd team by USA Today. He became the 16th All-American player in program history.
- Motley can become Baylor's first-ever AP 1st-team All-American. The only previous Bears named to the AP All-America 1st or 2nd teams were Vinnie Johnson (2nd team, 1979) and Terry Teagle (2nd team, 1982).
- Motley is the first Naismith Trophy semifinalist (1 of 10) in program history. He's also 1 of 15 players on the Wooden Award National Ballot and is on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List (1 of 19) and the Lute Olson Award watch list, and he's 1 of 5 finalists for the Karl Malone Award.
- Motley is currently 3rd in KenPom.com's National Player of the Year rankings at 1.563, trailing only Villanova's Josh Hart (1.674) and Saint Mary's Jock Londale (1.591). He's the top-ranked Big 12 player, with KU's Frank Mason (1.362) in 7th and OSU's Jawun Evans (1.362) in 8th.
FOURTH SWEET 16 APPEARANCE
- Baylor is appearing in its fourth NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 since the field expanded to 32 teams in 1975.
- All four of Baylor's Sweet 16 appearances have come since 2010. The Bears are 2-1 in previous Sweet 16 games, with wins against Saint Mary's (2010) and Xavier (2012) and a loss against Wisconsin (2014).
- Baylor is one of 13 teams to play in four or more Sweet 16s since 2010 - Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Syracuse, Wisconsin and Xavier.
MANU, MOTLEY, MCCLURE, MASTON LEAD BU PAST SOUTHERN CAL, INTO SWEET 16
- Baylor trailed Southern Cal 63-59 with 7:30 left, but the Bears went on a 14-4 run and held on to win 82-78 in the NCAA Tournament Second Round, earning their fourth Sweet 16 berth since 2010.
- BU won despite allowing USC to shoot 55% for the game and 57% in the 2nd half. The Bears shot 62% in the second half and capitalized on a 34-23 edge in rebounding.
- Manu Lecomte scored all 12 of his points in the final 4:40, starting with a 4-point play that put BU ahead for good.
- King McClure tied his career high with 17 points on 5-of-8 from 3-point range, including 14 first-half points.
- Johnathan Motley posted another double-double with 19 points and 10 boards in 27 minutes before fouling out.
- Terry Maston recorded his second consecutive 19-point, 9-rebound game off the bench.
FREEMAN AND MASTON LEAD BEARS OVER NMSU, INTO SECOND ROUND
- Baylor rallied from 40-38 halftime deficit to defeat New Mexico State in the NCAA Tournament first round, thanks in large part to contributions off the bench from Al Freeman and Terry Maston.
- BU trailed by 4 early in the 2nd half, then went on a 28-6 run over the next 11 minutes to take control.
- Freeman had a season-high 21 points and added 5 rebounds, while Maston poured in 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting and a season-high-tying 9 rebounds. The duo combined for 25 of Baylor's 38 first-half points.
- Johnathan Motley overcame first-half foul trouble to post a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
BENCH STEPPING UP IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
- Baylor is averaging 33.5 bench points in its first two NCAA Tournament games, including 42 bench points against New Mexico State. The Bears averaged 20.2 bench points per game entering the tournament.
- Terry Maston had 19 points and 9 rebounds in both games and is shooting .640 from the field (16-of-25).
- Al Freeman scored a season-high 21 points in the first round win over New Mexico State.
ONE OF THREE TEAMS UNDEFEATED AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE TEAMS
- Baylor, Gonzaga and UCLA are the nation's only teams still undefeated against non-conference opponents.
- The Bears are 15-0 against non-Big 12 teams, including 9 wins over NCAA Tournament teams: Oregon, FGCU, VCU, Michigan State, Louisville, Xavier, Texas Southern, New Mexico State and Southern California.
SUCCESS AGAINST SEC TEAMS
- Baylor is 9-1 against Southeastern Conference teams since the 2012-13 season.
- The Bears have wins at Kentucky, at Vanderbilt, at Southà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Carolina and at Ole Miss, as well as a neutral-site win against Kentucky and home wins against Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas A&M.
- BU's lone loss against an SEC opponent in the last five seasons was at No. 24 Texas A&M in 2015-16.
- Baylor is also 4-0 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, including a 78-75 win at Ole Miss on Jan. 28. HISTORY AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
- Baylor is 4-5 all-time at Madison Square Garden, including a 3-1 mark under Scott Drew.
- The Bears played four games at MSG at the end of the 1948 season. BU lost to Kentucky in the NCAA Championship, then played three games as part of the Olympic Trials, defeating NYU and losing to Kentucky and the Denver Nuggets.
- BU again played at MSG two years later in the 1950 NCAA Third Place Game, a loss to North Carolina State.
- The Bears returned to Madison Square Garden 59 years later for the 2009 NIT final four. BU defeated San Diego State, then lost to Penn State in the title game. Baylor defeated BYU and Iowa at MSG to win the 2013 NIT title.
PROGRAM BESTS
- Baylor tied a number of program bests this season. The Bears' 25 regular season wins tied the most in program history (2012), and BU's 12 Big 12 victories tied its most in any conference (2012).
- BU also tied its best-ever finish in the Big 12 standings, matching the 3-way tie for 2nd place from 2010.
- BU's No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championship tied the 2010 season for best in program history.
- Baylor also tied the highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history (No. 3 in 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2017).
SERIES HISTORY
- Friday is the 7th series meeting between Baylor and South Carolina, all of which have been played since 2006.
- The teams played home-and-home series in 2006/2007, 2009/2010 and 2013/2014.
- Baylor leads the series 4-2, including a 3-0 mark in Columbia and a 1-2 record in Waco.
BAYLOR VS. 2017 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD
- Baylor is 14-6 this season against 14 different teams that are part of the 2017 NCAA Tournament field.
- BU has played No. 1 Kansas (0-2), No. 2 Louisville (1-0), No. 3 Oregon (1-0), No. 4 West Virginia (1-1), No. 5 Iowa State (1-1), No. 9 Michigan State (1-0), No. 10 Oklahoma State (2-0), No. 10 VCU (1-0), No. 11 Xavier (1-0), No. 11 Kansas State (1-2), No. 11 USC (1-0), No. 14 FGCU (1-0), No. 14 New Mexico State and No. 16 Texas Southern (1-0).
- BU went 2-2 against teams with No. 3 better seeds and 12-4 against lower-seeded teams.
- None of the 12 NCAA Tournament teams BU faced during the regular season are in the East Regional.
- All told, BU is 16-6 against 2017 postseason teams -- 13-6 vs. NCAA and 3-0 vs. NIT.
NATION'S FOURTH-BEST POSTSEASON RECORD
- Baylor's 19-6 postseason record over the past nine seasons is the nation's sixth-best among teams with at least three NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tournament berths since 2009.
- The only teams with better postseason winning percentages than Baylor's .760 are Kentucky (.794), North Carolina (.794), and Connecticut (.783).
- The Bears' 19 postseason wins in that span are sixth-most, trailing only Kentucky (27), North Carolina (27), Duke (22), Michiganà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State (21) and Kansas (20).
- Baylor went 4-1 and advanced to the 2009 NIT Championship game, 3-1 on their way to NCAA Tournament Elite Eight berths in 2010 and 2012, 5-0 to claim the 2013 NIT title and 2-1 on its way to the 2014 Sweet 16.
TIED FOR BEST SEED IN PROGRAM HISTORY
- Baylor's No. 3 NCAA Tournament seed ties 2010, 2012 and 2015 for best in program history.
- The Bears are 8-3 in four NCAA appearances as a No. 3 seed.
- BU advanced to the Elite Eight and lost to the eventual national champion in both 2010 (Duke) and 2012 (Kentucky), and the Bears lost in the first round in 2015 (Georgia State).
ONE OF 13 TEAMS WITH FOUR SWEET 16 APPEARANCES SINCE 2010
- Baylor is one of 13 teams nationally to make four Sweet 16 appearances in the last eight years.
- The Bears are joined by Arizona,à ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michiganà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State, North Carolina, Ohioà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € State, Syracuse, Wisconsin and Xavier.
- Scott Drew is the youngest of 11 coaches nationally to lead his current program to four Sweet 16s since 2010. Drew (46) is joined by Xavier's Chris Mack (47), Arizona's Sean Miller (48), Ohio State's Thad Matta (49), Kansas' Bill Self (54), Kentucky's John Calipari (58), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (62), Louisville's Rick Pitino (64), Northà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Carolina's Roy Williams (66), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (70) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (72).
WEALTHà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € OFà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
- Six Baylor players have previous NCAA Tournament experience, including Ishmail Wainright, who is the first player in program history to play in four NCAA Tournaments.
- Juniors Johnathan Motley, Al Freeman and Terry Maston and sophomores Jake Lindsey and King McClure played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Motley and Freeman played in the 2015 NCAA Tournament and redshirted on the 2014 Sweet 16 team.
- Additionally, Manu Lecomte has five games of NIT experience from Miami's run to the 2014 title game.
DREW IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Head coach Scott Drew has a 10-6 record over seven NCAA Championship appearances.
- Drew has guided Baylor to seven NCAA Tournaments in the last 10 seasons. Prior to Drew's arrival, Baylor went to only four NCAA Tournaments, including just once in the 63 seasons preceding his arrival in 2003-04.
- Drew was a major factor in Valparaiso's six NCAA appearances (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002) while an assistant on his father Homer's staff.
- In 2008, Drew guided Baylor to its first NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Championship appearance in 20 seasons (since 1988) and just its second appearance in 58 seasons since going to the eight-team tournament in 1950.
BAYLOR IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Baylor has 11 NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Championship appearances, and the Bears have lost to the eventual national champion four times (1946, 1948, 2010 and 2012).
- Baylor's 1946 team lost to Oklahoma A&M in the regional semifinals in Kansas City, Mo.
- Baylor's 1948 squad lost to Kentucky in the national title game at New York's Madison Square Garden,
- Baylor's 2010 team lost to Duke in the Elite Eight at Houston's Reliant Stadium.
- Baylor's 2012 team lost to Kentucky in the Elite Eight at Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
- Prior to 2015, Baylor's NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € bids all came in even-numbered years --1946, 1948, 1950, 1988, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. The Bears are appearing in four straight NCAAà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € Tournaments for the first time in program history.
- Baylor played in three tournaments in a five-year span between 1946-1950 under head coach Bill Henderson, including Final Four appearances in 1948 and 1950.
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME VS. NON-BIGà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € 12 TEAMS
- Baylor is 51-23 against non-conference teams in neutral/road games in the Scott Drew era, including a 28-10 record in away games against non-Big 12 teams since 2011-12.
- Baylor is 49-19 in road/neutral non-conference games since the 2007-08 season (6-0 in 2016-17; 1-3 in 2015-16; 3-2 in 2014-15; 6-2 in 2013-14; 5-2 in 2012-13; 8-1 in 2011-12; 1-3 in 2010-11; 8-2 in 2009-10; 6-2 in 2008-09; 5-2 in 2007-08).
NINE WINS AFTER TRAILING AT HALFTIME
- Baylor has trailed at halftime 11 times (VCU by 8, Michigan St. 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, vs. WVU by 2, vs. NMSU by 2), but BU is 9-2 in those games.
- Baylor averages a +11.8 scoring margin in second halves of the 11 games it has trailed at halftime.
- In the nine wins, BU's defense has allowed 34.7 first-half points and 28.1 second-half points.
- BU has out-scored opponents by 9+ points in second halves in all 9 of those wins - VCU 43-27, Michigan St. 43-25, Louisville 42-24, Xavier 45-27, Oklahoma St. 36-27, TCU 36-25, Ole Miss 43-33, WVU 43-32 and NMSU 53-33.
OVERCOMING SECOND-HALF DEFICITS
- Thirteen times this season Baylor has faced a second-half deficit and come back to win.
- BU is 49-9 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 St. (3), vs. Louisville (20), Xavier (9), Iowa State (6), Oklahoma State (7) at K-State (2), at TCU (2), at Ole Miss (10), West Virginia (8), vs. New Mexico State (4) and vs. Southern California (4).
A WIN WOULD ...
- Be Baylor's 28th win of the season, tying the 2nd-most in school history (30 in 2012, 28 in 2010).
- Improve Baylor's all-time NCAA Tournament record to 14-12, including 11-6 in the Scott Drew era.
- Mark the 3rd time Baylor has advanced to the Elite Eight in 7 NCAA Tournament appearances under Drew.
- Improve Baylor's record to 32-15 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last 9 seasons.
- Give Baylor a 5-2 lead in the all-time series vs. South Carolina, including 4 straight wins.
- Make Baylor 153-63 since 2011-12, the Big 12's second-most wins in that span behind only Kansas (178).
- Give Baylor a 244-110 record since 2007-08, Drew's first year with a full allotment of scholarships.
- Be Ishmail Wainright's 92nd career win, 5th-most in program history.
- Improve Baylor's record to 100-41 during Wainright's four-year career, tied for 2nd-most wins in a 4-year career.
FOUR BEARS EARN ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
- Johnathan Motley, Manu Lecomte, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Ishmail Wainright earned All-Big 12 recognition.
- Motley is Baylor's first-ever unanimous first-team All-Big 12 honoree, picking up unanimous recognition from both the league's coaches and media, and he's the seventh different Baylor player named first-team All-Big 12.
- Lecomte joined Ekpe Udoh (2010) as the only players in program history to earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Lecomte was also named to the coaches' All-Big 12 third team and All-Newcomer team.
- Wainright picked up All-Big 12 honorable mention and All-Defensive team recogition from the league's coaches.
- Lual-Acuil was an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection by the league's media.
- Four honorees tied the school record set in 2012 and 2016. At least three BU players have been named All-Big 12 in 10 straight seasons, with 33 all-league honors earned by 21 different players since 2008.
SECOND-MOST WINS AMONG BIG 12 TEAMS SINCE 2011-12
- Baylor's 152-63 record since 2011-12 trails only Kansas (178-41) among Big 12 teams (thru 3/20/17).
- Iowa State (147-63) is 3rd, West Virginia (128-76) is 4th, Oklahoma (123-78) is 5th, Kansas State (122-78) is 6th, Texas (112-92) is 7th, Oklahoma State (110-87) is 8th, TCU (89-110) is 9th and Texas Tech (83-107) is 10th.
- Baylor has averaged 25.3 wins per season over six seasons since 2011-12.
DREW AND MOTLEY AMONG NAISMITH SEMIFINALISTS
- Baylor head coach Scott Drew is one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year and junior forward Johnathan Motley is one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Men's College Player of the Year.
- Drew was also named Basketball Times National Coach of the Year. He has led Baylor from receiving no votes in either preseason poll to the first No. 1 ranking in program history.
- Drew also has four wins over top-10 teams this season and had the Bears top-10 ranked in 14 of the last 16 polls.
- Motley is the first player in program history named a Naismith semifinalist, and he is the first BU player named a USBWA All-American. He leads the Big 12 with 9.9 rebounds per game and ranks fourth with 17.3 ppg.
BEST DEFENSE OF DREW ERA
- Baylor's defense held opponents to 64.3 points per game in Big 12 play, which led the league by 7.7 ppg. That margin was greater than the 6.1 ppg difference between No. 2 (WVU, 72.0) and No. 10 (OSU, 78.1) in the league.
- BU opponents averaged 9.4 points per game below their season averages in Big 12 play.
- BU is No. 13 in adjusted defensive efficiency as of March 19. Its best 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.
FOUR CONSECUTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
- Baylor is on a school-record streak of four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to earning at-large bids in each of the last four seasons, the Bears had never been to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
- BU is 1 of 19 teams appearing in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournaments, joining Arizona, Cincinnati, Dayton, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oregon, Providence, VCU, Villanova, Virginia, Wichita State, Wisconsin and Xavier.
- The Bears are one of eight teams nationally to earn a top-six seed in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments, joining Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, North Carolina, Villanova and Virginia.
- Baylor was a No. 6 seed in 2014, a No. 3 seed in 2015, a No. 5 seed in 2016 and a No. 3 seed this season.
FINAL FOURS, "MR. BILL" AND THE GOLDEN YEARS OF BAYLOR BASKETBALL
- The golden years of Baylor basketball came under the direction of the late Bill Henderson. "Mr. Bill" led Baylor to its first three NCAA Tournament appearances, two Final Fours and a national runner-up finish in 1948.
- Henderson coached for a collective 19 seasons and amassed 201 wins. He served as president of the NABC and athletic director at Baylor. Henderson is a member of the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and was the honorary coach of Baylor'sà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € All-Centennial Team.
- Henderson's 201 wins were a school record until Scott Drew surpassed him on March 14, 2014.
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. 20 in adjusted offensive efficiency as of March 19.
- 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.
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).
SIX WINS OVER AP TOP 25 TEAMS
- Baylor is 6-3 vs. ranked teams (wins vs. No. 4 Oregon, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 10 Louisville, No. 7 Xavier, at No. 25 Kansas State and vs. No. 10 West Virginia; losses at No. 10 WVU, 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 6 wins over ranked teams this year are the 2nd-most in program history (7 in 2015; 5 in 2014 and 2016).
- Baylor has gone 18-17 against ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- BU is 37-57 against ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first four rebuilding seasons.
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 (1,211 points) ranks 20th on Baylor's all-time scoring list. He needs 13 points to pass Willie Sublett (1,223) in 19th, 14 points to pass David Wesley (1,224) in 18th, 19 points to pass Henry Dugat (1,229) in 17th, 21 points to pass Vinnie Johnson (1,231) in 16th and 25 points to pass Pierre Jackson (1,235) in 15th.
- Motley is the first player in Baylor history with 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 assists.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
- Baylor has won 88% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12. BU is 118-16 when leading at the break in that stretch (18-3 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 34-47 in those.
- BU has led at halftime in 134 of 215 games over the last six seasons, and BU is 152-63 since 2011-12.
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 was 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.
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 most-used 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).
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.
DREW ERA HIGHLIGHTS
- Drew is coaching his 457th game at Baylor (277-179). 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 .688 winning percentage (243-110) 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.
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.
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 2007-08, Baylor is 243-110 (24.2 wins per season) and has made nine postseason appearancesà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (NCAA -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017; 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 16 postseason appearances (nine under Drew) and won 20+ games 12 times (nine under Drew) in the program's first 111 seasons.
TWENTY-SIX PRO PLAYERS 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
- Seven of Baylor's eight starting point guards during the Scott Drew era have earned All-Big 12 recognition.
- Manu Lecomte (2017), 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 previous starting point guards in the Drew era went on to play professionally.
BU GETS FOURTH TOP-10 WIN BY KNOCKING OFF NO. 10 WEST VIRGINIA
- BU extended its school record with a fourth top-10 win this season, beating No. 10 West Virginia, 71-62, on Feb. 27.
- The Bears trailed 49-41 with 9 minutes left, but BU went on a 23-4 run to go up by 11 with 2:25 to play.
- Baylor out-rebounded WVU 43-23, helping the Bears overcome 18 turnovers that led to 20 WVU points.
- With Manu Lecomte out with an ankle sprain, Jake Lindsey made his career-first start at point guard and had 6 points and 4 assists in 27 minutes. Wendell Mitchell added 4 points and 2 assists in 19 minutes as backup point guard.
- Johnathan Motley had a game-high 23 points, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Al Freeman added 12 points off the bench.
BEARS KNOCK OFF NO. 7 XAVIER BY 15 POINTS
- Baylor defeated No. 7 Xavier, 76-61, on Dec. 3 for its third top-10 win of the season.
- 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.
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
- If Baylor defeats South Carolina it will advance to its third Elite Eight since 2010.
- The Baylor-South Carolina winner faces the winner of Florida-Wisconsin on Sunday in the East Regional final.
