Baylor
Stephen F. Austin
MBB Opens Three-Game Homestand Against SFA
12/17/2018 2:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bears and Lumberjacks tip off at 7:35 p.m. CT on FSSW-Alternate
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BAYLOR BEARS (6-3) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
BAYLOR (6-3) VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (5-4) December 18, 2018 • 7:35 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: FSSW-Alternate | Fox Sports Go Talent: John Morris (pbp) & Jim Haller (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor-IMG College / ESPN Central Texas Talent: Dave Rosselli (pxp), Pat Nunley (analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LUMBERJACKS (5-4) Location: Nacogdoches, Texas Conference: Southland Head Coach: Kyle Keller (Oklahoma State, 1990) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Scott Drew remembers all too well what happened the last time Baylor ended a long home-court winning streak. The last thing he wants to see is history repeat itself.
Six years ago, Baylor snapped Kentucky's 55-game home winning streak by beating the Wildcats, 64-55, handing coach John Calipari his first loss at Rupp Arena. Three nights later, the Bears lost at home to Northwestern, 74-70.
In an eerily similar scenario, Baylor (6-3) hosts Stephen F. Austin (5-4) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Ferrell Center, three days after ending Arizona's 52-game non-conference winning streak at the McKale Center by beating the Wildcats, 58-49.
"It's important to build off of it from the standpoint that you're only as good as your last game," Drew said. "We have to be ready to go. It's a quick turnaround. We traveled all day (Sunday) and got back last evening, so we're excited to get to practice today."
In Saturday's road win, grad transfer Makai Mason scored a season-high 22 points, Mario Kegler added 13 and the Bears dominated the boards, 51-19, behind sophomore forward Mark Vitals career-high 17 rebounds.
"Mark Vital is a beat," senior guard King McClure said. "It's really hard to keep him off the boards. He's huge for our team. Just how hard he crashes, he tries to get every board. When you see somebody doing that, you can't let him do it by himself. It's contagious. So, when he does it, everybody wants to do it."
Drew said the 6-foot-5 Vital "sets the tone for most of our toughness thing, but it was a whole-team mindset that we were going to try to be a lot more physical."
During the two weeks of practice leading up to the Saturday game at Arizona, "we focused on hitting the defensive glass and making sure we're the most physical team out there," freshman guard Jared Butler said. "Before the game, Coach Drew was like, 'I know we're going to be the most physical team. We're going to hit, box out and get rebounds.' That's what we focused on, that's what we got better at and that's what we showed."
Over the last decade, SFA has posted more wins (247) and a better winning percentage (75.3) than any other Division I program in the state of Texas. Kyle Keller, a former assistant at Texas A&M, Kansas and Oklahoma, is 51-26 in his third season with the Lumberjacks and led them to the NCAA tournament last year.
"It's a team that, physically, they're as big and strong as anybody you'll see," Drew said. "First of all, they're well-coached. They don't beat themselves, they have very good players and they're a very tough team."
Senior guard Shannon Bogues, a second-year transfer from MCC, leads the 'Jacks with 16.8 points per game. Junior guard Kevon Harris is averaging 13.0 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds, while 6-8 grad transfer Davonte Fitzgerald checks in at 12.7 points per game after previous stops at Minnesota and Texas A&M.
Drew said Bogues, a Killeen, Texas, native, is "somebody that could definitely be playing for anyone in the country, and his numbers show that."
Mason, a grad transfer from Yale who's averaging a team-best 14.7 points per game, is "getting better condition-wise and better chemistry-wise with the guys," Drew said.
"We're hoping one day people can see him fully healthy," he said, "because we know what he can do when he's fully healthy. . . . We had seen it up close and personal in the NCAA tournament. And more importantly, we had seen it in scout before that. We had seen it when he played at Duke, SMU, USC that year. Again, it will be nice one day when he's fully healthy."
The 6-7 Kegler, a sophomore transfer from Mississippi State who sat out last season, is averaging 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds since coming b ack from a six-game suspension.
"He's definitely someone else that's starting to get his rhythm now, starting to get his game conditioning, his sea legs under him, and the team's starting to get a chemistry with him," Drew said. "That's why the last week of practice was valuable to him. . . . There's only one way to simulate the excitement you feel and the adrenaline you feel in a game, and that's in a game."
After playing four of its last five games on the road, Baylor plays its next three at home with SFA on Tuesday, Oregon (7-3) at 6 p.m. Friday and New Orleans (4-4) the following Saturday, Dec. 29.
"We can't just be excited about the last win and come out and play flat (Tuesday)," McClure said. "We have to play with the same energy and intensity, the same defense and the same rebounding that we brought to Arizona, and get better and even do it at the next level so we'll continue to grow."
STORY LINES
• Baylor returns to Waco to begin a stretch of 3 straight home games before opening Big 12 play.
• BU hosts SFA at 7:35 p.m. CT Tuesday. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest-Alternate.
• Baylor and Stephen F. Austin are meeting for the 17th time. BU leads the series 10-6 (5-2 in Waco).
• Scott Drew is in his 16th season in Waco and is the Bears' all-time wins leader (302-198).
• BU is coming off a 58-49 win at Arizona. The Bears out-rebounded UA 51-19 and BU became the first team to hold Arizona below 50 points since Feb. 26, 2011 – breaking a streak of 271 games scoring 50+ points.
• The win at Arizona snapped the Wildcats 52-game non-conference home winning streak.
• BU was the first team to hold Arizona below 50 points since 2011 and the first in Tucson since 2009.
• BU has used 9 different starters in its first 9 games, including 4 players making their first DI starts.
• Baylor returned 3 letterwinners from last year's team, the nation's fewest among Power-5 teams.
• King McClure is the lone returning senior, while Tristan Clark and Mark Vital are back as sophomores.
• BU added 9 newcomers for 2018-19, including 5 transfers (two Division I, two JuCo, one Division III).
• Makai Mason is the first grad transfer in program history after graduating from Yale in May.
• Mario Kegler (Mississippi State) and Freddie Gillespie (Carleton) are eligible after sitting out 2017-18.
• Darius Allen (Palm Beach State) and Devonte Bandoo (Hutchinson) joined the Bears as JuCo transfers.
• BU also added prep players Jared Butler, Matthew Mayer, Flo Thamba and Jackson Moffatt.
• Clark leads the nation with a .762 field goal percentage, averaging just 1.6 missed shots per game.
• McClure has scored 20+ points 3 times this season after doing so in 1 of 100 games over his first 3 years.
• Kegler went 629 days between games before making his BU debut on Nov. 27.
• Drew is 1 of 17 Division I coaches with 300+ wins at his current school (1 of 9 in Power-5 conferences).
• Baylor is 56-3 in its last 59 non-conference home games dating back to Dec. 12, 2012.
• Baylor is 30-4 in home games against unranked opponents since 2016-17.
• Baylor is 121-15 in non-conference home games in the Drew era, including 95-7 since 2007-08.
• Baylor is 56-13 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• BU is 29-1 in December games against unranked opponents dating back to 2013. The Bears' only loss against an unranked team in that span was Dec. 1 at Wichita State.
• Baylor is 42-3 in regular-season non-conference games against unranked teams since December 2014.
• Baylor is 32-8 in games against non-Big 12 teams over the last 3 seasons since 2016-17.
• Baylor is 1 of 16 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (5 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• Baylor is 19-1 when leading at halftime since the start of the 2017-18 season (4-1 this season).
• Drew is coaching his 501st game at Baylor (302-198). His .604 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 40+ games, and his teams have a .675 winning percentage since 2007-08 (268-129).
• BU is 74-16 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (19-6 last year).
• Baylor has posted a combined 143-32 record in November and December games during the Drew era, including a 61-10 mark in November and December games since 2013.
• Baylor is one of nine teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 11 seasons dating back to 2007-08 – Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
• BU is 103-86 in Big 12 play in 11 seasons since 2008 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 seasons.
• BU is 38-67 against AP-ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first 4 rebuilding seasons.
• Baylor has defeated 6 top-10 teams in the last two seasons entering 2018-19.
• Baylor is 11-21 against AP Top 10 teams since March 2012. BU started the Drew era 1-26 vs. top-10.
• Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (137-17).
• BU has recorded double-digit non-conference wins in 11 of the last 12 seasons (all except 2012-13).
• Baylor is 177-82 over the last 7 seasons, averaging 24.4 wins per season since 2012.
• Baylor's 177 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (219).
• Baylor is 268-129 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Baylor has the nation's 11th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 878 straight games.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Drew is in his 16th season at Baylor and is the school's all-time wins leader (301).
• Baylor is one of nine teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 11 seasons dating back to 2007-08 – Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
• 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 Baylor players have been selected in the last six NBA Drafts, 10th-most nationally.
• In Drew's first 15 seasons at Baylor, 38 players have gone on to professional careers.
• Drew (48) is the youngest of 11 coaches to take his current program to four Sweet 16s since 2010.
• The Bears have advanced to postseason play in a school-record seven straight seasons (5 NCAA, 2 NIT).
• BU is 20-4 in regular-season tournaments since 2013-14, including wins in 14 of its last 15 games.
• Drew has won 20+ games in nine of the last 11 years — the Bears had 3 seasons of 20+ wins prior to his arrival.
DREW ERA HIGHLIGHTS
• Drew is coaching his 501st game at Baylor (302-198). His .604 winning percentage is best in BU history, and he's the program's all-time wins leader by 101 victories over the next closest coach.
• Baylor has a .675 winning percentage (268-129) since Drew's first year with no scholarship restrictions in 2007-08 and a .683 winning percentage (177-82) over the last 7 seasons since 2011-12.
• In Drew's 16 seasons as Baylor head coach, BU has been ranked in 211 of 500 games. Prior to Drew, BU was ranked in 2 of 2,197 games over 97 seasons. In 10 seasons since 2008-09, BU has been ranked in 208 of 365 games.
• BU has graduated 91 percent of its scholarship seniors since Drew took over in 2003 (31 of 34).
• In Drew's first 15 seasons at Baylor, 38 players have gone on to professional careers.
• Baylor has won 5 tournament titles under Drew — 2007 Paradise Jam, 2011 Las Vegas Classic, 2013 Postseason NIT, 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis and 2017 Hall of Fame Classic. BU is 20-4 in regular-season tournaments since 2013-14.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Scott Drew's 303rd win at Baylor, 102 more than any coach in program history.
• Make Baylor 33-8 in games against non-Big 12 teams since 2016-17.
• Make Baylor 144-32 in November/December games under Drew, including 72-18 in December games.
• Improve BU's record to 75-38 during King McClure's 4-year career and 72-38 in games McClure has played.
• Make Baylor 43-3 in its last 46 non-conference games against unranked teams.
• Improve Baylor to 57-3 in its last 60 non-conference home games, 57-13 against in-state opponents since 2011-12, 122-15 in non-conference home games in the Drew era and 31-4 in home games vs. unranked teams since 2016-17.
CLARK EFFICIENT ON BOTH ENDS
• Sophomore forward Tristan Clark leads the nation with a .762 field goal percentage, which is more than 5% better than the next closest player (Dayton's Obi Toppin at .710). Clark is averaging just 1.6 missed field goals per game.
• Clark also ranks 3rd in the Big 12 and 15th nationally with 2.7 blocks per game, and with 24 blocks through 9 games, he's nearly surpassed last season's blocked shots total (29 blocks in 33 games).
• Clark's 24 blocked shots are more than 60 Division I teams (thru Dec. 16), and he's blocked multiple shots in 8 of 9 games this season after doing so in 9 of 33 games as a freshman last season.
MCCLURE LEADING AS LONE RETURNING SENIOR
• Senior King McClure, Baylor's lone player with 3+ years in the program, has taken his game to a new level this season. He's averaging 12.1 points per game, up 4.0 points from last year's 8.1 ppg average.
• McClure is shooting 47% from the field (up 8% from last year), 42% from 3-point range (up 7%), has more than doubled his rebounding average to 5.4 rpg (up from 2.5 rpg) and is averaging 2.9 assists per game (up from 1.7 apg).
• McClure has posted 20+ points 3 times this season after doing so in 1 of 100 games over his first 3 years.
• McClure set a program record for rebounds by a guard when he grabbed 14 boards against George Mason (11/24).
MASON BATTLING THROUGH INJURED ANKLE
• Makai Mason has started the last 6 games after missing the majority of the previous 2+ seasons due to injury.
• Mason played in only 1 game over his last two seasons at Yale before joining the Bears as a grad transfer. He also missed the first 3 games at Baylor with an ankle injury before debuting as the first grad transfer in program history on Nov. 16.
• Mason leads the team with 14.7 points per game and ranks 2nd with 2.3 assists per game.
• Mason led the Bears to a huge road win at Arizona (12/15) with a game-high 22 points and career-high 7 rebounds.
• He has scored 9+ points in all 6 games played, including 3 games with 18+ points.
IMPRESSIVE NON-CONFERENCE NUMBERS AT HOME
• Baylor is 56-3 in its last 59 non-conference home games dating back to Dec. 12, 2012.
• Baylor is 30-4 in home games against unranked opponents since 2016-17 (losses vs. K-State (2), Miss. St, Texas So.).
• Baylor is 121-15 in non-conference home games in the Drew era, including 95-7 since 2007-08.
• Tuesday's game is the 17th series meeting between Baylor and Stephen F. Austin in a series that dates back to the 1930-31 season. Baylor leads the series 10-6, including a 5-2 mark in Waco and a 2-1 record in the Drew era.
• Baylor and SFA last met on Nov. 13, 2015, when the No. 22-ranked Bears rolled to a 97-55 victory in Waco.
• Baylor is 50-13 all-time against current Southland Conference teams. The Bears have faced 10 Southland teams: SFA (10-6), Sam Houston State (9-3), Lamar (10-1), Northwestern State (8-1), Abilene Christian (3-1), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-1), McNeese State (3-0), Southeastern Louisiana (2-0), Nicholls State (1-0) and Central Arkansas (1-0).
BAYLOR SNAPS ARIZONA'S 52-GAME NON-CONFERENCE HOME WINNING STREAK
• An incredible rebounding effort helped the Bears record a marquee non-conference road win at Arizona, snapping the Wildcats' 52-game non-conference home winning streak with a 58-49 win on Dec. 15 in Tucson.
• Baylor became the first team to hold Arizona below 50 points since 2011 and the first to do so in Tucson since 2009.
• BU out-rebounded Arizona 51-19, and Mark Vital's 17 rebounds were 3 more than all 9 Arizona players combined (14 player rebounds, 5 team rebounds). The Bears had 19 offensive rebounds and led 19-2 in second-chance points.
• Makai Mason posted a game-high 22 points and a career-best 7 rebounds to lead the Bears to victory.
