Baylor
Kansas State
No. 2 MBB Hosts Kansas State in 94th Anniversary Immortal Ten Game
1/26/2021 4:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Bears opened Big 12 play with a 100-69 win at K-State on Dec. 19
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2/2 BAYLOR BEARS (14-0, 7-0) Location: Waco, Texas Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (14-0, 7-0) vs. KANSAS STATE (5-11, 1-7) Jan. 27, 2021 • 8 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: baylorstats.com WATCH: ESPN2 Talent: Rich Hollenberg (pxp), Chris Spatola (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Network | ESPN Central Texas Talent: John Morris (pxp) and Pat Nunley(analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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KANSAS STATE WILDCATS (5-11, 1-7)) Location: Manhattan, Kan. Head Coach: Bruce Weber (Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1978) Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Stuck behind Gonzaga at No. 2 in every poll this season, Baylor coach Scott Drew would love for the Bears to be No. 1, "because when you play, you want to be the best."
"At the same time, we all know the ranking at the end of the year is the one that matters the most," he said.
Besides, the No. 1 priority right now is winning the program's first Big 12 championship and first conference title in 71 years. With Oklahoma's upset of No. 5 Texas, Baylor (14-0, 7-0) has a two-game edge on the Longhorns in the conference race going into Wednesday's 8 p.m. matchup at home against Kansas State (5-11, 1-7).
"I think right now, we're so motivated with our conference and having the chance to win conference. That's the priority when you're in conference play," Drew said.
Junior guard Jared Butler has already had a week to remember, being named the NCAA and USBWA National Player of the Week and Big 12 Player of the Week, along with a top-10 candidate for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year.
The Reserve, La., native scored 30 points in a 77-69 win over No. 9 Kansas in a Big Monday game and added 22 points in the Bears' 81-66 win at Oklahoma State, hitting 13-of-16 from 3-point range in the two games.
"It seems like he saves his best for the biggest games and when his team needs him the most," Drew said. "For some guys, they just rise to the top of their game in the most heated moments. Jared is somebody's who's a humble, hungry teammate that everybody enjoys playing with."
What makes the Bears so tough to defend, though, is a balanced lineup that features seven players averaging at least 6.0 points per game. Butler leads the way with 17.1 points and 5.4 assists per game and a Big 12-best 49.4 percentage from 3-point range, while guards MaCio Teague (14.8 ppg), Davion Mitchell (11.5 ppg, 5.9 assists) and Adam Flagler (10.1 ppg) are all contributing double-digit points.
"If one of our players isn't on, usually there's going to be two or three to pick them up," Drew said. "If you go into a game and you have one or two scorers and you're depending on those guys hitting shots, you're going to have some long nights. But, when you have a lot of different weapons and people that can get 20 points, it really allows you to search and find who's on. We have a team that doesn't mind sharing the sugar and passing to who's open."
Kansas State opened conference with a 74-65 win at Iowa State back on Dec. 15, but has dropped seven in a row in league play, including a 100-69 loss to Baylor on Dec. 19 in Manhattan.
"You definitely shouldn't pay attention to their record," said Baylor sophomore forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, who is averaging 8.8 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game. "I feel like it's going to be a tough game and they're probably going to try to come at us since we're ranked No. 2 and we beat them the first time. I expect it to be a great game."
Guards Mike McGuirl and DaJuan Gordon lead the Wildcats in scoring with 11.9 and 10.3 points, respectively. Davion Bradford, a 7-foot freshman center, averages 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Similar to K-State, Baylor has used a variety of four-guard lineups with Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Flo Thamba or 6-5 senior forward Mark Vital playing with some combination of Butler, Teague, Mitchell, Flagler, freshman LJ Cryer and Matthew Mayer.
"When I'm surrounded by four guards, it's more about me making sure I'm getting the guys open on screens, that I'm setting the best screens possible so we can create gaps in the defense," Tchamwa Tchatchoua said. "Especially when (Oklahoma State) was playing zone, I was trying to set some out picks so that my guys would get open or Jared would have a lane to get to the rim."
Baylor assistant coach John Jakus missed Saturday's game at Oklahoma State because of COVID-19 protocols, Drew said, "so we don't know exactly when he'll be back."
Wednesday's game honors the 94th anniversary of the 1927 Immortal Ten team. The rest of that season was canceled after the team bus was hit by a train while traveling to Austin, killing 10 of the 22 players, coaches and fans in the team travel party. Baylor players will wear the last names of the Immortal Ten on the backs of their jerseys.
The game will be broadcast by ESPN2, with Rich Hollenberg and Chris Spatola calling the action.
Baylor will host Auburn (10-7) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Tigers upset 12th-ranked Missouri, 88-82, Monday night and have won four of their last five games.
STORY LINES
• No. 2 Baylor returns home to host K-State Wednesday in the 94th anniversary Immortal Ten Game.
• Baylor opened Big 12 play with a 100-69 win at K-State on Dec. 19, its 3rd-straight win vs. K-State. The Bears became the first team since 1992 to score 100 points in Manhattan.
• BU swept the season series vs. K-State last season, snapping a 6-game series losing streak. BU looks to sweep K-State in consecutive seasons for the first time since the series became home-and-home in 2012.
• BU hasn't trailed in any of its last 3 games vs. K-State and led by at least 16 points in all 3 games.
• Baylor is 1 of 4 undefeated teams (min. 5 gms) and is the last remaining undefeated Power-5 team.
• BU leads the nation in scoring margin (+24.1) and is top-10 nationally in 3FG% (3rd, 42.6), steals (5th, 9.6), scoring (6th, 86.1), effective FG% (5th, 58.4), offensive rebound pct. (5th, 38.3), assists (9th, 18.3), turnover margin (5th, +6.2), turnovers forced (6th, 18.8) and defensive turnover pct. (4th, 26.5).
• Baylor is the nation's only team to win every game by 8+ points this season.
• BU is the nation's only team top-5 ranked in adjusted offensive (3rd) and defensive (1st) efficiency.
• BU has led by at least 10 points in every game this season and has led by 13+ at halftime in 9 of 14.
• Baylor faced its largest deficit of the season (34-25) in Saturday's win at Oklahoma State, but the Bears out-scored OSU 56-32 after that. BU has trailed for only 44:20 of 560 minutes (7.9%) this season.
• BU can tie the 2nd-longest winning streak to start a season in school history (17 in 2012, 15 in 2017).
• BU looks to start 8-0 in Big 12 play for the 2nd time in program history (first was 13-0 start last season).
• Baylor's 22-3 record in Big 12 play over the last 2 seasons is the league's best record in that span.
• Baylor is 20-1 at home over the last 2 seasons, with the lone loss by 3 points to Kansas on 2/22/20.
• Jared Butler was named National Player of the Week after averaging 26.0 points and 7.0 assists in wins vs. Kansas and at Oklahoma State. He shot 13-of-16 (81.3%) from 3-point range last week.
• Baylor is 40-4 since MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell became eligible at the start of 2019-20.
• BU's bench is out-scoring opposing benches 33-15 on average and has scored 33+ points in 9 games.
• Five Bears are shooting 40% on 3FGs: Butler (49), Flagler (43), Cryer (43), Mitchell (42) & Mayer (41).
• Three members of the BU bench average 8+ ppg – Flagler (10.1), Tchatchoua (8.4) and Mayer (7.9).
• Head coach Scott Drew is in his 18th season in Waco and is BU's all-time wins leader (356-213).
• Baylor is playing its 256th game as a ranked team under Drew – BU was ranked in 2 of 2197 games over the program's 97 seasons prior to Drew. Since 2008-09, BU has been ranked in 253 of 435 games.
• Baylor has been top-5 ranked for 21-straight weeks. BU was top-5 for 12 weeks all-time prior to this streak.
• BU's streak of 30-straight AP polls ranked is the nation's 4th-longest active streak and longest in BU history.
• Baylor has led by at least 5 points in all 44 games over the last 2 seasons (double-digit lead in 38 of 43).
• Baylor's defense has held 6 of its last 11 opponents to season-lows in points-per-possession.
• BU's defense has forced 14+ TOs in 10 of its last 11 games, including 6 games with 20+ TOs forced.
• Baylor joins Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas as the only programs ranked No. 1 in 3 of the last 5 seasons.
• BU is 1 of 5 Power-5 schools (Duke, Kentucky, UNC, Michigan St.) to win 18+ every year since 2008.
IMMORTAL TEN GAME
• BU will honor the 94th anniversary of the 1927 Immortal Ten team. That season was canceled after the team bus was hit by a train while traveling to Austin, killing 10 of 22 players, coaches and fans in the Baylor travel party.
• BU players will wear the last names of the Immortal Ten on the backs of their jerseys.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor's 14-game winning streak is 4th-longest in program history (23 in 2020, 17 in 2012, 15 in 2017).
• BU was picked to win the Big 12 in the league's preseason coaches' poll for the first time.
• Baylor is 63-5 when leading at halftime over the last 4 seasons (33-2 over last 2 seasons, 12-0 this season).
• Baylor has won 90% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (181-21).
• BU is 128-23 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (40-3 last 2 seasons).
• Baylor's 23-game winning streak last season was the longest ever by a Big 12 team (previously 22 by 1996-97 KU).
• BU's 13-game conference winning streak last year was the longest in school history (previously 11 in 1946 SWC).
• Baylor has won 20+ games in 11 of the last 13 seasons after recording only three 20-win seasons in the previous 100 years of Baylor Basketball (1946, 1948, 1988).
• Baylor is 231-97 over the last 10 seasons, averaging 24 wins per season since 2011-12.
• Baylor's 231 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (273).
• Baylor is 322-144 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Eight of Baylor's players either have used or are currently using a redshirt year. Four after transferring to BU – Flagler, Mitchell, Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Teague, and four as freshmen — Moffatt, Turner, Vital and Dainja.
• Nine of Baylor's 10 starting point guards under Drew have earned All-Big recognition (15 of last 16 seasons).
• Baylor is 1 of 14 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (6 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• Baylor has the nation's 10th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 946 straight games — the last time Baylor failed to make a 3-pointer was more than 30 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1990 vs. Texas Tech (0-8).
SERIES HISTORY
• Wednesday is the 45th all-time meeting. K-State leads the series 23-21, but BU leads 20-18 in the Big 12 era.
• Baylor hasn't trailed in any of the last 3 meetings and is looking to tie its longest winning streak in the series.
• Since Big 12 double round-robin play began in 2012, BU has swept the season series three times (2014, 2016, 2020) and K-State has swept three times (2013, 2018, 2019). The teams split in 2012, 2015 and 2017.
• The Bears won 73-67 in Manhattan and 85-66 in Waco last season.
• BU opened 2021 Big 12 play with a 100-69 victory at Kansas State on Dec. 19.
LAST TIME VS. KANSAS STATE
• Despite going 9 days without a game and having only two days of practice before its Big 12 opener at Kansas State, BU rolled to a 100-69 victory on Dec. 19, becoming the first team to score 100 in Manhattan since 1992.
• Two Baylor guards posted double-doubles, with MaCio Teague's 23 points and 10 rebounds and Jared Butler's 14 points and career-high 13 assists. Davion Mitchell added a career-high 20 points.
• Butler's 13 assists were the most in any Big 12 Conference game since Trae Young had 14 at Texas in 2018.
