Baylor
Texas
No. 9 MBB Makes Final Trip to Austin For Big 12 Battle with Texas
1/19/2024 11:32:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BU owns a 13-2 record in its last 15 games against Texas
 |
9/9 BAYLOR BEARS (14-3, 3-1 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
9/9 BAYLOR (14-3, 3-1 Big 12) vs. TEXAS (12-5, 1-3 Big 12) Jan. 20, 2024 • 11:00 a.m. CT Austin, Texas • The Moody Center (10,763) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN Talent: Dan Shulman(pxp), Jay Bilas (analyst), Jess Sims (Reporter) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via ESPN 1660 AM / 92.3 FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com Talent: John Morris (PBP), Pat Nunley (Analyst) National Radio: ESPN Radio Talent: Mike Couzens (PxP), Bob Valvano (Analyst) SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 199 or on the SXM App Baylor Social Media:    |
 |
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS (12-5, 1-3 Big 12) Location: Austin, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Rodney Terry (St. Edwards, 1990) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Still newcomers to a Big 12 Conference that features eight top-25 teams, Baylor freshmen Ja'Kobe Walter and Yves Missi are quick studies on just what a grind this league can be.
"That it'll never be easy. Every game is going to be a battle," said Walter, who is averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game going into Saturday's 11 a.m. matchup at the Moody Center in Austin between the ninth-ranked Bears (14-3, 3-1) and Texas Longhorns (12-5, 1-3).
"Every game, we've had to lock in every possession. And like Coach (Scott) Drew was saying, it'll always come down to maybe one or two possessions. We've played in a lot of close games up to this point, so I've definitely learned that this conference is not going to be easy and every day is going to be a grind."
Tuesday's game at Kansas State was a 45-minute "grind," with the Bears shooting a dismal 17.9% (5-of-28) and missing 10 of 19 free throws in a 68-64 loss to the Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum.
"Our goal is to do everything we can do so they're not a one-possession game," said Drew, whose team has won 13 of the last 15 games versus Texas, including a 6-2 mark in Austin. "Obviously, shooting 47% from the free throw line doesn't help with that.
"Short-term memory in this league. On to the next game. Take what you did well, improve what areas you've got to get better at. Obviously, the best thing as a coach is if you have players that want to get better themselves, that are self-motivated. We had a lot of them that spent time shooting extra free throws. That's the way you get better, because it's a confidence thing."
Missi, a 7-footer averaging 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds, was one of the players who put up some extra shots. He was 3-for-7 from the line against Kansas State and has hit just 48.5% for the year, the only player on the team shooting below 63.3%.
"After the game, I came back and shot a lot of free throws. I don't even know how many," he said. "I also did that (Thursday). I'm just going to keep going until I fix it. It's something I need to fix, and I know that's one thing I need to improve to be able to help the rest of the team."
Like Walter, Missi has learned that the Big 12 is a "physical league, and you've got to bring it every night."
"Some nights won't be your night," he said. "So, if it's not, just try to do everything you can to help your teammates and help your team. If you play bad, you have the opportunity to play another game and try to get the best out of you."
Going into conference play, the Bears were shooting a nation-leading 44.8% from 3-point range, knocking down 129-of-288. But in the four league games, they are just a shade over 25%, hitting 22-of-86.
"There's definitely a fine line," Drew said. "I think as a coach, if we're getting the right shots for the right players, then we're doing our job, and we'll let the chips fall where they may. That's part of playing better competition in conference when they're scouted, tendencies are more scouted. You don't get as many good looks to get your confidence going.
"I've got to do a better job helping our guys get some easy ones. And we've got to do a better job as a team being patient to get the right ones. Because against good defenses, it's just not going to happen."
Ranked as high as No. 12 earlier in the season, the Longhorns have dropped three of their first four in conference, including home games to Texas Tech and UCF.
"I think in this league, everybody could be 3-1 or 1-3," Drew said. "That's why you have eight in the top-25 and each and every night you have so many one-possession games. And anything can happen in a one-possession game. Texas, we know (they're) well-coached, talented players, a team that made a deep run last year, and a very tough place to play with the new facility."
A grad transfer from Oral Roberts, where he was the Summit League Player of the Year, Texas guard Max Abmas passed the legendary Larry Bird (Indiana State) to move into the No. 17 spot on the NCAA all-time scoring list with 2,865 career points. This year, he is averaging 17.7 points and 4.3 assists.
Drew said former Baylor assistant Paul Mills, who coached Abmas at ORU and is now at Wichita State, "loves Max to death and was really proud of him with his couple of game-winners this year and what he's accomplished."
"I think he's the leading (active) scorer in college basketball right now, as far as the history books," Drew said. "But we've talked about Max. I recruited him, so I knew about him back then, too."
Although Texas has dominated the all-time series, 164-97, Baylor is 23-9 since breaking a 24-game losing streak versus the Longhorns and has won six of the last eight meetings in Austin. UT and Oklahoma are both moving to the SEC at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
"I know it's been a great rivalry and something that I'm sure us and Texas will find ways to play in the future," Drew said, "because it's good for the state. . . . As we got more and more competitive, it really made for a great rivalry that really bolstered the state. I think our players being role models and great ambassadors to the sport have helped basketball grow in the state."
Saturday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Jess Sims calling the action.
Story lines
• No. 9/9 Baylor travels to Austin for its final regular-season meeting as conference foes against Texas at The Moody Center.
• The Bears are third in the nation in 3-point FG% (40.4), rank fifth in nation in offensive efficiency (120.3) and second in the Big 12 in points per game (84.8).
• Saturday is the 262nd series meeting – the most-played rivalry in Baylor history dating back 108 years.
• BU enters this match-up with a 21-22 record against Texas under Scott Drew.
• Baylor is 13-2 in its last 15 games vs. Texas since Feb. 20, 2016 (6-0 in Waco, 6-2 in Austin, 1-0 in KC).
• BU is 23-9 vs. Texas since snapping a 24-game series losing streak at the 2009 Big 12 Championship.
• Baylor is 6-2 in Austin since 2016 with its only losses coming in 2019 and 2023. BU was 28-88 in Austin prior to that.
• In the last meeting, Baylor erased a 14-point first-half lead by No. 8 Texas, on the strength of an 18-0 run, to down the Horns 81-72 for a sixth-straight-win over Texas in Waco.
• In the last meeting in Austin, Keyonte George got BU within one point with 50 seconds to play, before Texas scored the final four points to seal the win in the first meeting between the two programs at The Moody Center.
• Baylor is 81-22 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, and the Bears have advanced deeper into postseason play than any of Texas' 23 Division I teams in five of the last ten seasons.
• Baylor is 68-50 in Big 12 road games since 2012, second-best in the league behind only Kansas (74-45).
• Baylor's 309-120 record since 2011-12 trails only Kansas (348-88) among Big 12 teams.
• The Bears have now been ranked in the top-10 for a fifth-straight year, one of just four programs (Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas) to accomplish that feat.
• Ranked in the AP Top-25 for 20-straight weeks, BU is riding the nation's eighth-longest active streak and the third-longest in the Big 12 (Houston 75, Kansas 54).
• Last time out, Baylor dropped its first game in Big 12 play in a 68-64 overtime loss at Kansas State.
• Langston Love had a team-high 15 points off the bench, leading the Bears in scoring for the second-straight game.
• Love is averaging 15.3 points per game in Big 12 play, most in the league among players who do not start.
• BU has had six players win Big 12 Sixth-Man of the Year, no other conference school has more than two.
• Despite its lowest offensive output of the season, the Bears improved to 3-0 with a 62-59 win over Cincinnati to remain unbeaten at Foster Pavilion.
• The Bears beat BYU 81-72 in the conference home opener, building on their nations-best 28-12 record against vs. AP top-25 teams over the last five years.
• Trailing by as many as nine with 17:19 to play in the second half, BU used a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to take back the lead and were able to hold off the Cougars down the stretch.
• In the conference opener, BU outlasted a feisty Oklahoma State squad 75-70 in overtime for its ninth-straight win at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• Despite only hitting two three-pointers, the nation's leading 3-point shooting team out-rebounded the Pokes on the offensive glass 16-5, giving them a 12-6 advantage in second-chance points.
