By KEVIN LONNQUIST
Publisher
Everybody knows the story here. Baylor has never won at the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS. The Bears are 0-12. But in this matchup of two Top 25 teams, the Bears defense is going to have to play very well. Kansas is averaging 87 points per game and shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. Wayne Seldon (14.8) and Perry Ellis (15.1) have become one of the best 1-2 scoring duos in college basketball.
That also means the Bears are going to continues their strong prowess on the glass. Baylor is outrebounding opponents by 11.3 per game. So gaining their fair share of one-and-done possessions will be important. That's where Rico Gathers becomes important. This is also going to be a pretty good test for sophomore forward Johnathan Motley. Last year, he got off to a good start but then faded in Big 12 play. This game will be important for him to see how he has matured.
It's also going to be important for Taurean Prince to find some consistency in his game. Yes, he's averaging a team 15.5 points per game and twice he has set career highs. But there have been other games where he has struggled. This is also where we could see the growth in Al Freeman (13.2 ppg) has been in double figures in nine of 12 games.
Operating the Baylor offense, the 18-game grind for senior point guard Lester Medford begins. He's had a great start running the offense with a near 4-to-1 assists-to-turnover ratio. Now, we'll see how it translates in one of the most hostile environments in college basketball.
Kansas is 24-4 all-time against Baylor and won all three meetings in 2015. If Kansas wins, the Jayhawks likely will move up to No. 1 in the nation. No. 1 Michigan State lost at Iowa earlier in the week.
STORYLINES
• Saturday’s game will be televised on CBS, Baylor’s 150th straight televised game.
• Saturday will be the 29th series meeting. BU is 4-24 all-time vs. Kansas, including an 0-13 mark in Lawrence.
• Baylor is 8-7 against top-25 ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
• Baylor is 0-13 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP Top 25.
• Baylor leads the nation in assists/game (1st, 22.7) and ranks top-10 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (5th, 1.84), offensive rebound percentage (5th, 42.2), steal percentage (7th, 12.4) and rebound margin (10th, +11.3).
• Baylor is 1 of 5 teams ranked in the nation’s top 40 in scoring offense and scoring defense, joining Louisville, Pittsburgh, SMU and West Virginia. BU ranks 39th in scoring offense (81.8) and 32nd in scoring defense (63.2).
• Baylor is ranked No. 23 by the AP and No. 21 in the coaches poll. BU has been ranked for 20 consecutive polls.
• Baylor, Michigan State and Oklahoma are the only schools AP-ranked in football and men’s and women’s basketball.
• Baylor has a .711 winning percentage over the last four-plus seasons (113-46).
• Baylor hasn’t allowed more than 80 points in 61 consecutive games, the Big 12’s longest active streak.
• Baylor has held opponents under 75 points in 56 of its last 57 games, and BU is 42-15 in that stretch.
• Baylor is 73-63 in Big 12 play since 2007-08 after going 45-131 in the league’s first 11 years.
• Scott Drew has coached 400 games at Baylor (238-162). His .595 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .687 winning percentage since 2007-08.
• Drew, Fred Hoiberg, Travis Ford and Tom Izzo are the only coaches to beat Kansas 3 times since 2008-09.
• Rico Gathers became Baylor’s 29th 1,000-point scorer in the New Mexico State game. He already holds the school record with 979 career rebounds, and his 30 career double-doubles are 4 back of the school record.
• Taurean Prince has scored in double figures in 26 of the last 30 games and ranks 3rd in the Big 12 with 15.5 ppg.
• Al Freeman has scored in double figures in 9 of 12 games this season — he had 7 double-digit scoring games last year.
• Lester Medford has 18 career starts at point guard and has 117 assists and 29 turnovers in those games (4.0 A-T ratio).
• Medford, who has 57 assists and 7 turnovers in his last 7 games, is the nation’s only player ranked in the top-20 nationally in assists per game (10th, 6.8), steals per game (10th, 2.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (12th, 3.9).
• Ishmail Wainright has scored more points in the last 5 games (46) than all of last season (42).
• Jake Lindsey has 34 assists and 7 turnovers, and his 4.86 A-T ratio ranks 2nd among Big 12 players (min. 2.0 apg).
QUICK HITS
• Sophomores Johnathan Motley and Terry Maston and freshman King McClure combine to average 20.5 points per game off the bench. They’ve accounted for 84 percent of Baylor’s bench scoring (246 of 294 points).
• Baylor is 46-15 in its last 61 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Thirteen of the 15 losses have been away from home (8 road, 5 neutral) and 10 of the losses have been against ranked teams.
• Baylor is 315-72 in football and men’s and women’s basketball since 2011-12, the nation’s best record in that span.
• Baylor is 204-93 (24 wins per season) over the last 8-plus seasons and has made 7 postseason appearances (NCAA Tournament — 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015; NIT — 2009, 2013).
• Baylor’s 17-5 postseason record since 2009 is the nation’s 4th-best among teams with 3+ NCAA appearances.
• Baylor is one of only 14 schools nationally to play in the Sweet 16 in 3 of the last 6 seasons.
• Baylor made back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history in 2014 and 2015.
• Baylor is 92-11 when leading at the half over the last four seasons, including 10-0 this season.
• BU has won 38% of its games (21-35) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 0-2 this season.
• Baylor is 38-22 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
• Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last nine seasons.
• Baylor was picked 5th in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, behind Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Texas.
• Drew is tied with Kansas’ Bill Self as the longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference (13th seasons).
• Baylor is 28-12 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last seven seasons.
• Baylor’s 5 NBA Draft picks in the last 4 years ranks 8th nationally behind Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, Arizona, North Carolina and UCLA.
• Baylor has the Big 12’s 2nd-longest active streak (16th-longest nationally) with at least one 3-point FG made in 778 consecutive games. The last time BU didn’t make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs. Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 29th all-time series meeting between Baylor and Kansas. Baylor trails 4-24 in the series.
• Baylor is 0-13 all-time at Allen Fieldhouse, which is the only Big 12 arena where the Bears are winless.
• Baylor was the nation’s only team to defeat Kansas in both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
• The Bears’ other two wins vs. KU were on Feb. 12, 2001 in Waco and March 12, 2009 in Oklahoma City.
• Scott Drew, Fred Hoiberg, Travis Ford and Tom Izzo are the only coaches to beat Kansas 3 times since 2008-09.
LAST SEASON VS. KANSAS
• Baylor lost all three meetings against Kansas: 56-55 in Waco on Jan. 7, 74-64 in Lawrence on Feb. 14 and 62-52 in Kansas City on March 13.
• Baylor held Kansas to an average of 23.7 first-half points in those three meetings. KU averaged 34.5 first-half points in its 33 games against other opponents.
• BU had a 22-18 halftime lead in Waco and a 33-27 halftime lead in Lawrence, but trailed 26-18 at half in Kansas City.
• The Bears shot 35 percent as a team against KU and averaged 9.7 assists with 12.7 turnovers per game.
• Six of the eight BU players to play against Kansas last season are back this season. Only graduating seniors Kenny Chery (20.7 ppg vs. KU) and Royce O’Neale (5.3 ppg vs. KU) did not return.
• Rico Gathers averaged 12.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in three games against Kansas last season.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Baylor’s first-ever win over a team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP Top 25 (0-13 entering Saturday).
• Be Baylor’s first-ever win at Allen Fieldhouse (0-13 entering Saturday), giving BU a victory in every Big 12 arena.
• Make Baylor 5-24 all-time vs. Kansas, including a 4-10 mark in the last 14 series meetings.
• Give Baylor an 11-2 or better start to the season for the 7th time in the last 9 years.
• Give Baylor a 47-15 record over its last 62 games
• Make Baylor 47-51 in January games under Drew, including a 20-17 record when ranked in the AP poll.
• Give Baylor a 114-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 205-93 since 2007-08.
Publisher
Everybody knows the story here. Baylor has never won at the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS. The Bears are 0-12. But in this matchup of two Top 25 teams, the Bears defense is going to have to play very well. Kansas is averaging 87 points per game and shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. Wayne Seldon (14.8) and Perry Ellis (15.1) have become one of the best 1-2 scoring duos in college basketball.
That also means the Bears are going to continues their strong prowess on the glass. Baylor is outrebounding opponents by 11.3 per game. So gaining their fair share of one-and-done possessions will be important. That's where Rico Gathers becomes important. This is also going to be a pretty good test for sophomore forward Johnathan Motley. Last year, he got off to a good start but then faded in Big 12 play. This game will be important for him to see how he has matured.
It's also going to be important for Taurean Prince to find some consistency in his game. Yes, he's averaging a team 15.5 points per game and twice he has set career highs. But there have been other games where he has struggled. This is also where we could see the growth in Al Freeman (13.2 ppg) has been in double figures in nine of 12 games.
Operating the Baylor offense, the 18-game grind for senior point guard Lester Medford begins. He's had a great start running the offense with a near 4-to-1 assists-to-turnover ratio. Now, we'll see how it translates in one of the most hostile environments in college basketball.
Kansas is 24-4 all-time against Baylor and won all three meetings in 2015. If Kansas wins, the Jayhawks likely will move up to No. 1 in the nation. No. 1 Michigan State lost at Iowa earlier in the week.
STORYLINES
• Saturday’s game will be televised on CBS, Baylor’s 150th straight televised game.
• Saturday will be the 29th series meeting. BU is 4-24 all-time vs. Kansas, including an 0-13 mark in Lawrence.
• Baylor is 8-7 against top-25 ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season.
• Baylor is 0-13 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP Top 25.
• Baylor leads the nation in assists/game (1st, 22.7) and ranks top-10 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (5th, 1.84), offensive rebound percentage (5th, 42.2), steal percentage (7th, 12.4) and rebound margin (10th, +11.3).
• Baylor is 1 of 5 teams ranked in the nation’s top 40 in scoring offense and scoring defense, joining Louisville, Pittsburgh, SMU and West Virginia. BU ranks 39th in scoring offense (81.8) and 32nd in scoring defense (63.2).
• Baylor is ranked No. 23 by the AP and No. 21 in the coaches poll. BU has been ranked for 20 consecutive polls.
• Baylor, Michigan State and Oklahoma are the only schools AP-ranked in football and men’s and women’s basketball.
• Baylor has a .711 winning percentage over the last four-plus seasons (113-46).
• Baylor hasn’t allowed more than 80 points in 61 consecutive games, the Big 12’s longest active streak.
• Baylor has held opponents under 75 points in 56 of its last 57 games, and BU is 42-15 in that stretch.
• Baylor is 73-63 in Big 12 play since 2007-08 after going 45-131 in the league’s first 11 years.
• Scott Drew has coached 400 games at Baylor (238-162). His .595 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .687 winning percentage since 2007-08.
• Drew, Fred Hoiberg, Travis Ford and Tom Izzo are the only coaches to beat Kansas 3 times since 2008-09.
• Rico Gathers became Baylor’s 29th 1,000-point scorer in the New Mexico State game. He already holds the school record with 979 career rebounds, and his 30 career double-doubles are 4 back of the school record.
• Taurean Prince has scored in double figures in 26 of the last 30 games and ranks 3rd in the Big 12 with 15.5 ppg.
• Al Freeman has scored in double figures in 9 of 12 games this season — he had 7 double-digit scoring games last year.
• Lester Medford has 18 career starts at point guard and has 117 assists and 29 turnovers in those games (4.0 A-T ratio).
• Medford, who has 57 assists and 7 turnovers in his last 7 games, is the nation’s only player ranked in the top-20 nationally in assists per game (10th, 6.8), steals per game (10th, 2.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (12th, 3.9).
• Ishmail Wainright has scored more points in the last 5 games (46) than all of last season (42).
• Jake Lindsey has 34 assists and 7 turnovers, and his 4.86 A-T ratio ranks 2nd among Big 12 players (min. 2.0 apg).
QUICK HITS
• Sophomores Johnathan Motley and Terry Maston and freshman King McClure combine to average 20.5 points per game off the bench. They’ve accounted for 84 percent of Baylor’s bench scoring (246 of 294 points).
• Baylor is 46-15 in its last 61 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Thirteen of the 15 losses have been away from home (8 road, 5 neutral) and 10 of the losses have been against ranked teams.
• Baylor is 315-72 in football and men’s and women’s basketball since 2011-12, the nation’s best record in that span.
• Baylor is 204-93 (24 wins per season) over the last 8-plus seasons and has made 7 postseason appearances (NCAA Tournament — 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015; NIT — 2009, 2013).
• Baylor’s 17-5 postseason record since 2009 is the nation’s 4th-best among teams with 3+ NCAA appearances.
• Baylor is one of only 14 schools nationally to play in the Sweet 16 in 3 of the last 6 seasons.
• Baylor made back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history in 2014 and 2015.
• Baylor is 92-11 when leading at the half over the last four seasons, including 10-0 this season.
• BU has won 38% of its games (21-35) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 0-2 this season.
• Baylor is 38-22 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-2 in overtime games since 2008-09.
• Baylor is one of 13 teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last nine seasons.
• Baylor was picked 5th in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, behind Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Texas.
• Drew is tied with Kansas’ Bill Self as the longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference (13th seasons).
• Baylor is 28-12 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last seven seasons.
• Baylor’s 5 NBA Draft picks in the last 4 years ranks 8th nationally behind Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, Arizona, North Carolina and UCLA.
• Baylor has the Big 12’s 2nd-longest active streak (16th-longest nationally) with at least one 3-point FG made in 778 consecutive games. The last time BU didn’t make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs. Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 29th all-time series meeting between Baylor and Kansas. Baylor trails 4-24 in the series.
• Baylor is 0-13 all-time at Allen Fieldhouse, which is the only Big 12 arena where the Bears are winless.
• Baylor was the nation’s only team to defeat Kansas in both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
• The Bears’ other two wins vs. KU were on Feb. 12, 2001 in Waco and March 12, 2009 in Oklahoma City.
• Scott Drew, Fred Hoiberg, Travis Ford and Tom Izzo are the only coaches to beat Kansas 3 times since 2008-09.
LAST SEASON VS. KANSAS
• Baylor lost all three meetings against Kansas: 56-55 in Waco on Jan. 7, 74-64 in Lawrence on Feb. 14 and 62-52 in Kansas City on March 13.
• Baylor held Kansas to an average of 23.7 first-half points in those three meetings. KU averaged 34.5 first-half points in its 33 games against other opponents.
• BU had a 22-18 halftime lead in Waco and a 33-27 halftime lead in Lawrence, but trailed 26-18 at half in Kansas City.
• The Bears shot 35 percent as a team against KU and averaged 9.7 assists with 12.7 turnovers per game.
• Six of the eight BU players to play against Kansas last season are back this season. Only graduating seniors Kenny Chery (20.7 ppg vs. KU) and Royce O’Neale (5.3 ppg vs. KU) did not return.
• Rico Gathers averaged 12.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in three games against Kansas last season.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Baylor’s first-ever win over a team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP Top 25 (0-13 entering Saturday).
• Be Baylor’s first-ever win at Allen Fieldhouse (0-13 entering Saturday), giving BU a victory in every Big 12 arena.
• Make Baylor 5-24 all-time vs. Kansas, including a 4-10 mark in the last 14 series meetings.
• Give Baylor an 11-2 or better start to the season for the 7th time in the last 9 years.
• Give Baylor a 47-15 record over its last 62 games
• Make Baylor 47-51 in January games under Drew, including a 20-17 record when ranked in the AP poll.
• Give Baylor a 114-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 205-93 since 2007-08.
