This is a game involving two teams heading to the NCAA tournament. West Virginia is enjoying a nice bounce back year under Bob Huggins and featured a last-second 62-61 win over Kansas two weeks ago.
Meanwhile the Bears are rolling with three consecutive wins including a historic 79-70 decision at Iowa State, their first in school history. The Baylor offense has been really efficient with five players in double figures in each of the last two games.
The Mountaineers still have a chance to earn at least a share of the Big 12 title as they trail Kansas (11-4) by one game. They are tied for second with Iowa State and Oklahoma. Baylor is all alone in fifth place, two games clear of Oklahoma State. If the season ended today, the Bears would be in the 4-5 game and in the 1-seed's side of the Big 12 postseason tournament tournament.
Baylor erupted in Morgantown three weeks ago when it shot 54.9 percent, easily handled West Virginia's pressure and won going away, 87-69. It appears Kenny Chery is out of his funk as he had 15 points and a season-high seven assists in Ames. Should that continue and if Lester Medford continues with the hot hand, then the Bears should be in a pretty good position. Medford has been in double figures for the last three games (10 vs. Texas Tech, 10 vs. Kansas State and 12 at Iowa State).
West Virginia has also won three straight and is coming off a 71-64 victory against reeling Texas. Junior guard Juwan Staten is having an all-Big 12 season at 14.5 points and 4.2 assists per game.
If the Mountaineers get hot from the perimeter, Scott Drew has a decision to make with his 1-3-1. The Bears did mix in some man-to-man defense against the Cyclones.
By the way, the Bears are shooting 38 percent from 3-point range this year but 39.5 percent in Big 12 play. Taurean Prince is at 39.8 percent, Royce O'Neale is at 44 percent and Medford is at 41.1 percent. Chery is pretty solid as well at 37.8 percent.
The game can been seen on ESPNU.
• Saturday is the 7th series meeting, all of which have come since 2011. BU leads 5-1, including a 1-1 mark in Waco.
• The game is Baylor's 2nd-annual Everyone In Black game, and BU is hosting more than 600 Fort Hood soldiers and family members, along with approximately 75 veterans who are full-time Baylor students.
• Baylor won 87-69 against WVU in Morgantown on Feb. 7; it was Baylor's 3rd straight win in Morgantown.
• Baylor is looking to win back-to-back games against ranked teams for the first time in program history.
• BU is 5-4 vs. ranked teams this season, tying 2013-14 (5-9) for the most wins vs. ranked teams in school history.
• Baylor is 33-10 in its last 43 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Eight of the 10 losses have been away from home (5 road, 3 neutral) and 7 of the 10 losses have been against ranked teams.
• Baylor has trailed at halftime only 3 times all season -- vs. Memphis, at Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State.
• Baylor is 1 of 3 teams to lead every game by at least 6 points this season (No. 1 Kentucky, No. 3 Gonzaga).
• Baylor is 1 of 5 teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season (Utah, New Hampshire, Saint Peter's, ULM).
• Baylor is 18-2 at home since Feb. 15, 2014, including 4 wins vs. ranked teams. BU has a +15.2 scoring margin in that span, winning 15 games by double-digits. The losses were to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 OSU (9 pts).
• Baylor is 3rd nationally with a +9.2 average rebound margin, 5th with 15.1 offensive rebounds per game and 5th with 40.2 total boards per game. The Bears have out-rebounded 25 of 28 opponents this season.
• Baylor's current 59.2 ppg allowed is its lowest season average in 56 years (59.1 ppg in 1958-59). The last time Baylor allowed fewer than 64.0 ppg in a season was 1985-86 (61.2).
• This is Baylor's 7th 20-win season in the last 8 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Drew's arrival.
• Baylor's defense is holding teams to 10.6 points per game below their season averages. Only 3 of 28 opponents have topped their season averages against BU, and 17 of 28 have gone 8 or more points below average.
• Baylor was the only Division I team to hold all non-conference opponents to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor has held teams to 30 or fewer 1st-half points in 21 of 28 games this season, including 11 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.2-11.5 points per game, and reserve Taurean Prince leads the team with 13.3 ppg.
• Five BU players have scored 20+ points in a game this season (Chery, Gathers, Motley, O'Neale and Prince).
• Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only teams ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
• Baylor is 272-62 in football and men's and women's basketball since 2011-12, the nation's best record in that span.
• Over the last 7 seasons, Baylor is 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
QUICK HITS
• Scott Drew is coaching his 383rd game at Baylor (225-157). His .589 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .685 winning percentage (191-88) since 2007-08.
• Baylor is 80-9 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 19-5 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 183-31 when leading at the half during the entire Drew era.
• BU has won 38% of its games (20-32) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 2-2 this season.
• Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season; Gathers and Prince have led 7 times each.
• BU is 85-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 13 times this season (12-1).
• Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 8 seasons (71-62) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 22nd nationally in scoring defense (59.2).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally in 3-point FG defense (28.6%).
• Baylor is ranked No. 19 (AP poll) and No. 20 (coaches poll), marking BU's 10th consecutive week in the polls. The Bears have been ranked in eight straight seasons, joining Kansas as the only Big 12 schools to make that claim.
• Baylor is 191-88 (24 wins per season) over the last eight seasons and has made six postseason appearances (NCAA Tournament -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014; NIT -- 2009, 2013) with seven 20-win seasons.
• Baylor is 15-3 in overtime games under Drew, including wins in 10 of its last 11 OT games.
• Baylor is 27-10 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last six seasons.
• Baylor is coming off a 2014 NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, which made Drew the youngest of 11 coaches nationally to take his current team to three Sweet 16s in the last five years.
• Baylor's 5 NBA Draft picks in the last 3 years ranks 5th nationally behind Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and Syracuse.
• Baylor is one of only 12 schools nationally to play in the Sweet 16 in three of the last five seasons.
• Rico Gathers posted a Big 12 and school-record 28 rebounds Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
• Baylor shot 29.8% in the Jan.10 win at TCU, the worst shooting in any of Scott Drew's wins at BU.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN family of networks. The West Virginia game will be Baylor's 132nd consecutive televised contest.
• Baylor has the nation's second-best postseason winning percentage over the last six years (17-4; .810).
• Baylor finished undefeated in December for the 6th time in the last 8 years (accomplished just twice prior; `96, `00)
• Drew is tied with Kansas' Bill Self as the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference. Drew, who is in his 12th season at Baylor, is second only to Texas' Rick Barnes (17th season at UT).
• Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak (16th-longest nationally) with at least one 3-point FG made in 760 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs. Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday's game is the 7th all-time meeting between Baylor and West Virginia -- BU leads the series 5-1.
• Baylor won 87-69 when the teams met in Morgantown on Feb. 7, marking BU's 3rd straight win in Morgantown.
• Baylor is 1-1 at home against West Virginia, with an 80-60 win in 2013 and a 66-64 loss in 2014.
• Baylor won the inaugural series meeting, 83-81 in overtime, in the 2011 Las Vegas Classic championship game.
• Baylor is the only team to win in Morgantown in each of the last 3 seasons.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Mark the first time in program history the Bears defeated back-to-back ranked opponents.
• Give Baylor a school-record 6 wins vs. AP-ranked teams this season.
• Be the 11th time Baylor has reached double-digit wins in conference play (3 times in Big 12, 8 times in SWC).
• Make Baylor 6-1 in the all-time series against West Virginia, including a 2-1 mark in Waco.
• Set a school record with 6 ranked opponents defeated in a season, passing the 5 wins from last season.
• Give BU its 9th-highest win total in a season, breaking a tie for 9th with 21 wins in 2007-08.
• Be the 7th time Baylor has won 4 consecutive Big 12 Conference games.
• Give Baylor a 34-10 record over its last 44 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 30-19 in February games since the 2009-10 season and 41-54 in February games under Drew.
• Give Baylor a 101-41 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 192-88 over the last 8 seasons.
• Place Rico Gathers alone in 8th on Baylor's career Big 12 wins list at 28.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 18 of its last 20 home games, with losses to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 Oklahoma State (9 pts).
• Baylor has a +15.2 scoring margin in that 20-home game stretch, including 15 double-digit victories.
• Baylor had a 12-game home winning streak that was the 3rd-longest in the Ferrell Center's 27-year history.
• Among the Bears 18 home court wins since Feb. 15, 2014, are victories over No. 11 Iowa State, No. 16 Iowa State No. 19 Texas and No. 19 Oklahoma, a double OT win vs. Kansas State and an OT victory vs. Oklahoma State.
• Baylor also has wins against Texas A&M, Stephen F. Austin, K-State, TCU, Texas Tech and NMSU in that span.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Baylor has two streaks to watch. The Bears are 1 of 4 teams nationally to lead every game by at least 6 points this season, and BU is 1 of 5 teams to hold all opponents below 75 points.
• Kenny Chery has scored 190 points in his last 14 games (13.6 ppg) and ranks 9th in the Big 12 with 12.9 ppg in conference play. He averaged 8.2 points per game in his previous 9 games this season.
• Taurean Prince has scored in double figures in a career-best 12 straight games (15.5 ppg during the streak).
• Prince had 20 points in 24 minutes Wednesday, the 3rd time he's topped 20 points in the last 5 games.
• Rico Gathers' 334 rebounds are 6th-most in a season in BU history. He needs 12 rebounds to pass Jerry Mallett (345) for 5th and 42 more rebounds to break Charles McKinney's school record of 375 in 1973-74.
• Gathers has 180 rebounds in Big 12 Conference play and needs to average 12.0 rpg over the next 3 games to break Blake Griffin's record for rebounds in a Big 12 season (215 in 2008-09).
• Gathers has shot .574 (27-of-47) from the field over his last 5 games, raising his season FG% from .423 to .452.
• Royce O'Neale is the Big 12's only player ranked in the league's top 15 in assists and rebounds. He ranks 9th in rebounding (6.0) and 8th in assists (3.4), while posting the league's 3rd-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3).
• O'Neale last 8 games: 11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.4 spg; 33 assists and more steals (11) than turnovers (10).
• Baylor is 11-0 this year when O'Neale scores 10+ points and19-2 in his 21 career double-figure scoring games.
• Lester Medford has scored 10+ points in a career-best 3 straight games, shooting 8-of-15 on 3s in that span.
• Baylor is 11-1 when Medford scores in double figures and 10-1 when he posts 5+ assists.
• Medford ranks 2nd in the Big 12 with a .467 3-point percentage in league play, up from .340 in non-conference.
• Johnathan Motley has 37 blocks over his last 19 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring 7 times this season, and the Bears have won all of those games.
• Freeman has contributed 7+ points off the bench 12 times this season, and BU is 11-1 in those games.
SCHOOL-RECORD FIVE RANKED TEAMS DEFEATED
• Baylor's 5 wins vs. AP-ranked teams this season ties the most in school history (5-9 in 2013-14).
• The Bears are 23-44 vs. AP Top 25 teams since 2007-08 after going 17-122 in their first 101 seasons.
• Baylor is 40-166 all-time against AP Top 25 teams (5-4 this season).
• Baylor has won multiple games vs. AP Top 25 teams in each of the last eight seasons.
• Prior to winning multiple games vs. ranked teams in each of the last eight seasons, Baylor had only four seasons with multiple AP Top 25 victories in its first 101 years of basketball (1958-59, 1981-82, 1996-97, 2000-01).
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor is ranked 22nd nationally in KenPom.com adjusted defensive efficiency. The only previous times Baylor was in the top 50 nationally under Drew were 2009-10 (No. 45) and 2011-12 (No. 46) -- both Elite Eight seasons.
• Baylor is 1 of 5 Division I teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, Saint Peter's, Utah).
• BU was the only Division I team to hold every non-conference opponent to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor's current 59.2 points per game allowed is 4.8 points better than the Bears' best defensive season of the Scott Drew era (2010-11, 64.0 ppg allowed). The last time BU held opponents below 64 ppg was 1985-86 (61.2).
• Baylor has held 21 of 28 opponents to 30 or fewer first-half points, including 11 times at 25 or fewer.
• For the first time since 1949-50, Baylor has held six opponents below 50 points.
ONE OF THREE TEAMS TO LEAD EVERY GAME BY 6+ POINTS
• Baylor is one of three teams nationally to lead by at least 6 points in every game this season. The other teams to lead all games by 6+ points are No. 1 Kentucky and No. 3 Gonzaga..
• Baylor has held a double-digit lead in 20 of 28 games this season. BU is 18-2 when building a double-digit lead at any point in a game this season, with the losses at Kansas State (14-point lead) and at Kansas (13-point lead).
• Baylor has won 39 straight home games when building a double-digit lead -- the last loss was when the Bears blew a 10-point lead against Kansas on Feb. 8, 2012.
2ND-MOST WINS OF ANY BIG 12 TEAM SINCE 2011-12
• Baylor is 100-41 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (110-29) for most wins by a Big 12 team in that span.
• Iowa State (94-38) is 3rd, Oklahoma State (87-50) is 4th, Kansas State (83-47) is 5th, Oklahoma (77-46) is 6th, Texas (77-54) is 7th, West Virginia (71-55) is 8th, TCU (55-69) is 9th and Texas Tech (45-78) is 10th.
LAST TIME VS. WEST VIRGINIA
• Baylor used a 21-0 run to take a 23-3 lead less than 9 minutes into the game, and the Bears led by at least 14 points for the remainder of the game. Baylor shot a season-high 55% from the field and held WVU to 36%.
• The WVU game was the only time this season Baylor topped 40 points in both halves.
• Baylor turned the ball over a season-high 19 times, but the Bears also forced 16 turnovers.
• BU went small with guards Al Freeman (26 minutes) and Ishmail Wainright (16 minutes) logging Big 12 season-highs in playing time. Forward Taurean Prince played 18 minutes, his fewest in a Big 12 game this year.
• A season-high 5 Baylor players scored in double figures, led by Rico Gathers with 17 points and 17 boards.
• Prince and Royce O'Neale had 15 points apiece, while Kenny Chery and Freeman had 11 each.
• O'Neale also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.
• WVU's Devin Williams led the team with 20 points, and his 15 boards were the most BU has allowed this season.
KENPOM RANKS BEARS AMONG NATION'S BEST
• KenPom.com has Baylor ranked No. 10 nationally in team rankings.
• The Bears' offense is ranked No. 12 in adjusted efficiency, while the defense is No. 22 in adjusted efficiency.
• Baylor's 7 losses are all against KenPom top-100 teams: at No. 11 Kansas, vs. No. 11 Kansas, at No. 9 Oklahoma, at No. 30 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 30 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 64 Illinois and at No. 85 Kansas State.
• The Bears have 13 wins against KenPom top-100 teams, 10 of which have been against teams in the top 50.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 10.6 PPG
• Through 28 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 10.6 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Only 3 of 28 teams have topped their season scoring averages against Baylor.
• The Bears have held 17 of 28 opponents 8 or more points below their season averages.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 12-0 this season when scoring 70+ points and 20-4 when scoring 60+ points.
• Baylor is 9-0 in games with fewer turnovers than its opponent and 12-7 with equal or more turnovers.
• Baylor is 14-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 7-5 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 16-1 this season when posting 14 or more assists and 5-6 when recording 13 or fewer assists.
• Baylor has held 13 of 28 opponents under 60 points, and the Bears are 85-5 in the Drew era when doing so.
• Baylor is 5-2 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 1-0 in overtime games this season. The Bears are 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points over the last 7 seasons and are 10-1 in overtime games over that span.
This post was edited on 2/28 5:19 PM by K Lonnquist
Meanwhile the Bears are rolling with three consecutive wins including a historic 79-70 decision at Iowa State, their first in school history. The Baylor offense has been really efficient with five players in double figures in each of the last two games.
The Mountaineers still have a chance to earn at least a share of the Big 12 title as they trail Kansas (11-4) by one game. They are tied for second with Iowa State and Oklahoma. Baylor is all alone in fifth place, two games clear of Oklahoma State. If the season ended today, the Bears would be in the 4-5 game and in the 1-seed's side of the Big 12 postseason tournament tournament.
Baylor erupted in Morgantown three weeks ago when it shot 54.9 percent, easily handled West Virginia's pressure and won going away, 87-69. It appears Kenny Chery is out of his funk as he had 15 points and a season-high seven assists in Ames. Should that continue and if Lester Medford continues with the hot hand, then the Bears should be in a pretty good position. Medford has been in double figures for the last three games (10 vs. Texas Tech, 10 vs. Kansas State and 12 at Iowa State).
West Virginia has also won three straight and is coming off a 71-64 victory against reeling Texas. Junior guard Juwan Staten is having an all-Big 12 season at 14.5 points and 4.2 assists per game.
If the Mountaineers get hot from the perimeter, Scott Drew has a decision to make with his 1-3-1. The Bears did mix in some man-to-man defense against the Cyclones.
By the way, the Bears are shooting 38 percent from 3-point range this year but 39.5 percent in Big 12 play. Taurean Prince is at 39.8 percent, Royce O'Neale is at 44 percent and Medford is at 41.1 percent. Chery is pretty solid as well at 37.8 percent.
The game can been seen on ESPNU.
• Saturday is the 7th series meeting, all of which have come since 2011. BU leads 5-1, including a 1-1 mark in Waco.
• The game is Baylor's 2nd-annual Everyone In Black game, and BU is hosting more than 600 Fort Hood soldiers and family members, along with approximately 75 veterans who are full-time Baylor students.
• Baylor won 87-69 against WVU in Morgantown on Feb. 7; it was Baylor's 3rd straight win in Morgantown.
• Baylor is looking to win back-to-back games against ranked teams for the first time in program history.
• BU is 5-4 vs. ranked teams this season, tying 2013-14 (5-9) for the most wins vs. ranked teams in school history.
• Baylor is 33-10 in its last 43 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Eight of the 10 losses have been away from home (5 road, 3 neutral) and 7 of the 10 losses have been against ranked teams.
• Baylor has trailed at halftime only 3 times all season -- vs. Memphis, at Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State.
• Baylor is 1 of 3 teams to lead every game by at least 6 points this season (No. 1 Kentucky, No. 3 Gonzaga).
• Baylor is 1 of 5 teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season (Utah, New Hampshire, Saint Peter's, ULM).
• Baylor is 18-2 at home since Feb. 15, 2014, including 4 wins vs. ranked teams. BU has a +15.2 scoring margin in that span, winning 15 games by double-digits. The losses were to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 OSU (9 pts).
• Baylor is 3rd nationally with a +9.2 average rebound margin, 5th with 15.1 offensive rebounds per game and 5th with 40.2 total boards per game. The Bears have out-rebounded 25 of 28 opponents this season.
• Baylor's current 59.2 ppg allowed is its lowest season average in 56 years (59.1 ppg in 1958-59). The last time Baylor allowed fewer than 64.0 ppg in a season was 1985-86 (61.2).
• This is Baylor's 7th 20-win season in the last 8 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Drew's arrival.
• Baylor's defense is holding teams to 10.6 points per game below their season averages. Only 3 of 28 opponents have topped their season averages against BU, and 17 of 28 have gone 8 or more points below average.
• Baylor was the only Division I team to hold all non-conference opponents to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor has held teams to 30 or fewer 1st-half points in 21 of 28 games this season, including 11 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.2-11.5 points per game, and reserve Taurean Prince leads the team with 13.3 ppg.
• Five BU players have scored 20+ points in a game this season (Chery, Gathers, Motley, O'Neale and Prince).
• Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only teams ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
• Baylor is 272-62 in football and men's and women's basketball since 2011-12, the nation's best record in that span.
• Over the last 7 seasons, Baylor is 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
QUICK HITS
• Scott Drew is coaching his 383rd game at Baylor (225-157). His .589 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .685 winning percentage (191-88) since 2007-08.
• Baylor is 80-9 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 19-5 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 183-31 when leading at the half during the entire Drew era.
• BU has won 38% of its games (20-32) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 2-2 this season.
• Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season; Gathers and Prince have led 7 times each.
• BU is 85-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 13 times this season (12-1).
• Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 8 seasons (71-62) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 22nd nationally in scoring defense (59.2).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally in 3-point FG defense (28.6%).
• Baylor is ranked No. 19 (AP poll) and No. 20 (coaches poll), marking BU's 10th consecutive week in the polls. The Bears have been ranked in eight straight seasons, joining Kansas as the only Big 12 schools to make that claim.
• Baylor is 191-88 (24 wins per season) over the last eight seasons and has made six postseason appearances (NCAA Tournament -- 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014; NIT -- 2009, 2013) with seven 20-win seasons.
• Baylor is 15-3 in overtime games under Drew, including wins in 10 of its last 11 OT games.
• Baylor is 27-10 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last six seasons.
• Baylor is coming off a 2014 NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, which made Drew the youngest of 11 coaches nationally to take his current team to three Sweet 16s in the last five years.
• Baylor's 5 NBA Draft picks in the last 3 years ranks 5th nationally behind Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and Syracuse.
• Baylor is one of only 12 schools nationally to play in the Sweet 16 in three of the last five seasons.
• Rico Gathers posted a Big 12 and school-record 28 rebounds Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
• Baylor shot 29.8% in the Jan.10 win at TCU, the worst shooting in any of Scott Drew's wins at BU.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN family of networks. The West Virginia game will be Baylor's 132nd consecutive televised contest.
• Baylor has the nation's second-best postseason winning percentage over the last six years (17-4; .810).
• Baylor finished undefeated in December for the 6th time in the last 8 years (accomplished just twice prior; `96, `00)
• Drew is tied with Kansas' Bill Self as the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference. Drew, who is in his 12th season at Baylor, is second only to Texas' Rick Barnes (17th season at UT).
• Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak (16th-longest nationally) with at least one 3-point FG made in 760 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs. Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday's game is the 7th all-time meeting between Baylor and West Virginia -- BU leads the series 5-1.
• Baylor won 87-69 when the teams met in Morgantown on Feb. 7, marking BU's 3rd straight win in Morgantown.
• Baylor is 1-1 at home against West Virginia, with an 80-60 win in 2013 and a 66-64 loss in 2014.
• Baylor won the inaugural series meeting, 83-81 in overtime, in the 2011 Las Vegas Classic championship game.
• Baylor is the only team to win in Morgantown in each of the last 3 seasons.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Mark the first time in program history the Bears defeated back-to-back ranked opponents.
• Give Baylor a school-record 6 wins vs. AP-ranked teams this season.
• Be the 11th time Baylor has reached double-digit wins in conference play (3 times in Big 12, 8 times in SWC).
• Make Baylor 6-1 in the all-time series against West Virginia, including a 2-1 mark in Waco.
• Set a school record with 6 ranked opponents defeated in a season, passing the 5 wins from last season.
• Give BU its 9th-highest win total in a season, breaking a tie for 9th with 21 wins in 2007-08.
• Be the 7th time Baylor has won 4 consecutive Big 12 Conference games.
• Give Baylor a 34-10 record over its last 44 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 30-19 in February games since the 2009-10 season and 41-54 in February games under Drew.
• Give Baylor a 101-41 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 192-88 over the last 8 seasons.
• Place Rico Gathers alone in 8th on Baylor's career Big 12 wins list at 28.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 18 of its last 20 home games, with losses to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 Oklahoma State (9 pts).
• Baylor has a +15.2 scoring margin in that 20-home game stretch, including 15 double-digit victories.
• Baylor had a 12-game home winning streak that was the 3rd-longest in the Ferrell Center's 27-year history.
• Among the Bears 18 home court wins since Feb. 15, 2014, are victories over No. 11 Iowa State, No. 16 Iowa State No. 19 Texas and No. 19 Oklahoma, a double OT win vs. Kansas State and an OT victory vs. Oklahoma State.
• Baylor also has wins against Texas A&M, Stephen F. Austin, K-State, TCU, Texas Tech and NMSU in that span.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Baylor has two streaks to watch. The Bears are 1 of 4 teams nationally to lead every game by at least 6 points this season, and BU is 1 of 5 teams to hold all opponents below 75 points.
• Kenny Chery has scored 190 points in his last 14 games (13.6 ppg) and ranks 9th in the Big 12 with 12.9 ppg in conference play. He averaged 8.2 points per game in his previous 9 games this season.
• Taurean Prince has scored in double figures in a career-best 12 straight games (15.5 ppg during the streak).
• Prince had 20 points in 24 minutes Wednesday, the 3rd time he's topped 20 points in the last 5 games.
• Rico Gathers' 334 rebounds are 6th-most in a season in BU history. He needs 12 rebounds to pass Jerry Mallett (345) for 5th and 42 more rebounds to break Charles McKinney's school record of 375 in 1973-74.
• Gathers has 180 rebounds in Big 12 Conference play and needs to average 12.0 rpg over the next 3 games to break Blake Griffin's record for rebounds in a Big 12 season (215 in 2008-09).
• Gathers has shot .574 (27-of-47) from the field over his last 5 games, raising his season FG% from .423 to .452.
• Royce O'Neale is the Big 12's only player ranked in the league's top 15 in assists and rebounds. He ranks 9th in rebounding (6.0) and 8th in assists (3.4), while posting the league's 3rd-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3).
• O'Neale last 8 games: 11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.4 spg; 33 assists and more steals (11) than turnovers (10).
• Baylor is 11-0 this year when O'Neale scores 10+ points and19-2 in his 21 career double-figure scoring games.
• Lester Medford has scored 10+ points in a career-best 3 straight games, shooting 8-of-15 on 3s in that span.
• Baylor is 11-1 when Medford scores in double figures and 10-1 when he posts 5+ assists.
• Medford ranks 2nd in the Big 12 with a .467 3-point percentage in league play, up from .340 in non-conference.
• Johnathan Motley has 37 blocks over his last 19 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring 7 times this season, and the Bears have won all of those games.
• Freeman has contributed 7+ points off the bench 12 times this season, and BU is 11-1 in those games.
SCHOOL-RECORD FIVE RANKED TEAMS DEFEATED
• Baylor's 5 wins vs. AP-ranked teams this season ties the most in school history (5-9 in 2013-14).
• The Bears are 23-44 vs. AP Top 25 teams since 2007-08 after going 17-122 in their first 101 seasons.
• Baylor is 40-166 all-time against AP Top 25 teams (5-4 this season).
• Baylor has won multiple games vs. AP Top 25 teams in each of the last eight seasons.
• Prior to winning multiple games vs. ranked teams in each of the last eight seasons, Baylor had only four seasons with multiple AP Top 25 victories in its first 101 years of basketball (1958-59, 1981-82, 1996-97, 2000-01).
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor is ranked 22nd nationally in KenPom.com adjusted defensive efficiency. The only previous times Baylor was in the top 50 nationally under Drew were 2009-10 (No. 45) and 2011-12 (No. 46) -- both Elite Eight seasons.
• Baylor is 1 of 5 Division I teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, Saint Peter's, Utah).
• BU was the only Division I team to hold every non-conference opponent to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor's current 59.2 points per game allowed is 4.8 points better than the Bears' best defensive season of the Scott Drew era (2010-11, 64.0 ppg allowed). The last time BU held opponents below 64 ppg was 1985-86 (61.2).
• Baylor has held 21 of 28 opponents to 30 or fewer first-half points, including 11 times at 25 or fewer.
• For the first time since 1949-50, Baylor has held six opponents below 50 points.
ONE OF THREE TEAMS TO LEAD EVERY GAME BY 6+ POINTS
• Baylor is one of three teams nationally to lead by at least 6 points in every game this season. The other teams to lead all games by 6+ points are No. 1 Kentucky and No. 3 Gonzaga..
• Baylor has held a double-digit lead in 20 of 28 games this season. BU is 18-2 when building a double-digit lead at any point in a game this season, with the losses at Kansas State (14-point lead) and at Kansas (13-point lead).
• Baylor has won 39 straight home games when building a double-digit lead -- the last loss was when the Bears blew a 10-point lead against Kansas on Feb. 8, 2012.
2ND-MOST WINS OF ANY BIG 12 TEAM SINCE 2011-12
• Baylor is 100-41 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (110-29) for most wins by a Big 12 team in that span.
• Iowa State (94-38) is 3rd, Oklahoma State (87-50) is 4th, Kansas State (83-47) is 5th, Oklahoma (77-46) is 6th, Texas (77-54) is 7th, West Virginia (71-55) is 8th, TCU (55-69) is 9th and Texas Tech (45-78) is 10th.
LAST TIME VS. WEST VIRGINIA
• Baylor used a 21-0 run to take a 23-3 lead less than 9 minutes into the game, and the Bears led by at least 14 points for the remainder of the game. Baylor shot a season-high 55% from the field and held WVU to 36%.
• The WVU game was the only time this season Baylor topped 40 points in both halves.
• Baylor turned the ball over a season-high 19 times, but the Bears also forced 16 turnovers.
• BU went small with guards Al Freeman (26 minutes) and Ishmail Wainright (16 minutes) logging Big 12 season-highs in playing time. Forward Taurean Prince played 18 minutes, his fewest in a Big 12 game this year.
• A season-high 5 Baylor players scored in double figures, led by Rico Gathers with 17 points and 17 boards.
• Prince and Royce O'Neale had 15 points apiece, while Kenny Chery and Freeman had 11 each.
• O'Neale also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.
• WVU's Devin Williams led the team with 20 points, and his 15 boards were the most BU has allowed this season.
KENPOM RANKS BEARS AMONG NATION'S BEST
• KenPom.com has Baylor ranked No. 10 nationally in team rankings.
• The Bears' offense is ranked No. 12 in adjusted efficiency, while the defense is No. 22 in adjusted efficiency.
• Baylor's 7 losses are all against KenPom top-100 teams: at No. 11 Kansas, vs. No. 11 Kansas, at No. 9 Oklahoma, at No. 30 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 30 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 64 Illinois and at No. 85 Kansas State.
• The Bears have 13 wins against KenPom top-100 teams, 10 of which have been against teams in the top 50.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 10.6 PPG
• Through 28 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 10.6 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Only 3 of 28 teams have topped their season scoring averages against Baylor.
• The Bears have held 17 of 28 opponents 8 or more points below their season averages.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 12-0 this season when scoring 70+ points and 20-4 when scoring 60+ points.
• Baylor is 9-0 in games with fewer turnovers than its opponent and 12-7 with equal or more turnovers.
• Baylor is 14-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 7-5 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 16-1 this season when posting 14 or more assists and 5-6 when recording 13 or fewer assists.
• Baylor has held 13 of 28 opponents under 60 points, and the Bears are 85-5 in the Drew era when doing so.
• Baylor is 5-2 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 1-0 in overtime games this season. The Bears are 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points over the last 7 seasons and are 10-1 in overtime games over that span.
This post was edited on 2/28 5:19 PM by K Lonnquist
