This is a game with two teams going in different directions. Baylor is now in a position where it can play for as high as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. There's still a chance for second place in the Big 12. The good news is that Baylor has a bye through the first round of the conference postseason tournament. Texas is currently on the outside looking in at the NCAA tournament. Baylor has won four in a row. Texas has lost four in a row.
Baylor has shot more than 48 percent in its last three games and you won't find anyone hotter than Taurean Prince who is shooting 52 percent and scored 20+ points in three of his last four. If this game is tight, will Al Freeman be in there or Lester Medford? Freeman is going to be a load to deal with in the coming years. He is providing quality depth and is dependable.
Just watch the ball movement. Baylor has had four or more in double figures in its last three games. This team is peaking as the right time. The Bears haven't had to much offensive production from Johnathan Motley. He hasn't been in double figures since he had 13 on Jan. 31 against Texas at the Ferrell Center.
The Bears just have to make sure that guard Isaiah Taylor doesn't hurt them. In four meetings, Taylor has averaged 18 points and 6.8 assists. Baylor has dropped its last two appearances in Austin. Baylor won the first meeting easily, 83-60.
Texas can win this if it plays like a team with such an sense of urgency that it does everything right. That's what it's going to take. But the Bears are in such a good rhythm, they are going to have to help Texas get there.
STORY LINES
• Monday is the 245th all-time series meeting, the most-played rivalry in Baylor history, dating back to 1905-06.
• Baylor is 9-5 in its last 14 games against UT after snapping a 24-game losing streak in the series in 2009.
• Baylor has won 4 straight Big 12 games and is 1 win shy of tying its longest single-season Big 12 winning streak.
• Baylor has made at least 50% of its 3-pointers in 3 consecutive Big 12 games for the first time in program history.
• Baylor is coming off consecutive wins against ranked opponents for the first time in program history.
• Baylor is 32-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 46-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
• BU is 6-4 vs. ranked teams this season, passing 2013-14 (5-9) for the most wins vs. ranked teams in school history.
• Baylor is 34-10 in its last 44 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 2 teams to lead every game by at least 6 points this season (No. 1 Kentucky).
• Baylor is 1 of 5 teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season (Utah, New Hampshire, Saint Peter's, ULM).
• Baylor is 7th nationally with a +8.6 average rebound margin, 4th with 15.0 offensive rebounds per game and 5th with 39.9 total boards per game. The Bears have out-rebounded 25 of 29 opponents this season.
• Baylor's current 59.4 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 10.5 points per game below their season averages. Only 3 of 29 opponents have topped their season averages against BU, and 18 of 29 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 22 of 29 games this season, including 11 times at 25 or fewer.
• 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 273-63 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.
• Lester Medford and Kenny Chery each need 3 assists to reach 100 this season, and they can join Royce O'Neale (100) to give Baylor a trio of 100-assist players in a season for the first time in program history.
QUICK HITS
• Scott Drew is coaching his 384th game at Baylor (226-157). His .590 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .686 winning percentage (192-88) since 2007-08.
• Baylor is 81-9 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 20-5 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 184-31 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 BU in scoring this season, but Gathers and Prince have led the last 8 games.
• 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 (72-62) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 9th nationally in 3-point FG defense (28.8%).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 22nd nationally in scoring defense (59.4).
• 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 192-88 (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.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN family of networks. The Texas game will be Baylor's 133rd 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 761 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs. Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Monday is the 245th all-time meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played rivalry for both schools.
• Baylor has won 9 of the last 14 games in the series after snapping a 24-game series losing streak in 2009.
• Baylor lost both regular season meetings to Texas last season, but the Bears defeated UT 86-69 to advance to the Big 12 Championship title game, and BU posted a 23-point win against Texas on Jan. 31 this season.
BEST IN TEXAS
• Baylor is 32-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 9-0 mark this season. The losses in that stretch came at Texas in 2013 and 2014, at Texas Tech in 2014 and home vs. Texas in 2014.
• Since 2009-10, BU is 46-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (9-0 in 2014-15, 6-3 in 13-14, 7-1 in 12-13, 10-0 in 11-12, 5-3 in 10-11, 9-1 in 09-10).
A WIN WOULD ...
• Tie Baylor's most consecutive wins in a single Big 12 season (5 in 1998), and equal the 2nd-longest Big 12 winning streak in program history when including streaks that span multiple seasons.
• Tie Baylor's 2nd-most conference wins in a season and be the 6th time Baylor has reached 11 conference wins.
• Make Baylor 85-160 all-time against Texas, including a 10-5 record in the last 15 meetings.
• Tie Baylor's 7th-highest win total in a season, equaling the 23 wins of 1987-88 and 2012-13.
• Give Baylor a 35-10 record over its last 45 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 36-27 in March games under Scott Drew, including 12-2 in its last 14 March games.
• Give Baylor a 102-41 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 193-88 over the last 8 seasons.
• Tie Rico Gathers with Tweety Carter for 7th on Baylor's career Big 12 wins list at 29.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Baylor has two streaks to watch. The Bears are 1 of 2 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.
• Baylor has made at least 50% of its 3-pointers in 3 consecutive Big 12 games for the first time in program history. BU shot .500 (8-16) vs. Kansas State, .538 (14-26) at Iowa State and .533 (8-15) vs. West Virginia.
• Lester Medford and Kenny Chery each need 3 assists to reach 100 this season, and they can join Royce O'Neale (100) to give Baylor a trio of 100-assist players in a season for the first time in program history.
• Taurean Prince has scored in double figures in a career-best 13 straight games (15.9 ppg during the streak).
• Prince has 20 points in 4 of his last 6 games -- he had three 20-point games in 84 prior games at Baylor.
• Chery has scored 194 points in his last 15 games (12.9 ppg) and ranks 10th in the Big 12 with 12.4 ppg in conference play. He averaged 8.2 points per game in his previous 9 games this season.
• Rico Gathers' 344 rebounds are 6th-most in a season in BU history, 32 away from breaking Charles McKinney's school record (375 in 1973-74). Gathers needs 2 rebounds to pass Jerry Mallett (345) for 5th, 7 to pass Ekpe Udoh (351) for 4th and 12 to pass Jerome Lambert (355) for 3rd on BU's single-season list.
• Gathers has 190 rebounds in Big 12 Conference play and needs to average 13.0 rpg over the next 2 games to break Blake Griffin's record for rebounds in a Big 12 season (215 in 2008-09).
• Gathers has shot .574 (31-of-54) from the field over his last 6 games, raising his season FG% from .423 to .456.
• O'Neale is the Big 12's only player ranked in the league's top 15 in assists and rebounds. He ranks 7th in assists (3.6) and 10th in rebounding (5.9), while posting the league's 2nd-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4).
• O'Neale last 9 games: 12.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.4 spg; 40 assists and more steals (13) than turnovers (11).
• Baylor is 12-0 this year when O'Neale scores 10+ points and 20-2 in his 22 career double-figure scoring games.
• Medford has made 9-of-18 3-point attempts over his last 5 games, launching him to a tie for the Big 12's best 3-point percentage in conference play at .459, up from .340 in non-conference.
• Baylor is 11-1 when Medford scores in double figures and 10-1 when he posts 5+ assists.
• Johnathan Motley has 38 blocks over his last 20 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Al Freeman has contributed 7+ points off the bench 13 times this season, and BU is 12-1 in those games.
• Freeman is shooting .548 (23-of-42) in his last 12 games, up from .367 (29-of-79) in his first 17 games.
• Austin Mills has played 23 minutes over the last 4 games after totaling 5 minutes in BU's 12 previous Big 12 games.
6TH STRAIGHT SEASON WITH ROAD WIN VS. RANKED TEAM
• Baylor has won a road game against an AP top 20-ranked opponent in each of the last 6 seasons.
• BU is 8-17 in road games vs. AP Top 25 teams over the last 8 seasons -- prior to that span, Baylor was 2-65 in road games vs. ranked teams. BU has earned 9 of its 10 road wins vs. ranked teams during the Scott Drew era.
• BU's all-time road wins vs. ranked teams: No. 12 Iowa State (2014-15), No. 15 West Virginia (2014-15), No. 8 Oklahoma State (2013-14), No. 8 Kentucky (2012-13), No. 18 Kansas State (2011-12), No. 16 Texas A&M (2010-11), No. 6 Texas (2009-10), No. 17 Texas A&M (2007-08), No. 13 Oklahoma State (2002-03) and No. 11 Arkansas (1978-79).
SCHOOL-RECORD SIX RANKED TEAMS DEFEATED
• Baylor's 6 wins vs. AP-ranked teams this season broke the previous school record set last season (5-9).
• The Bears are 24-44 vs. AP Top 25 teams since 2007-08 after going 17-122 in their first 101 seasons.
• Baylor is 41-166 all-time against AP Top 25 teams (6-4 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 28th 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 59.4 points per game allowed is BU's best in the shot clock era and Baylor's first time holding opponents under 60 ppg in the last 56 seasons -- the Bears allowed 59.1 ppg in 1958-59.
• Baylor has held 22 of 29 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.
LOOKING FOR FIRST SEASON WITH TRIO OF 100-ASSIST PLAYERS
• Baylor is likely to have three players reach 100 assists in a season for the first time in program history.
• Royce O'Neale has 100 assists, while Kenny Chery and Lester Medford each need 3 more.
• The Bears have only had 7 season where multiple players reached 100 assists.
ONE OF TWO TEAMS TO LEAD EVERY GAME BY 6+ POINTS
• Baylor is one of two teams nationally to lead by at least 6 points in every game this season. The only other team to do so is undefeated and No. 1-ranked Kentucky.
• Baylor has held a double-digit lead in 21 of 29 games this season. BU is 19-2 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 40 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 101-41 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (111-29) for most wins by a Big 12 team in that span.
• Iowa State (94-39) is 3rd, Oklahoma State (87-51) is 4th, Kansas State (84-47) is 5th, Oklahoma (78-46) is 6th, Texas (77-55) is 7th, West Virginia (71-56) is 8th, TCU (55-70) is 9th and Texas Tech (46-78) is 10th.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS - BU 83, TEXAS 60, JAN. 31 IN WACO
• Baylor jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first 3:43 of game time, Texas cut the deficit to 28-24 with 4:19 left in the first half, but the Bears closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 39-27 halftime lead.
• The Bears maintained a double-digit lead the entire 2nd half and cruised to an 83-60 victory.
• Baylor's 23-point margin of victory was its largest in a game against Texas since a 24-point win in 1988.
• BU shot 12-of-22 from 3-point range (55%) and had 24 assists with just 9 turnovers.
• Texas attempted 26 3-pointers, the most by a Baylor opponent this season, and connected on 5 of them.
• Kenny Chery led Baylor with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a career-high 5 treys. He also had 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in 37 minutes.
• Royce O'Neale posted 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, while Rico Gathers had 8 points and 15 rebounds.
• Johnathan Motley and Taurean Prince each added 13 points, and Lester Medford had 7 assists and 0 turnovers.
• Texas was led by Jonathan Holmes (17 points), Cameron Ridley (12p/11r) and Isaiah Taylor (16p/10a).
KENPOM RANKS BEARS AMONG NATION'S BEST
• KenPom.com has Baylor ranked No. 9 nationally in team rankings, tops among Big 12 Conference teams.
• The Bears' offense is ranked No. 12 in adjusted efficiency, while the defense is No. 28 in adjusted efficiency.
• Baylor's 7 losses are all against KenPom top-80 teams: at No. 12 Kansas, vs. No. 12 Kansas, at No. 11 Oklahoma, at No. 34 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 34 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 56 Illinois and at No. 80 Kansas State.
• The Bears have 11 wins against KenPom top-50 teams and 15 wins against the KenPom top 100.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 10.5 PPG
• Through 29 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 10.5 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Only 3 of 29 teams have topped their season scoring averages against Baylor.
• The Bears have held 18 of 29 opponents 8 or more points below their season averages.
• In its 22 wins, Baylor has held teams 13.0 ppg below their season averages.
• In its 7 losses, Baylor has held teams 2.6 ppg below their season averages.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 13-0 this season when scoring 70+ points and 21-4 when scoring 60+ points.
• Baylor is 10-0 in games with fewer turnovers than its opponent and 12-7 with equal or more turnovers.
• Baylor is 15-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 7-5 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 17-1 this season when posting 14 or more assists and 5-6 when recording 13 or fewer assists.
• Baylor has held 13 of 29 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.
ELITE OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
• Baylor's offense has ranked among the nation's top 15 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metric in each of the last four seasons, joining Duke as the nation's only teams to make that claim.
• Baylor is currently 12th in adjusted offensive efficiency this season, and the Bears have been in the top 15 in seven of the last eight seasons. Baylor was No. 9 in 2013-14, No. 14 in 2012-13, No. 8 in 2011-12, No. 3 in 2009-10, No. 11 in 2008-09 and No. 11 in 2007-08.
• Most times ranked in nation's top-15 since 2007-08: Baylor-7, Duke-7, Arizona-5, Kansas-5, Kentucky-4, North Carolina-4, Ohio State-4.
BAYLOR AND LOUISVILLE ONLY SCHOOLS RANKED IN FB, MBB AND WBB
• Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only schools ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
• Baylor football is ranked No. 7, men's basketball is No. 19 and women's basketball is No. 3.
• Baylor, Duke, Louisville and Michigan State were the only teams to finish the 2013-14 academic year ranked in the final AP polls for all three sports.
This post was edited on 3/2 8:20 PM by K Lonnquist
Baylor has shot more than 48 percent in its last three games and you won't find anyone hotter than Taurean Prince who is shooting 52 percent and scored 20+ points in three of his last four. If this game is tight, will Al Freeman be in there or Lester Medford? Freeman is going to be a load to deal with in the coming years. He is providing quality depth and is dependable.
Just watch the ball movement. Baylor has had four or more in double figures in its last three games. This team is peaking as the right time. The Bears haven't had to much offensive production from Johnathan Motley. He hasn't been in double figures since he had 13 on Jan. 31 against Texas at the Ferrell Center.
The Bears just have to make sure that guard Isaiah Taylor doesn't hurt them. In four meetings, Taylor has averaged 18 points and 6.8 assists. Baylor has dropped its last two appearances in Austin. Baylor won the first meeting easily, 83-60.
Texas can win this if it plays like a team with such an sense of urgency that it does everything right. That's what it's going to take. But the Bears are in such a good rhythm, they are going to have to help Texas get there.
STORY LINES
• Monday is the 245th all-time series meeting, the most-played rivalry in Baylor history, dating back to 1905-06.
• Baylor is 9-5 in its last 14 games against UT after snapping a 24-game losing streak in the series in 2009.
• Baylor has won 4 straight Big 12 games and is 1 win shy of tying its longest single-season Big 12 winning streak.
• Baylor has made at least 50% of its 3-pointers in 3 consecutive Big 12 games for the first time in program history.
• Baylor is coming off consecutive wins against ranked opponents for the first time in program history.
• Baylor is 32-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 46-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
• BU is 6-4 vs. ranked teams this season, passing 2013-14 (5-9) for the most wins vs. ranked teams in school history.
• Baylor is 34-10 in its last 44 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 2 teams to lead every game by at least 6 points this season (No. 1 Kentucky).
• Baylor is 1 of 5 teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season (Utah, New Hampshire, Saint Peter's, ULM).
• Baylor is 7th nationally with a +8.6 average rebound margin, 4th with 15.0 offensive rebounds per game and 5th with 39.9 total boards per game. The Bears have out-rebounded 25 of 29 opponents this season.
• Baylor's current 59.4 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 10.5 points per game below their season averages. Only 3 of 29 opponents have topped their season averages against BU, and 18 of 29 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 22 of 29 games this season, including 11 times at 25 or fewer.
• 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 273-63 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.
• Lester Medford and Kenny Chery each need 3 assists to reach 100 this season, and they can join Royce O'Neale (100) to give Baylor a trio of 100-assist players in a season for the first time in program history.
QUICK HITS
• Scott Drew is coaching his 384th game at Baylor (226-157). His .590 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .686 winning percentage (192-88) since 2007-08.
• Baylor is 81-9 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 20-5 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 184-31 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 BU in scoring this season, but Gathers and Prince have led the last 8 games.
• 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 (72-62) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 9th nationally in 3-point FG defense (28.8%).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 22nd nationally in scoring defense (59.4).
• 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 192-88 (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.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN family of networks. The Texas game will be Baylor's 133rd 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 761 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs. Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Monday is the 245th all-time meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played rivalry for both schools.
• Baylor has won 9 of the last 14 games in the series after snapping a 24-game series losing streak in 2009.
• Baylor lost both regular season meetings to Texas last season, but the Bears defeated UT 86-69 to advance to the Big 12 Championship title game, and BU posted a 23-point win against Texas on Jan. 31 this season.
BEST IN TEXAS
• Baylor is 32-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 9-0 mark this season. The losses in that stretch came at Texas in 2013 and 2014, at Texas Tech in 2014 and home vs. Texas in 2014.
• Since 2009-10, BU is 46-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (9-0 in 2014-15, 6-3 in 13-14, 7-1 in 12-13, 10-0 in 11-12, 5-3 in 10-11, 9-1 in 09-10).
A WIN WOULD ...
• Tie Baylor's most consecutive wins in a single Big 12 season (5 in 1998), and equal the 2nd-longest Big 12 winning streak in program history when including streaks that span multiple seasons.
• Tie Baylor's 2nd-most conference wins in a season and be the 6th time Baylor has reached 11 conference wins.
• Make Baylor 85-160 all-time against Texas, including a 10-5 record in the last 15 meetings.
• Tie Baylor's 7th-highest win total in a season, equaling the 23 wins of 1987-88 and 2012-13.
• Give Baylor a 35-10 record over its last 45 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 36-27 in March games under Scott Drew, including 12-2 in its last 14 March games.
• Give Baylor a 102-41 record since the start of the 2011-12 season and 193-88 over the last 8 seasons.
• Tie Rico Gathers with Tweety Carter for 7th on Baylor's career Big 12 wins list at 29.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Baylor has two streaks to watch. The Bears are 1 of 2 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.
• Baylor has made at least 50% of its 3-pointers in 3 consecutive Big 12 games for the first time in program history. BU shot .500 (8-16) vs. Kansas State, .538 (14-26) at Iowa State and .533 (8-15) vs. West Virginia.
• Lester Medford and Kenny Chery each need 3 assists to reach 100 this season, and they can join Royce O'Neale (100) to give Baylor a trio of 100-assist players in a season for the first time in program history.
• Taurean Prince has scored in double figures in a career-best 13 straight games (15.9 ppg during the streak).
• Prince has 20 points in 4 of his last 6 games -- he had three 20-point games in 84 prior games at Baylor.
• Chery has scored 194 points in his last 15 games (12.9 ppg) and ranks 10th in the Big 12 with 12.4 ppg in conference play. He averaged 8.2 points per game in his previous 9 games this season.
• Rico Gathers' 344 rebounds are 6th-most in a season in BU history, 32 away from breaking Charles McKinney's school record (375 in 1973-74). Gathers needs 2 rebounds to pass Jerry Mallett (345) for 5th, 7 to pass Ekpe Udoh (351) for 4th and 12 to pass Jerome Lambert (355) for 3rd on BU's single-season list.
• Gathers has 190 rebounds in Big 12 Conference play and needs to average 13.0 rpg over the next 2 games to break Blake Griffin's record for rebounds in a Big 12 season (215 in 2008-09).
• Gathers has shot .574 (31-of-54) from the field over his last 6 games, raising his season FG% from .423 to .456.
• O'Neale is the Big 12's only player ranked in the league's top 15 in assists and rebounds. He ranks 7th in assists (3.6) and 10th in rebounding (5.9), while posting the league's 2nd-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4).
• O'Neale last 9 games: 12.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.4 spg; 40 assists and more steals (13) than turnovers (11).
• Baylor is 12-0 this year when O'Neale scores 10+ points and 20-2 in his 22 career double-figure scoring games.
• Medford has made 9-of-18 3-point attempts over his last 5 games, launching him to a tie for the Big 12's best 3-point percentage in conference play at .459, up from .340 in non-conference.
• Baylor is 11-1 when Medford scores in double figures and 10-1 when he posts 5+ assists.
• Johnathan Motley has 38 blocks over his last 20 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Al Freeman has contributed 7+ points off the bench 13 times this season, and BU is 12-1 in those games.
• Freeman is shooting .548 (23-of-42) in his last 12 games, up from .367 (29-of-79) in his first 17 games.
• Austin Mills has played 23 minutes over the last 4 games after totaling 5 minutes in BU's 12 previous Big 12 games.
6TH STRAIGHT SEASON WITH ROAD WIN VS. RANKED TEAM
• Baylor has won a road game against an AP top 20-ranked opponent in each of the last 6 seasons.
• BU is 8-17 in road games vs. AP Top 25 teams over the last 8 seasons -- prior to that span, Baylor was 2-65 in road games vs. ranked teams. BU has earned 9 of its 10 road wins vs. ranked teams during the Scott Drew era.
• BU's all-time road wins vs. ranked teams: No. 12 Iowa State (2014-15), No. 15 West Virginia (2014-15), No. 8 Oklahoma State (2013-14), No. 8 Kentucky (2012-13), No. 18 Kansas State (2011-12), No. 16 Texas A&M (2010-11), No. 6 Texas (2009-10), No. 17 Texas A&M (2007-08), No. 13 Oklahoma State (2002-03) and No. 11 Arkansas (1978-79).
SCHOOL-RECORD SIX RANKED TEAMS DEFEATED
• Baylor's 6 wins vs. AP-ranked teams this season broke the previous school record set last season (5-9).
• The Bears are 24-44 vs. AP Top 25 teams since 2007-08 after going 17-122 in their first 101 seasons.
• Baylor is 41-166 all-time against AP Top 25 teams (6-4 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 28th 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 59.4 points per game allowed is BU's best in the shot clock era and Baylor's first time holding opponents under 60 ppg in the last 56 seasons -- the Bears allowed 59.1 ppg in 1958-59.
• Baylor has held 22 of 29 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.
LOOKING FOR FIRST SEASON WITH TRIO OF 100-ASSIST PLAYERS
• Baylor is likely to have three players reach 100 assists in a season for the first time in program history.
• Royce O'Neale has 100 assists, while Kenny Chery and Lester Medford each need 3 more.
• The Bears have only had 7 season where multiple players reached 100 assists.
ONE OF TWO TEAMS TO LEAD EVERY GAME BY 6+ POINTS
• Baylor is one of two teams nationally to lead by at least 6 points in every game this season. The only other team to do so is undefeated and No. 1-ranked Kentucky.
• Baylor has held a double-digit lead in 21 of 29 games this season. BU is 19-2 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 40 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 101-41 since 2011-12, which trails only Kansas (111-29) for most wins by a Big 12 team in that span.
• Iowa State (94-39) is 3rd, Oklahoma State (87-51) is 4th, Kansas State (84-47) is 5th, Oklahoma (78-46) is 6th, Texas (77-55) is 7th, West Virginia (71-56) is 8th, TCU (55-70) is 9th and Texas Tech (46-78) is 10th.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS - BU 83, TEXAS 60, JAN. 31 IN WACO
• Baylor jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first 3:43 of game time, Texas cut the deficit to 28-24 with 4:19 left in the first half, but the Bears closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 39-27 halftime lead.
• The Bears maintained a double-digit lead the entire 2nd half and cruised to an 83-60 victory.
• Baylor's 23-point margin of victory was its largest in a game against Texas since a 24-point win in 1988.
• BU shot 12-of-22 from 3-point range (55%) and had 24 assists with just 9 turnovers.
• Texas attempted 26 3-pointers, the most by a Baylor opponent this season, and connected on 5 of them.
• Kenny Chery led Baylor with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a career-high 5 treys. He also had 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in 37 minutes.
• Royce O'Neale posted 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, while Rico Gathers had 8 points and 15 rebounds.
• Johnathan Motley and Taurean Prince each added 13 points, and Lester Medford had 7 assists and 0 turnovers.
• Texas was led by Jonathan Holmes (17 points), Cameron Ridley (12p/11r) and Isaiah Taylor (16p/10a).
KENPOM RANKS BEARS AMONG NATION'S BEST
• KenPom.com has Baylor ranked No. 9 nationally in team rankings, tops among Big 12 Conference teams.
• The Bears' offense is ranked No. 12 in adjusted efficiency, while the defense is No. 28 in adjusted efficiency.
• Baylor's 7 losses are all against KenPom top-80 teams: at No. 12 Kansas, vs. No. 12 Kansas, at No. 11 Oklahoma, at No. 34 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 34 Oklahoma State, vs. No. 56 Illinois and at No. 80 Kansas State.
• The Bears have 11 wins against KenPom top-50 teams and 15 wins against the KenPom top 100.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 10.5 PPG
• Through 29 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 10.5 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Only 3 of 29 teams have topped their season scoring averages against Baylor.
• The Bears have held 18 of 29 opponents 8 or more points below their season averages.
• In its 22 wins, Baylor has held teams 13.0 ppg below their season averages.
• In its 7 losses, Baylor has held teams 2.6 ppg below their season averages.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 13-0 this season when scoring 70+ points and 21-4 when scoring 60+ points.
• Baylor is 10-0 in games with fewer turnovers than its opponent and 12-7 with equal or more turnovers.
• Baylor is 15-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 7-5 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 17-1 this season when posting 14 or more assists and 5-6 when recording 13 or fewer assists.
• Baylor has held 13 of 29 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.
ELITE OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
• Baylor's offense has ranked among the nation's top 15 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metric in each of the last four seasons, joining Duke as the nation's only teams to make that claim.
• Baylor is currently 12th in adjusted offensive efficiency this season, and the Bears have been in the top 15 in seven of the last eight seasons. Baylor was No. 9 in 2013-14, No. 14 in 2012-13, No. 8 in 2011-12, No. 3 in 2009-10, No. 11 in 2008-09 and No. 11 in 2007-08.
• Most times ranked in nation's top-15 since 2007-08: Baylor-7, Duke-7, Arizona-5, Kansas-5, Kentucky-4, North Carolina-4, Ohio State-4.
BAYLOR AND LOUISVILLE ONLY SCHOOLS RANKED IN FB, MBB AND WBB
• Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only schools ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
• Baylor football is ranked No. 7, men's basketball is No. 19 and women's basketball is No. 3.
• Baylor, Duke, Louisville and Michigan State were the only teams to finish the 2013-14 academic year ranked in the final AP polls for all three sports.
This post was edited on 3/2 8:20 PM by K Lonnquist
