Bears have to take care of business at home tonight against the reeling Horned Frogs. Baylor travels to West Virginia Saturday morning. There's plenty of momentum following the blowout 83-60 win over Texas.
What we saw from Royce O'Neale against Texas was important. It was probably his best game since 2015 began. Just continue to get solid guard play and the Bears should take care of business. The Horned Frogs are definitely better but they are probably still a couple of years short from being a threat in the Big 12 race.
Baylor won the first meeting in overtime last in January in Fort Worth.
STORY LINES
• Wednesday is the 177th all-time series meeting, the 3rd-most-played rivalry in Baylor history, dating back to 1908.
• Baylor has won all 7 series meetings against TCU as Big 12 opponents, by an average of 15.6 points per game.
• Baylor shot 29.8% in the Jan.10 win at TCU, the worst shooting in any of Scott Drew's 220 wins at BU.
• Baylor has had 6 different players lead the team in scoring in its 8 Big 12 games this season.
• Baylor is 16-1 at home since Feb. 15, 2014, including 4 wins vs. ranked teams. BU has a +15.6 scoring margin in that span, winning 13 games by double-digits. The lone loss was by 1 point to No. 12 Kansas.
• Baylor is 30-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 44-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
• Baylor is 3rd nationally with 16.0 offensive rebounds per game and 5th with 41.2 total boards per game.
• The Bears have posted equal or more second-chance points than their opponents in 19 of 21 games this season.
• Baylor's defense has held teams to an average of 11.6 points below their season scoring averages. The Bears have held 19 of 21 opponents under their season scoring averages, including 13 times at least 10 points below.
• Baylor is 1 of 9 Division I teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season.
• Baylor was the only Division I team to hold all non-conference opponents to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor has held opponents under 30 first-half points in 15 of 21 games this season, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.3-11.8 points per game, and reserve Taurean Prince leads the team with 12.2 ppg.
• Five BU players have scored 20+ points in a game this season (Chery, Gathers, Motley, O'Neale and Prince).
• Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season, and none have done so more than 4 times.
• Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only teams ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
• Over the last 7 seasons, Baylor is 35-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
• Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 7+ seasons (66-60) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor is 75-7 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 14-3 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 178-31 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.
• BU is 82-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 10 times this season (9-1).
• Rico Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total rebounds (12.0) per game.
• Gathers posted a Big 12 and school-record 28 rebounds on Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
• Baylor is 28-8 in its last 36 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Seven of the eight losses have been away from home (four road, three neutral) and five of the eight losses have been against ranked teams.
• Scott Drew is coaching his 376th game at Baylor (220-155). His .587 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .684 winning percentage (186-86) since 2007-08.
• Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 17th nationally in scoring defense (58.2).
• Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 and 25th nationally in 3-point FG defense (29.6%).
• Baylor moved to season-highs of No. 19 in Monday's AP Top 25 and stayed at No. 19 in the coaches' poll. The Bears have been ranked in eight straight seasons, joining Kansas as the only Big 12 schools to make that claim.
• Baylor is 186-86 (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 six 20-win seasons.
• Kenny Chery hit a game-winning shot with 4 seconds left to give Baylor a 74-73 win vs. No. 11 ISU on Jan. 14.
• Prior to allowing a season-high 73 points at Oklahoma on Jan. 3, Baylor's 12 straight games holding opponents to 66 or fewer points was its longest such streak since 1950.
• 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.
• BU has six 20-win seasons in the last 7 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Drew's arrival.
• 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.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN family of networks. The TCU game will be Baylor's 125th 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 with at least one 3-point FG made in 753 consecutive games.
SERIES HISTORY
• Wednesday's game marks the 177th meeting in the series with TCU. Baylor leads the all-time series, 95-81, which dates back to a 37-6 Baylor win in Waco on Dec. 18, 1908.
• Baylor has won the six series meetings since TCU joined the Big 12 by an average of 18.5 points per game.
• TCU is Baylor's 3rd-most played rival, trailing only Texas (243) and Texas A&M (206).
A WIN WOULD ...
• Improve Baylor's record against in-state opponents to 31-4 since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Give Baylor a perfect 7-0 record against TCU as Big 12 Conference opponents.
• Move Rico Gathers into sole possession of 9th on Baylor's all-time Big 12 wins list (23).
• Give Baylor a 17-5 start to the season for the fourth time in the last eight years (2007-08, 2009-10, 2011-12).
• Give Baylor a 29-8 record over its last 37 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 36-52 in February games under Drew, including a 25-17 mark since the 2009-10 season.
• Give Baylor a 97-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 187-86 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .685 winning percentage.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Kenny Chery has scored 114 points in his last 7 games (16.3 ppg) and ranks 5th in the Big 12 with 14.8 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 a team-high 15 times this season -- he entered the season with 12 career double-figure scoring games in 62 games played over two seasons.
• Prince has scored in double figures in 5 straight games -- he had a career-best 7-game streak earlier this season.
• Rico Gathers has 706 career rebounds and needs 17 more to pass Cory Jefferson (2009-14) for 9th on Baylor's career rebounds list. Gathers became the 10th Baylor player with 700+ career boards on Saturday.
• Gathers has 17 career double-doubles and the Bears are 15-2 in those games (8-2 this season).
• Royce O'Neale is the Big 12's only player ranked in the league's top 12 in assists and rebounds. He's posted multiple assists in 18 of 20 games this season, and at least 4 rebounds in 19 of 20 games.
• Lester Medford went 8 straight games scoring in single digits before averaging 12.0 ppg over his last 3 games.
• Medford has 23 assists and 6 turnovers over his last 5 Big 12 games, including 7 assists with 0 turnovers Saturday against Texas -- he had 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his first 3 Big 12 contests.
• Johnathan Motley has 32 blocks over his last 12 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Motley had 13 points on Saturday after being held to a combined 16 points over the previous 4 games.
• Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring 7 times this season, and the Bears have won all of those games.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 16 of its last 17 home games, with the lone loss a 1-point defeat against No. 12 Kansas on Jan. 7.
• Baylor has a +15.6 scoring margin in that 17-home game stretch, including 13 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 16 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, Texas Tech and New Mexico State in that span.
• Baylor's 16-point win against SFA on Nov. 24 was the last time SFA lost before its current 16-game winning streak.
BEST IN TEXAS
• Baylor is 30-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 7-0 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 44-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (7-0 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).
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor is 1 of 9 Division I teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Cincinnati, George Washington, Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon State, 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 58.2 points per game allowed is 5.8 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 15 of 21 opponents under 30 first-half points, including 10 times at 25 or fewer first-half points.
• For the first time since 2009-10, Baylor has held four Division I opponents below 50 points.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 11.6 PPG
• Through 21 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 11.6 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Baylor has held 19 of 21 opponents below their season average, including 13 of 21 at least 10 points below.
TOUGHNESS IN CLOSE GAMES
• The Bears are 4-2 this season in games decided by 5 or fewer points, with wins at South Carolina, at Vanderbilt, home against Southern and home against Iowa State. BU also won at TCU in its only overtime game.
• Over the last 7 seasons, Baylor is 35-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
GATHERS ONE OF NATION'S BEST REBOUNDERS
• Rico Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total (12.0) rebounds per game. He also leads the Big 12 and ranks 27th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (6.6).
• Gathers leads the Big 12 and ranks 19th nationally with 10 double-doubles this season, more than his first two seasons combined (7) and 4 more than any other Big 12 player.
• Gathers' 17 career double-doubles and 31 career double-digit rebound games are both tops among active Big 12 players.
• Gathers is 1 of 5 power-5 conference players averaging a double-double (10.6 ppg and 12.0 rpg), joining Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers, Washington State's Josh Hawkinson, LSU's Jordan Mickey and UCLA's Kevon Looney.
• In his 24 career starts, Gathers is averaging 11.0 points and 11.9 rebounds per game.
• Gathers set Big 12 and Baylor records with 28 rebounds on Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
• Gathers is also one of the nation's least turnover-prone players, ranking 5th nationally with a 6.0 turnover rate. He has twice as many steals (26) and turnovers (13).
O'NEALE DOES IT ALL
• During his four years of Division I basketball, Royce O'Neale has 1,130 points, 718 rebounds, 351 assists, 140 steals and 38 blocks in 121 games played. If all of his games played were at Baylor, he would rank 21st in school history in scoring, 10th in rebounding, 7th in assists and 10th in steals.
• O'Neale is the only Big 12 Conference player to rank in the league's top 12 in rebounding and assists -- he currently ranks 8th in the Big 12 in rebounding (6.3) and 11th in assists (3.3).
• Last season, O'Neale became the first player in program history to post 200+ rebounds and 100+ assists in the same season. He ranked second on the team with 110 assists and fourth with 205 rebounds in 2013-14.
• O'Neale has started 51 consecutive games against DI opponents -- (sat out vs. Huston-Tillotson on Jan. 21).
• Including his two seasons at Denver, O'Neale has 25 career games played touching all five stat categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
MOTLEY TAKING GAME TO NEW LEVEL
• Redshirt freshman Johnathan Motley has improvement his statistics dramatically since the first 8 games.
• He's averaging 10.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 2.7 bpg over the last 13 games, up from 6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 0.6 bpg over his first 8 collegiate games.
• After going scoreless in back-to-back games, Motley has led the team in scoring in four of the last 12 games.
• Motley has blocked 32 shots in his last 12 games (2.7 bpg) after blocking 5 shots over his first 9 games (0.6 bpg).
CHERY BACK AT FULL STRENGTH
• Kenny Chery is back at full strength after missing 5 starts with plantar fasciitis (came off bench once).
• Chery has 49 assists and 28 turnovers in 11 games since returning to the starting lineup. He had 14 assists and 16 turnovers in 5 games before taking the time to rest and recover.
• Chery has scored 114 points in his last 7 games, including a season-high 25 points against Kansas on Jan. 7, and he ranks 5th in the Big 12 with 14.8 points per game in conference play.
PRINCE LEADS TEAM IN SCORING AS 6TH MAN
• Taurean Prince entered the season averaging 5.2 points in 11.2 minutes over 62 games played in two seasons, but he is leading the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game in 25.6 minutes per game.
• Prince has scored in double figures in a team-high 15 of 20 games played this season after scoring in double figures 12 times in his first two seasons at Baylor combined.
• Prince has played 25+ minutes in 14 games this season after doing so in just 2 games over his first two seasons.
• Prince has also led the team in scoring 4 times this season after doing so in just 3 games over his first two seasons at Baylor. He's led the Bears in bench scoring in 11 of 14 games as a reserve this season.
FREEMAN IS FIRST GUARD OFF BENCH
• Redshirt freshman Al Freeman is typically Baylor's first guard to enter the game off the bench.
• Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring seven times, and the Bears are 7-0 in those games.
• Freeman has posted double figure scoring off the bench three times. He had a career-high 13 points in 22 minutes vs. Norfolk State and posted 10 points against both Texas A&M and New Mexico State.
• Freeman averages 18.1 minutes per game, mostly at the two-guard spot with either Kenny Chery or Lester Medford running the point.
MEDFORD PROVIDES SECOND OPTION AT THE POINT
• Baylor starting point guard Kenny Chery missed 5 starts with a foot injury and another for rest (vs. Huston-Tillotson), allowing Lester Medford to slide from his starting shooting guard position to the starting point guard role.
• Medford posted 35 assists and 8 turnovers in his 6 starts at point guard. Despite returning to his shooting guard spot, Medford still ranks 2nd in the Big 12 with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio and 7th with 3.7 assists per game.
• Medford hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:10 left in the Bears' win over Iowa State on Jan. 14, and in the previous game against TCU he had a game-tying 3-point play with 2:45 left in regulation.
• In his last 3 games, Medford has led BU in scoring twice and had 7 assists with 0 turnovers in the other game.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 16-2 this season when scoring 60-plus points and 0-3 when being held under 60 points.
• Baylor is 13-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 3-3 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 13-1 this season when posting 12-plus assists and 3-4 when recording fewer than 12 assists.
• Baylor is 11-3 this season when getting more than 15 points from the bench and 5-2 when getting 15 or less.
• Baylor has held 10 of 20 opponents under 60 points, and the Bears are 82-5 in the Drew era when doing so.
• Baylor is 4-2 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 1-0 in overtime games this season. The Bears are 35-20 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 2/4 9:59 PM by K Lonnquist
What we saw from Royce O'Neale against Texas was important. It was probably his best game since 2015 began. Just continue to get solid guard play and the Bears should take care of business. The Horned Frogs are definitely better but they are probably still a couple of years short from being a threat in the Big 12 race.
Baylor won the first meeting in overtime last in January in Fort Worth.
STORY LINES
• Wednesday is the 177th all-time series meeting, the 3rd-most-played rivalry in Baylor history, dating back to 1908.
• Baylor has won all 7 series meetings against TCU as Big 12 opponents, by an average of 15.6 points per game.
• Baylor shot 29.8% in the Jan.10 win at TCU, the worst shooting in any of Scott Drew's 220 wins at BU.
• Baylor has had 6 different players lead the team in scoring in its 8 Big 12 games this season.
• Baylor is 16-1 at home since Feb. 15, 2014, including 4 wins vs. ranked teams. BU has a +15.6 scoring margin in that span, winning 13 games by double-digits. The lone loss was by 1 point to No. 12 Kansas.
• Baylor is 30-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 44-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
• Baylor is 3rd nationally with 16.0 offensive rebounds per game and 5th with 41.2 total boards per game.
• The Bears have posted equal or more second-chance points than their opponents in 19 of 21 games this season.
• Baylor's defense has held teams to an average of 11.6 points below their season scoring averages. The Bears have held 19 of 21 opponents under their season scoring averages, including 13 times at least 10 points below.
• Baylor is 1 of 9 Division I teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season.
• Baylor was the only Division I team to hold all non-conference opponents to 66 or fewer points this season.
• Baylor has held opponents under 30 first-half points in 15 of 21 games this season, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.3-11.8 points per game, and reserve Taurean Prince leads the team with 12.2 ppg.
• Five BU players have scored 20+ points in a game this season (Chery, Gathers, Motley, O'Neale and Prince).
• Seven different BU players have led the team in scoring this season, and none have done so more than 4 times.
• Baylor and Louisville are the nation's only teams ranked by the AP in football and men's and women's basketball.
• Over the last 7 seasons, Baylor is 35-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
• Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 7+ seasons (66-60) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor is 75-7 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 14-3 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 178-31 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.
• BU is 82-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 10 times this season (9-1).
• Rico Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total rebounds (12.0) per game.
• Gathers posted a Big 12 and school-record 28 rebounds on Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
• Baylor is 28-8 in its last 36 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014. Seven of the eight losses have been away from home (four road, three neutral) and five of the eight losses have been against ranked teams.
• Scott Drew is coaching his 376th game at Baylor (220-155). His .587 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .684 winning percentage (186-86) since 2007-08.
• Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 17th nationally in scoring defense (58.2).
• Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 and 25th nationally in 3-point FG defense (29.6%).
• Baylor moved to season-highs of No. 19 in Monday's AP Top 25 and stayed at No. 19 in the coaches' poll. The Bears have been ranked in eight straight seasons, joining Kansas as the only Big 12 schools to make that claim.
• Baylor is 186-86 (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 six 20-win seasons.
• Kenny Chery hit a game-winning shot with 4 seconds left to give Baylor a 74-73 win vs. No. 11 ISU on Jan. 14.
• Prior to allowing a season-high 73 points at Oklahoma on Jan. 3, Baylor's 12 straight games holding opponents to 66 or fewer points was its longest such streak since 1950.
• 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.
• BU has six 20-win seasons in the last 7 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Drew's arrival.
• 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.
• All 31 of Baylor's regular-season games will be televised this season, including 22 games on the ESPN family of networks. The TCU game will be Baylor's 125th 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 with at least one 3-point FG made in 753 consecutive games.
SERIES HISTORY
• Wednesday's game marks the 177th meeting in the series with TCU. Baylor leads the all-time series, 95-81, which dates back to a 37-6 Baylor win in Waco on Dec. 18, 1908.
• Baylor has won the six series meetings since TCU joined the Big 12 by an average of 18.5 points per game.
• TCU is Baylor's 3rd-most played rival, trailing only Texas (243) and Texas A&M (206).
A WIN WOULD ...
• Improve Baylor's record against in-state opponents to 31-4 since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Give Baylor a perfect 7-0 record against TCU as Big 12 Conference opponents.
• Move Rico Gathers into sole possession of 9th on Baylor's all-time Big 12 wins list (23).
• Give Baylor a 17-5 start to the season for the fourth time in the last eight years (2007-08, 2009-10, 2011-12).
• Give Baylor a 29-8 record over its last 37 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 36-52 in February games under Drew, including a 25-17 mark since the 2009-10 season.
• Give Baylor a 97-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 187-86 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .685 winning percentage.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Kenny Chery has scored 114 points in his last 7 games (16.3 ppg) and ranks 5th in the Big 12 with 14.8 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 a team-high 15 times this season -- he entered the season with 12 career double-figure scoring games in 62 games played over two seasons.
• Prince has scored in double figures in 5 straight games -- he had a career-best 7-game streak earlier this season.
• Rico Gathers has 706 career rebounds and needs 17 more to pass Cory Jefferson (2009-14) for 9th on Baylor's career rebounds list. Gathers became the 10th Baylor player with 700+ career boards on Saturday.
• Gathers has 17 career double-doubles and the Bears are 15-2 in those games (8-2 this season).
• Royce O'Neale is the Big 12's only player ranked in the league's top 12 in assists and rebounds. He's posted multiple assists in 18 of 20 games this season, and at least 4 rebounds in 19 of 20 games.
• Lester Medford went 8 straight games scoring in single digits before averaging 12.0 ppg over his last 3 games.
• Medford has 23 assists and 6 turnovers over his last 5 Big 12 games, including 7 assists with 0 turnovers Saturday against Texas -- he had 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his first 3 Big 12 contests.
• Johnathan Motley has 32 blocks over his last 12 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Motley had 13 points on Saturday after being held to a combined 16 points over the previous 4 games.
• Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring 7 times this season, and the Bears have won all of those games.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 16 of its last 17 home games, with the lone loss a 1-point defeat against No. 12 Kansas on Jan. 7.
• Baylor has a +15.6 scoring margin in that 17-home game stretch, including 13 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 16 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, Texas Tech and New Mexico State in that span.
• Baylor's 16-point win against SFA on Nov. 24 was the last time SFA lost before its current 16-game winning streak.
BEST IN TEXAS
• Baylor is 30-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 7-0 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 44-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (7-0 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).
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor is 1 of 9 Division I teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Cincinnati, George Washington, Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon State, 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 58.2 points per game allowed is 5.8 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 15 of 21 opponents under 30 first-half points, including 10 times at 25 or fewer first-half points.
• For the first time since 2009-10, Baylor has held four Division I opponents below 50 points.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 11.6 PPG
• Through 21 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 11.6 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Baylor has held 19 of 21 opponents below their season average, including 13 of 21 at least 10 points below.
TOUGHNESS IN CLOSE GAMES
• The Bears are 4-2 this season in games decided by 5 or fewer points, with wins at South Carolina, at Vanderbilt, home against Southern and home against Iowa State. BU also won at TCU in its only overtime game.
• Over the last 7 seasons, Baylor is 35-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
GATHERS ONE OF NATION'S BEST REBOUNDERS
• Rico Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total (12.0) rebounds per game. He also leads the Big 12 and ranks 27th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (6.6).
• Gathers leads the Big 12 and ranks 19th nationally with 10 double-doubles this season, more than his first two seasons combined (7) and 4 more than any other Big 12 player.
• Gathers' 17 career double-doubles and 31 career double-digit rebound games are both tops among active Big 12 players.
• Gathers is 1 of 5 power-5 conference players averaging a double-double (10.6 ppg and 12.0 rpg), joining Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers, Washington State's Josh Hawkinson, LSU's Jordan Mickey and UCLA's Kevon Looney.
• In his 24 career starts, Gathers is averaging 11.0 points and 11.9 rebounds per game.
• Gathers set Big 12 and Baylor records with 28 rebounds on Jan. 21, most by a DI player since Paul Millsap in 2006.
• Gathers is also one of the nation's least turnover-prone players, ranking 5th nationally with a 6.0 turnover rate. He has twice as many steals (26) and turnovers (13).
O'NEALE DOES IT ALL
• During his four years of Division I basketball, Royce O'Neale has 1,130 points, 718 rebounds, 351 assists, 140 steals and 38 blocks in 121 games played. If all of his games played were at Baylor, he would rank 21st in school history in scoring, 10th in rebounding, 7th in assists and 10th in steals.
• O'Neale is the only Big 12 Conference player to rank in the league's top 12 in rebounding and assists -- he currently ranks 8th in the Big 12 in rebounding (6.3) and 11th in assists (3.3).
• Last season, O'Neale became the first player in program history to post 200+ rebounds and 100+ assists in the same season. He ranked second on the team with 110 assists and fourth with 205 rebounds in 2013-14.
• O'Neale has started 51 consecutive games against DI opponents -- (sat out vs. Huston-Tillotson on Jan. 21).
• Including his two seasons at Denver, O'Neale has 25 career games played touching all five stat categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
MOTLEY TAKING GAME TO NEW LEVEL
• Redshirt freshman Johnathan Motley has improvement his statistics dramatically since the first 8 games.
• He's averaging 10.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 2.7 bpg over the last 13 games, up from 6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 0.6 bpg over his first 8 collegiate games.
• After going scoreless in back-to-back games, Motley has led the team in scoring in four of the last 12 games.
• Motley has blocked 32 shots in his last 12 games (2.7 bpg) after blocking 5 shots over his first 9 games (0.6 bpg).
CHERY BACK AT FULL STRENGTH
• Kenny Chery is back at full strength after missing 5 starts with plantar fasciitis (came off bench once).
• Chery has 49 assists and 28 turnovers in 11 games since returning to the starting lineup. He had 14 assists and 16 turnovers in 5 games before taking the time to rest and recover.
• Chery has scored 114 points in his last 7 games, including a season-high 25 points against Kansas on Jan. 7, and he ranks 5th in the Big 12 with 14.8 points per game in conference play.
PRINCE LEADS TEAM IN SCORING AS 6TH MAN
• Taurean Prince entered the season averaging 5.2 points in 11.2 minutes over 62 games played in two seasons, but he is leading the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game in 25.6 minutes per game.
• Prince has scored in double figures in a team-high 15 of 20 games played this season after scoring in double figures 12 times in his first two seasons at Baylor combined.
• Prince has played 25+ minutes in 14 games this season after doing so in just 2 games over his first two seasons.
• Prince has also led the team in scoring 4 times this season after doing so in just 3 games over his first two seasons at Baylor. He's led the Bears in bench scoring in 11 of 14 games as a reserve this season.
FREEMAN IS FIRST GUARD OFF BENCH
• Redshirt freshman Al Freeman is typically Baylor's first guard to enter the game off the bench.
• Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring seven times, and the Bears are 7-0 in those games.
• Freeman has posted double figure scoring off the bench three times. He had a career-high 13 points in 22 minutes vs. Norfolk State and posted 10 points against both Texas A&M and New Mexico State.
• Freeman averages 18.1 minutes per game, mostly at the two-guard spot with either Kenny Chery or Lester Medford running the point.
MEDFORD PROVIDES SECOND OPTION AT THE POINT
• Baylor starting point guard Kenny Chery missed 5 starts with a foot injury and another for rest (vs. Huston-Tillotson), allowing Lester Medford to slide from his starting shooting guard position to the starting point guard role.
• Medford posted 35 assists and 8 turnovers in his 6 starts at point guard. Despite returning to his shooting guard spot, Medford still ranks 2nd in the Big 12 with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio and 7th with 3.7 assists per game.
• Medford hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:10 left in the Bears' win over Iowa State on Jan. 14, and in the previous game against TCU he had a game-tying 3-point play with 2:45 left in regulation.
• In his last 3 games, Medford has led BU in scoring twice and had 7 assists with 0 turnovers in the other game.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 16-2 this season when scoring 60-plus points and 0-3 when being held under 60 points.
• Baylor is 13-2 this season when recording more points off turnovers than its opponent and 3-3 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 13-1 this season when posting 12-plus assists and 3-4 when recording fewer than 12 assists.
• Baylor is 11-3 this season when getting more than 15 points from the bench and 5-2 when getting 15 or less.
• Baylor has held 10 of 20 opponents under 60 points, and the Bears are 82-5 in the Drew era when doing so.
• Baylor is 4-2 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 1-0 in overtime games this season. The Bears are 35-20 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 2/4 9:59 PM by K Lonnquist
