This is a game Baylor should win. The Wildcats really struggle to score and are reeling off a 69-55 loss at TCU.
In this game seen on ESPNU, the Bears weren't sharp but did what they had to do in a 54-49 win at Texas Tech. Rico Gathers is coming off his worst performance of the year at two points and six rebounds. You would expect that to be the exception. More consistency in the backcourt is necessary for this group to be more consistency.
Baylor is looking for its seventh 20-win season in the last 8 years.
STORY LINES
• Saturday is the 32nd series meeting. Baylor is 14-17 all-time against K-State, including a 6-5 mark in Waco.
• Baylor is 31-10 in its last 41 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 is 17-2 at home since Feb. 15, 2014, including 4 wins vs. ranked teams. BU has a +14.5 scoring margin in that span, winning 14 games by double-digits. The losses were to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 OSU (9 pts).
• Baylor is 2nd nationally with a +9.7 average rebound margin, 3rd with 15.3 offensive rebounds per game and 4th with 40.7 total boards per game. The Bears have out-rebounded 24 of 26 opponents this season.
• Baylor's current 59.5 ppg allowed is its lowest season average in 57 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).
• BU is seeking its 7th 20-win season in the last 8 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Drew's arrival.
• Baylor has trailed at halftime only 3 times all season -- vs. Memphis, at Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State.
• Baylor is 1 of 4 teams to lead every game by at least 6 points this season (BU, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Notre Dame).
• Baylor is 1 of 6 Division I teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season (Baylor, Utah, New Mexico, Saint Peter's, New Hampshire, Louisiana-Monroe).
• Baylor's defense is holding teams to an average of 10.1 points below their season scoring averages. The Bears have held 22 of 26 opponents under their season scoring averages, including 14 times at least 9 points below.
• 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 20 of 26 games this season, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.0-11.6 points per game, and reserve Taurean Prince leads the team with 13.0 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 Gathers has done so most often (7 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 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
• Baylor is 78-9 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 17-5 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 181-31 when leading at the half during the entire Drew era.
• BU has won 41% of its games (20-29) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 2-2 this season.
QUICK HITS
• Scott Drew is coaching his 381st game at Baylor (223-157). His .587 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .682 winning percentage (189-88) since 2007-08.
• BU is 84-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 12 times this season (11-1).
• Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 8 seasons (69-62) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 Conference and 24th nationally in scoring defense (59.9).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 16th nationally in 3-point FG defense (29.5%).
• Baylor is ranked No. 20 in both the AP and coaches polls, marking BU's 9th 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 won 3 consecutive Big 12 games by 23, 20 and 18 points vs. Texas, TCU and West Virginia, respectively. It was the first time in program history the Bears won 3 straight conference games by 18+ points.
• Baylor is 189-88 (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 six 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.
• 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.
• 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 Kansas State game will be Baylor's 130th 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 758 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs. Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 32nd series meeting between Baylor and Kansas State. BU is 6-5 against K-State in Waco.
• Prior to last season's 87-73 double overtime win, Baylor had lost 3 straight home games against K-State.
• BU is 7-10 against K-State in the Drew era, including a 4-4 mark since 2012.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Make Baylor 15-17 in the all-time series against K-State, including a 7-5 mark in Waco.
• Give Baylor its 4th consecutive 20-win season and the 7th 20-win season in the last 8 years -- BU had only 3 seasons with 20+ wins prior to the Drew era (1945-46, 1947-78 and 1987-88).
• Give Baylor a 32-10 record over its last 42 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 28-19 in February games since the 2009-10 season and 39-54 in February games under Drew.
• Give Baylor a 99-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 190-88 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .683 winning percentage.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Kenny Chery has scored 170 points in his last 12 games (14.2 ppg) and ranks 7th in the Big 12 with 13.4 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 20 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 a career-best 10 straight games and is averaging 15.2 ppg during the streak.
• Rico Gathers' 317 rebounds are 6th-most in a season in BU history. He needs 59 more rebounds to break Charles McKinney's school record of 375 in 1973-74.
• Gathers has 163 rebounds in Big 12 play and needs to average 10.6 rpg over the next 5 games to break Blake Griffin's record for rebounds in a Big 12 conference season (215 in 2008-09).
• Gathers has shot .667 (18-of-27) from the field over his last 4 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 10 in assists and rebounds. He ranks 8th in rebounding (6.2) and 10th in assists (3.4), while posting the league's 6th-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).
• O'Neale last 6 games: 11.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.7 spg; 25 assists and only 9 turnovers.
• Lester Medford has 37 assists and 19 turnovers over his last 10 Big 12 games -- he had 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his first 3 Big 12 contests.
• Medford ranks 5th in the Big 12 with a .440 3-point percentage in league play, up from .340 in non-conference.
• Johnathan Motley has 35 blocks over his last 17 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 11 times this season, and BU is 10-1 in those games.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 17 of its last 19 home games, with losses to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 Oklahoma State (9 pts).
• Baylor has a +14.5 scoring margin in that 19-home game stretch, including 14 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 17 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, TCU, Texas Tech and New Mexico State in that span.
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor is ranked 40th 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 6 Division I teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, New Mexico, 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 59.5 points per game allowed is 4.5 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 20 of 26 opponents to 30 or fewer first-half points, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• For the first time since 2009-10, Baylor has held five Division I opponents below 50 points.
20 WINS = POSTSEASON
• Baylor, which has won 20-plus games nine times in the program's first 108 seasons, is seeking to win 20 games for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. The Bears have advanced to the postseason in all nine 20-win years.
• Head coach Scott Drew has led Baylor to 20-win seasons in six of the last seven years after the Bears had only three 20-win seasons in the program's first 101 seasons.
• Drew is the responsible for six of Baylor's nine 20-win season and six of BU's 13 postseason appearances.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 10.1 PPG
• Through 26 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 10.1 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Baylor has held 22 of 26 opponents below their season average, including 14 of 26 at least 9 points below.
This post was edited on 2/21 3:35 PM by K Lonnquist
This post was edited on 2/21 4:09 PM by K Lonnquist
In this game seen on ESPNU, the Bears weren't sharp but did what they had to do in a 54-49 win at Texas Tech. Rico Gathers is coming off his worst performance of the year at two points and six rebounds. You would expect that to be the exception. More consistency in the backcourt is necessary for this group to be more consistency.
Baylor is looking for its seventh 20-win season in the last 8 years.
STORY LINES
• Saturday is the 32nd series meeting. Baylor is 14-17 all-time against K-State, including a 6-5 mark in Waco.
• Baylor is 31-10 in its last 41 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 is 17-2 at home since Feb. 15, 2014, including 4 wins vs. ranked teams. BU has a +14.5 scoring margin in that span, winning 14 games by double-digits. The losses were to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 OSU (9 pts).
• Baylor is 2nd nationally with a +9.7 average rebound margin, 3rd with 15.3 offensive rebounds per game and 4th with 40.7 total boards per game. The Bears have out-rebounded 24 of 26 opponents this season.
• Baylor's current 59.5 ppg allowed is its lowest season average in 57 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).
• BU is seeking its 7th 20-win season in the last 8 years. BU had only three 20-win seasons prior to Drew's arrival.
• Baylor has trailed at halftime only 3 times all season -- vs. Memphis, at Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State.
• Baylor is 1 of 4 teams to lead every game by at least 6 points this season (BU, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Notre Dame).
• Baylor is 1 of 6 Division I teams to hold all opponents under 75 points this season (Baylor, Utah, New Mexico, Saint Peter's, New Hampshire, Louisiana-Monroe).
• Baylor's defense is holding teams to an average of 10.1 points below their season scoring averages. The Bears have held 22 of 26 opponents under their season scoring averages, including 14 times at least 9 points below.
• 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 20 of 26 games this season, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.0-11.6 points per game, and reserve Taurean Prince leads the team with 13.0 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 Gathers has done so most often (7 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 36-20 in games decided by 5 or fewer points and 10-1 in overtime games.
• Baylor is 78-9 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 17-5 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 181-31 when leading at the half during the entire Drew era.
• BU has won 41% of its games (20-29) when tied or trailing at half since 2011-12, including 2-2 this season.
QUICK HITS
• Scott Drew is coaching his 381st game at Baylor (223-157). His .587 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .682 winning percentage (189-88) since 2007-08.
• BU is 84-5 under Drew when holding teams under 60 points, and the Bears have done so 12 times this season (11-1).
• Baylor has more Big 12 wins in the last 8 seasons (69-62) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 Conference and 24th nationally in scoring defense (59.9).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 16th nationally in 3-point FG defense (29.5%).
• Baylor is ranked No. 20 in both the AP and coaches polls, marking BU's 9th 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 won 3 consecutive Big 12 games by 23, 20 and 18 points vs. Texas, TCU and West Virginia, respectively. It was the first time in program history the Bears won 3 straight conference games by 18+ points.
• Baylor is 189-88 (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 six 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.
• 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.
• 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 Kansas State game will be Baylor's 130th 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 758 consecutive games. The last time BU didn't make a 3-pointer was Feb. 21, 1990, a win vs. Texas Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 32nd series meeting between Baylor and Kansas State. BU is 6-5 against K-State in Waco.
• Prior to last season's 87-73 double overtime win, Baylor had lost 3 straight home games against K-State.
• BU is 7-10 against K-State in the Drew era, including a 4-4 mark since 2012.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Make Baylor 15-17 in the all-time series against K-State, including a 7-5 mark in Waco.
• Give Baylor its 4th consecutive 20-win season and the 7th 20-win season in the last 8 years -- BU had only 3 seasons with 20+ wins prior to the Drew era (1945-46, 1947-78 and 1987-88).
• Give Baylor a 32-10 record over its last 42 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 28-19 in February games since the 2009-10 season and 39-54 in February games under Drew.
• Give Baylor a 99-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 190-88 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .683 winning percentage.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Kenny Chery has scored 170 points in his last 12 games (14.2 ppg) and ranks 7th in the Big 12 with 13.4 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 20 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 a career-best 10 straight games and is averaging 15.2 ppg during the streak.
• Rico Gathers' 317 rebounds are 6th-most in a season in BU history. He needs 59 more rebounds to break Charles McKinney's school record of 375 in 1973-74.
• Gathers has 163 rebounds in Big 12 play and needs to average 10.6 rpg over the next 5 games to break Blake Griffin's record for rebounds in a Big 12 conference season (215 in 2008-09).
• Gathers has shot .667 (18-of-27) from the field over his last 4 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 10 in assists and rebounds. He ranks 8th in rebounding (6.2) and 10th in assists (3.4), while posting the league's 6th-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).
• O'Neale last 6 games: 11.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.7 spg; 25 assists and only 9 turnovers.
• Lester Medford has 37 assists and 19 turnovers over his last 10 Big 12 games -- he had 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his first 3 Big 12 contests.
• Medford ranks 5th in the Big 12 with a .440 3-point percentage in league play, up from .340 in non-conference.
• Johnathan Motley has 35 blocks over his last 17 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 11 times this season, and BU is 10-1 in those games.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 17 of its last 19 home games, with losses to No. 12 Kansas (1 pt) and No. 21 Oklahoma State (9 pts).
• Baylor has a +14.5 scoring margin in that 19-home game stretch, including 14 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 17 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, TCU, Texas Tech and New Mexico State in that span.
BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM OF DREW ERA
• Baylor is ranked 40th 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 6 Division I teams to hold all opponents below 75 points this season (Baylor, Louisiana-Monroe, New Hampshire, New Mexico, 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 59.5 points per game allowed is 4.5 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 20 of 26 opponents to 30 or fewer first-half points, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• For the first time since 2009-10, Baylor has held five Division I opponents below 50 points.
20 WINS = POSTSEASON
• Baylor, which has won 20-plus games nine times in the program's first 108 seasons, is seeking to win 20 games for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. The Bears have advanced to the postseason in all nine 20-win years.
• Head coach Scott Drew has led Baylor to 20-win seasons in six of the last seven years after the Bears had only three 20-win seasons in the program's first 101 seasons.
• Drew is the responsible for six of Baylor's nine 20-win season and six of BU's 13 postseason appearances.
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER SCORING AVERAGES BY 10.1 PPG
• Through 26 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 10.1 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Baylor has held 22 of 26 opponents below their season average, including 14 of 26 at least 9 points below.
This post was edited on 2/21 3:35 PM by K Lonnquist
This post was edited on 2/21 4:09 PM by K Lonnquist
