Pretty much a swing game in terms of the standings as we head toward the halfway point of the conference season. Both teams are coming off of road losses. Baylor lost at Oklahoma State Tuesday, 64-53. Texas lost at Iowa State on Monday, 89-86.
Baylor is going to have to do this with defense and rebounding because they have really struggled to keep things flowing offensively. Kenny Chery had a rough shooting night. Rico Gathers continues his all-Big 12 season with 11 double doubles. But for the Bears to win this, they are going to have to get more from the guards. Plus, Royce O'Neale really needs to get out of slump that started since Big 12 play began.
Texas thought it was going to have a burst when guard Isaiah Taylor returned from an ankle injury. But the Longhorns have been very choppy on defense. They yielded 75 to Kansas at the Erwin Center last Saturday and the 89 to the Cyclones. If they continue like that, then Baylor will have some opportunities to score. Texas has size but it's been inconsistent.
The winner has a chance to even its league play record. The loser has some catching up to do. Both are currently running in the second division of the Big 12 standings.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Baylor is 8-5 in its last 13 games against UT after snapping a 24-game losing streak in the series in 2009.
• BU and UT are both in the nation's top 5 in rebounding margin, with Texas 2nd (+11.4) and Baylor 4th (+10.3)
• Baylor has won 15 of its last 16 home games, with the lone loss a 1-point defeat vs. No. 12 Kansas on Jan. 7.
• Baylor is 29-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 43-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
• Three of Baylor's four losses against in-state teams over the last 4 seasons have been to Texas (2013, 2014, 2014).
• Baylor has had 6 different players lead the team in scoring in its 7 Big 12 games this season.
• Baylor is 3rd nationally with 15.9 offensive rebounds per game and 7th with 41.2 total boards per game.
• The Bears have posted equal or more second-chance points than their opponents in 19 of 20 games this season.
• Baylor's defense has held teams to an average of 11.8 points below their season scoring averages. The Bears have held 18 of 20 opponents under their season scoring averages, including 12 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 14 of 20 games this season, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.5-11.0 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 (65-60) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor is 74-7 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 13-3 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 177-31 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 (11.9) 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 27-8 in its last 35 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 375th game at Baylor (219-155). His .586 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .682 winning percentage (185-86) since 2007-08.
• Baylor ranks 18th nationally and 2nd in the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense (58.2).
• Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 and ranks 41st nationally in 3-point FG defense (30.4%).
• Baylor moved to season-highs of No. 20 in Monday's AP Top 25 and 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 185-86 (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.
• Baylor shot 29.8% in the Jan.10 win at TCU, the worst shooting in any of Drew's 216 wins at BU.
• 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 Texas game will be Baylor's 124th 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 752 consecutive games.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 244th all-time meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played rivalry for both schools.
• Baylor has won 8 of the last 13 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.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Improve Baylor's record against in-state opponents to 30-4 since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Be Baylor's 9th in its last 14 games against Texas after snapping a 24-game losing streak to UT in 2009.
• Move Rico Gathers into sole possession of 10th on Baylor's all-time wins list (65) and all-time Big 12 wins list (22).
• Give Baylor a 16-5 start to the season for the fourth time in the last eight years (2007-08, 2009-10, 2011-12).
• Give Baylor a 28-8 record over its last 36 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 47-50 in January games under Drew, including a 39-26 mark since the 2007-08 season.
• Give Baylor a 96-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 186-86 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .684 winning percentage.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Kenny Chery has scored 91 points in his last 6 games (15.2 ppg) and ranks 6th in the Big 12 with 13.6 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 14 times this season -- he entered the season with 12 career double-figure scoring games in 62 games played over two seasons.
• Rico Gathers has 691 career rebounds and needs 5 more to pass Tommy Bowman (1968-70) for 10th on Baylor's career rebounds list. With 9 rebounds he'll become the 10th Baylor player to record 700+ career boards.
• 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 15 in assists and rebounds. He's posted multiple assists in 17 of 19 games this season, and at least 4 rebounds in 18 of 19 games.
• Lester Medford went 8 straight games scoring in single digits before leading the team in scoring in each of the last 2 games. He had a career-high 17 points on Saturday vs. OU and 13 points Tuesday at Oklahoma State.
• Medford has 16 assists and 6 turnovers over his last 4 Big 12 games -- he had 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his first 3 Big 12 contests.
• Johnathan Motley has 32 blocks over his last 11 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Motley has scored in double figures in 5 of the last 12 games, but he's totaled 16 points over the last 4 games.
• Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring 7 times this season, and the Bears have won all of those games.
• Deng Deng played 19 minutes off the bench in the last 2 games, nearly doubling the 10 total minutes he played in Baylor's first 5 Big 12 contests this season.
• Baylor has had 6 different players lead the team in scoring in its 7 Big 12 games this season.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 15 of its last 16 home games, with the lone loss a 1-point defeat against No. 12 Kansas on Jan. 7.
• Baylor had a 12-game home winning streak that was the 3rd-longest in the Ferrell Center's 27-year history.
• Among the Bears 15 home court wins since Feb. 15, 2014, are victories over No. 11 Iowa State, No. 16 Iowa State and No. 19 Oklahoma, a double OT win vs. Kansas State and an overtime 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 29-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 6-0 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 43-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (6-0 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 14 of 20 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 11.8 PPG
• Through 20 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 11.8 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Baylor has held 18 of 20 opponents below their season average, including 12 of 20 at least 10 points below.
SHOWING 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.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 15-2 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 2-3 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 12-1 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 4-2 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.
GATHERS ONE OF NATION'S BEST REBOUNDERS
• Rico Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total (11.9) rebounds per game. He also leads the Big 12 and ranks 29th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (6.5).
• Gathers leads the Big 12 and ranks 16th nationally with 10 double-doubles this season, more than his first two seasons combined (7) and 4 more than any other player.
• Gathers' 17 career double-doubles and 30 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 (10.7 ppg and 11.9 rpg), joining Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers, Washington State's Josh Hawkinson, LSU's Jordan Mickey and UCLA's Kevon Looney.
• In his 23 career starts, Gathers is averaging 11.1 points and 11.7 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 9th nationally with a 6.4 turnover rate.
This post was edited on 1/31 9:09 PM by jake shaw
Baylor is going to have to do this with defense and rebounding because they have really struggled to keep things flowing offensively. Kenny Chery had a rough shooting night. Rico Gathers continues his all-Big 12 season with 11 double doubles. But for the Bears to win this, they are going to have to get more from the guards. Plus, Royce O'Neale really needs to get out of slump that started since Big 12 play began.
Texas thought it was going to have a burst when guard Isaiah Taylor returned from an ankle injury. But the Longhorns have been very choppy on defense. They yielded 75 to Kansas at the Erwin Center last Saturday and the 89 to the Cyclones. If they continue like that, then Baylor will have some opportunities to score. Texas has size but it's been inconsistent.
The winner has a chance to even its league play record. The loser has some catching up to do. Both are currently running in the second division of the Big 12 standings.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Baylor is 8-5 in its last 13 games against UT after snapping a 24-game losing streak in the series in 2009.
• BU and UT are both in the nation's top 5 in rebounding margin, with Texas 2nd (+11.4) and Baylor 4th (+10.3)
• Baylor has won 15 of its last 16 home games, with the lone loss a 1-point defeat vs. No. 12 Kansas on Jan. 7.
• Baylor is 29-4 against in-state opponents since 2011-12 and 43-8 against Lone Star State teams since 2009-10.
• Three of Baylor's four losses against in-state teams over the last 4 seasons have been to Texas (2013, 2014, 2014).
• Baylor has had 6 different players lead the team in scoring in its 7 Big 12 games this season.
• Baylor is 3rd nationally with 15.9 offensive rebounds per game and 7th with 41.2 total boards per game.
• The Bears have posted equal or more second-chance points than their opponents in 19 of 20 games this season.
• Baylor's defense has held teams to an average of 11.8 points below their season scoring averages. The Bears have held 18 of 20 opponents under their season scoring averages, including 12 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 14 of 20 games this season, including 10 times at 25 or fewer.
• All 5 Baylor starters average 8.5-11.0 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 (65-60) than its first 11 years in the league combined (45-131).
• Baylor is 74-7 when leading at the half over the last four seasons -- 13-3 this season, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12. BU is 177-31 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 (11.9) 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 27-8 in its last 35 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 375th game at Baylor (219-155). His .586 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 60+ games, and his teams have a .682 winning percentage (185-86) since 2007-08.
• Baylor ranks 18th nationally and 2nd in the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense (58.2).
• Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 and ranks 41st nationally in 3-point FG defense (30.4%).
• Baylor moved to season-highs of No. 20 in Monday's AP Top 25 and 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 185-86 (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.
• Baylor shot 29.8% in the Jan.10 win at TCU, the worst shooting in any of Drew's 216 wins at BU.
• 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 Texas game will be Baylor's 124th 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 752 consecutive games.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday is the 244th all-time meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played rivalry for both schools.
• Baylor has won 8 of the last 13 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.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Improve Baylor's record against in-state opponents to 30-4 since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Be Baylor's 9th in its last 14 games against Texas after snapping a 24-game losing streak to UT in 2009.
• Move Rico Gathers into sole possession of 10th on Baylor's all-time wins list (65) and all-time Big 12 wins list (22).
• Give Baylor a 16-5 start to the season for the fourth time in the last eight years (2007-08, 2009-10, 2011-12).
• Give Baylor a 28-8 record over its last 36 games dating back to Feb. 12, 2014.
• Make Baylor 47-50 in January games under Drew, including a 39-26 mark since the 2007-08 season.
• Give Baylor a 96-38 record since the start of the 2011-12 season.
• Make Baylor 186-86 since the start of the 2007-08 season, good for a .684 winning percentage.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Kenny Chery has scored 91 points in his last 6 games (15.2 ppg) and ranks 6th in the Big 12 with 13.6 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 14 times this season -- he entered the season with 12 career double-figure scoring games in 62 games played over two seasons.
• Rico Gathers has 691 career rebounds and needs 5 more to pass Tommy Bowman (1968-70) for 10th on Baylor's career rebounds list. With 9 rebounds he'll become the 10th Baylor player to record 700+ career boards.
• 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 15 in assists and rebounds. He's posted multiple assists in 17 of 19 games this season, and at least 4 rebounds in 18 of 19 games.
• Lester Medford went 8 straight games scoring in single digits before leading the team in scoring in each of the last 2 games. He had a career-high 17 points on Saturday vs. OU and 13 points Tuesday at Oklahoma State.
• Medford has 16 assists and 6 turnovers over his last 4 Big 12 games -- he had 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his first 3 Big 12 contests.
• Johnathan Motley has 32 blocks over his last 11 games -- he had 5 blocks in the previous 9 games.
• Motley has scored in double figures in 5 of the last 12 games, but he's totaled 16 points over the last 4 games.
• Al Freeman has led Baylor in bench scoring 7 times this season, and the Bears have won all of those games.
• Deng Deng played 19 minutes off the bench in the last 2 games, nearly doubling the 10 total minutes he played in Baylor's first 5 Big 12 contests this season.
• Baylor has had 6 different players lead the team in scoring in its 7 Big 12 games this season.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Baylor has won 15 of its last 16 home games, with the lone loss a 1-point defeat against No. 12 Kansas on Jan. 7.
• Baylor had a 12-game home winning streak that was the 3rd-longest in the Ferrell Center's 27-year history.
• Among the Bears 15 home court wins since Feb. 15, 2014, are victories over No. 11 Iowa State, No. 16 Iowa State and No. 19 Oklahoma, a double OT win vs. Kansas State and an overtime 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 29-4 against in-state opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season, including a 6-0 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 43-8 against Lone Star State teams after going 10-27 vs. in-state teams in Scott Drew's first six seasons at Baylor. (6-0 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 14 of 20 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 11.8 PPG
• Through 20 games, Baylor opponents are averaging 11.8 fewer points than their season averages against the Bears.
• Baylor has held 18 of 20 opponents below their season average, including 12 of 20 at least 10 points below.
SHOWING 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.
KEYS TO VICTORY
• Baylor is 15-2 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 2-3 when not doing so.
• Baylor is 12-1 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 4-2 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.
GATHERS ONE OF NATION'S BEST REBOUNDERS
• Rico Gathers ranks 2nd nationally in both offensive (5.5) and total (11.9) rebounds per game. He also leads the Big 12 and ranks 29th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (6.5).
• Gathers leads the Big 12 and ranks 16th nationally with 10 double-doubles this season, more than his first two seasons combined (7) and 4 more than any other player.
• Gathers' 17 career double-doubles and 30 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 (10.7 ppg and 11.9 rpg), joining Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers, Washington State's Josh Hawkinson, LSU's Jordan Mickey and UCLA's Kevon Looney.
• In his 23 career starts, Gathers is averaging 11.1 points and 11.7 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 9th nationally with a 6.4 turnover rate.
This post was edited on 1/31 9:09 PM by jake shaw
