By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor and Syracuse understand what it means to play shorthanded. The timing is never right.
But when it comes to the NCAA tournament, that’s about as bad as it gets. Now, the question is if Baylor can capitalize on it. On Wednesday, Syracuse announced starting point guard Frank Howard was suspended indefinitely for a violation of athletic department policy.
A four-year letter winner, who was averaging nearly a 1.5-to-1.0 assist to turnover ratio, the West No. 8 seed’s offense and trademark 2-3 zone defense will look far different.
As for the No. 9 seed Bears, they’re just hoping they can get a complete game from grad transfer point guard Makai Mason. Bothered by a bad right toe for the last seven weeks, Mason has been able to play off and on. The track record has been that he starts fine, but as the game wears on he has had a tendency to trail off in terms of productivity.
The Bears and Orange meet in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Vivant Smart Home Arena at 8:57 p.m. Thursday (TruTV). The winner advances to Saturday’s second round to meet the winner of No. 1 Gonzaga-No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson.
Baylor comes into the tournament limping losing its last four. Along with Mason’s health frustrations, the Bears have been struggling from 3-point range. They also have not been dominating in the second chance points category.
However, they have had a week off since falling to Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals. Head coach Scott Drew is hoping that the time off will be a pick-me-up.
Syracuse is welcoming back 6-6 guard Tyus Battle who missed the last two games because of a back ailment. With Howard’s absence, Battle is expected to move to the point guard. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s son, Buddy Boeheim, is also expected to move into the starting lineup.
While Syracuse is known for its 2-3 zone, it will be interesting to see how much 1-3-1 Scott Drew uses against his man. Battle is the top scorer for the Orange at more than 17 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the arc.
The chicken-and-egg debate Drew and his staff may be pondering is do they let Battle get his usual but clamp down on the others or will they attempt to push Battle to see how he responds and dare the others to beat them.
That said, the Bears need to overcome a shooting slump from the arc that’s played a role in this losing streak. The Bears have shot 29 percent from behind the line and just need that part of the offense to return. Syracuse’s zone will challenge, even though it’s been inconsistent this season.
And there’s going to have to be some kind of resurgence of Mario Kegler. If Mason struggles and Jared Butler doesn’t get off to a quick start, the Bears are going to need its mystery to be solved. Kegler has shown his presence when he scored 23 and 24 points in wins over West Virginia and Texas. Baylor is going to need him somewhere in that range.
And if Kegler delivers like he did in those two games, then Baylor’s chances of playing on Saturday strengthen.
STORY LINES
• Baylor faces Syracuse in the 2019 NCAA Tournament first round Thursday on truTV from Salt Lake City.
• Baylor is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in six seasons since 2012.
• Baylor is 13-13 in 11 previous NCAA Tournament trips, including 10-7 in the Scott Drew era.
• Drew has led Baylor to two Elite Eights (2010, 2012) and four Sweet 16s (2010, 2012, 2014, 2017).
• Baylor is on a school-record streak of eight consecutive postseason appearances. BU is 1 of 14 programs nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012, and the Bears are 13-6 in those games.
• Baylor is one of 16 teams nationally to make four or more Sweet 16 appearances since 2010.
• Baylor is 32-19 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last 11 seasons.
• Baylor's No. 9 seed is the 8th-highest and its lowest since earning a No. 11 seed in 2008.
• BU needs a win for 20+ wins in 10 of its last 12 seasons. BU had only 3 20-win seasons prior to 2008.
• Thursday is the 3rd series meeting. Syracuse won in Syracuse in 2006 and in Maui in 2013.
• Baylor is 9-14 all-time against current ACC teams, including a 4-5 mark in the Drew era.
• Baylor's only game vs. an ACC team in the last 5 seasons was a 66-63 win over Louisville in 2015-16.
• BU is 2nd nationally in offensive rebounding pct. (38.2), its 6th straight year in the nation's top 10.
• Four BU players earned All-Big 12 — Mason (2nd), Butler (HM), Kegler (HM) and Vital (HM).
• BU has been out-rebounded just once in its last 24 games (+7.6 avg. rebounding margin) in that span.
• Baylor finished 4th in the Big 12 standings after being picked 9th in the preseason coaches poll.
• Baylor returned 3 letterwinners from last year's team, the nation's fewest among Power-5 teams.
• In Big 12 play, BU led the league in offensive efficiency (109.2), assists (14.4/gm), 3-point pct. (.373), 3-pointers made (8.9/gm), rebounding (37.9/gm) and rebounding margin (+6.5/gm).
• Makai Mason has been limited in the last 11 games with a toe injury, King McClure has missed 5 games with a knee injury, Tristan Clark has missed 18 games, and Jake Lindsey has missed the entire season.
• All told, those 4 projected starters have missed 61 total games, including 42 in Big 12 play.
• McClure (2016-17) and Mason (2017) are Baylor's only active players with NCAA Tournament experience.
• Jared Butler joined the starting lineup with Clark out and is averaging 12.9 ppg and 3.4 apg in 18 starts.
• Butler is shooting 41% on 3FGs (45-110) in those 18 starts and has made a 3-pointer in 17 of 18 games.
• Butler leads the team with 13.8 ppg in the last 10 games, including 31 points at Kansas on March 9.
• Mario Kegler has led BU in scoring in 4 of its last 6 games, averaging 14.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg in that span.
• Kegler is averaging 12.8 points and 5.9 rebounds over his last 15 games, while shooting 38% on 3FGs.
• Devonte Bandoo is averaging 12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.7 apg in 30.1 mpg over the last 10 games.
• Freddie Gillespie has averaged 6.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 1.3 bpg in 20.2 mpg in 18 games since Clark's injury. He averaged 1.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 0.5 bpg in 12.2 mpg and played only 6 of 14 games prior to the injury.
• Mark Vital's last 6 games: 10.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.5 bpg, 1.0 spg in 32.0 mpg; 68% FTs (23-of-34).
• Mason is averaging 14.7 points, 4.3 assists and shooting 47% on 3FGs (9-19) in his last 3 games; in 5 preceding games after his toe injury, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 assists and shot 14% on 3FGs (3-22).
QUICK HITS
• Baylor has won 19+ games in 8 straight seasons and is seeking its 10th 20-win season in the last 12 years.
• Scott Drew is in his 16th season in Waco and is the Bears' all-time wins leader (315-208).
• Drew is coaching his 524th game at Baylor (315-208). His .602 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 40+ games, and his teams have a .669 winning percentage since 2007-08 (281-139).
• Baylor is 34-38 in Big 12 road games since 2012, second-best in the league behind only Kansas (44-24).
• Baylor is 1 of 14 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (6 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• Baylor is 29-3 when leading at halftime over the last two seasons (14-3 this season).
• BU is 87-20 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (19-5 this season).
• BU is 99-77 in Big 12 play in 10 seasons since 2010 after going 59-149 in the league's first 13 seasons.
• BU recorded double-digit Big 12 wins for the 4th time in the last 5 seasons and 6th time in 10 years.
• BU has won 8+ Big 12 games in 8 straight seasons after winning 8+ just 3 times in the league's first 15 years.
• Baylor is one of nine teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 11 seasons dating back to 2007-08 – Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
• BU is 41-71 against AP Top 25 teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first 4 rebuilding seasons.
• Baylor defeated 7 top-10 teams in the last 3 seasons, including a 6-3 mark vs. top-10 teams in Waco.
• Baylor is 12-22 against AP Top 10 teams since March 2012. BU started the Drew era 1-26 vs. top-10.
• Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (148-19).
• Baylor is 190-92 over the last 7 seasons, averaging 24.4 wins per season since 2012.
• Baylor's 190 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (235).
• Baylor is 281-139 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Baylor beat Alabama to move to 5-1 all-time in Big 12/SEC Challenges, the best record of any team in either league.
• Baylor has the nation's 11th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 901 straight games — the last time Baylor failed to make a 3-pointer was more than 29 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1990 vs. Texas Tech (0-8).
BAYLOR AGAINST ACC TEAMS
• Baylor is 6-5 all-time when facing ACC opponents, including a 3-4 mark in the Scott Drew era.
• The Bears have played an ACC team just once in the last 5 seasons – a 66-63 win over No. 10 Louisville in the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis championship game. BU overcame a 20-point second-half deficit to beat
Louisville.
• Baylor faced Syracuse in the 2013 Maui Invitational championship game, a 74-67 Syracuse win.
• All 7 games Drew has coached against ACC teams were in tournaments – neutral site wins vs. Boston College and Louisville, a win at Virginia Tech (NIT) and neutral site losses to Duke (NCAA), Florida State, Syracuse and Wake Forest.
• An ACC team has never visited Waco. Baylor is 1-1 in road games vs. ACC teams (win at VT, loss at Clemson).
SERIES HISTORY
• Thursday is the third series meeting between Baylor and Syracuse.
• Baylor played at Big East member Syracuse on Dec. 16, 2006, a game Syracuse won 94-71.
• BU faced ACC member Syracuse on Nov. 27, 2013, and SU claimed the Maui Invitational championship 74-67.
BAYLOR VS. 2019 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD
• Baylor is 7-7 this season against eight different teams that are part of the 2018 NCAA Tournament field.
• BU has played No. 3 Texas Tech (1-1), No. 4 Kansas (0-2), No. 4 Kansas State (0-2), No. 6 Iowa State (2-1),
No. 8 Ole Miss (0-1), No. 9 Oklahoma (2-0), No. 12 Oregon (1-0) and No. 16 Prairie View A&M (1-0).
• BU went 1-5 against teams with top-4 seeds and 6-2 against teams seeded No. 5 or lower.
• None of the 12 NCAA Tournament teams BU faced during the regular season are in the East Regional.
• All told, BU is 10-10 against 2019 postseason teams — 7-7 vs. NCAA and 3-3 vs. NIT.
NATION'S SEVENTH-BEST POSTSEASON RECORD
• Baylor's 20-8 postseason record over the past 10 seasons is tied for the nation's seventh-best among teams with at least four NCAA Tournament berths since 2009.
• The only teams with better postseason winning percentages than Baylor's .714 are North Carolina (.800), Connecticut (.783), Kentucky (.769), Duke (.758), Villanova (.751) and Louisville (.724). Kansas (.714) is tied with BU.
• The Bears' 20 postseason wins in that span are tied for ninth-most, trailing only North Carolina (32), Kentucky (30), Duke (25), Kansas (25), Michigan State (22), Louisville (21), Florida (21) and Syracuse (21).
• Baylor went 4-1 in the 2009 NIT, 3-1 on its way to NCAA Tournament Elite Eight berths in 2010 and 2012, 5-0 to claim the 2013 NIT title, 2-1 on its way to Sweet 16 berths in 2014 and 2017 and 1-1 in the 2018 NIT.
FIRST TIME AS NO. 9 SEED
• Baylor is a No. 9 seed for the first time in nine NCAA Tournament appearances during the modern era.
• The only time BU was a lower seed was 2008, when BU was No. 11 and lost in the first round to No. 6 Purdue.
• Baylor's only previous upset of a higher-seeded team was in the 2014 second round, when No. 6 seed BU knocked off No. 3 seed Creighton to advance to the Sweet 16. BU is 1-4 in NCAA Tournament games as the lower seed.
TWO BEARS WITH NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
• Baylor has only two active players with previous NCAA Tournament experience.
• King McClure played four total NCAA Tournaments games during Baylor's 2016 and 2017 appearances. He played in wins against New Mexico State and USC in 2017 and in losses to Yale in 2016 and South Carolina in 2017.
• Makai Mason played two games for Yale during its 2016 NCAA Tournament run (W vs. Baylor, L vs. Duke).
• Mark Vital (2 games), McClure (2 games) and Obim Okeke (1 game) played for Baylor in the 2018 NIT.
• Flo Thamba, Darius Allen, Devonte Bandoo, Mario Kegler, Jared Butler, Matthew Mayer and Freddie Gillespie will all be appearing in their first postseason games if they play in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
DREW IN NCAA TOURNAMENTS
• Head coach Scott Drew has a 10-7 record over seven previous NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Drew has guided Baylor to eight NCAA Tournaments in the last 12 seasons. Prior to Drew's arrival, Baylor went to only four NCAA Tournaments, including just once in the 53 seasons preceding his arrival in 2003-04.
• Drew was a major factor in Valparaiso's six NCAA appearances (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002) while an assistant on his father Homer's staff.
• In 2008, Drew guided Baylor to its first NCAA Championship appearance in 20 seasons (since 1988) and just its second appearance in 58 seasons since going to the eight-team tournament in 1950.
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME VS. NON-BIG 12 TEAMS
• Baylor is 56-30 against non-conference teams in neutral/road games in the Scott Drew era, including a 33-15 record in away games against non-Big 12 teams since 2011-12.
• Baylor is 53-24 in road/neutral non-conference games since the 2007-08 season (2-2 in 2018-19; 2-2 in 2017-18; 6-1 in 2016-17; 1-3 in 2015-16; 3-2 in 2014-15; 6-2 in 2013-14; 5-2 in 2012-13; 8-1 in 2011-12; 1-3 in 2010-11; 8-2 in 2009-10; 6-2 in 2008-09; 5-2 in 2007-08).
ONE OF 16 TEAMS WITH FOUR SWEET 16 APPEARANCES SINCE 2010
• Baylor is one of 16 teams nationally to make four Sweet 16 appearances in the last nine years.
• The Bears are joined by Arizona, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Xavier.
• Scott Drew is the youngest of 11 coaches nationally to lead his current program to four Sweet 16s since 2010. Drew (48) is joined by Arizona's Sean Miller (50), Gonzaga's Mark Few (56), Kansas' Bill Self (56), Kentucky's John Calipari (60), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (64), North Carolina's Roy Williams (68), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (72), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (74), West Virginia's Bob Huggins (75) and Michigan's John Beilein (76).
BAYLOR IN NCAA TOURNAMENTS
• Baylor has 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, and the Bears have lost to the eventual national champion four times (1946, 1948, 2010 and 2012).
• Baylor's 1946 team lost to Oklahoma A&M in the regional semifinals in Kansas City, Mo.
• Baylor's 1948 squad lost to Kentucky in the national title game at New York's Madison Square Garden,
• Baylor's 2010 team lost to Duke in the Elite Eight at Houston's Reliant Stadium.
• Baylor's 2012 team lost to Kentucky in the Elite Eight at Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
• Baylor's first eight NCAA bids all came in even-numbered years —1946, 1948, 1950, 1988, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. The Bears have earned NCAA berths in five of the last six years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).
• Baylor played in three tournaments in a five-year span between 1946-1950 under head coach Bill Henderson, including Final Four appearances in 1948 and 1950.
FIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES IN LAST SIX SEASONS
• Baylor is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
• BU is 1 of 22 teams to appear in five NCAA Tournaments since 2014, joining Arizona, Cincinnati, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Providence, Purdue, VCU, Villanova, Virginia, Wichita State, Wisconsin and Xavier.
EIGHT CONSECUTIVE POSTSEASON BERTHS
• Baylor is on a school-record streak of eight consecutive postseason berths, surpassing the total number of postseason berths in the program's 97 seasons prior to the Scott Drew era.
• Baylor is 1 of 14 teams to appear in every postseason since 2012, joining Cincinnati, Duke, Gonzaga, Iona, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Oregon, Saint Mary's, Virginia and Wichita State.
• The Bears earned NCAA Tournament bids in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 and NIT bids in 2013 and 2018.
• Baylor has made postseason appearances in 11 of 12 seasons since 2008. Prior to that, Baylor's only postseason berths were in 1946 (NCAA), 1948 (NCAA), 1950 (NCAA), 1987 (NIT), 1988 (NCAA), 1990 (NIT) and 2001 (NIT).
• Baylor is 20-9 in postseason national tournaments during the Drew era after going 3-9 prior to Drew's arrival.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Scott Drew's 316th win at Baylor and the 336th of his Division I coaching career.
• Give BU 20+ wins in 10 of the last 12 seasons. BU had 20+ wins in only 3 seasons prior to that stretch.
• Improve Baylor's all-time NCAA Tournament record to 14-13, including 11-7 in the Scott Drew era.
• Mark the fifth time in the last 10 seasons Baylor has advanced past the NCAA Tournament first round.
• Improve Baylor's record to 33-19 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last 11 seasons.
• Be Baylor's first win against Syracuse, improving the Bears to 1-2 against the Orange.
UP NEXT
• The winner of the Baylor vs. Syracuse game will advance to the second round to face the winner of No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson/No. 16 Prairie View A&M on Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.
• Tipoff times and TV networks for second round games will be determined after Thursday's games are completed.
Publisher
Baylor and Syracuse understand what it means to play shorthanded. The timing is never right.
But when it comes to the NCAA tournament, that’s about as bad as it gets. Now, the question is if Baylor can capitalize on it. On Wednesday, Syracuse announced starting point guard Frank Howard was suspended indefinitely for a violation of athletic department policy.
A four-year letter winner, who was averaging nearly a 1.5-to-1.0 assist to turnover ratio, the West No. 8 seed’s offense and trademark 2-3 zone defense will look far different.
As for the No. 9 seed Bears, they’re just hoping they can get a complete game from grad transfer point guard Makai Mason. Bothered by a bad right toe for the last seven weeks, Mason has been able to play off and on. The track record has been that he starts fine, but as the game wears on he has had a tendency to trail off in terms of productivity.
The Bears and Orange meet in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Vivant Smart Home Arena at 8:57 p.m. Thursday (TruTV). The winner advances to Saturday’s second round to meet the winner of No. 1 Gonzaga-No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson.
Baylor comes into the tournament limping losing its last four. Along with Mason’s health frustrations, the Bears have been struggling from 3-point range. They also have not been dominating in the second chance points category.
However, they have had a week off since falling to Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals. Head coach Scott Drew is hoping that the time off will be a pick-me-up.
Syracuse is welcoming back 6-6 guard Tyus Battle who missed the last two games because of a back ailment. With Howard’s absence, Battle is expected to move to the point guard. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s son, Buddy Boeheim, is also expected to move into the starting lineup.
While Syracuse is known for its 2-3 zone, it will be interesting to see how much 1-3-1 Scott Drew uses against his man. Battle is the top scorer for the Orange at more than 17 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the arc.
The chicken-and-egg debate Drew and his staff may be pondering is do they let Battle get his usual but clamp down on the others or will they attempt to push Battle to see how he responds and dare the others to beat them.
That said, the Bears need to overcome a shooting slump from the arc that’s played a role in this losing streak. The Bears have shot 29 percent from behind the line and just need that part of the offense to return. Syracuse’s zone will challenge, even though it’s been inconsistent this season.
And there’s going to have to be some kind of resurgence of Mario Kegler. If Mason struggles and Jared Butler doesn’t get off to a quick start, the Bears are going to need its mystery to be solved. Kegler has shown his presence when he scored 23 and 24 points in wins over West Virginia and Texas. Baylor is going to need him somewhere in that range.
And if Kegler delivers like he did in those two games, then Baylor’s chances of playing on Saturday strengthen.
STORY LINES
• Baylor faces Syracuse in the 2019 NCAA Tournament first round Thursday on truTV from Salt Lake City.
• Baylor is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in six seasons since 2012.
• Baylor is 13-13 in 11 previous NCAA Tournament trips, including 10-7 in the Scott Drew era.
• Drew has led Baylor to two Elite Eights (2010, 2012) and four Sweet 16s (2010, 2012, 2014, 2017).
• Baylor is on a school-record streak of eight consecutive postseason appearances. BU is 1 of 14 programs nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012, and the Bears are 13-6 in those games.
• Baylor is one of 16 teams nationally to make four or more Sweet 16 appearances since 2010.
• Baylor is 32-19 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last 11 seasons.
• Baylor's No. 9 seed is the 8th-highest and its lowest since earning a No. 11 seed in 2008.
• BU needs a win for 20+ wins in 10 of its last 12 seasons. BU had only 3 20-win seasons prior to 2008.
• Thursday is the 3rd series meeting. Syracuse won in Syracuse in 2006 and in Maui in 2013.
• Baylor is 9-14 all-time against current ACC teams, including a 4-5 mark in the Drew era.
• Baylor's only game vs. an ACC team in the last 5 seasons was a 66-63 win over Louisville in 2015-16.
• BU is 2nd nationally in offensive rebounding pct. (38.2), its 6th straight year in the nation's top 10.
• Four BU players earned All-Big 12 — Mason (2nd), Butler (HM), Kegler (HM) and Vital (HM).
• BU has been out-rebounded just once in its last 24 games (+7.6 avg. rebounding margin) in that span.
• Baylor finished 4th in the Big 12 standings after being picked 9th in the preseason coaches poll.
• Baylor returned 3 letterwinners from last year's team, the nation's fewest among Power-5 teams.
• In Big 12 play, BU led the league in offensive efficiency (109.2), assists (14.4/gm), 3-point pct. (.373), 3-pointers made (8.9/gm), rebounding (37.9/gm) and rebounding margin (+6.5/gm).
• Makai Mason has been limited in the last 11 games with a toe injury, King McClure has missed 5 games with a knee injury, Tristan Clark has missed 18 games, and Jake Lindsey has missed the entire season.
• All told, those 4 projected starters have missed 61 total games, including 42 in Big 12 play.
• McClure (2016-17) and Mason (2017) are Baylor's only active players with NCAA Tournament experience.
• Jared Butler joined the starting lineup with Clark out and is averaging 12.9 ppg and 3.4 apg in 18 starts.
• Butler is shooting 41% on 3FGs (45-110) in those 18 starts and has made a 3-pointer in 17 of 18 games.
• Butler leads the team with 13.8 ppg in the last 10 games, including 31 points at Kansas on March 9.
• Mario Kegler has led BU in scoring in 4 of its last 6 games, averaging 14.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg in that span.
• Kegler is averaging 12.8 points and 5.9 rebounds over his last 15 games, while shooting 38% on 3FGs.
• Devonte Bandoo is averaging 12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.7 apg in 30.1 mpg over the last 10 games.
• Freddie Gillespie has averaged 6.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 1.3 bpg in 20.2 mpg in 18 games since Clark's injury. He averaged 1.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 0.5 bpg in 12.2 mpg and played only 6 of 14 games prior to the injury.
• Mark Vital's last 6 games: 10.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.5 bpg, 1.0 spg in 32.0 mpg; 68% FTs (23-of-34).
• Mason is averaging 14.7 points, 4.3 assists and shooting 47% on 3FGs (9-19) in his last 3 games; in 5 preceding games after his toe injury, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 assists and shot 14% on 3FGs (3-22).
QUICK HITS
• Baylor has won 19+ games in 8 straight seasons and is seeking its 10th 20-win season in the last 12 years.
• Scott Drew is in his 16th season in Waco and is the Bears' all-time wins leader (315-208).
• Drew is coaching his 524th game at Baylor (315-208). His .602 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 40+ games, and his teams have a .669 winning percentage since 2007-08 (281-139).
• Baylor is 34-38 in Big 12 road games since 2012, second-best in the league behind only Kansas (44-24).
• Baylor is 1 of 14 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (6 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• Baylor is 29-3 when leading at halftime over the last two seasons (14-3 this season).
• BU is 87-20 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (19-5 this season).
• BU is 99-77 in Big 12 play in 10 seasons since 2010 after going 59-149 in the league's first 13 seasons.
• BU recorded double-digit Big 12 wins for the 4th time in the last 5 seasons and 6th time in 10 years.
• BU has won 8+ Big 12 games in 8 straight seasons after winning 8+ just 3 times in the league's first 15 years.
• Baylor is one of nine teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 11 seasons dating back to 2007-08 – Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
• BU is 41-71 against AP Top 25 teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first 4 rebuilding seasons.
• Baylor defeated 7 top-10 teams in the last 3 seasons, including a 6-3 mark vs. top-10 teams in Waco.
• Baylor is 12-22 against AP Top 10 teams since March 2012. BU started the Drew era 1-26 vs. top-10.
• Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (148-19).
• Baylor is 190-92 over the last 7 seasons, averaging 24.4 wins per season since 2012.
• Baylor's 190 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (235).
• Baylor is 281-139 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Baylor beat Alabama to move to 5-1 all-time in Big 12/SEC Challenges, the best record of any team in either league.
• Baylor has the nation's 11th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 901 straight games — the last time Baylor failed to make a 3-pointer was more than 29 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1990 vs. Texas Tech (0-8).
BAYLOR AGAINST ACC TEAMS
• Baylor is 6-5 all-time when facing ACC opponents, including a 3-4 mark in the Scott Drew era.
• The Bears have played an ACC team just once in the last 5 seasons – a 66-63 win over No. 10 Louisville in the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis championship game. BU overcame a 20-point second-half deficit to beat
Louisville.
• Baylor faced Syracuse in the 2013 Maui Invitational championship game, a 74-67 Syracuse win.
• All 7 games Drew has coached against ACC teams were in tournaments – neutral site wins vs. Boston College and Louisville, a win at Virginia Tech (NIT) and neutral site losses to Duke (NCAA), Florida State, Syracuse and Wake Forest.
• An ACC team has never visited Waco. Baylor is 1-1 in road games vs. ACC teams (win at VT, loss at Clemson).
SERIES HISTORY
• Thursday is the third series meeting between Baylor and Syracuse.
• Baylor played at Big East member Syracuse on Dec. 16, 2006, a game Syracuse won 94-71.
• BU faced ACC member Syracuse on Nov. 27, 2013, and SU claimed the Maui Invitational championship 74-67.
BAYLOR VS. 2019 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD
• Baylor is 7-7 this season against eight different teams that are part of the 2018 NCAA Tournament field.
• BU has played No. 3 Texas Tech (1-1), No. 4 Kansas (0-2), No. 4 Kansas State (0-2), No. 6 Iowa State (2-1),
No. 8 Ole Miss (0-1), No. 9 Oklahoma (2-0), No. 12 Oregon (1-0) and No. 16 Prairie View A&M (1-0).
• BU went 1-5 against teams with top-4 seeds and 6-2 against teams seeded No. 5 or lower.
• None of the 12 NCAA Tournament teams BU faced during the regular season are in the East Regional.
• All told, BU is 10-10 against 2019 postseason teams — 7-7 vs. NCAA and 3-3 vs. NIT.
NATION'S SEVENTH-BEST POSTSEASON RECORD
• Baylor's 20-8 postseason record over the past 10 seasons is tied for the nation's seventh-best among teams with at least four NCAA Tournament berths since 2009.
• The only teams with better postseason winning percentages than Baylor's .714 are North Carolina (.800), Connecticut (.783), Kentucky (.769), Duke (.758), Villanova (.751) and Louisville (.724). Kansas (.714) is tied with BU.
• The Bears' 20 postseason wins in that span are tied for ninth-most, trailing only North Carolina (32), Kentucky (30), Duke (25), Kansas (25), Michigan State (22), Louisville (21), Florida (21) and Syracuse (21).
• Baylor went 4-1 in the 2009 NIT, 3-1 on its way to NCAA Tournament Elite Eight berths in 2010 and 2012, 5-0 to claim the 2013 NIT title, 2-1 on its way to Sweet 16 berths in 2014 and 2017 and 1-1 in the 2018 NIT.
FIRST TIME AS NO. 9 SEED
• Baylor is a No. 9 seed for the first time in nine NCAA Tournament appearances during the modern era.
• The only time BU was a lower seed was 2008, when BU was No. 11 and lost in the first round to No. 6 Purdue.
• Baylor's only previous upset of a higher-seeded team was in the 2014 second round, when No. 6 seed BU knocked off No. 3 seed Creighton to advance to the Sweet 16. BU is 1-4 in NCAA Tournament games as the lower seed.
TWO BEARS WITH NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
• Baylor has only two active players with previous NCAA Tournament experience.
• King McClure played four total NCAA Tournaments games during Baylor's 2016 and 2017 appearances. He played in wins against New Mexico State and USC in 2017 and in losses to Yale in 2016 and South Carolina in 2017.
• Makai Mason played two games for Yale during its 2016 NCAA Tournament run (W vs. Baylor, L vs. Duke).
• Mark Vital (2 games), McClure (2 games) and Obim Okeke (1 game) played for Baylor in the 2018 NIT.
• Flo Thamba, Darius Allen, Devonte Bandoo, Mario Kegler, Jared Butler, Matthew Mayer and Freddie Gillespie will all be appearing in their first postseason games if they play in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
DREW IN NCAA TOURNAMENTS
• Head coach Scott Drew has a 10-7 record over seven previous NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Drew has guided Baylor to eight NCAA Tournaments in the last 12 seasons. Prior to Drew's arrival, Baylor went to only four NCAA Tournaments, including just once in the 53 seasons preceding his arrival in 2003-04.
• Drew was a major factor in Valparaiso's six NCAA appearances (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002) while an assistant on his father Homer's staff.
• In 2008, Drew guided Baylor to its first NCAA Championship appearance in 20 seasons (since 1988) and just its second appearance in 58 seasons since going to the eight-team tournament in 1950.
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME VS. NON-BIG 12 TEAMS
• Baylor is 56-30 against non-conference teams in neutral/road games in the Scott Drew era, including a 33-15 record in away games against non-Big 12 teams since 2011-12.
• Baylor is 53-24 in road/neutral non-conference games since the 2007-08 season (2-2 in 2018-19; 2-2 in 2017-18; 6-1 in 2016-17; 1-3 in 2015-16; 3-2 in 2014-15; 6-2 in 2013-14; 5-2 in 2012-13; 8-1 in 2011-12; 1-3 in 2010-11; 8-2 in 2009-10; 6-2 in 2008-09; 5-2 in 2007-08).
ONE OF 16 TEAMS WITH FOUR SWEET 16 APPEARANCES SINCE 2010
• Baylor is one of 16 teams nationally to make four Sweet 16 appearances in the last nine years.
• The Bears are joined by Arizona, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Xavier.
• Scott Drew is the youngest of 11 coaches nationally to lead his current program to four Sweet 16s since 2010. Drew (48) is joined by Arizona's Sean Miller (50), Gonzaga's Mark Few (56), Kansas' Bill Self (56), Kentucky's John Calipari (60), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (64), North Carolina's Roy Williams (68), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (72), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (74), West Virginia's Bob Huggins (75) and Michigan's John Beilein (76).
BAYLOR IN NCAA TOURNAMENTS
• Baylor has 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, and the Bears have lost to the eventual national champion four times (1946, 1948, 2010 and 2012).
• Baylor's 1946 team lost to Oklahoma A&M in the regional semifinals in Kansas City, Mo.
• Baylor's 1948 squad lost to Kentucky in the national title game at New York's Madison Square Garden,
• Baylor's 2010 team lost to Duke in the Elite Eight at Houston's Reliant Stadium.
• Baylor's 2012 team lost to Kentucky in the Elite Eight at Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
• Baylor's first eight NCAA bids all came in even-numbered years —1946, 1948, 1950, 1988, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. The Bears have earned NCAA berths in five of the last six years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).
• Baylor played in three tournaments in a five-year span between 1946-1950 under head coach Bill Henderson, including Final Four appearances in 1948 and 1950.
FIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES IN LAST SIX SEASONS
• Baylor is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
• BU is 1 of 22 teams to appear in five NCAA Tournaments since 2014, joining Arizona, Cincinnati, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Providence, Purdue, VCU, Villanova, Virginia, Wichita State, Wisconsin and Xavier.
EIGHT CONSECUTIVE POSTSEASON BERTHS
• Baylor is on a school-record streak of eight consecutive postseason berths, surpassing the total number of postseason berths in the program's 97 seasons prior to the Scott Drew era.
• Baylor is 1 of 14 teams to appear in every postseason since 2012, joining Cincinnati, Duke, Gonzaga, Iona, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Oregon, Saint Mary's, Virginia and Wichita State.
• The Bears earned NCAA Tournament bids in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 and NIT bids in 2013 and 2018.
• Baylor has made postseason appearances in 11 of 12 seasons since 2008. Prior to that, Baylor's only postseason berths were in 1946 (NCAA), 1948 (NCAA), 1950 (NCAA), 1987 (NIT), 1988 (NCAA), 1990 (NIT) and 2001 (NIT).
• Baylor is 20-9 in postseason national tournaments during the Drew era after going 3-9 prior to Drew's arrival.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Scott Drew's 316th win at Baylor and the 336th of his Division I coaching career.
• Give BU 20+ wins in 10 of the last 12 seasons. BU had 20+ wins in only 3 seasons prior to that stretch.
• Improve Baylor's all-time NCAA Tournament record to 14-13, including 11-7 in the Scott Drew era.
• Mark the fifth time in the last 10 seasons Baylor has advanced past the NCAA Tournament first round.
• Improve Baylor's record to 33-19 in postseason tournaments (conference, national) over the last 11 seasons.
• Be Baylor's first win against Syracuse, improving the Bears to 1-2 against the Orange.
UP NEXT
• The winner of the Baylor vs. Syracuse game will advance to the second round to face the winner of No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson/No. 16 Prairie View A&M on Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.
• Tipoff times and TV networks for second round games will be determined after Thursday's games are completed.
