Baylor Bears
Big 12 (22-11, 10-8)
For a little while, Baylor was looking like one of the teams to beat in the Big 12. Following a loss at Kanas, the Bears reeled off five conference wins in a row. But then the toughness of the Big 12 schedule started to catch up with Coach Scott Drew and company. But even with losses to teams like KU, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia, this is a Baylor team with a dynamic frontcourt that can battle with anybody on the boards.
Big Wins: 1/9 at Iowa State (94-89), 1/16 at Texas Tech (63-60), 2/20 at Texas (78-64)
Bad Losses: 12/19 at Texas A&M (61-80), 2/1 Texas (59-67), 2/13 Texas Tech (66-84)
Coach: Scott Drew
Why They Can Surprise:
With Taurean Prince, Rico Gathers and Johnathan Motley, Coach Drew has three very talented big men with the versatility to all be on the floor at the same time if necessary. Prince is the team’s top scorer with 15.5 points per game. He also adds 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game and can knock down three-pointers at a relatively consistent clip. Prince, a 6-7, 220 pound senior, can be a big small forward when Gathers and Motley are on the floor and that can be a very, very tough matchup for most opponents. Gathers is another double-digit scorer, but he is also one of the best rebounders in the collegiate game, averaging 9.1 per game. Gathers, at 6-8 and 275 pounds, is the more traditional bruiser in the paint and his scoring average would look a lot healthier if he was a better free-throw shooter. Prince and Gathers are seniors while Motley is an emerging sophomore. On the year, he averaged 11.0 points and 5.1 rebounds. He has starting experience and Coach Drew can give Prince or Gathers a rest without missing a beat with Motley.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Baylor shares the ball amazingly well and that is almost entirely because of Lester Medford, who averages 6.5 assists and just 2.3 turnovers per game. Medford is even a dangerous enough outside shooter to keep the opposition honest. Al Freeman is a decent shooter too, but there is the sense that Baylor does not take advantage of the open looks on the perimeter they get while the opposition is concentrating on the big guys. This is a team with a solid point guard in Medford, three great big guys to rotate up front and a shooting guard in Freeman who is averaging 11.5 points per game. Ishmail Wright, Jake Lindsey, Terry Maston and King McClure all try to fill in that last starting spot and be an offensive spark off of the bench, but none have been consistently able to do that. Baylor does not need those guys to put up huge numbers, but they do need them to play solid defense and for at least one of them to be a threat from long range.
Probable Starters:
Lester Medford, Senior, Guard, 9.1 ppg, 6.5 apg
Al Freeman, Sophomore, Guard, 11.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.7 apg
Ishmail Wainright, Junior, Guard, 5.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 apg
Taurean Prince, Senior, Forward, 15.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.2 apg
Rico Gathers, Senior, Forward, 11.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Jake Lindsey, Freshman, Guard, 2.4 ppg, 2 apg
Terry Maston, Sophomore, Forward, 6.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg
King McClure, Freshman, Guard, 4.5 ppg
Johnathan Motley, Sophomore, Forward, 11.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.2 bpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 77.6 (70th in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 69.5 (118, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.0 (40, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.6 (242, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.2 (252, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.3 (53, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.9 (58, 3)
Rebound Margin: 8.2 (14, 2)
Assists Per Game: 18.4 (4, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (183, 7)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2015 NCAA Second Round loss to Georgia State
2014 NCAA Second Round win over Nebraska
2014 NCAA Third Round win over Creighton
2014 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Wisconsin
2013 NIT First Round win over Long Beach State
2013 NIT Second Round win over Arizona State
2013 NIT Quarterfinal win over Providence
2013 NIT Semifinal win over BYU
2013 NIT Final win over Iowa
2012 NCAA Second Round win over South Dakota State
2012 NCAA Third Round win over Colorado
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Xavier
2012 NCAA Regional Final loss to Kentucky
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Sam Houston State
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over Old Dominion
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over St. Mary's
2010 NCAA Regional Final loss to Duke
2009 NIT First Round win over Georgetown
2009 NIT Second Round win over Virginia Tech
2009 NIT Quarterfinal win over Auburn
2009 NIT Semifinal win over San Diego State
2009 NIT Final loss to Penn State
2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Purdue
*all team stats through 3/6
