A Closer Look At The Baylor Bears

With at least a share of its ninth straight Big 12 regular season championship on the line, No. 4/3 Kansas travels to Waco, Texas, for a Saturday showdown against Baylor.

Jayhawk Slant is here to provide you with a closer look at the Baylor Bears.

Baylor: The Facts

Located in Waco, Texas, with an enrollment of 15,364, Baylor is 17-13 on the season and 8-9 in Big 12 play after its 79-70 loss at Texas on March 4. The Bears are coached by Scott Drew who is 174-137 in his 10th season at BU and 194-148 in his 11th season overall. Baylor averages 74.3 points and gives up 66.0 for a +8.3 scoring margin. Baylor is ranked third in the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 44.9 percent including 34.7 percent from three-point range. BU averages 7.1 three-pointers and 6.7 steals per game.

Senior guard Pierre Jackson, the 2013 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, leads Baylor in scoring at 19.1 points per game, which is also tops in the conference. Jackson has made a team-high 73 three-pointers and also leads BU with 187 assists, 136 free throws made and is second on the team with 44 steals. Freshman center Isaiah Austin is next in scoring at 13.7 points per game and he leads the team lead with an 8.9 rebound average, which is second in the Big 12. His 43 blocked shots in 2012-13 are second most on the squad.

Junior forward Cory Jefferson is second on the BU squad with an 8.4 rebound average and he leads Baylor with 59 blocked shots. Jefferson is scoring 11.7 points per game in 2012-13. Junior guard Brady Heslip has made 67 three-pointers and scores 8.7 points per contest. Senior guard A.J. Walton rounds out the BU starters; he leads the team with 52 steals, scores 7.1 points per outing and is second on the team with 105 assists.

Other Baylor regulars include junior guard Gary Franklin (3.9 ppg) and sophomore guard Deuce Bello (2.3 ppg).

Kansas vs. Baylor: The Series

Kansas leads the series with Baylor 19-3, including an 8-1 record in Waco, Texas. This series dates back to 1951 with Kansas winning the first six meetings. Since the inception of the Big 12, KU holds a 17-3 record against BU and has won four of the last five meetings. Baylor's last two wins in the series were in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship: 71-64 in the 2009 quarterfinals in Oklahoma City and 81-72 in the 2012 semifinals in Kansas City.

Earlier this season, Kansas defeated Baylor 61-44 on Jan. 14, in Allen Fieldhouse. KU redshirt freshman guard Ben McLemore led all scorers with 17 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Senior guard Elijah Johnson scored 12 points and senior guard Travis Releford added 10. KU led 33-20 at halftime and Baylor's 44 points were the fewest a KU team has allowed in a league game since KU held Nebraska to 39 points on 2-17-07 in Lawrence.

A closer look at the Baylor Bears

#1 L.J. Rose: 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard (Fr.)

#2 Ricardo Gathers: 6-foot-8, 260-pound forward (Fr.)

#4 Gary Franklin: 6-foot-2, 195-pound guard (Jr.)

#5 Brady Heslip: 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard (Jr.)

#14 Deuce Bello: 6-foot-4, 187-pound guard (So.)

#15 Chad Rykhoek: 6-foot-11, 230-pound forward/center (Fr.)

#20 Logan Lowery: 6-foot-6, 190-pound forward (So.)

#21 Isaiah Austin: 7-foot-1, 220-pound center (Fr.)

#22 A.J. Walton: 6-foot-1, 184-pound guard (Sr.)

#23 Jacob Neubert: 6-foot-5, 205-pound forward (Sr.)

#34 Cory Jefferson: 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward (Jr.)

#35 Taurean Waller-Prince: 6-foot-7, 202-pound forward (Fr.)

#55 Pierre Jackson: 5-foot-10, 180-pound guard (Sr.)

Baylor Season Statistics

Record: 17-13

Home Record: 11-5

Away Record: 4-7

Neutral Record: 2-1

Big 12 Conference Record: 8-9

National Ranking: NR

Wins: Lehigh, Jackson State, Boston College (Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.), St. John's (Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.), @ Kentucky, Lamar, USC Upstate, BYU, Texas, @ Texas Tech, TCU, Hardin-Simmons, Oklahoma State, @ TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia, @ West Virginia

Losses: Colorado (Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.), Northwestern, @ Gonzaga, @ Kansas, Oklahoma, @ Iowa State, @ Oklahoma State, @ Kansas State, Iowa State, @ Oklahoma, Kansas State, @ Texas

Upcoming games: Kansas

Scoring Leaders:

Pierre Jackson: 19.1

Isaiah Austin: 13.7

Cory Jefferson: 11.7

Brady Heslip: 8.7

Rebounding Leaders:

Isaiah Austin: 8.9

Cory Jefferson: 8.3

Rico Gathers: 5.6

Pierre Jackson: 3.5

A.J. Walton: 3.5

Assist Leaders:

Pierre Jackson: 6.4

A.J. Walton: 3.5

Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders:

Cory Jefferson: 135-of-236 (57.2%)

Rico Gathers: 69-of-134 (51.5%)

Isaiah Austin: 156-of-339 (46.0%)

Pierre Jackson: 173-of-413 (41.9%)

A.J. Walton: 82-of-197 (41.6%)

Brady Heslip: 83-of-213 (39.0%)

3 point Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders

Brady Heslip: 67-of-174 (38.5%)

Pierre Jackson: 73-of-207 (35.3%)

Isaiah Austin: 27-of-84 (32.1%)

A.J. Walton: 12-of-42 (28.6%)

Free-throw Percentage Leaders:

Brady Heslip: 18-of-23 (78.3%)

Pierre Jackson: 136-of-177 (76.8%)

Cory Jefferson: 81-of-116 (69.8%)

A.J. Walton: 36-of-52 (69.2%)

Isaiah Austin: 44-of-71 (62.0%)

Rico Gathers: 40-of-79 (50.6%)

Baylor: A Look At The Numbers:

Scoring: 2,228 (74.3 PPG)

Scoring Margin: +8.3

Field Goal %: 45 (801-of-1,783)

3-Point FG %: 35 (212-of-611)

3-Pont FG Made Per Game: 7.1

Free-throw %: 68 (414-of-608)

Free-throws Made Per Game: 13.8

Rebounds: 1,135 (37.8 per game)

Rebounding Margin: +2.5

Assists: 457 (15.2 per game)

Turnovers: 373 (12.4 per game)

Turnover Margin: +0.9

Steals: 202 (6.7 per game)

Blocks: 133 (4.4 per game)

Opponent Averages :

Scoring: 1,980 (66.0 PPG)

Field Goal %: 41 (723-of-1,762)

3-Point FG %: 31 (160-of-510)

3-Pont FG Made Per Game: 5.3

Free-throw %: 67 (374-of-556)

Free-throws Made Per Game: 12.5

Rebounds: 1,059 (35.3 per game)

Assists: 388 (12.9 per game)

Turnovers: 400 (13.3 per game)

Steals: 201 (6.7 per game)

Blocks: 100 (3.3 per game)