• BU heads to Houston for a mid-week road bout against the Cougars at the Fertitta Center on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
• Baylor has its best start to conference play in the Nicki Collen era through 10 games with an 8-2 record.
• The Bears remain the leading rebounding team in the Big 12 Conference, averaging 43.22 per game, enough for 10th in the NCAA, and hold an average margin of 10.5 over their opponents.
• As the first repeat conference opponent of the 2024-25 slate, Baylor and Houston first played on January 17 in a game that the Bears bested the Cougars, 70-51. BU’s schedule also holds Colorado and TCU as home-and-away repeat foes.
• In that first game, Aaronette Vonleh was one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine boards, while Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, and Aliyah Matharu both scored double digits.
• Last season held Baylor’s first visit to the Fertitta Center, almost one year ago to the day on February 4th. BU got the victory, 83-60 with six in double figures, led by former Bear Dre’Una Edwards with 15.
• Old Southwest Conference rivals, Baylor and Houston faced off 46 times before the 1996 split, where Baylor became a charter member of the Big 12 and Houston was a founding member of Conference USA. In that era, the Coogs dominated the Bears 33-13. Since then, the two squads have faced off three times with Baylor victorious in each contest.
• BU defeated Houston by a combined 52 points in both conference games of the Cougars’ first year in the Big 12.
• Through games on Feb. 3, Baylor is ranked 23rd in the NET, going 0-3 against Quad 1 programs and 4-2 over Quad 2.
• BU’s highest-ranked NET win is over No. 26 Utah, who holds the first spot out of Q1.
• Remaining in the Big 12 slate, BU is set to face three Q1 teams, two in Q2, three in Q3 and Wednesday’s game against Houston in Q4.
• Houston enters the contest at No. 177, with a NET-best win over No. 28 Oklahoma State.
• In the largest margin of victory over a Big 12 opponent since the 76-36 (40-point) defeat of Oklahoma State on May 11, 2022, in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, Baylor beat Cincinnati by 39 points, 98-59, at Foster Pavilion.
• The Bears tied the program record for 3-pointers made in a game with 17. The record was originally set on November 24, 2023, against McNeese. 17 also bests the former record of 3-pointers in a Big 12 game of 14 that was set at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 16, 2022.
• Leading the Bears from the arc was junior Bella Fontleroy, who shot a career-best seven threes off eight attempts. Her banner day was capped off with career-high points (29), field goals made (10) and the aforementioned 3-pointers made (7).
• Florida transfer Aliyah Matharu was also dominant from three, going 5-of-6 for 17 points, her highest-scoring effort as a Bear. Five 3-pointers matches her career best that has been equaled seven times, the last coming in her final game as a Florida Gator against St. Johns in the first round of the WBIT.
• Sarah Andrews had a season-high 12 assists in Baylor’s highest assist output of the season at 31, the second-most of the Collen era and just the third with 30 or more in Collen’s tenure.
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