Oklahoma State @ Baylor preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2020 ) Baylor 75, Oklahoma State 68

Baylor may be the only unbeaten team left in Big 12 play, but few opponents have given the Bears more of a scare during their school-record 19-game winning streak than the team that needed more than a month to get its first conference victory. Hoping to extend its undefeated streak to 20, No. 1 Baylor sets its sights on a season sweep Saturday when it hosts Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys held a 12-point lead on the Bears with about 14 minutes remaining at home on Jan. 18 before Baylor rallied and eventually pulled out a 75-68 victory despite trailing for over 30 minutes. The Bears didn't have to work quite as hard in their most recent contest despite struggling from the free-throw line, however, racing out to an early 16-point lead to combat 16-of-29 shooting from the stripe in Monday's 73-67 wire-to-wire win at Kansas State. "We just made a lot of good reads, and they were missing some wide-open shots. We got in transition a lot. It was a really good feeling, but it's a game of runs, it's going to be a grind," Baylor sophomore guard Jared Butler told reporters. The Cowboys avoided matching their worst start in conference play since 1971-72 on Wednesday, overcoming a significant amount of adversity to defeat TCU 72-57 to get their first win in Big 12 action.

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (11-11, 1-8 Big 12): The Cowboys played Wednesday without second-leading scorer Lindy Waters III (face) and freshman Avery Anderson III (back), lost freshman Chris Harris Jr. (leg) early in the game and watched as Cameron McGriff, Keylan Boone and Yor Anei battled foul trouble. Isaac Likekele (team-high marks of 11.6 points, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals), who tallied 16 points and nine boards last month against Baylor, posted his first career double-double with 15 points and a personal-best 11 assists to go along with six rebounds and two blocks Wednesday. Thomas Dziagwa has buried exactly four 3-pointers in five of his last six outings and is shooting 43.5 percent beyond the arc over that span despite a 0-for-3 showing against Kansas on Jan. 27.

ABOUT BAYLOR (20-1, 9-0): Butler (team-high 15.3 points) snapped out of a four-game slump during which shot 29.5 percent and failed to top 10 points by finishing with 20 points on 7-for-12 from the field Monday, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range (he made only three of his previous 19 3-point attempts). MaCio Teague (14.1) has scored at least 15 points in five straight contests and made at least one 3-pointer in 44 of his last 46 games, and the Bears are 17-0 this season when he reaches double figures. Sophomore Davion Mitchell (9.9 points, 3.2 assists) has managed at least 10 points in nine of his last 12 outings and handed out a career-high seven assists versus the Wildcats.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Baylor's 9-0 start in league action is the best by a Big 12 team since Texas opened with 11 straight conference wins in 2011.

2. Walk-on G Dee Mitchell led the Cowboys with a plus/minus of plus-18 despite not taking a shot or scoring a point in 17 minutes of action Wednesday.

3. The Bears reached the 20-win mark for the 11th time in 13 years with Monday's victory. Prior to 2008, they managed 20 or more wins in a season three times in 101 campaigns.

PREDICTION: Baylor 71, Oklahoma State 59