BAYLOR (6-1) at SMU (2-4)
Dec. 21, 2002 - Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas) - 7:05 p.m. CST

RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (KRZI 1660/1580 AM Waco & WBAP 820 AM Dallas)
TELEVISION: None

BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Under Dave Bliss, Baylor is 13-3 vs. non-conference schools from Texas.
- Baylor is 2-4 vs. non-Big 12 former Southwest Conference foes since the conference disbanded.
- Freshmen and sophomores account for 58% of Baylor's scoring (304-of-525).
- Baylor has won 2 games after trailing at the half this season; in 30 games last season the Bears had one second-half comeback.
- Baylor is averaging a +6.4 turnover margin through 7 games.
- Baylor is averaging 10.3 made 3-pointers per game this season.
- Through 6 games, Baylor owns a 119-71 average edge in points off turnovers.
- Over the past three seasons Baylor is 32-1 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (4-0 in 2002-2003).
- Dave Bliss is the 3rd winningest active coach in the Big 12 -- 518 victories (13th nationally).
- John Lucas is shooting 93.8% from FT line, currently 2nd in Big 12.
- Lawrence Roberts is averaging a 17.3-11.3 scoring-rebounding double-double in his last 4 games while recovering from stress fracture in leg.
- Carlton Dotson has only 3 turnovers in 147 minutes.
- Lawrence Roberts has compiled 3 double-doubles this season, and 11 in 35 career games played.
- Kenny Taylor is fourth in the Big 12, averaging 2.7 made 3-pointers per game.
- Lawrence Roberts has played the last 89 minutes (2 and 1/2 games) without receiving a personal foul.
- Sophomores John Lucas and Lawrence Roberts have most career starts--34--on the team.

THE GAME
Baylor travels to Dallas for its first true road test of the season Dec. 21 against SMU. Tipoff at Moody Coliseum is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CST Saturday. The contest is the Bears' lone game in a 15-day stretch over the Christmas holiday. Baylor is 6-1 after a 65-56 home win over Montana State last Saturday. The Mustangs enter the contest with a record of 2-4 and having lost three straight, most recently an 87-65 setback at Appalachian State last Tuesday. The Bears look to improve upon their record of 36-6 in regular-season non-conference contests under head coach Dave Bliss.

HEAD COACH DAVE BLISS
Dave Bliss, entering his fourth season at Baylor, is a 27-year coaching veteran and ranks 13th among active Division I coaches in victories with 518. The former head coach at New Mexico, SMU and Oklahoma owns a career record of 518-315 (.622). He has led teams to 15 postseason tournament appearances, including 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Five times Bliss has been honored as his conference's coach of the year, and he is one of only two dozen Division I coaches ever to have taken three different schools to the NCAA Tournament (UNM, SMU, OU). Bliss took over the reigns of Baylor basketball on March 23, 1999, and was given the task of rebuilding a program that had finished the 1998-99 season without a Big 12 Conference win. Bliss proceeded to guide the Bears to a 14-15 record in 1999-2000, a 19-12 mark and into the NIT in 2000-2001 and in his third year led Baylor to a 14-16 record.

BLISS CLIMBING BAYLOR'S COACHING LISTS
In four seasons at the helm of the Bear basketball program, Dave Bliss has compiled a 53-44 won-loss record. His 53 victories are the seventh-most victories all-time at Baylor.

THE SMU MUSTANGS
SMU (2-4) is led by Mike Dement, in his seventh season at the helm of the Mustangs. He is 113-96 in eight seasons at SMU, and has compiled a career record of (235-219) in 17 years at Cornell, UNC-Greensboro and SMU.

SMU NOTES: The Mustangs are led by senior guard/forward Quinton Ross, who is averaging 22.7 points per game... Ross has scored in double-digits in 28 straight games... The Ponies are 38-8 vs. non-conference teams at home under Mike Dement... SMU is shooting just 22 percent from the 3-point line this season.

THE SMU SERIES
This will be the 173rd meeting between the Bears and the Mustangs. SMU holds a 97-75 series advantage, including a 55-30 lead in contests played in Dallas. Baylor has won two straight in the series, including last season's thrilling 92-90 victory in Waco.

BLISS vs. SMU
Dave Bliss' squads have emerged victorious in each of the four contests he has coached against the Mustangs since being their leader from 1980-88. That includes a 1-0 mark against SMU since he took over the head coaching duties at Baylor.

BAYLOR vs. THE WAC
Baylor has only clashed with current members of the Western Athletic Conference on 379 occasions. The Bears have an all-time record of 172-207 in those contests. The majority of those games have been played against SMU (75-97) and Rice (85-90).

BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
The Bears are 6-1 this season against non-conference opponents and 36-6 in regular-season non-league play in Dave Bliss' four seasons. Baylor has won 25 of its last 26 home games vs. non-conference opponents.

"OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES"
For the first time in two seasons, Baylor has received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Baylor received two votes in this week's poll, ranking 45th overall. The last time the Bears received votes in the AP poll was the 2000-2001 season, for a three-week stretch ending with the Jan. 15, 2001 poll.

LAST TIME OUT: BAYLOR 65 - MONTANA STATE 56
R.T. Guinn scored 13 points and Lawrence Roberts and Kenny Taylor each had 11 as Baylor beat Montana State 65-56 at the Ferrell Center. Baylor broke open a 16-16 game with a 14-3 run late in the first half and never looked back. The Bears led 32-22 at the half. Roberts also had 10 rebounds for the Bears, who outrebounded Montana State 35-29. It was Roberts' third straight double-double, and the 11th of his young career. Matt Sayman added eight points and five assists for Baylor. The Bears shot 48 percent from the field, while the Bobcats shot 40 percent. The win was Baylor's 25th in its last 26 non-conference games at the Ferrell Center.

THE LAST MEETING: BAYLOR 92 - SMU 90 [Nov. 27, 2001]
Lawrence Roberts made a last-second layup to give Baylor a 92-90 win over Southern Methodist on Tuesday night. The Bears led 73-57 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the second half, but the Mustangs pulled to within three to 88-85 on Quinton Ross' 3-pointer with 1:31 left. SMU tied the game 90-90 with 24 seconds left to play on Billy Pharis' 3-pointer. But then Logan Kosmalski found Roberts open under the net for the easy basket. Roberts scored 14 points grabbed five rebounds for Baylor. John Lucas led the Bears with a career-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and Wendell Greenleaf matched his career best with 20. Lucas also posted the first double-double of his young career with 10 assists. The Mustangs lost despite outscoring Baylor 38-20 in the paint and grabbing 48 rebounds compared to 29 for the Bears. Baylor had nine 3-pointers in the first half and led 53-41 at halftime.

BAYLOR vs. FORMER SWC FOES
The Bears are 2-4 against non-Big 12 former Southwest Conference schools since the league disbanded (1-0 SMU, 1-1 Rice, 0-3 TCU). The Mustangs are the second former conference foe the Bears have faced this season. Baylor dropped a 72-64 decision to TCU earlier in the season.

3-POINT DELUGE
Baylor averaged 9.1 made 3-point shots last season (school-record 273), and the Bears appear to be continuing that trend in 2002-2003. Through seven games this season Baylor is averaging 10.3 made 3-pointers. Kenny Taylor (19), John Lucas (16), R.T. Guinn (12) and Ellis Kidd Jr. (10) top the Bears individually. Baylor has made at least one 3-pointer in 329 consecutive games (dating back to Feb. 21, 1990).

ROBERTS RECOVERING NICELY
After sitting out two of the season's first three games with a stress fracture in his left leg (fibula), All-Big 12 forward Lawrence Roberts has returned to the starting lineup and is leading the Bears with a 15.4 scoring average and 9.6 rebounding average. He recorded his third straight double-double of the season, the 11th of his career, with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Montana State. The sophomore, who last season set a Big 12 freshman scoring record with 498 points, injured the leg in workouts in October.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Baylor's prized freshman class of 2001, John Lucas, Lawrence Roberts and Kenny Taylor, has picked up in 2002-2003 where it left off last season. Through seven games this season the sophomore trio from Houston has accounted for 49 percent of the team's points, 29 percent of rebounds, 41 percent of steals and 52 percent of Baylor's assists. Production in three of the four categories is up from the trio's fabulous freshman season.

ROAD WOES
Baylor also has lost 17 straight decisions in games played on their opponents' home court. That 17-game losing streak dates back to a 63-55 victory at Kansas State on Jan. 13, 2001. The Bears have a chance to end that streak at SMU on Saturday.

LOTS OF NEW BRUINS
The 2002-2003 Baylor roster includes nine new players: four high school players (Will Allen, Corey Herring, Steve Raquet and Tommy Swanson), four junior college transfers (Carlton Dotson, Robert Hart, Ellis Kidd and Terrance Thomas) and a four-year transfer (Patrick Dennehy). Dennehy, a transfer from New Mexico, will redshirt this season.

MONUMENTAL COACHING MATCHUPS
Baylor's 2002-2003 schedule presents six games featuring matchups of current college coaching legends. This season Baylor's Dave Bliss, who ranks 13th among the nation's winningest active coaches with 518 career wins, will face four other coaches who rank among the list's top 12. Baylor will play the active leader in coaching victories, Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan (No. 1 - 822), and two games against the second winningest coach, Texas Tech's Bob Knight (No. 2 - 792). Also on the Bears' schedule is Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State (No. 5 - 708). Bliss opened the season with an 81-61 victory over Davey L. Whitney of Alcorn State (No. 12 - 552).

TRANSFERS FIND HOME AT BAYLOR
The 2002-2003 Bear roster boasts two players who transferred to Baylor from Division I schools, and a third who previously played at a DI institution. A fourth transferred from a DIII school.

THE LOBO TRANSFERS
Baylor's 2002-2003 roster includes two former players from the University of New Mexico, where Dave Bliss and his staff previously coached. Neither Patrick Dennehy or R.T. Guinn played under Dave Bliss at UNM, though Guinn was recruited to New Mexico by Bliss and staff. Dennehy played at New Mexico under current Bear assistant Rodney Belcher, who was not a part of Bliss' staff at UNM, but joined Baylor this off-season. Both players were starters at New Mexico.

FERRELL CENTER'S 15th YEAR
The Bears are enjoying their 15th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center. Baylor is 4-1 at home in 2002-2003 and owns a 131-85 all-time record in the arena, which opened in November 1988. The Ferrell Center is a golden-domed structure that seats 10,284 for basketball games.

BEARS INK NELSON IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Baylor signed big-man Tyrone Nelson of Hempstead (Texas) High School to a national letter of intent in the early signing period. A 6-9 forward/center, Nelson averaged 29 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks as a junior at Hempstead in 2001-2002. He was named to the TABC Class 3A All-State first team and MVP of District 25-AAA following his junior year. A highly sought recruit nationwide, Nelson is included on several national top-100 recruiting lists. He was rated the 60th-best recruit by TheInsidersHoops.com, No. 64 by Basketball News, No. 70 by The Sporting News, No. 79 by PrepStars, No. 90 by RivalsHoops and No. 125 by Hoop Scoop. Street & Smith's named Nelson an honorable mention prep All-America.

NATION'S LONGEST COACHING DUO
Baylor boasts Division I basketball's longest-tenured current coaching tandem. Bear assistant coach Doug Ash has been Dave Bliss' top aide for all 28 years Bliss has been a collegiate head coach. The Bliss and Ash duo began at Indiana University in the early 1970s when both were assistants under Bobby Knight. When Bliss became head coach at Oklahoma in 1975, he took Ash with him. The pair has been together ever since, at SMU, New Mexico and Baylor.

OVER THE AIR
Bear basketball games can be heard live on the Baylor Radio Network. The flagship station is KRZI-AM (1660/1580) in Waco. Selected Baylor games will be broadcast on Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate WBAP News/Talk 820, which covers 80 percent of the nation and reaches 38 states during night games. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his eighth season. Former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley is in his 21st season as color analyst for Bear broadcasts.

BAYLOR GAMES ON THE NET
The radio broadcast of all Baylor basketball games can be heard live on-line on Baylor's official website, www.BaylorBears.com, or at www.yahoo.broadcast.com.

BIG-12 PRESEASON PROJECTIONS
Baylor's 2002-2003 edition has been projected in preseason polls to finish anywhere from sixth to 12th in the Big 12 Conference. The league's coaches picked the Bears to finish eighth in preseason balloting, and the conference media projected Baylor ninth. The highest projected finish for Baylor was sixth, by Basketball News.

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on Fox Sports Net Southwest.

UP NEXT...
After playing one game in 15 days over the Christmas holiday, the Bears return to action Dec. 30 with a home game vs. North Texas. The game is the second of a women's-men's double-header, and is tentatively schedule to tipoff at 8 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears also host North Texas, at 6 p.m.