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BAYLOR (14-12, 4-9) at No. 13 OKLAHOMA STATE (21-6, 8-5)
Gallager-Iba Arena (13,611) - Stillwater, Okla.
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2002 - 3:00 p.m. CST

RADIO: Baylor Radio Network
KRZI 1660/1580 AM (Waco)
on-line @ www.GoBaylorBears.com

TELEVISION: ESPN+plus
KWBU-TV Ch. 34/4 (Waco)

QUICK NOTES
??? BU is 10-2 when outrebounding its opponent.
??? BU is 11th in nation with 9.0 avg. 3-pointers.
??? Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in steals (9.88 spg), third in turnover margin (+2.96) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.23) and 4th in assists (17.46).
??? Baylor teams have made at least one 3-point basket in 318 straight games.
??? Baylor has lost 15 straight road games.
??? In the past two years Baylor is 28-1 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (10-0 this year).
??? Freshman Lawrence Roberts ranks in the Big 12???sup>TMs Top 10 in four categories: scoring, rebounding, blocks & steals.
??? Wendell Greenleaf leads the Big 12 and is 22nd nationally in steals with 2.46 per game.
??? Wendell Greenleaf is third on BU???sup>TMs career steals list with 150.
??? Lawrence Roberts has scored in double-digits in in 22 of 26 games this season with six double-doubles.
??? Lawrence Roberts ranks 5th among the nation???sup>TMs freshmen in rebounding average.

THE GAME
Baylor plays its first of two consecutive road games Saturday, Feb. 23, when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., to face No. 13 Oklahoma State. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CST at Gallager-Iba Arena. Baylor (14-12, 4-9) is coming off a 65-54 loss at home Tuesday to No. 5 Oklahoma. OSU (21-6, 8-5) defeated Texas 85-80 Wednesday night at Austin. The Bears will attempt to snap a 15-game losing streak on opponent???sup>TMs home courts. The Cowboys won the first BU-OSU meeting this season 68-57 in Waco. The game will be televised as a part of the Big 12 Conference???sup>TMs ESPN Regional package. The game will be aired in the Waco-Temple-Bryan area on KWBU-TV, channel 34 over the air and channel 4 on Time-Warner Cable. John Walters will handle play-by-play duties, while Chris Piper will provide color analysis.

HEAD COACH DAVE BLISS
Dave Bliss, in his third season at Baylor, is a 27-year coaching veteran and ranks 17th among active Division I coaches in victories with 512. The former head coach at New Mexico, Southern Methodist and Oklahoma owns a career record of 512-310 (.623). 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 23 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 and in his second year led Baylor to a 19-12 mark and into the NIT.

BLISS A MEMBER OF COACHING???sup>TMS 500 CLUB
Baylor???sup>TMs Dave Bliss became the 92nd collegiate head coach to reach 500 career victories Nov. 21 when the Bears defeated Texas-Arlington 88-64. In 27 years as a head coach, Bliss has averaged more than 19 wins per season.

THE OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Baylor by a 37-11 margin, winning the last nine meetings. The teams have met 12 times as Big 12 Conference opponents, OSU has won 10 of those contests, including two games in Big 12 Tournament play (1997 and 1999). While Baylor is 9-11 against OSU at home, the Cowboys have dominated the series away from Waco (26-2 combined in Stillwater and on neutral courts). The Bears have not won in Stillwater since a 68-64 victory Jan. 5, 1972. Baylor and OSU first met in Waco during the 1917-18 campaign with OSU taking a 24-20 victory.

THE OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
No. 13 Oklahoma State (21-6) is led by Eddie Sutton, in his 12th year at OSU and his 32nd year as a collegiate head coach. Sutton owns a career record of 700-275 with stints at Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky prior to OSU, he is 270-111 with the Cowboys. Sutton, who picked up career win No. 700 Tuesday against Texas, is currently sixth in career victories among active Division I head coaches.

OSU NOTES: The Cowboys are led by senior guard Maurice Baker, who is 13th in the Big 12 with 15.1 points per game and 19th in the conference with 6.1 rebounds per game... Sophomore guard Victor Williams is 25th in the Big 12 in scoring (12.8) and senior forward Fredrik Jonzen is 28th (12.0)... Sophomore forward Ivan McFarland, who prepped with Baylor freshman Kenny Thomas at Willowridge High School in Sugar Land, Texas, is ninth in the Big 12 with 7.4 rebounds per contest.

BLISS vs. OKLAHOMA STATE
Baylor head coach Dave Bliss is 11-9 in his career against Oklahoma State. Most of those meetings came while he was the head coach at Oklahoma, playing OSU as a Big Eight Conference foe, Bliss was 9-3 against the Cowboys while at Oklahoma. Bliss is 0-5 against OSU while at Baylor after going 0-1 during his time at New Mexico and 2-0 during his tenure at SMU.

THE LAST MEETING, No. 6 OKLAHOMA STATE 68-BAYLOR 57
A gimpy Maurice Baker, still recovering from a groin injury, made his last four shots ???QUOTE] including consecutive baskets that put the Cowboys ahead to stay ???QUOTE] as Oklahoma State came back to beat Baylor 68-57. A turnover by Baker led to Matt Sayman's layup that put Baylor ahead 54-53 with about seven minutes left. Baker came right back to make a long jumper at the other end to put the Cowboys in front. After a Baylor miss, Baker drove the baseline for a reverse layup and Oklahoma State continued building its lead after that. Victor Williams added 13 points for Oklahoma State. Ivan McFarlin had 10 rebounds, his fourth straight game with at least 10 rebounds. Baylor led 35-28 early in the second half after Lawrence Roberts made a putback and free throw and Wendell Greenleaf made a 3-pointer. The two teams then traded baskets before the Cowboys started their comeback. Roberts led Baylor with 12 points, while Greenleaf and John Lucas both had 11. Baylor led 29-25 at halftime after Roberts made two inside baskets. The game had been tied at 25 when Fredrick Jonzen, who finished with 11 points, made a short bank shot with 3:35 left, but Oklahoma State didn't score again before halftime.

ROBERTS TABBED NABC ALL-DISTRICT 9
Freshman Lawrence Roberts, who leads the Bears in scoring, rebounding and blocks, was named second-team all-District 9 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches last week. The Houston, Texas, native was one of 10 athletes selected from District 9, joining 140 other athletes nation wide on all-district teams. Those players are now eligible for the NABC/Pontiac Division I all-America team. Roberts was one of four Big 12 players selected from the Texas-Arkansas district, joining Texas guard T.J. Ford as the only freshmen honored.

BEARS CONTINUE ROUGH STRETCH
The Bears conclude perhaps the toughest portion of their schedule with Saturday???sup>TMs game against No. 13 Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are one of five nationally ranked opponents the Bears have faced in a six-game stretch. Baylor is 1-3 vs. ranked teams in that stretch, having beaten 22nd-ranked Missouri and losing to OU twice (ranked fourth the first meeting and fifth the second meeting) and to No. 2 Kansas.

THE LAST TIME OUT, No. 5 OKLAHOMA 65-BAYLOR 54
A late run decided a tight game as Baylor lost 65-54 to No. 5 Oklahoma at the Ferrell Center. The Sooners broke open a close game with a 10-0 run deep in the second half. OU led 51-50 then Quannas White hit a 3-pointer with 5:35 left to start the run that lasted two minutes and pushed the lead to 61-50. Baylor's last win vs. OU was 75-67 on Dec. 6, 1977 - when current Bears coach Dave Bliss was the Sooners' coach. Oklahoma has a 21-5 lead in the series and has won nine straight games in Waco. Before the Sooners took command, the teams traded the lead six times in a two-minute span without a missed shot. Aaron McGhee's 3-pointer put the Sooners ahead to stay at 48-47. John Lucas then missed a 3-pointer for the Bears to end the furious stretch, and Hollis Price hit another 3-pointer for the Sooners. It was a basket by Lucas that got Baylor within 51-50 before White started the game-deciding run. Lucas led Baylor with 19 points on 9-of-18 shooting, but missed all three of his 3-pointers. Lawrence Roberts, like Lucas a freshman, had 13 points and eight rebounds. The Bears, second in the Big 12 with nine 3-pointers a game, were just 3-of-22 from long range to match a season-low. Lucas sparked Baylor with seven points in the opening five minutes of the second half, including a three-point play that tied the game at 37. All three baskets in that stretch by the 5-foot-10 freshman were inside. Jason Detrick's 3-pointer gave Oklahoma a 31-24 lead, but the Sooners didn't score over the final three minutes of the half. Baylor managed just two free throws and a dunk by Roberts in the same stretch.

BEARS vs. NATIONALLY RANKED FOES
Saturday???sup>TMs game against No. 13 Oklahoma State is Baylor???sup>TMs seventh this season against a nationally ranked opponent. Baylor is 1-5 this season in such contests, having lost to Oklahoma State, Texas, Oklahoma (twice) and Kansas, and having defeated Missouri. The Bears are 3-7 in their last 10 games against nationally ranked foes, two of the three victories were over top 10 opponents.

ROAD BEARS
Though the Bears have earned a 4-11 record in their last 15 games away from the Ferrell Center, Baylor has dropped 15 straight decisions in games played on their opponents???sup>TM home court. That 13-game losing streak dates back to a 63-55 victory at Kansas State on Jan. 13, 2001.

3-POINT MISCELLANY
Leading the Bears???sup>TM charge in 3-pointers made is junior Wendell Greenleaf with 57, freshman John Lucas has hit 49. In all, nine Bears have made at least 10 shots from 3-point range this season. Prior to this season, no Baylor team has ever had more than seven players make at least 10 3-pointers in a season... With three 3-pointers Saturday at Kansas, the Bears have made at least one 3-pointer in 318 consecutive games. That streak dates back to Feb. 21, 1990, when Baylor was 0-for-8 from long range at home against Texas Tech.

MILESTONES & RECORDS WATCH
??? Baylor is 17 steals shy of setting a new team single-season steals record (274 - 2000-01).
??? Baylor is 32 made 3-pointers shy of setting a new team single-season 3-point record (265 - 1994-95).
??? Lawrence Roberts is 49 points shy of breaking the Big 12 freshman scoring record (474 - Bernard King, A&M, 1999-00).
??? Lawrence Roberts is 46 rebounds shy of breaking the Big 12 freshman rebounding record (257 - Arthur Johnson, MU, 2000-01).
??? Wendell Greenleaf is 3 rebounds shy of 200 career rebounds.
??? Greg Davis is 7 assists shy of 100 career assists.
??? Wendell Greenleaf is 8 3-pointers shy of moving into 3rd in career 3-pointers made.
??? Greg Davis is 5 blocks shy of moving into 4th in career blocked shots.
??? Wendell Greenleaf is 3 steals shy of moving into 2nd in career steals.

GOLD DOME BRINGS OUT BEST IN BEARS
The Bears once again hit the road, where they have struggled to match the success they???sup>TMve enjoyed at home in the Ferrell Center. The following chart illustrates the difference between Baylor???sup>TMs play at home vs. other venues in key stat categories:

    HOME-AWAY COMPARISON                Ferrell Center  Road    Record              12-3        2-9    Points per game         81.7        71.7    Scoring Margin          +16.1       -6.9    Rebounding Margin   -0.7        -7.1    Opp. 3-Pt FG Pct.   33.7%       42.2%    Blocks per game         5.0     2.6    Lucas 3-Pt FG Pct.      43.2%       28.6%    Roberts FG Pct.         47.5%       41.8%

3-POINT BARRAGE
Baylor is averaging 8.96 3-point shots made per game (233) this season, a figure that ranks second in the Big 12 Conference and 11th nationally. The Bears are on pace to break the school???sup>TMs single-season record of 265 3-pointers in 1994-1995. Projected over a 30-game season, the Bears are on track to make 268 3s this year. Baylor has made 10 or more 3s in in 13 of 26 games this season.

BEARS TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
Baylor has shown a strong sense of court awareness this season, evidenced by the fact that the Bears rank second in the Big 12 Conference in steals (9.88 per game), third in turnover margin (+2.96) and in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.23), and fourth in assists (17.46). However, BU is just as solid in conference contests. According to the Feb. 21 conference rankings, the Bears lead the league in steals (8.77), rank third in turnover margin (+2.31), and rank fourth assist-to-turnover ratio (1.25) and assists (15.62) in Big 12 games.

BAYLOR LED BY ITS CUBS
Baylor???sup>TMs three true freshmen (John Lucas, Lawrence Roberts, and Kenny Taylor) have made an immediate impact on this year???sup>TMs team. Through 26 games, the three freshmen have combined for 42 percent of the team???sup>TMs points, 31 percent of the rebounds, 33 percent of the steals and 31 percent of the assists.

ROBERTS AMONG FRESHMAN BOARD LEADERS
Freshman Lawrence Roberts has made his presence felt in virtually every aspect of the game this season, however, perhaps nowhere moreso than in the rebounding department. He leads the Bears and ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 8.1 rebounds per game. Through games of Feb. 20, Roberts is tied for fifth nationally in rebounding average among freshmen.

COOL HAND LUCAS
In the waning minutes with the game on the line, who better to have on the line than freshman John Lucas? Through 26 games, Lucas is 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) from the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games. Overall, Lucas is shooting 81.8 percent (45-of-55) from the free throw line, second on the team.

ROBERTS ENJOYING STELLAR FROSH SEASON
Lawrence Roberts has hit the ground running in his first season of college basketball. In 26 games, the true freshman has compiled six double-doubles, been honored a second-team NABC All-District 9 selection, been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week and to the San Juan Shootout all-tournament team, and leads the team in several categories, including: scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounds (8.1 rpg), blocks (36), field goals (145), free throws made (112) and free throws attempted (165). The Houston, Texas, native is also second on the team in steals (45). According to the Feb. 21 Big 12 rankings, Roberts ranks ninth in scoring, fifth in rebounding, sixth in steals and sixth in blocks.

YOUNG LUCAS LEADING THE BEARS
Freshman point guard John Lucas III (son of Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Lucas Jr.) has adequately assumed the Bears???sup>TM point guard position. Lucas is shooting 37.7 percent on 3-point shots (49-of-130). The Houston, Texas, native has scored 20-plus points three times and his assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.04 (104-to-51), 13th in the conference. According to the Feb. 21 rankings, Lucas is 23rd in the Big 12 in scoring, 10th in assists, 15th in steals and 11th in 3-pointers. He has twice been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 10, Jan. 7).

BEARS ON TV
Saturday???sup>TMs contest at Oklahoma State is Baylor???sup>TMs 14th game this season in front of a television audience. The Bears are 4-9 this season in TV games. Baylor is 13-27 in televised games under Dave Bliss.

GREENLEAF CLIMBS TO THIRD ON STEALS LIST
Junior Wendell Greenleaf recently moved into third place all-time at Baylor in career steals. Greenleaf passed David Wesley, who tallied 145 swipes from 1990 to 1992, and his total of 150 trails former teammate Terry Black (153) by just three thefts. Greenleaf leads the Big 12 and ranks 22nd nationally with 2.46 steals per game.

BEARS???sup>TM WINNING WAYS AT HOME
The Bears are 12-3 at home in the Ferrell Center this season. Baylor recorded a 14-3 record at home in 2000-2001, giving the Bears a school-record 26 wins at home over a two-year span. Since Dave Bliss took over the reigns of Baylor???sup>TMs basketball program, the Bears have compiled a 37-13 record (.740) at home, that is the best three-year record at home in the program???sup>TMs history.

BEAR FANS SHATTER ATTENDANCE MARKS
With one home game remaining, Baylor has already established a new Ferrell Center record for attendance in a single-season of 99,616. The previous record of 91,421 was set last season in 17 home games. Baylor is averaging 6,641 fans per game this season (15 games). This season???sup>TMs average will be a school record, even if no fans show for the Bears final home game, the average would still eclipse the previous high of 5,856 set in 1992-93. Additionally, Baylor fans broke the single-game attendance mark in January, when 10,496 were on hand against Texas.

FERRELL CENTER???sup>TMS 14th YEAR
The Bears are in their 14th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center. Including this season???sup>TMs 12-3 mark, the Bears own a 128-82 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.

BIG 12 ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Three of 10 Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors this season have gone to Baylor true freshmen. Forward Lawrence Roberts was selected Nov. 27, and guard John Lucas was honored Dec. 10 and Jan. 7. Roberts received the award following his performance in season-opening wins over Hardin-Simmons, UT-Arlington and Sacred Heart. He averaged a double-double and led Baylor in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (12.0 rpg), steals (12), blocks (7), free throws made (13) and free throws attempted (20). Lucas was initially honored after the Bears???sup>TM 95-81 victory over North Texas, in which he had career highs with 27 points and 11 field goals. Lucas earned his second selection after averaging 17.5 points in wins over Colorado State and Iowa State.

PLENTY OF NEW BRUINS
The 2001-2002 Baylor roster includes four new players: three true freshmen (John Lucas, Lawrence Roberts and Kenny Taylor) and one junior college transfer (Rod Nealy). Also seeing their first game action in the Green and Gold this season are former transfers R.T. Guinn and Kevin Henry. The pair, both former New Mexico players, sat out last season at Baylor to gain eligibility.

BEAR FAMILY LOSES ECHOLS
The Baylor basketball program lost one of its own in January, when letterman Ben Echols died following surgery. Echols, who transferred to Baylor from Centenary, played for the Bears from 1997 to 2000. Echols started every game at center in 1999-2000, Dave Bliss???sup>TM first season, and led the team in blocks and averaged 6.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. Following graduation from Baylor in May 2000, Echols had played overseas in Lebanon and Russia.

BEARS ADD 3 EARLY SIGNEES
Baylor has signed three early signees, all from the state of Texas, to national letters of intent during the early signing period: Ellis Kidd Jr., a guard from Seminole (Okla.) State College, Tommy Swanson, a forward from North Crowley (Texas) High School, and Terrance Thomas, a forward from Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas.

Kidd, a 6-4, 185-pound guard, is in his first season at Seminole State after transferring from Oklahoma State. He redshirted the 2000-2001 season at OSU after playing only 10 minutes in two early games and will have three seasons of eligibility at Baylor. A former Dallas Morning News all-area selection at James Madison High School in Dallas, Kidd was named a USA Today honorable mention all-American as a senior in 2000.

Swanson, a 6-9, 215-pound forward, played only seven games as a junior last season at North Crowley following a head injury. He averaged 14 points and nine rebounds before a hairline fracture to his skull sidelined him for the season. Texas Hoops rated Swanson the state's No. 24 player prior to his senior season. He is listed among the nation's top 300 prep seniors by Athon Sports and was named an honorable mention all-American by Street & Smith's College Basketball.

Thomas, a 6-7, 220-pound forward, was highly recruited after being named to the All-Region XIV team as a freshman last season at Lon Morris. Thomas averaged 19.3 points and 12 rebounds last season, and is rated No. 4 among junior college small forwards by The Sporting News in its preseason preview. He is also listed as the 22nd-best junior college recruit by Mike Mitchell's Midwest Report and is rated the No. 27 juco player nationally by Greg Swaim's scouting service. A native of Waco, Thomas attended Maceo Smith High School in Dallas. He averaged 23 points and 14 rebounds as a senior in 2000 and was named a USA Today honorable mention all-American.

BAYLOR EARLY SIGNEESName            Pos.    Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (High School)Ellis Kidd Jr.  G   6-4 185 So. Dallas, Texas (Madison HS/OSU/Seminole St.)Tommy Swanson   F   6-9 215 Fr. Fort Worth, Texas (North Crowley HS)Terrance Thomas F   6-7 220 Jr. Dallas, Texas (Maceo Smith HS/Lon Morris)

THE LOBO TRANSFERS
As has been well documented, the Baylor roster includes three former players from the University of New Mexico, where Dave Bliss and his staff previously coached. The players, senior Greg Davis, sophomore R.T. Guinn and senior Kevin Henry, were all recruited by Bliss???sup>TM UNM staff. Guinn (who was recruited by???QUOTE]but never played for???QUOTE]Bliss at UNM) and Henry sat out last year due to NCAA transfer policy. All three players were starters at New Mexico.

NATION???sup>TMS LONGEST-STANDING COACHING DUO
Baylor boasts Division I basketball???sup>TMs longest-tenured current coaching tandem. Bear assistant coach Doug Ash has been Dave Bliss???sup>TM top aide for all 27 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 during night games. All Baylor games are broadcast by the ???eVoice of the Bears??? John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his seventh season. Former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley is in his 20th season as color analyst for Bear broadcasts.

BAYLOR GAMES ON THE NET
The radio broadcast from all Baylor basketball games can be heard live on the internet on Baylor???sup>TMs official online website, www.GoBaylorBears.com, or at www.yahoo.broadcast.com.

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 FSN Southwest.

UP NEXT...
Baylor plays its final road game of the 2001-2002 regular season next Wednesday, Feb. 27, traveling to Lincoln, Neb., for a 7:05 p.m. CST game at Nebraska.