BAYLOR (2-2) at SMU (3-3)
Dec. 16, 2004 - Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas) - 7:05 p.m. CST
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RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (ESPN/KRZI 1660AM Waco)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: none
INTERNET VIDEO (BEARCAST): none
THE GAME
After an 11-day layoff, Baylor will face SMU in the Bears' first road contest of the season Thursday, Dec. 16 in Dallas. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CST at Moody Coliseum. The Bears are 2-2 on the season following 73-58 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home Dec. 4. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team and playing with limited scholarship players, welcomes sophomore F Tim Bush to the lineup Thursday. After a 65-51 loss at TCU Sunday, SMU's record is 3-3. Baylor trails SMU 99-75 in the all-time series between the former Southwest Conference foes.
BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Aaron Bruce ranks 4th in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game.
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Sophomore F Tim Bush gained his eligibility following the fall semester and is expected to see his first action in Green and Gold Thursday at SMU.
- Bush, a transfer from LSU last season, has played 36 total minutes over last 3 years.
- Baylor is 2-6 vs. non-Big 12 former SWC foes since the demise of that conference.
- Baylor is 2-13 in its last 15 games away from home.
- 3 Bears rank among the Big 12's 3-point percentage leaders: Richard Hurd (4th - 62.5%); Kevis Shipman (10th - 50%); and Aaron Bruce (t12th - 46.7%).
- All 45 points Kevis Shipman has scored this season are from 3-pointers (15-of-30).
- Aaron Bruce has scored in double-digits in each game this season.
- Baylor has dressed fewer than 8 scholarship players for 33 straight games [10-23 record] (since final game of 2002-2003 season).
- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, averaging 8.3 3s per game.
- 4 of Baylor players have double-digit scoring averages.
- Kevis Shipman leads the Big 12 with 3.8 3-pointers per game.
- Baylor is 2nd in the Big 12 in turnover margin - +5.0/game.
- Baylor is currently playing with 6 active scholarship players and 5 walk-ons.
- Baylor's roster includes two active players taller than 6-6 (Mark Shepherd 6-9 and Tommy Swanson 6-10) [Mamadou Diene, 7-0, is expected to join team in January].
- Over the past five seasons Baylor is 45-3 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (2-0 this season).
- Two of Baylor's newcomers formerly were at other Division I schools. Sophomore Tim Bush played 10 games as a freshman at LSU in 2002-2003 and sophomore Patrick Fields was a redshirt at Mississippi in 2002-2003.
- Nine of the 12 players on Baylor's roster are Texas natives.
- Freshman Richard Hurd's older brother Lamar Hurd is the starting point guard at Oregon State.
HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is in his second season of the massive rebuilding project he undertook at Baylor and owns a two-year mark of 10-23 and a career record of 30-34 (3 seasons). Drew spent 10 seasons at Valparaiso, the last as head coach after nine seasons as an assistant to his father Homer. During his decade at Valpo, the Crusaders earned six NCAA Tournament berths, including five straight from 1996-2000. An outstanding recruiter, Drew is responsible for four national Top-20 recruiting classes over the last six years. He was named the 1998-99 National Recruiter of the Year by Court Vision and helped produce what HoopScoop named the nation's sixth best recruiting class in 2001, the 10th best in 2004, the 13th best in 1999 and the 19th best in 2003.
THE SMU SERIES
Thursday marks the 175th meeting between the Bears and the Mustangs. SMU holds a 99-75 series advantage, including a 56-30 edge in games played in Dallas. The teams have split the last four meetings though the Mustangs have won two straight, including a 66-62 win last season in Waco.
THE SMU MUSTANGS
SMU (3-3) is led by Jimmy Tubbs, in his first season as a head coach. Tubbs, an SMU assistant from 1990 to 2002, assumed the head coaching position this year after two seasons as an assistant at Oklahoma.
SMU NOTES: The Mustangs are led by senior F Patrick Simpson, who averages 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds... Junior G Bryan Hopkins, a preseason All-WAC selection, averages 11.3 points and 5.0 assists... SMU is shooting just 24% from the 3-point line this season (19-for-80)... The Mustangs are 2-1 at home this season, their lone loss a 76-57 decision to then-No. 6 Oklahoma State... The Hopkins brothers (Bryan and Ryan) were prep teammates of Baylor's Kevis Shipman at Lincoln High School in Dallas.
DREW vs. SMU
Baylor head coach Scott Drew-coached teams are 0-1 vs. SMU.
BUSH TO DEBUT IN DALLAS
Thursday's game at SMU will mark the debut for sophomore F Tim Bush, who transferred to Baylor from LSU last season and gained his eligibility at the conclusion of the fall semester. Bush has played a total of 36 minutes of competitive basketball in the last three seasons. Bush, who did not play his senior season of high school, played 36 minutes in 10 games for LSU as a true freshman in 2002-2003 and transferred prior to last season - which he sat out at Baylor as a redshirt. Bush's addition gives Baylor six active sholarship players. True freshman C Mamadou Diene, a native of Senegal, is expected to join the Bears in time for the Big 12 schedule.
BRUCE LEADING THE BEARS
True freshman guard Aaron Bruce, an Australian native, is leading the Bears in scoring (17.8 ppg; 4th in Big 12) and free throw shooting (93.3%; 1st in Big 12) and is second on the squad in minutes played (30.8 mgp), assists (2.5 apg) and 3-point shooting (46.7%).
BAYLOR vs. WAC
The Bears have an all-time record of 172-210 against teams currently in the Western Athletic Conference. The majority of those games have been played against former Southwest Conference schools SMU (75-99) and Rice (85-90).
BAYLOR vs. FORMER SWC FOES
The Bears are 2-6 against non-Big 12 former Southwest Conference schools since the league disbanded (1-2 SMU, 1-1 Rice, 0-3 TCU). The Mustangs are the only non-Big 12 former SWC foe Baylor will face this season.
BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
The Bears are 46-17 in regular-season non-league play over the last six seasons, including a 2-2 record this year.
ROAD WOES
Baylor owns a 2-13 record in its last 15 games away from home (dating back to the 2002-2003 season). The Bears are 1-11 in their last 12 games played on opponents' home courts.
NATION'S MOST INEXPERIENCED TEAM
Baylor returned just three players from it's 2003-2004 roster this season, including two walk-ons. Nine new players were included on the 2004-2005 preseason roster. Baylor is the nation's only team (and the only team in recent memory) to have only one scholarship returnee. The three returnees had a combined total of four seasons of experience at the Division I level prior to this season. The 2004-2005 Baylor squad includes nine underclassmen.
BEARS ONCE AGAIN SHORT-HANDED
For the second consecutive season the Bears are enduring short roster numbers. Baylor lost nine lettermen from last season's depleted roster (the Bears suited up between five and seven scholarship players over the season). The Bears began this season with 10 active players including walk-ons. Baylor returned just one scholarship player from last season.
LOTS OF NEWCOMERS
The 2004-2005 Baylor roster includes seven newcomers and an additional two players who sat out last season. The nine new faces include three junior college transfers (junior G Kevis Shipman, sophomore G Roscoe Biggers and G/F Patrick Fields); one Division I transfer (sophomore F Tim Bush); and five high schoolers (G Aaron Bruce, C Mamadou Diene, G/F Hall Henderson, F Richard Hurd, F Mark Shepherd).
THE LAST MEETING: SMU 66 - BAYLOR 62 [Dec. 3, 2003]
Ellis Kidd Jr. scored a career-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers, but Terrance Thomas missed a last-second 3-point attempt to give Baylor the lead and SMU beat the Bears 66-62 Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. A 3-pointer by Kidd with 42 seconds remaining cut the margin to 64-62. SMU's Patrick Simpson missed a free throw attempt with 12 seconds left and Baylor rebounded to set up Thomas' 3-point shot that hit the rim with four seconds remaining. Simpson was fouled on the rebound and hit two foul shots to end the scoring. Kidd had 26 points on 9-fo-16 shooting for Baylor, and Thomas scored 15 to go with nine rebounds. The lead went back and forth until the Mustangs put together an 8-0 run and took a 64-59 lead with just over two minutes left. Baylor trailed through much of the first half and grabbed its first lead at 23-21 on a putback by Thomas with just under six minutes remaining. The Bears led 33-32 at the half.
LAST TIME OUT: TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 73 - BAYLOR 58
An ankle injury to leading-scorer Aaron Bruce proved too costly to Baylor, playing with just five scholarship players, and the Bears fell 73-58 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Ferrell Center. A&M-Corpus Christi led 32-28 at halftime then opened the second half with an 11-2 run. The Islanders led by as many as 16 before Baylor pulled to within 58-51 with seven minutes left. But the Bears could get no closer. A Corey Stokes 3-pointer started a 14-0 A&M Corpus-Christi run that tied the game at 21 and put the Islanders ahead 32-21 late in the first half. Bruce scored 13 points for Baylor in the first half despite leaving the game for over six minutes after being shaken up on a breakaway. A&M Corpus-Christi outscored the Bears 12-0 while Bruce was out. Bruce returned briefly but left the game early in the second half and spent the remainder of the game on the bench with his right ankle iced.
BAYLOR'S EARLY SIGNING CLASS RATED 11th NATIONALLY
Baylor's five-man early signee class is rated the 11th-best class in the nation according to HoopScoop and is one of the highest rated recruiting classes in recent school history. The class includes three national Top-100 players and three Top-10 state recruits. The signees include four prep seniors, Henry Dugat of Dayton (Texas) High School, Curtis Jerrells of Del Valle High School in Austin, Texas, Kevin Rogers of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas and Jari Vanttaja of Oulu, Finland; as well as Tony Jones, a freshman at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.
Rogers, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward, is rated the 35th-best recruit nationally by Rivals and Hoop Alliance and the sixth-best recruit in the state by Rivals. Dugat is a 6-0, 160-pound combo guard rated No. 69 nationally by Scout.com and the fifth-best recruit in the state by TexasHoops. Jerrells, a 6-1, 170-pound point guard, was named to the TABC 4A All-State second team. He is rated the No. 94 recruit nationally by Rivals and the No. 7 recruit in Texas by Texas Roundball. Vanttaja is a 6-10, 215-pound forward who recently averaged 14 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Finnish Junior National Team at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim, Germany. According to HoopScoop, if Vanttaja played in the U.S. he would be rated among the Top 50 high school prospects. Jones is a 6-7, 185-pound forward who redshirted the 2003-2004 season at Hill College and will have three seasons of eligibility at Baylor.
BAYLOR EARLY SIGNEES:Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Schools)Henry Dugat G 6-0 160 Fr. Dayton, Texas (Dayton HS)Curtis Jerrells G 6-1 170 Fr. Austin, Texas (Del Valle HS)Tony Jones F 6-7 185 So. San Antonio, Texas (Taft HS/Hill College)Kevin Rogers F 6-8 220 Fr. Dallas, Texas (South Oak Cliff HS)Jari Vanttaja F 6-10 215 Fr. Oulu, Finland (South Tapiola HS)
DEPARTED PLAYERS
Nine lettermen from Baylor's season-opening 2003-2004 roster are not on the 2004-2005 edition. With those departed players the Bears have lost 88.8 percent of their scoring and 86.4 percent of last season's rebounding. Gone is Baylor's all-time games-played leader Matt Sayman, the USBL's No. 1 draft pick R.T. Guinn, talented All-District honoree Terrance Thomas, the scoring of third-team All-Big 12 selection Harvey Thomas and 22-game starter Carl Marshall. Four players left due to graduation/expired eligibility (Guinn, Robbie McKenzie, Sayman, T. Thomas), three transferred (Will Allen, Corey Herring, Marshall), one left to play professionally (H. Thomas) and one was dismissed from the team (Ellis Kidd Jr.).
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour wrap-up of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout the Southwest. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and College Sports TV. KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest. All shows are archived online at BaylorBears.com and BaylorTV.com.
NEXT UP...
Baylor returns home to host Southern Friday, Dec. 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
