BAYLOR (9-6, 1-3) vs. No. 2 KANSAS (14-1, 4-0)
Jan. 25, 2005 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 6:30 p.m. CST

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RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (ESPN/KRZI 1660AM Waco)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: FSN Southwest
INTERNET VIDEO (BEARCAST): no live stream (archived at BaylorBears.com)
LIVE STATS:

THE GAME
Baylor returns to Waco for a Tuesday, Jan. 25, matchup against No. 2 Kansas at the Ferrell Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST and the game will televised live on FSN Southwest. The Bears are 9-6, 1-3 on the season following an 82-53 loss to No. 5 Oklahoma State Saturday in Stillwater. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team, is playing with limited scholarships and with nine newcomers. The Jayhawks are 14-1, 4-0 coming off their first loss of the season, an 83-62 defeat at Villanova Saturday. The Bears have lost nine of 10 games all-time vs. Kansas.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
- With 9 wins, Baylor has surpassed last season's win total (8-21).
- Baylor has lost 13 straight games vs. ranked opponents (2-26 last 4 years).
- Aaron Bruce ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting (42%), 7th in FG shooting (50%) and 1st in FT shooting (89%).
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Aaron Bruce is the third-highest scoring freshman in the nation (16.1 ppg).
- Baylor is 11-0 when scoring 70+ points (under Coach Drew; 2 seasons).
- Baylor is 2nd in the Big 12 in steals averaging 9.07 per game.
- Baylor is 8-2 when holding opponents under 50% field goal shooting.
- Baylor has dressed 7 or fewer scholarship players for 44 straight games [17-27 record] (since final game of 2002-2003 season).
- Baylor has an 8-2 record when Patrick Fields scores 10-plus points.
- BU is 1-18 when allowing opponents to shoot 50% or higher (in 2 years under Drew).
- Patrick Fields ranks 4th in the Big 12 in steals in conf. games (2.25 spg).
- Baylor is 13-15 (.464) vs. Big 12 North & just 8-37 (.178) vs. Southern schools over last 5 seasons.
- Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 13 of 15 games.
- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, averaging 7.3 3s per game.
- Freshman Aaron Bruce is on Dick Vitale's Super Six All-Diaper Dandies listing.
- 81 of Kevis Shipman's 96 points scored (84%) this season are from 3-pointers (27).
- Baylor is 6-0 when recording more points in the paint than its opponent this season.
- Baylor is currently playing with 6 active scholarship players and 5 walk-ons.
- Baylor's roster includes two active players taller than 6-6 (Tommy Swanson 6-10 and walk-on Mark Shepherd 6-9).
- 4 Bears have double-digit scoring averages.

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 17-27 and a career record of 37-38 (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 KANSAS JAYHAWKS
No. 2 Kansas (14-1, 4-0) is led by Bill Self, in his second season in Lawrence (38-10) and his 12th year as a collegiate head coach (245-115 record). Self was head coach at Oral Roberts (1994-97), Tulsa (1998-2000) and Illinois (2001-03) before Kansas.

KU NOTES: Kansas suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, an 83-62 setback at Villanova... The Jayhawks are led by senior F Wayne Simien who averages 16.8 points and 11.4 rebounds... Senior G Aaron Miles leads the Big 12 in assists, averaging 7.0 a game... The Jayhawks lead the league in field goal shooting defense, holding opponents to a 36.4 percentage... Senior G Keith Langford prepped at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, a former teammate of Baylor junior Tommy Swanson.

THE KANSAS SERIES
Tuesday marks just the 11th meeting between Baylor and Kansas on the hardwood (Baylor's shortest series vs. Big 12 opponents). Kansas leads the series by a 9-1 margin and has won the last three games. The Jayhawks lead the series in Waco by a 3-1 margin.

BEARS SURPASS LAST SEASON'S WIN TOTAL
Despite losing nine lettermen from it's 2003-2004 depleted roster, Baylor has surpassed its win total from last season. With a 67-59 victory over Colorado last week, the Bears upped their win total to nine. In 2003-2004, the first in Scott Drew's rebuilding project, the undermanned Bears finished 8-21 (3-13 in the Big 12).

CUB FROM DOWN UNDER LEADING BEARS
True freshman G Aaron Bruce has led the inexperienced Bears since the start of his young career. Bruce has started every game and leads the Bears in scoring (16.1 ppg; 7th in Big 12) and free throw shooting (88.5%; 1st in Big 12) and is second in 3-point percentage (41.7%; 2nd in Big 12) and minutes played (32.7 mpg). Bruce has scored in double-digits in 14 of 15 games played.

VITALE NAMES BRUCE AMONG TOP SIX DIAPER DANDIES
Dick Vitale included Baylor true freshman Aaron Bruce among his "Super Six All-Diaper Dandies" - a listing of the top freshman in the nation published in January. Vitale wrote: "Coming via Australia, he is a lethal three-point shooter who is putting up big numbers for Scott Drew's Bears." Joining Bruce on the list were Jordan Farmar (UCLA), Daniel Gibson (Texas), Malik Hairston (Oregon), D.J. White (Indiana) and Marvin Williams (North Carolina).

BRUCE 3rd NATIONALLY AMONG FRESHMAN SCORERS
With a 16.1 scoring average, Aaron Bruce ranks third among the nation's freshmen in points per game, trailing only Auburn's Toney Douglas (19.1 ppg) and Ricky Woods of Southeastern Louisiana (16.6 ppg).

BRUCE LEADING BIG 12 FRESHMEN
True freshman Aaron Bruce tops the Big 12 freshmen in four major categories: Scoring (1st, 16.1 ppg); field goal percentage (1st, 49.7%); 3-point field goal percentage (1st, 41.7%); and free throw percentage (1st, 88.5%). Bruce also ranks third in assists (3.67 apg) and fourth in steals (1.33 spg).

BUSH POSTING IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS DESPITE LONG LAYOFF
Sophomore F Tim Bush, a transfer from LSU, has made an immediate impact since gaining his eligibility following the fall semester. Bush is averaging 15.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 33.1 minutes and has scored in double-digits in 10 of 11 games (scored nine points in limited action vs. Southern due to leg cramps). Bush is playing substantial minutes for the first time in four seasons. After not playing his senior season of high school, Bush played just 36 minutes in 10 games for LSU as a true freshman in 2002-03 and transferred prior to last season - which he sat out at Baylor as a redshirt.

"VETERAN" SWANSON SHOWS STEADY IMPROVEMENT
Junior C Tommy Swanson, Baylor's only scholarship returnee, has stepped into his role as a major contributor in scoring and rebounding for the young Bears. Swanson has increased his average points to 13.5 (from 6.4 as a sophomore), shooting percentage to 57 percent [3rd in Big 12] (from 45), rebounds to 6.8 [10th in Big 12] (from 4.1) and minutes to 29.0 (from 22.1). Swanson has made 44 consecutive starts, Baylor's longest streak since Terry Black and DeMarcus Minor started all 60 games of the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY: PURE SHOOTER
Through 15 games of his young career, freshman Aaron Bruce has established himself as a proficient shooter. The guard from Australia, tabbed the Big 12's "best jump shooter" in Lindy's preseason publication, currently ranks second in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting (30-of-72, 41.7%), seventh in field goal shooting (83-of-167, 49.7%) and first in free throw shooting (46-of-52; 88.5%).

BEARS vs. NATIONALLY RANKED FOES
Tuesday's matchup vs. No. 2 Kansas is Baylor's fourth game against a ranked opponent this season (0-3). The Bears are 2-26 over the last four seasons vs. ranked teams and have lost 13 straight since knocking off No. 13 Oklahoma State 74-72 in Stillwater on Feb. 15, 2003.

THE LAST MEETING: No. 20 KANSAS 74 - BAYLOR 54 [Feb. 18, 2004]
A scrappy Baylor squad hung tough with No. 21 Kansas for 29 minutes before the Jayhawks' depth propelled KU to a 74-54 victory at Allen Fieldhouse. J.R. Giddens hit two crowd-pleasing 3-pointers midway through the second half to start a 17-4 run and break open a close game. Before Gidden's 3-pointers, the Jayhawks were 0-for-8 from behind the arc. Kansas led only 39-37 after Carl Marshall, playing with four fouls, hit a six-footer in the lane with 12:34 remaining. But with several players in foul trouble and only six scholarship athletes available, the Bears finally began to wilt after the Jayhawks' offense got going. The Bears played a slow and deliberate halfcourt offense and stifled the Jayhawks with a tight zone defense through the first nine minutes of the second half. Wayne Simien, who scored the Kansas' first six points of the second half, had a putback to start the decisive run that ended with Giddens' driving layup for a 56-41 lead with 7:33 left. Terrance Thomas had 15 points and Harvey Thomas added 13 for Baylor. Baylor immediately quieted the sellout crowd by hitting five of its first seven shots. Kansas led by as many as six points twice in the first half, but the Bears' Matt Sayman hit a pair of free throws to tie it at 28 with 2:51 left. Kansas then closed the first half with a 5-0 run to take a 33-28 halftime lead.

NORTH vs. SOUTH
Over the last five seasons Baylor has had much more success against Big 12 North schools than those in the South. Baylor is 12-15 (.444) the last five seasons vs. Northern schools and just 8-37 (.178) vs. teams in the South.

LAST TIME OUT: No. 5 OKLAHOMA STATE 82 - BAYLOR 53
Fifth-ranked Oklahoma State was too much for the short-handed Bears as Baylor was downed 82-53 at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Baylor led 18-11 eight minutes into the game behind eight points by Tim Bush. Then the Cowboys went on a 19-1 to close out the first half with a 36-24 lead. Terrence Crawford's dunk after his steal of Aaron Bruce's pass with 13 minutes left in the game made it 49-34, capping a 7-0 Cowboys run. The Bears pulled within 10 at 51-41 on Tommy Swanson's three-point play with 9:27 left. Baylor trailed by 15 with 2:17 to go before OSU's 14-0 run to finish the game. The Cowboys held Baylor to a season-low 30.9 percent from the floor. Bush finished with a team-high 19 points.

BIG 12 ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Twice this season Baylor newcomers have been honored as Big 12 Rookie of the Week. In back-to-back weeks, sophomore F Tim Bush (Jan. 3) and true freshman G Aaron Bruce (Dec. 27) won the award. Bush, a transfer from LSU, received the award after leading the Bears to wins over Purdue and Prairie View A&M and averaging 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. Bruce, a native of Australia, was honored for his performance in a win over Maryland-Eastern Shore in which he scored a game-high 22 points and shot 73 percent (8-for-11) from the field - including 4-for-7 from 3-point distance. This is the first time Baylor has had two players named rookie of the week in the same season since 2001-2002, when former Bears John Lucas III (twice) and Lawrence Roberts were so honored.

NATION'S MOST INEXPERIENCED TEAM
Baylor returned just three players from it's 2003-04 roster this season, including two walk-ons. Nine new players were included on the 2004-05 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 2004-05 roster includes nine underclassmen. This marks Baylor's second consecutive season of enduring short roster numbers (the Bears suited up between five and seven scholarship players during the 2003-04 season). Baylor has dressed 7 or fewer scholarship players for 44 straight games (since final game of 2002-03 season; 17-27 record during that span).

FERRELL CENTER'S 17th YEAR
The Bears are in their 17th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center this year. Baylor is 8-3 at home in 2004-2005 and owns a 150-103 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.

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).

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.).

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)

NEXT UP...
The Bears take part in the 190th renewal of the Battle of the Brazos Saturday, Jan. 29, when they travel to College Station to face Texas A&M. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will be televised live on FSN Southwest.