BAYLOR (9-8, 1-5) at IOWA STATE (9-8, 1-5)
Feb. 1, 2005 - Hilton Coliseum (Ames, Iowa) - 7:00 p.m. CST

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THE GAME
Baylor plays its second straight road game when it travels to Ames, Iowa, for a Tuesday, Feb. 1, matchup at Iowa State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST at Hilton Coliseum. The Bears are 9-8, 1-5 and have dropped three straight games, most recently a 74-62 loss at Texas A&M Saturday. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team, is playing with limited scholarships and with nine newcomers. The Cyclones have an identical 9-8, 1-5 record and are coming off a 74-66 upset win over No. 13 Oklahoma Saturday at Hilton Coliseum that snapped a six-game losing streak.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Baylor is 0-5 vs. ISU in games played in Ames.
- Baylor has been outscored 69-0 in bench points the last 3 games (0-3).
- Baylor is 0-4 this season in games in which Tommy Swanson fouls out.
- Aaron Bruce is the second-highest scoring freshman in the nation (17.2 ppg).
- With 9 wins, Baylor has surpassed last season's win total (8-21).
- Aaron Bruce ranks 4th in 3-point shooting (40%), 7th in FG shooting (49%) and 1st in FT shooting (87%) in the Big 12.
- Aaron Bruce (86.8%) and Tim Bush (85.2%) rank 1st & 3rd in Big 12 FT shooting.
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Baylor is 11-0 when scoring 70+ points (under Coach Drew; 2 seasons).
- Tim Bush has hit just 2 of his last 18 3-pointers attempted over the past 4 games.
- Baylor is 8-3 when holding opponents under 50% field goal shooting.
- Baylor has dressed 7 or fewer scholarship players for 46 straight games [17-29 record] (since final game of 2002-2003 season).
- BU is 1-19 when allowing opponents to shoot 50% or higher (in 2 years under Drew).
- Baylor is 13-16 (.448) vs. Big 12 North & just 8-38 (.174) vs. Southern schools over last 5 seasons.
- Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 15 of 17 games.
- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, averaging 7.5 3s per game.
- Freshman Aaron Bruce is on Dick Vitale's Super Six All-Diaper Dandies listing.
- 102 of Kevis Shipman's 117 points scored (87%) this year are from 3-pointers (30).
- Baylor is 6-0 when recording more points in the paint than its opponent this season.
- Baylor's roster includes two active players taller than 6-6 (Tommy Swanson 6-10 and walk-on Mark Shepherd 6-9) [freshman Mamadou Diene, 7-0, has yet to dress].
- 4 Bears have double-digit scoring averages.
- Aaron Bruce was named the Midseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year by the Rocky Mountain News.
- Over the past five seasons Baylor is 51-3 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (8-0 this season).
- Junior Tommy Swanson has made 46 straight starts (BU's longest streak since Terry Black & DeMarcus Minor started all 60 games during 1999-00 and 2000-01).

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 17-29 and a career record of 37-40 (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 IOWA STATE CYCLONES
Iowa State (9-8, 1-5) is led by Wayne Morgan, in his second year at ISU and his eighth year as a head coach. Morgan is 29-21 at ISU and owns a career record of 120-105 with a stint at Long Beach State (1996-2002) prior to ISU.

ISU NOTES: The Cyclones are 9-2 at home in the Hilton Coliseum this season... Iowa State is led by sophomore G Curtis Stinson, last season's Big 12 Freshman of the Year, who averages 17.2 points and 4.4 assists... The Cyclones lead the Big 12 in steals (10.5 spg) and turnover margin (+6.83) in conference games... Sophomore F Jeff Bergstrom is from Kingswood, Texas.

THE IOWA STATE SERIES
Tuesday marks the 13th meeting between Baylor and Iowa State with the Cyclones holding a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Bears have won three of the last four meetings, including a 63-59 win last season in Waco. Iowa State has won all five previous meetings in Ames.

BRUCE 2nd NATIONALLY AMONG FRESHMAN SCORERS
With a 17.2 scoring average, Aaron Bruce ranks second among the nation's freshmen in points per game, trailing Auburn's Toney Douglas (17.8 ppg).

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 (17.2 ppg; 5th in Big 12) and free throw shooting (86.8%; 1st in Big 12, 20th nationally) and is third in 3-point percentage (40.2%; 4th in Big 12) and minutes played (33.2 mpg). Bruce has scored in double-digits in 12 straight games and 16-of-17 overall.

BRUCE LEADING BIG 12 FRESHMEN
True freshman Aaron Bruce tops the Big 12 freshmen in four major categories: Scoring (1st, 17.2 ppg); field goal percentage (1st, 49.0%); 3-point field goal percentage (1st, 40.2%); and free throw percentage (1st, 86.8%).

BUSH POSTING IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS
Sophomore F Tim Bush, a transfer from LSU, has made an immediate impact since gaining his eligibility following the fall semester. Bush is averaging 14.5 points [12th in Big 12], 5.5 rebounds [19th in Big 12], 33.8 minutes, is shooting 85.2% on free throws [3rd in Big 12] and has scored in double-digits in 11 of 13 games. 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 13.0 (from 6.4 as a sophomore), shooting percentage to 55 percent (from 45), rebounds to 6.5 [13th in Big 12] (from 4.1) and minutes to 29.3 (from 22.1). Swanson has made 46 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 17 games of his 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 fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting (35-of-87, 40.2%), seventh in field goal shooting (83-of-167, 49.7%) and first in free throw shooting (46-of-52; 88.5%).

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).

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 Jan. 19, 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).

SUCCESS FROM THE LINE
Baylor newcomers Aaron Bruce (86.8%) and Tim Bush (85.2%) rank first and third, respectively, in the Big 12 in free throw shooting. Bruce's 86.8 percent ranks 20th nationally.

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 13-16 (.448) the last five seasons vs. Northern schools and just 8-38 (.174) vs. teams in the South.

7-FOOT SENEGALESE CENTER JOINS TEAM
Baylor incoming freshman Mamadou Diene arrived on campus last week. Diene, a 7-foot, 200-pound center from Yeumbeul, Senegal, was Scott Drew's first-ever signee at Baylor and one of the top international prospects when he signed with Baylor in 2003.

THE LAST MEETING: BAYLOR 63 - IOWA STATE 59 [Jan. 24, 2004]
Corey Herring scored 16 points to lead short-handed Baylor to an improbable 63-59 victory over Iowa State at the Ferrell Center, the Bears first Big 12 win of the season. Playing with just seven scholarship players, Baylor built an 11-point second half lead and held off a late Cyclone rally to secure head coach Scott Drew's first conference win and snap a five-game losing streak. The Bears led 54-46 with just over three minutes to play, but five consecutive free throws by Jake Sullivan and Jackson Vroman's layup closed the gap to 54-53 less than a minute later. Iowa State never pulled within a single point again, and Baylor's Carl Marshall iced the victory with a pair of free throws in the game's final two seconds. Baylor outscored Iowa State 16-8 to open the second half and led 37-28 with just over 14 minutes left to play. The Cyclones closed the margin to four points at 39-35, but the Bears went on a 9-2 run and extended their lead to 48-37 at the 8:22 mark. Neither team shot well in the game's early stages. With just under eight minutes remaining, the Cyclones led 10-8 and had connected on only three of 11 attempts from the field. Baylor fared even worse against the Iowa State zone defense with a 4-of-20 shooting performance. The Cyclones moved in front 18-13 with three and half minutes left to play. But the Bears went on an 8-2 run and led at the half 21-20 despite hitting only eight of 29 field goal attempts.

LAST TIME OUT: TEXAS A&M 74 - BAYLOR 62
A career-high 27 points from Aaron Bruce was not enough to overcome foul trouble and a physical Texas A&M squad that left the Bears with a 75-62 defeat at Reed Arena. The Bears were down 51-46 with 8 minutes to go when their only two players taller than 6-foot-6, Tommy Swanson and Mark Shepherd, both fouled out 15 seconds apart. Swanson (2 points) and Tim Bush (8 points) both finished with season-low scoring totals. The Aggies outrebounded Baylor 43-22 in the victory. After Swanson fouled out with 7:34 remaining, the Bears closed A&M's lead to 53-51 when Patrick Fields hit a pair of free throws and Bruce made a 3-pointer. But the Aggies answered with a 10-0 run. Texas A&M led by one at halftime and opened the second half with an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 44-35. Baylor cut the lead to 46-43 about midway through the second half thanks to sharp shooting from the 3-point line. The Bears hit 11 shots from beyond the arc, with Kevis Shipman joining Bruce with four 3-pointers. Texas A&M increased its lead to 51-46 when the Bears threatened again. The Aggies led early, outscoring the Bears 7-0 in the games' first two minutes. Baylor did not lead until Fields hit a free throw with 2:52 left in the first half to give the Bears a 30-29 edge.

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 46 straight games (since final game of 2002-03 season; 17-29 record during that span).

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 return home for a contest against the ninth-ranked Cowboys of Oklahoma State Saturday, Feb. 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center.