BAYLOR (9-12, 1-9) at MISSOURI (11-13, 3-7)
Feb. 16, 2005 - Mizzou Arena (Columbia, Mo.) - 7:00 p.m. CST

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RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (ESPN/KRZI 1660AM Waco)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: Mizzou Sports Network (not available in Texas)
INTERNET VIDEO (BEARCAST): none

THE GAME
Baylor travels to Columbia, Mo., for a Wednesday, Feb. 16, matchup against Missouri, the Bears' third midweek road game in four consecutive weeks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST at the new Mizzou Arena. The Bears are 9-12, 1-9 and attempting to snap a seven-game losing streak, most recently a 74-63 defeat to Nebraska Saturday in Waco. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team, is playing with limited scholarships and with nine newcomers. Missouri owns an 11-13, 3-7 record and snapped a five-game losing streak with a 68-65 overtime win over Oklahoma at home Saturday. The Tigers lead the Bears 8-6 in the schools' all-time series.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
- With 9 wins, Baylor has surpassed last season's win total (8-21).
- Aaron Bruce ranks 3rd in 3-point shooting (41%), 9th in FG shooting (47%) and 2nd in FT shooting (87%) in the Big 12.
- Tim Bush (87.9%) and Aaron Bruce (87.1%) rank 1st & 2nd in Big 12 FT shooting.
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Aaron Bruce is the second-highest scoring freshman in the nation (17.3 ppg).
- Baylor has dressed 7 or fewer scholarship players for 50 straight games [17-33 record] (since final game of 2002-2003 season).
- Baylor is 13-18 (.419) vs. Big 12 North & just 8-40 (.167) vs. Southern schools over last 5 seasons.
- Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 19 of 21 games.
- Roscoe Biggers has 15 assists & 2 turnovers the last 3 gms (last 2 as starting PG).
- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, averaging 7.7 3s per game.
- Freshman Aaron Bruce is on Dick Vitale's Super Six All-Diaper Dandies listing.
- 105 of Kevis Shipman's 122 points scored (86%) this year are from 3-pointers (35).
- 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).
- 4 Bears have double-digit scoring averages.
- Baylor is 11-0 when scoring 70+ points (in Drew Era; 2 seasons).
- Aaron Bruce was named the Midseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year by the Rocky Mountain News.
- Baylor is 0-4 this season in games in which Tommy Swanson fouls out.
- BU is 1-23 when allowing opponents to shoot 50% or higher (in 2 years under Drew).
- Aaron Bruce's 33-pt game vs. OSU is the highest total by a Big 12 player this year & set a new Baylor single-game freshman scoring mark.

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 17-33 and a career record of 37-44 (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 MISSOURI TIGERS
Missouri (11-13, 3-7) is led by head coach Quin Snyder, in his sixth year as a head coach, all at the helm of the Tigers. Snyder has led Missouri to a 111-76 record.

MU NOTES: Missouri snapped a five-game losing streak with a 68-65 overtime win over Oklahoma Saturday... The Tigers are playing their first season in the brand new Mizzou Arena, which seats 15,061... Mizzou is 11-4 at home this season... The Tigers are led by sophomore F/C Linas Kleiza, who averages 15.8 points and 7.3 rebounds... Ten Mizzou players average more than nine minutes played... The Tiger roster includes two freshmen from Texas: F Marshall Brown (LB Johnson HS in Austin) and G Jason Horton (Cedar Hill HS in Dallas).

THE MISSOURI SERIES
Baylor trails 8-6 in its short basketball series against Missouri. The Tigers have won two straight, including a 70-66 victory last season in Waco. Mizzou leads the series 6-2 in games played in Columbia. The two squads have met eight times since joining the Big 12 with the Tigers holding a 6-2 edge in conference contests.

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 (17.3 ppg; 4th in Big 12) and is second in 3-point percentage (40.9%; 3rd in Big 12), free throw shooting (87.1%; 2nd in Big 12, 16th nationally) and minutes played (33.8 mpg). Bruce has scored in double-digits in 19-of-21 games.

BRUCE LEADING BIG 12 FRESHMEN
True freshman Aaron Bruce tops the Big 12 freshmen in four major categories: Scoring (1st, 17.3 ppg); field goal percentage (1st, 47.3%); 3-point field goal percentage (1st, 40.9%); and free throw percentage (1st, 87.1%).

BRUCE 2nd NATIONALLY AMONG FRESHMAN SCORERS
With a 17.3 scoring average, Aaron Bruce ranks second among the nation's freshmen in points per game, trailing Auburn's Toney Douglas (18.0 ppg).

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 13.8 points [17th in Big 12], 5.8 rebounds [16th in Big 12], 34.2 minutes, is shooting 87.9% on free throws [1st in Big 12] and has scored in double-digits in 13 of 17 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 12.2 (from 6.4 as a sophomore), shooting percentage to 53 percent (from 45), rebounds to 6.0 [15th in Big 12] (from 4.1) and minutes to 29.8 (from 22.1). Swanson has made 50 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 21 games of his career, true 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 third in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting (47-of-115, 40.9%), ninth in field goal shooting (121-of-256, 47.3%) and second in free throw shooting (74-of-85; 87.1%).

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).

RECORD SUCCESS FROM THE LINE BY BUSH & BRUCE
Baylor newcomers Tim Bush (87.9%) and Aaron Bruce (87.1%) are putting up record numbers from the free throw line this season. The duo ranks first and second, respectively, in the Big 12 in free throw shooting. Bruce's 87.1 percent ranks 16th nationally and Bush's 87.9 ranks 32nd. Bush's 87.9 percent ranks third all-time on Baylor's single-season free throw percentage listing, and Bruce's 87.1 ranks fifth.

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 13-18 (.419) the last five seasons vs. Northern schools and just 8-40 (.167) vs. teams in the South.

BEARS SURPASS LAST SEASON'S WIN TOTAL
Despite losing nine lettermen from it's 2003-04 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 2003-04, the first in Scott Drew's rebuilding project, the undermanned Bears finished 8-21 (3-13 Big 12).

THE LAST MEETING: MISSOURI 70 - BAYLOR 66 [Feb. 21, 2004]
Matt Sayman missed a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds and undermanned Baylor fell 70-66 to Missouri in the Ferrell Center. Missouri's Rickey Paulding hit three free throws in the final 18 seconds to secure the victory. The Tigers led for much of the second half but the overachieving Bears pulled within 67-66 on Harvey Thomas' twisting layup with 29 seconds left. After two Paulding free throws put the Tigers up 69-66, Baylor had a chance to tie, but Terrance Thomas couldn't get off a 3-pointer. He passed to Sayman, who missed a 25-footer with 5 seconds left. Harvey Thomas led Baylor with 16 points and three blocks. R.T. Guinn was 3-of-5 on 3-pointers to finish with 15 points for the Bears, who are playing with seven scholarship players. The game was close throughout, and there were eight lead changes. Baylor tied the score at 61-61 on two Sayman free throws with 4:53 remaining, but Jason Conley hit a layup and Missouri never trailed again. Missouri led 33-32 at halftime despite Baylor hitting 52 percent in the first half. The Tigers outrebounded the Bears 34-22 and outscored them in the paint 38-30.

LAST TIME OUT: NEBRASKA 74 - BAYLOR 63
Jake Muhleisen scored 20 points to lead Nebraska to a 74-63 win over Baylor at the Ferrell Center, Baylor's seventh straight loss. Four Baylor players scored in double-digits, led by freshman guard Aaron Bruce's 17, but foul trouble for Bruce and Tommy Swanson doomed the undermanned Bears. Swanson picked up his fourth foul less than two minutes into the second half. After Baylor cut the Husker lead to 36-35 on two Tim Bush free throws with 15:39 remaining, Nebraska went on an 11-3 run and took control. Bruce received his fourth foul during the Nebraska run, which gave the Huskers a 47-38 lead with 10 and a half minutes to go. Nebraska went inside to freshman center Aleks Maric, who scored 10 of the next 12 points to give the Huskers a 59-48 lead with 5:39 remaining. The Cornhuskers finished with a 34-25 rebounding edge.

SEVEN-FOOT SENEGALESE CENTER JOINS TEAM
Baylor freshman Mamadou Diene arrived on campus at the end of January and is practicing with the team. 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 coaching staff plans to redshirt Diene this season.

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)

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour wrap-up of BU athletics, airs weekly throughout the Southwest. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV (Sundays at 10:30 p.m.), FSN Southwest (Wednesdays at 1 p.m) and CSTV (Thursdays at 5 or 5:30 p.m). All shows are archived online at BaylorBears.com and BaylorTV.com.

NEXT UP...
Baylor returns to the Ferrell Center to host Texas Saturday, Feb. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST and the game will be televised live on ESPN+Plus (Time Warner Cable channel 16 in Waco/Temple/Bryan).