BAYLOR (11-8, 1-5) at TEXAS (14-5, 4-1)
Jan. 27, 2007 • Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas) • 5:00 p.m. CST
PDF of complete Game Notes & Stats

RADIO: Baylor-ISP Sports Radio Network (ESPN/KRZI 1660AM Waco / Sirius Satellite ch. 161)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: ESPN2
INTERNET VIDEO: none
LIVE STATS: live stats at TexasSports.com

THE GAME
Baylor attempts to snap a three-game losing streak Saturday, Jan. 27 when it travels down I-35 to take on Texas at the Frank Erwin Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST and the game will be televised live nationally on ESPN2. Baylor is 11-8 (1-5 Big 12) and coming off an 82-56 loss to No. 8 Kansas Wednesday in Waco. The young Bears, with eight freshmen and sophomores, are playing a full schedule and have a full allotment of scholarships for the first time in four seasons. Texas is 14-5 (4-1) and snapped a two-game losing skid with a 62-61 win at Nebraska Wednesday. The old foes meet for the 223rd time Saturday - the most-played rivalry for both schools. The Bears have lost 20 straight true road games and the Longhorns own a 21-game home winning streak.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
• Baylor's 11 wins is the most in a season in Scott Drew's four seasons at the helm.
• Saturday marks the 224th meeting between Baylor and Texas, the most-played rivalry for both schools (UT leads 148-75).
• Baylor is 2-32 in its last 34 true road games (dating to '02-03) and has lost 20 straight since a 73-72 win at Purdue 12-30-04.
• BU has lost 20 straight Big 12 road games dating to a 67-61 win over TAMU 2-25-04.
• Baylor is 4-37 in its last 41 away games (dating to '02-03).
• Baylor has lost 17 straight games to Texas dating to an 80-75 win in Waco 2-21-98.
• Sophomore G Curtis Jerrells (Del Valle HS) and junior F Mark Shepherd (St. Michael's Academy) are Austin natives.
• Kevin Rogers' 54.9% field goal shooting ranks 4th in Big 12 & 46th nationally.
• Tweety Carter leads Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers made (38) & is 2nd in 3-point percentage (35.2%) and assists-per-game (2.5).
• Baylor is shooting 20.8% on 3-pointers over the last 3 games (all losses).
• Curtis Jerrells is averaging a team-high 12.7 points in Big 12 Conference games.
• The Bears have a 3-2 record in their last 5 nationally televised games (since 2001).
• Baylor is 9-0 this season when leading at the half.
• Sophomore Kevin Rogers has more than doubled his scoring output from last season - 12.3 ppg up from 6.1 ppg - the 8th biggest increase among Big 12 players.
• BU's quartet of sophomore starters (Diene, Dugat, Jerrells & Rogers; last season's "Freshman Four") accounts for 53% of Baylor's scoring and 60% of its rebounds.
• Aaron Bruce lack 19 points to enter BU's all-time Top-20 scorers list (No. 20 964).
• Kevin Rogers has posted double-doubles in 2 of the last 4 games (TTU & KU).
• Henry Dugat is averaging 7.3 points in Big 12 games (12.5 ppg in non-conf. gms).
• Due to ankle & knee injuries Mamadou Diene has just 7 blocks over the last 10 games (23 blocks in first 8 games). Diene ranks 2nd in Big 12 with 1.9 avg blocks.
• Tim Bush is shooting 11.8% (2-17) 3-pointers the last 12 gms (10-17 first 7 gms).
• Tweety Carter is 7-for-34 (20.6%) on 3-pointers the last 5 gms (42% first 14 gms).
• Baylor is undefeated (15-0) in the Drew Era when scoring 80-plus points.
• Underclassmen have led BU in scoring in 55 of its last 64 games (dating to 2004-05) [in 31 of last 64 a freshman has been top scorer].

HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew, in his fourth season at Baylor in what many have called the most daunting rebuilding project in college basketball history, owns a four-year mark of 32-61 at the school and a career record of 52-72 (five seasons). Prior to Baylor, 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 five national Top-20 recruiting classes over the last eight years (No. 17 in 2006, No. 11 in 2005 and No. 10 in 2004 at Baylor; No. 6 in 2001 and No. 13 in 1999 at Valpo). He was named the 1998-99 National Recruiter of the Year by Court Vision.

DREW RECUPERATING FROM APPENDECTOMY
Baylor head coach Scott Drew is recuperating from an appendectomy conducted Tuesday afternoon in Waco. Less than 30 hours after the operation, Drew joined his team on the bench for the Bear's home game vs. Kansas Wednesday. Drew participated in a limited basis in all huddles as well as pregame, halftime and postgame locker room sessions; assistant coach Matthew Driscoll took the lead in coaching from the bench during the 82-56 loss. Drew is expected to resume all normal coaching duties for Saturday's game at Texas.

THE TEXAS LONGHORNS
Head Coach: Rick Barnes (Lenoir-Rhyne, 1977); 407-215, 20 seasons
Series vs. Baylor: UT leads 148-75
Last meeting: UT 90-63, Feb. 14, 2006 at Austin
Streak: UT won 17 straight
Series at Austin: UT leads 81-26
Drew vs. UT: 0-6

UT NOTES: Texas lost all five starters from last season's 30-7 team and has eight newcomers on its roster... The Longhorns have won 21 straight home contests at Frank Erwin Center... Texas is led by rookie sensation Kevin Durant, the preseason freshman of the year, who leads the Big 12 with averages of 23.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game... Sophomore G A.J. Abrams leads the Big 12 in 3-pointers made, averaging 3.89 3s per game... Texas leads the Big 12 in scoring (84.8 ppg), rebounding (43.2 ppg) and 3-point field goals (9.58 3fgm).

FULL ROSTER, FULL SCHEDULE
For the first time in four seasons since head coach Scott Drew was hired, Baylor has both a full allotment of scholarships available and a complete schedule to play. In each of the first three seasons the Bears played through handicaps: all three years the program was playing with scholarship limits; last season, the Bears were stripped of playing a non-conference schedule (all results of sanctions brought on by the previous coaching staff). In 2006-07 Baylor has 13 scholarships available and is playing a full schedule.

BEARS BACKCOURT COLD BEYOND ARC
In its recent three-game losing streak Baylor has shot just 20.8 percent (16-for-77) from the 3-point arc. Previously, the Bears had shot 36.7 percent through the season's first 16 games. The following are three-game 3-point shooting numbers for Baylor's four-guard rotation: Aaron Bruce 26.1 percent (6-23), Tweety Carter 23.8 percent (5-21), Curtis Jerrells 21.4 percent (3-14) and Henry Dugat 18.2 percent (2-11).

BRUINS BOAST TALENTED BACKCOURT
Baylor's strength in 2006-07 lies in its talented guard foursome; three starters and a reserve who each average 23-plus minutes and combine to score an average of 43.6 points per game. The guard rotation consists of Curtis Jerrells (12.2 ppg, 31.3 mpg), Aaron Bruce (11.2 ppg, 29.5 mpg), Henry Dugat (10.8 ppg, 27.2 mpg) and Tweety Carter (9.4 ppg, 23.6). Bruce (2005) and Jerrells (2006) are former Freshmen All-Americans and true freshman Carter is the school's first-ever McDonald's All-American. Baylor's backcourt was listed among the nation's top 14 backcourts in The Sporting News preseason publication.

ROAD WOES
TRUE ROAD GAMES:
The Bears are 2-32 in their last 34 games played on opponents' home courts and have lost 20 straight (last true road win was 73-72 upset at Purdue Dec. 30, 2004). BIG 12 ROAD GAMES:
Baylor has dropped 20 straight Big 12 road contests dating back to a 67-61 win at Texas A&M Feb. 25, 2004. ALL AWAY GAMES:
Baylor owns a 4-37 record in its last 41 games away from home (dating back to the 2002-03 season), including five straight.

MORE TEAM BALANCE (SCORING/MINUTES PLAYED)
A byproduct of Baylor's increased depth and talent is a more balanced team, evidenced by balanced scoring and fewer minutes played. Four Bears average double-digits in scoring, and five average between 9.4 and 12.3 points. Only one Baylor player averages more than 30 minutes played per game: sophomore G Curtis Jerrells, 31.3 mpg.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR LAST SEASON'S "FRESHMAN FOUR"
Baylor is powered by its nucleus of youth, namely a quartet of sophomore starters which as rookies in 2005-06 was nicknamed the "Freshman Four": Mamadou Diene, Henry Dugat, Curtis Jerrells and Kevin Rogers. As freshmen the quartet combined to account for nearly half of the team's points, rebounds and assists. This season the sophomores have increased that production (percentages below).

DIENE, DUGAT, JERRELLS & ROGERS% of Team's:        Pts     Reb.        Asst.Freshmen in 2005-06 46% (496/1,074) 51% (252/493)   49% (92/186)Sophomores in 2006-07   53% (759/1,421) 60% (384/643)   49% (135/276)

MR. ROGERS UPS PRODUCTION
Bears' leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Rogers ranks among the Big 12 leaders in several statistical categories. The sophomore forward has recorded two double-doubles in five Big 12 games. A southpaw, Rogers leads Baylor in scoring (12.3 ppg, 17th in Big 12) and rebounding (7.3 rpg, 7th in Big 12) and ranks fourth in the Big 12 in shooting (54.9% FGs) and 13th in blocks (1.16 bpg). As a frosh in 2005-06, Rogers averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench.

VETERAN BRUCE LEADING THE BEARS
Third-year guard Aaron Bruce, Baylor's veteran-most player with only 64 career games played, is averaging 11.2 points and 3.6 assists [ninth in Big 12]. His 1.64 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks eighth in the Big 12. Bruce's 81.7 career free throw percentage ranks fifth in school history and his 38.7 career 3-point percentage ranks fifth all-time. Bruce is 55 points shy of becoming the 19th player in Baylor history to score 1,000 career points. The junior, rated the nation's 11th-best point guard by The Sporting News preseason publication, spent the offseason playing for the Australian national team at the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Japan. Bruce averaged 13.1 points during an injury-riddled sophomore campaign last season and averaged 18.2 points in 2004-05 when he led the nation's freshmen in scoring and was named a freshman All-American.

JERRELLS STRONG AT THE POINT
Sophomore point guard Curtis Jerrells leads the Bears in assists (3.8 per game, eighth in Big 12) and minutes (31.3 mpg), and averages 12.2 points and 1.1 steals. He averages a team-high 12.7 points in Big 12 games. Jerrells is coming off a rookie season in which he led the team in scoring (13.5 ppg), assists (3.3 apg), steals (1.4 spg) and minutes (33.4 mpg) and was named a Freshman All-American. Jerrells is projected a preseason All-Big 12 selection by Lindy's, USA TODAY and ESPN.com. He has also been named the Big 12's "Most Underrated Player" by both Athlon and The Sporting News preseason publications.

CARTER AMONG BIG 12 FRESHMEN LEADERS
True freshman G Tweety Carter is averaging 23.6 minutes per game and earned his first start in 19 career games Wednesday vs. Kansas. Carter leads all Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers and is second in assists. Carter's 38 3-pointers top all freshmen, and his 36.3 3-point shooting percentage and 2.5 assists-per-game is second. Carter, Baylor's first-ever McDonalds All-America signee, is averaging 9.4 points per game. He was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week Dec. 18 after scoring 31 points in a loss at No. 23 Syracuse (Carter hit seven 3-pointers off the bench). Carter scored a U.S. high school record 7,457 points at Reserve (La.) Christian School.

SHOT-BLOCKING MAYOR DIENE SLOWED BY INJURY
Mamadou Diene, a seven-foot sophomore from Senegal, is averaging 5.5 points, 5.6 rebounds [19th in Big 12] and 1.9 blocks [2nd Big 12] despite playing through ankle and knee injuries the last 10 games. Diene has totaled seven blocks in his last eight games played (averaged 2.9 through first eight games before injuries). Diene led the Big 12 in blocks as a freshman, averaging 2.21 in 2005-06 and his 2.06 career figure is second all-time at Baylor behind only current Milwaukee Buck Brian Skinner's 3.36 average (1994-98). Diene has started all 33 games played and has recorded 20 multi-block games. The 19-year-old Diene, referred to as "The Mayor" by the Baylor coaching staff due to his huge popularity across campus, has gained more than 55 pounds since his arrival in the United States in Jan. 2005 weighing 197 pounds.

MOST WINS IN DREW ERA
This season's 11 wins represent the most for a Baylor (11-8) squad in four seasons under head coach Scott Drew. After taking over a program decimated by tragedy, player departures, depleted rosters and NCAA restrictions, Drew led the Bears to records of 8-21 (2003-04), 9-19 (2004-05) and 4-13 (2005-06). The 2002-03 Baylor squad finished 14-14 prior to Drew's arrival.

ROGERS AMONG BIG 12's MOST IMPROVED SCORERS
Sophomore Kevin Rogers has doubled his scoring output from his freshman season in 2005-06. Rogers' 12.3 scoring average is 6.2 points higher than last season's 6.1 and currently ranks eighth among the Big 12's most improved scorers from last season.

MILESTONES & RECORDS WATCH
• Mamadou Diene is 2 blocks shy of moving into 6th place and 4 shy of 5th place (68 blocks, Frank Williams No. 6 with 70, Greg Davis No. 5 with 72) on Baylor's career blocks list.
• Aaron Bruce is 5 assists shy of entering Baylor's career top 10 assists list (229, Roddrick Miller No. 10 with 234).
• Aaron Bruce is 19 points scored shy of entering Baylor's career top 20 scorers list (945, Alex Holcombe No. 20 with 964).
• Aaron Bruce is 55 points shy joining Baylor's 1,000-point scorers club (945 points, would be 19th member).
• Aaron Bruce ranks 5th on Baylor's career free throw percentage list (.817).
• Aaron Bruce ranks 5th on Baylor's career 3-point percentage list (.387).
• Henry Dugat ranks 7th on Baylor's career 3-point percentage list (.376).
• Pat Fields ranks 8th on Baylor's career 3-point percentage list (.372).
• Mamadou Diene ranks 2nd on Baylor's career blocks-per-game list (2.06).
• Aaron Bruce ranks 8th on Baylor's career assists-per-game list (3.58).

BAYLOR'S AUSTIN NATIVES
Saturday's game at Austin will be a homecoming for two Austin natives on the Baylor roster: Curtis Jerrells, a sophomore G who graduated from Del Valle High School in 2005; and Mark Shepherd, a junior F who graduated from St. Michael's Academy in 2003.

BEARS ON NATIONAL TV
Saturday's game at Texas on ESPN2 is Baylor's sixth national telecast over the last seven seasons. Baylor has tallied a 3-2 record in national TV games since the 2000-01 season (0-1 this season after 78-69 loss vs. Gonzaga).

LAST TIME OUT: No. 8 KANSAS 82 - BAYLOR 56
Another cold-shooting night doomed Baylor as the Bears fell 82-56 to No. 8 Kansas Wednesday at the Ferrell Center. Kansas jumped to a 20-3 lead in the first 11 minutes and held Baylor to 30 percent shooting on the night. Baylor coach Scott Drew was courtside a little more than 24 hours after having an appendectomy Tuesday, but he stayed in his seat and let assistant Matthew Driscoll do most of the game coaching. Curtis Jerrells scored 12 to lead the Bears. Baylor, which has lost three straight and was coming off a 40-point defeat at Oklahoma, got off to a horrible start on its home court with 1-of-16 shooting and trailed by 22 at halftime. Kansas shot 64 percent in the first half. The Jayhawks maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second. The Bears managed to whittle the lead to under 20 when Henry Dugat stole the ball at midcourt and finished an acrobatic layup with just under nine minutes left. Kansas quickly snuffed any hint of a rally when Sherron Collins hit a 3-pointer and Darrell Arthur floated a short jumper that put the Jayhawks up 66-43.

THE LAST MEETING: TEXAS 90 - BAYLOR 63 [Feb. 14, 2006]
Sixth-ranked Texas raced to a 20-3 lead in the opening eight minutes and never looked back en route to a 90-63 victory over Baylor at the Erwin Center, UT's 17th straight win over the Bears. The Longhorns not only dominated inside but hit all five 3-pointers in the first half and led 45-21 at the break. Texas shot 53 percent from the field in the first. After shooting just 26.9 percent in the first half, the Bears hit 48.4 percent in the second half and scored 42 points. But they never got within 21 points of the Longhorns. Texas outrebounded the Bears 42-26. Aaron Bruce scored 15 to lead Baylor, and Tommy Swanson scored a season-high 11 points.

BEARS STILL YOUNG
Despite returning 11 of last season's 13 players, the Bears are still a relatively young squad in 2006-07. Baylor's roster includes just two seniors and three juniors compared to eight freshmen and sophomores. Junior Aaron Bruce is the team's leader in career games played with 63. [Note: Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 54 of its last 63 games (over the last three seasons); in 31 of those 63 a freshman has been top scorer.]

BEARS RETURN PRODUCTION NUMBERS
In 2006-07 Baylor returns four-of-five starters, 11-of-13s roster players and a great majority of its production, statistically speaking. The Bears return 87.6 percent of last season's points, 84.7 percent of rebounds and 93.5 percent of assists.

BEARS TO FACE WAZZOU IN BIG 12/PAC-10 SERIES
Baylor will host Washington State on Friday, Nov. 30, 2007, as apart of a a four-year deal announced by the Big 12 and Pacific-10 Conferences. The agreement between the conferences provides a series of 12 annual games, beginning in the 2007-08 season. The series will continue in 2008, with return games of the 2007 match-ups games slated for Dec. 4-7. The games in the series in 2009 will be played Dec. 3-6, 2009, while matchups in 2010 will be played Dec. 2-5, 2010.

FRESHMAN CLASS RATED 17th NATIONALLY
Baylor's 2006 signee class was rated the nation's 17th-best class by Rivals.com and is made up of a trio of freshman, all top-100 national recruits. The signees include Demond "Tweety" Carter of Reserve Christian School (Reserve, La.), Josh Lomers of Boerne (Texas) High School and Djibril "Penny" Thiam of Stoneridge Prep (Tarzana, Calif.).

INTERNATIONAL ROSTER
Baylor's 14-man, 2006-07 roster boasts 10 Americans and four players from overseas. The four international student-athletes include junior Aaron Bruce (native of Australia), sophomore Mamadou Diene (native of Senegal), redshirt freshman Jari Vanttaja (native of Finland) and true freshman Djibril "Penny" Thiam (native of Senegal).

EARLY 2007 SIGNEES
Baylor signed two players in the early signing period, LaceDarius Dunn of Monroe, La., and Fred Ellis of Sacramento, Calif. Dunn, a senior at Excelsior Christian School, is the highest-rated Baylor signee in recent memory. Dunn is rated the No. 18 recruit nationally by Scout.com's Dave Telep. Other national ratings include: No. 27 by Hoopmasters.com, No. 29 by HoopScoop.com and No. 33 by Rivals.com. A 6-4 shooting guard, Dunn was rated the No. 5 player at the 2006 Adidas Superstar Camp in Atlanta by USA TODAY. He is rated the nation's fifth-best shooting guard by Scout.com and the No. 7 shooting guard by Rivals.com. Dunn is a two-time, first-team all-state honoree who guided ECS to a 35-4 record as a junior in 2005-06, averaging 27.7 points, 13 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Dunn led Excelsior Christian to the Class C state title and a 47-2 record as a sophomore in 2004-05. Ellis is a senior at Sacramento High School in Sacramento, Calif. He was called the "biggest sleeper" recruit of the summer by Telep at Scout.com. A 6-7 wing, Ellis led SHS to a 29-6 overall record and an 11-1 conference mark as a junior in 2005-06. Sacramento lost in the SJS-Div. III championship game. Ellis averaged 7.8 points and 5.1 rebounds. Ellis was invited to the Super 100 Basketball Camp in Berkeley last summer.

BAYLOR EARLY SIGNEES:Name        Pos.    Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Schools)LaceDarius Dunn G   6-4 190 Fr. Monroe, La. (Excelsior Christian School)Fred Ellis  F   6-7 190 Fr. Sacramento, Calif. (Sacramento HS)

DEPARTED PLAYERS
Baylor lost just two lettermen from it's 2005-06 roster: four-year forward Tommy Swanson (6.6 ppg) and two-year transfer guard Kevis Shipman (2.1 ppg).

NEXT UP...
Baylor returns to the Ferrell Center to host Colorado Tuesday, Jan. 30. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. CST and will be televised live in Texas on FSN Southwest.