BAYLOR (12-9, 2-6) at IOWA STATE (11-10, 2-5)
Feb. 3, 2007 • Hilton Coliseum (Ames, Iowa) • 5:00 p.m. CST
PDF of complete Game Notes & Stats

RADIO: Baylor-ISP Sports Radio Network (ESPN/KRZI 1660AM Waco / KVCE 1160AM Dallas / Sirius Satellite ch. 161)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: ESPN Regional/Cyclone TV Network [Time Warner Cable ch. 15 in Waco/Temple]
INTERNET VIDEO: none
LIVE STATS: live stats at Cyclones.com

THE GAME
Baylor travels to Ames, Iowa, for a Saturday, Feb. 3, matchup at Iowa State. Tipoff at Hilton Coliseum is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST [the ESPN Regional/Cyclone Television Network live telecast will air in Waco/Temple on Time Warner Cable channel 15]. Baylor is 12-9 (2-6 Big 12) and coming off a 97-83 win over Colorado Tuesday. 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. Iowa State is 11-10 (2-5) and has dropped five straight games, most recently a 73-49 loss at Texas A&M Wednesday. The Cyclones are 9-3 at home this season, the Bears have lost 21 straight true road games (0-5 this season). Baylor is 0-6 all-time vs. Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
• Baylor's 12 wins is the most in a season in Scott Drew's four seasons at the helm.
• Baylor is 0-6 all-time vs. Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum (trails 9-6 in overall series).
• Aaron Bruce lacks 11 points to be the 19th Baylor player to score 1,000 points.
• Kevin Rogers has totaled 41 rebounds the last 3 games (13.7 rpg).
• Aaron Bruce is averaging 22.0 pts and shooting 63% (10-16) on 3s the past 2 gms.
• Baylor is 2-33 in its last 35 true road games (dating to '02-03) and has lost 21 straight since a 73-72 win at Purdue 12-30-04.
• BU has lost 21 straight Big 12 road games dating to a 67-61 win over TAMU 2-25-04.
• Baylor is 4-38 in its last 42 away games (dating to '02-03).
• Tweety Carter is 2nd among Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers made (42), 3-point percentage (35.3%) and assists-per-game (2.5).
• Kevin Rogers is averaging 11.4 points & 9.9 rebounds (2nd in Big 12) in conf. gms.
• Aaron Bruce is averaging a team-high 13.8 points in Big 12 Conference games.
• BU is 17-27 (.386) over the last 7 seasons vs. Big 12 North schools. The Bears are just 10-48 (.172) vs. South schools over the same span.
• Sophomore Kevin Rogers has more than doubled his scoring output from last season - 12.3 ppg up from 6.1 ppg - the 5th 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 61% of its rebounds.
• Kevin Rogers has posted double-doubles in 3 of the last 6 games (TTU, KU & CU).
• Kevin Rogers' 3 double-doubles in Big 12 play is the most by a BU player since Lawrence Roberts had 10 in 2002-03.
• Due to ankle & knee injuries Mamadou Diene has just 8 blocks over the last 12 games (23 blocks in first 8 games). Diene ranks 2nd in Big 12 with 1.8 avg blocks.
• Baylor is undefeated (16-0) in the Drew Era when scoring 80-plus points.

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 33-62 at the school and a career record of 53-73 (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 underwent an appendectomy Jan. 23 - less than 30 hours later he was on the bench in a limited coaching role for Baylor's home game vs. Kansas]

DREW 10th ON BU COACHING LIST
In his fourth season at Baylor, Scott Drew has coached 33 Bear wins and has climbed to 10th place on the school's all-time coaching wins list. In ninth place on the list is Carroll Dawson with 42 career victories.

THE IOWA STATE CYCLONES
Head Coach: Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1999); 232-137, 13 seasons
Series vs. Baylor: ISU leads 9-6
Last meeting: BU 91-73, Feb. 25, 2006 in Waco
Streak: BU won 1 straight
Series at Ames: ISU leads 6-0
Drew vs. ISU: 2-2

ISU NOTES: Iowa State (11-10, 2-5) is led by first year head coach Greg McDermott... The Cyclones returned three starters from last season's 16-14 squad... ISU is led by junior G Mike Taylor, who averages 16.4 points and 4.2 assists... Freshman F Wesley Johnson leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounds, averaging 3.9 per game (8.9 total rebounds per game)... The Cyclones boast a 9-3 record this season at the Hilton Coliseum... ISU is a perfect 6-0 all-time at home vs. Baylor.

BEARS MORE SUCCESSFULL vs. BIG 12 NORTH
Over the last seven seasons Baylor has had much more success against Big 12 North schools than those in the South. Baylor is 17-27 (.386) the last seven seasons vs. Northern schools and just 10-48 (.172) vs. teams in the South. This season, Baylor is 1-2 vs. Northern schools and 1-4 vs. Southern teams.

MR. ROGERS BECOMING A FORCE
The Bears' second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Kevin Rogers has become a force on the boards since the start of Big 12 Conference play. The sophomore forward has recorded double-doubles in three of the last six games and he is nearly averaging a double-double in conference games, with 11.4 points and 9.9 rebounds [Rogers' three double-doubles are the most by a Baylor player in Big 12 games since current Memphis Grizzlies forward Lawrence Roberts notched 10 in 2002-03]. His 9.9 rebounds in Big 12 games ranks second in the league (7.8 average in all games ranks fourth). On the season, the southpaw averages 12.3 points (20th in Big 12), 7.8 rebounds (4th in Big 12), shoots 55.0 percent and averages 1.10 blocks (14th in Big 12). As a frosh in 2005-06, Rogers averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench.

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.

BRUINS BOAST TALENTED BACKCOURT
Baylor's strength in 2006-07 lies in its talented guard foursome; three starters and a reserve who each average 24-plus minutes and combine to score an average of 45.2 points per game. The guard rotation consists of Curtis Jerrells (12.6 ppg, 31.4 mpg), Aaron Bruce (12.2 ppg, 29.7 mpg), Henry Dugat (11.1 ppg, 27.0 mpg) and Tweety Carter (9.3 ppg, 24.0 mpg). 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 2-33 in their last 35 games played on opponents' home courts and have lost 21 straight (last true road win was 73-72 upset at Purdue Dec. 30, 2004).
BIG 12 ROAD GAMES:
Baylor has dropped 21 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 4-38 record in its last 42 games away from home (dating back to the 2002-03 season), including six straight.

BRUCE ON CUSP OF JOINING BEARS' 1,000-POINT CLUB
In less than two and a half seasons of play, junior G Aaron Bruce is on the verge of becoming just the 19th player in Baylor history to score 1,000 career points. Bruce, who has played in 66 career games, has scored 989 points heading into Saturday's game at Iowa State [Bruce has played in every game since arriving at BU: 28 as freshman, only 17 due to shortened season as sophomore and 21 this season). He has averaged 15.0 points per game in three seasons.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY POWERS THE BEARS
Third-year guard Aaron Bruce, Baylor's veteran-most player with 66 career games played, is averaging 12.2 points, 3.7 assists [9th in Big 12] and a team-high 13.8 points in conference games (18th in Big 12). Over the last six games Bruce has averaged 16.8 points and shot 42 percent (22-52) on 3-pointers. His 1.54 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 10th in the Big 12. Bruce's 39.7 career 3-point percentage ranks third in school history and his 82.5 career free throw percentage ranks fourth all-time. Bruce is 11 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.

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 9.3 and 12.6 points. Only one Baylor player averages more than 30 minutes played per game: sophomore G Curtis Jerrells, 31.4 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% (846/1,597) 61% (435/714)   50% (153/309)

JERRELLS CONTINUES TO LEAD FROM THE POINT
Sophomore point guard Curtis Jerrells leads the Bears in scoring (12.6 points per game, 17th in Big 12), assists (3.9 per game, eighth in Big 12) and minutes (31.4 mpg), and averages 1.0 steals. He averages 13.6 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 24.0 minutes per game and entered the starting lineup three games ago after coming off the bench in his first 18 career games. Carter ranks second among all Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers and assists. Carter's 42 3-pointers, 35.3 3-point shooting percentage and 2.5 assists-per-game rank second to Texas' Kevin Durant. Carter, Baylor's first-ever McDonalds All-America signee, is averaging 9.3 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 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds [20th in Big 12] and 1.8 blocks [2nd Big 12] despite playing through ankle and knee injuries the last 12 games. Diene has totaled eight blocks in his last nine 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 2.03 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 34 career 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 12 wins represent the most for a Baylor (12-9) 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 fifth among the Big 12's most improved scorers from last season.

MILESTONES & RECORDS WATCH
• Aaron Bruce is 11 points shy joining Baylor's 1,000-point scorers club (989 points, would be 19th member). • Mamadou Diene is 1 block shy of moving into 6th place and 3 shy of 5th place (69 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 moving into 9th place (237, John Lucas III No. 9 with 242) on Baylor's career assists list. • Aaron Bruce is 51 points shy of moving into 18th place (989, Don Heathington No. 18 with 1,040) on Baylor's career scoring list. • Tweety Carter is 6 made 3-pointers shy of moving into 3rd place (42, Roddrick Miller No. 3 with 48) on Baylor's freshman 3-pointers list. • Tweety Carter is 3 assists shy of moving into 7th place (53, Curtis Jerrells No. 7 with 56) on Baylor's freshman assists list. • Scott Drew is 5 games shy of coaching his 100th game at Baylor (just the 9th BU coach to coach 100 games). • Aaron Bruce ranks 3rd on Baylor's career 3-point percentage list (.397). • Mamadou Diene ranks 2nd on Baylor's career blocks-per-game list (2.03). • Aaron Bruce ranks 4th on Baylor's career free throw percentage list (.825). • 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). • Curtis Jerrells ranks 8th on Baylor's career assists-per-game list (3.63). • Aaron Bruce ranks 9th on Baylor's career assists-per-game list (3.59).

LAST TIME OUT: BAYLOR 97 - COLORADO 83
Baylor was hot from outside and buried Colorado under 14 3-pointers in a 97-83 win over the Buffs at the Ferrell Center. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bears. Baylor built a 24-7 lead over the first eight minutes and Curtis Jerrells' long 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer gave BU a 53-30 halftime lead. The Bears led by as many as 27 early in the second before Colorado cut the deficit to 73-62 on Richard Roby's layup with 10 minutes remaining. Aaron Bruce and Tim Bush responded with 3-pointers in an 8-4 Baylor run and the Buffs never challenged again. Baylor matched its highest scoring output in a Big 12 game, equaling the points in a 97-45 win over Texas A&M on Feb. 3, 2002. Bruce and Henry Dugat scored 19 points to lead five Baylor players in double figure scoring and five that tallied more than 15 points. Kevin Rogers notched his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Baylor's 14 3s was a season-high and the highest such total since hitting 16 Jan. 28, 2006 in a loss at Texas A&M.

THE LAST MEETING: BAYLOR 91 - IOWA STATE 73 [Feb. 25, 2006]
Baylor's current players put the perfect finishing touches on the school's Centennial Weekend by polishing off Iowa State 91-73 at the Ferrell Center. The win was witnessed by more than 100 former Bears players, in town to celebrate the 100th season of basketball at Baylor. Quick 3-pointers in the first minute and a half by Aaron Bruce and Curtis Jerrells gave the Bears an early 6-0 that they pushed to 11-4 with a Mamadou Diene layup five minutes in. When Pat Fields hit a layup at 9:53 Baylor was up 23-10 and never looked back. Fields finished with a team-high 22 points off the bench, one of five Baylor players in double-digits in scoring. Fields' 22 tied a career-high while Kevin Rogers (17) and Diene (10) each topped their career bests. Leading 37-24 at halftime, Baylor jumped to a 45-26 lead three minutes into the second half. But Iowa State responded with a 17-4 run and cut the margin to single digits at 49-43 with 12 1/2 minutes left to play. The Bears regained control with a 10-3 outburst to make it 59-46 midway through the second half, and the Cyclones never cut their deficit to less than double digits. Baylor converted 24 of their 30 free-throw attempts, while the Cyclones shot 14-of-16. Baylor shot 54.5 percent from the field. The Bears held ISU to just 37.1 percent from the field, including just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from 3-point range. The Cyclones missed 21 of their first 25 shots.

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 66. [Note: Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 56 of its last 66 games (over the last three seasons); in 31 of those 66 a freshman has been top scorer.]

INJURIES: DIENE QUESTIONABLE, THIAM OUT
Through 21 games five different Baylor players have missed a total of 42 games for medical reasons. Currently nursing injury is sophomore C Mamadou Diene, who is nursing ankle (sprain) and knee (tendonitis) injuries and is questionable to play Saturday. Freshman F Djibril "Penny" Thiam sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a win over Texas Southern Nov. 20 and is out for the season.

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 WAZZU 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 has a six-day break before resuming play Saturday, Feb. 10 at home against Oklahoma. The game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center and will be televised live regionally via ESPN Plus.