BAYLOR (12-11, 2-8) at MISSOURI (14-9, 3-7)
Feb. 14, 2007 • Mizzou Arena (Columbia, Mo.) • 6:00 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: FSN Southwest (Central Texas) [complete TV listings]
INTERNET VIDEO: live video stream at MUtigers.com
LIVE STATS:

THE GAME
Baylor faces Missouri in a Wednesday, Feb. 14, Valentines Day matchup in Columbia, Mo. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. CST at Mizzou Arena and will be televised live regionally on FSN Midwest (Missouri) and FSN Southwest (Central Texas). Baylor is 12-11 (2-8 Big 12) and coming off a 68-64 loss vs. Oklahoma Saturday. 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. Missouri is 14-9 (3-7) and dropped a 92-74 decision vs. Kansas Saturday. Baylor will play Wednesday's game without veteran leader Aaron Bruce, who suffered an ankle sprain in Saturday's game vs. Oklahoma. Baylor won last season's matchup between the two schools, a 90-64 decision in Waco.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
• Baylor's 12 wins is the most in a season in Scott Drew's four years at the helm.
• Baylor is 2-34 in its last 36 true road games (dating to '02-03) and has lost 22 straight since a 73-72 win at Purdue 12-30-04.
• BU has lost 22 straight Big 12 road games dating to a 67-61 win over TAMU 2-25-04.
• Baylor is 4-39 in its last 43 away games (dating to '02-03).
• Junior G Aaron Bruce will not play Wednesday at Columbia (high ankle sprain).
• Curtis Jerrells is averaging 18.7 points & shooting 45% (9-20) on 3s the last 2 gms.
• Freshman G Tweety Carter boasts a 2.7-to-1 assist to turnover ratio in conf. games.
• Tweety Carter is 2nd among Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers made (43) and 3rd in assists-per-game (2.6).
• Kevin Rogers is averaging 12.6 points & 9.1 rebounds (4th in Big 12) in Big 12 games and has posted 3 double-doubles.
• Kevin Rogers' 3 double-doubles in Big 12 play is the most by a BU player since Lawrence Roberts had 10 in 2002-03.
• Sophomore Kevin Rogers has more than doubled his scoring output from last season - 12.7 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 54% of Baylor's scoring and 61% of its rebounds.
• Baylor is shooting just 40% in Big 12 games and has hit on better than 35% in just 5 of 10 league games. [In 2 conference wins BU shot 48% (Tech) & 58% (Colorado)]
• 65% (129-199) of Tweety Carter's points come from 3-pointers (43).
• Kevin Rogers is averaging 10.6 rebounds the last 5 games.
• Due to ankle & knee injuries Mamadou Diene has just 10 blocks over the last 14 games (23 blocks in first 8 games). Diene ranks 3rd in Big 12 with 1.8 avg blocks.

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 33-64 at the school and a career record of 53-75 (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 MISSOURI TIGERS
Head Coach: Mike Anderson (Tulsa, 1982); 103-50, 5 seasons
Series vs. Baylor: MU leads 9-7
Last meeting: BU 90-64, Feb. 7, 2006 in Waco
Streak: BU won 1 straight
Series at Columbia: MU leads 7-2
Drew vs. MU: 1-2

MU NOTES: Missouri is 14-9, 3-7 under first-year head coach Mike Anderson... The Tigers are 12-4 at home in Mizzou Arena this season... The Tigers are led by junior G Stefhon Hannah, who averages 15.6 points and 4.6 assists per game... Mizzou leads the Big 12 in steals (10.9 spg) and turnover margin (+4.9).

COLD-SHOOTING BEARS
Baylor has shot poorly during Big 12 Conference play, hitting on just 40.0 percent of field goals [11th in the league rankings]. In five of 10 conference games (2-8 record), Baylor shot below 35 percent from the field. In the Bears' two conference wins, they shot 48.3 percent (Texas Tech) and 57.9 percent (Colorado).

ROAD WOES
TRUE ROAD GAMES:
The Bears are 2-34 in their last 36 games played on opponents' home courts and have lost 22 straight (last true road win was 73-72 upset at Purdue Dec. 30, 2004).
BIG 12 ROAD GAMES:
Baylor has dropped 22 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 4-39 record in its last 43 games away from home (dating back to the 2002-03 season), including seven straight.

HOME vs. ROAD SUCCESS
The Bears have played significantly better basketball at home in the Ferrell Center this season than they have on the road. In addition to a better record at home (11-4 vs. 1-7 away), the following chart details other significant statistical differences based on location:

       Home    AwayWin-Loss Record:    11-4    1-7Scoring Margin: +12.1   -12.2Field Goal %:   .496    .391Opp. Field Goal %:  .419    .475Rebounding Margin:  +6.5    -5.9

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. In conference game, the sophomore forward is averaging 12.6 points and 9.1 rebounds and has recorded three double-doubles [the most by a Baylor player in Big 12 games since current Memphis Grizzlies forward Lawrence Roberts notched 10 in 2002-03]. His 9.1 rebounds in Big 12 games ranks fourth in the league (7.6 average in all games ranks sixth). On the season, the southpaw averages 12.7 points (20th in Big 12), 7.6 rebounds (6th in Big 12), shoots 54.6 percent (4th in Big 12) and averages 1.1 blocks. As a frosh in 2005-06, Rogers averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench.

BRUCE OUT (ANKLE INJURY)
Aaron Bruce, Baylor's most veteran player and third-leading scorer, suffered a sprained ankle (left) in Saturday's loss to Oklahoma and is out indefinitely. The junior guard will not play Wednesday at Missouri.

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 43.8 points per game. The guard rotation consists of Curtis Jerrells (13.2 ppg, 31.9 mpg), Aaron Bruce (11.6 ppg, 29.7 mpg), Henry Dugat (10.3 ppg, 26.4 mpg) and Tweety Carter (8.7 ppg, 24.3 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.

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. Only one Baylor player averages more than 30 minutes played per game: sophomore G Curtis Jerrells, 31.9 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   54% (924/1,719) 61% (466/767)   48% (160/331)

MOST WINS IN DREW ERA
This season's 12 wins represent the most for a Baylor (12-11) 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.

JERRELLS CONTINUES TO LEAD FROM THE POINT
Sophomore point guard Curtis Jerrells leads the Bears in scoring (13.2 points per game, 16th in Big 12), assists (3.7 apg, 9th in Big 12) and minutes (31.9 mpg), and he averages 1.0 steals. He averages 14.8 points in Big 12 games (14th in Big 12). 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 24.3 minutes per game and entered the starting lineup five games ago after coming off the bench in his first 18 career games. Carter ranks second among all Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers (43) and third in assists (2.6). Carter, Baylor's first-ever McDonalds All-America signee, is averaging 8.7 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 INJURIES
Mamadou Diene, a seven-foot sophomore from Senegal, is averaging 5.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks [3rd Big 12] despite playing through ankle and knee injuries the last 14 games (sat out four games). Diene has totaled 10 blocks in his last 10 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 35 career games played and has recorded 21 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.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY POWERS THE BEARS
Third-year guard Aaron Bruce, Baylor's veteran-most player with 68 career games played, is averaging 11.6 points and 3.7 assists [9th in Big 12]. His 1.63 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks eighth in the Big 12. Bruce's 39.4 career 3-point percentage ranks third in school history and his 82.7 career free throw percentage ranks third all-time. Bruce is two 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.

ROGERS AMONG BIG 12's MOST IMPROVED SCORERS
Sophomore Kevin Rogers has doubled his scoring output from his freshman season in 2005-06. Rogers' 12.7 scoring average is 6.6 points higher than last season's 6.1 and currently ranks fifth among the Big 12's most improved scorers from last season.

LAST TIME OUT: OKLAHOMA 68 - BAYLOR 64
Baylor dropped a 68-64 decision to Oklahoma at the Ferrell Center. Trailing 67-64, Baylor got a final opportunity to tie the game when Troy Crocker was called for traveling with 28 seconds remaining. The Bears worked the ball down low to Kevin Rogers, but he missed his jumper and OU's Longar Longar rebounded. Following a foul by Tim Bush with 13 seconds left to play, Longar sank a free throw to clinch the Oklahoma win. Curtis Jerrells missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds. Baylor lost starting guard Aaron Bruce to a sprained ankle with just over 12 minutes remaining. Jerrells paced Baylor scoring with 23 points, while Rogers contributed 20. The Bears opened the second half on a 12-4 run and went ahead 39-32 with just under 18 minutes remaining. Baylor led 39-37 at the 16-minute mark before the Sooners took the lead during a five-point possession, when Baylor's Josh Lomers fouled Longar on a dunk and was called for an intentional foul. Longar hit the first of two foul shots and tipped in the miss of the second to give OU a 42-39 lead. Oklahoma never trailed again and extended its winning streak over Baylor to 26 games, dating back to 1977.

THE LAST MEETING: BAYLOR 90 - MISSOURI 64 [Feb. 7, 2006]
Underdog Baylor turned heads with a resounding 90-64 decision over Missouri at the Ferrell Center to notch its second win of the season. Freshman Curtis Jerrells exploded for a career-high 28 points on 5-of-6 3-pointers and the Bears shot 62.3 percent from the field in the improbable win. Baylor led 11-10 with 13:41 left in the first half before holding the Tigers scoreless for 7:51 and putting together a 10-0 run. A Kevin Young lay-up pulled the Tigers to 21-12 with 5:50 left. With 3:36 left in the first half, the Bears shooters got hot. First Jerrells knocked in a 3-pointer at 3:36 to play to put Baylor ahead 30-17. Henry Dugat followed with a 3. Then Aaron Bruce. Then Jerrells again. Bruce then converted a rare four-point play to cap a 17-4 run by the Bears. They led 43-21 at the half. Missouri committed 13 first-half turnovers that the Bears turned into 22 first-half points. Jerrells pushed the lead to 56-31 after a steal and breakaway dunk with 15:24 to go. The freshman, who came in averaging 9.6 points per game, had nine more points in the next seven minutes. He finished 11-for-14 from the floor. His 3-pointer with 8:22 to play gave the Bears their biggest lead at 76-44.

MILESTONES & RECORDS WATCH
• Aaron Bruce is 2 points shy joining Baylor's 1,000-point scorers club (998 points, would be 19th member).
• Mamadou Diene is 1 block shy of moving into 5th place (71 blocks, Greg Davis No. 5 with 72) on Baylor's career blocks list.
• Aaron Bruce is 15 assists shy of moving into 8th place (245, Pat Nunley No. 8 with 260) on Baylor's career assists list.
• Aaron Bruce is 42 points shy of moving into 18th place (998, Don Heathington No. 18 with 1,040) on Baylor's career scoring list.
• Tweety Carter is 5 made 3-pointers shy of moving into 3rd place (43, Roddrick Miller No. 3 with 48) on Baylor's freshman 3-pointers list.
• Tweety Carter is 2 assists shy of moving into 6th place & 5 shy of 5th place (60, Rodney Smith No. 6 with 62, Nelson Haggerty No. 5 with 65) on Baylor's freshman assists list.
• Scott Drew is 3 games shy of coaching his 100th game at Baylor (just the 9th BU coach to coach 100 games).

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 68 career games, has scored 998 points [Bruce has played 28 games as freshman, only 17 due to a shortened season as sophomore and 23 this season). He has averaged 14.7 points per game in three seasons.

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 68. [Note: Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 58 of its last 68 games (over the last three seasons); in 31 of those 68 a freshman has been top scorer.]

INJURIES: DIENE PROBABLE, BRUCE OUT, THIAM OUT
Through 23 games five different Baylor players have missed a total of 45 games for medical reasons. Currently nursing injuries are junior G Aaron Bruce, who sprained an ankle Saturday vs. Oklahoma and will not play Wednesday in Columbia, and sophomore C Mamadou Diene, who is recovering from an ankle sprain and is probable to play Wednesday. 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.

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 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 returns to the Ferrell Center for the season's second matchup against Texas Saturday, Feb. 17. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. CST and will be televised live in Texas on FSN Southwest.