BAYLOR (12-13, 2-10) vs. NEBRASKA (15-10, 4-7)
Feb. 21, 2007 • Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) • 6:30 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: FSN Southwest (Texas)
INTERNET VIDEO: live video stream at BaylorBears.com
LIVE STATS:

THE GAME
Baylor attempts to snap a four-game losing streak when it hosts Nebraska Wednesday, Feb. 21. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center and will be televised live in Texas on FSN Southwest. Baylor is 12-13 (2-10 Big 12) and has dropped four straight games, most recently a 68-67 heartbreaker vs. Texas at home 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. Nebraksa is 15-10 (4-7) and coming off a 92-39 defeat at the hands of Kansas Saturday in Lawrence. The Bears are 11-5 at home this season; the Huskers are 2-6 in true road contests. Baylor and Nebraska have split six previous games played in Waco.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
• Kevin Rogers leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounds in conf. games - 3.58 orpg.
• 2 Bears boast current streaks of 10+ free throws - Bruce (11) & Bush (10).
• BU (68.7 team free throw percentage) has hit 80.3% of clutch FTs (last 3 min. & OT).
• Aaron Bruce lacks 2 points to be the 19th Baylor player to score 1,000 points.
• Curtis Jerrells has scored in double-digits in each of the last 8 games.
• Kevin Rogers is averaging 15.3 points & 10.9 rebounds the last 7 games (4 double-doubles).
• Tweety Carter is 2nd among Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers made (46) and 3rd in assists-per-game (2.6).
• Kevin Rogers is averaging 13.6 points & 9.5 rebounds (2nd in Big 12) in Big 12 games and has posted 5 double-doubles.
• Kevin Rogers' 5 double-doubles in Big 12 play is the most by a BU player since Lawrence Roberts had 10 in 2002-03.
• Patrick Fields is shooting 15.4% (2-13) on 3s this season (37.8% in first 2 seasons)
• Sophomore Kevin Rogers has more than doubled his scoring output from last season - 13.2 ppg up from 6.1 ppg - the 4th biggest increase among Big 12 players.
• BU's quartet of sophomore starters (Diene, Dugat, Jerrells & Rogers; last season's "Freshman Four") accounts for 55% of Baylor's scoring and 61% of its rebounds.
• Baylor is shooting just 39.5% in Big 12 games and has shot better than 35% in just 7 of 12 league games. [In 2 conference wins BU shot 48% (Tech) & 58% (Colorado)]
• 64% (138-214) of Tweety Carter's points come from 3-pointers (46).
• Kevin Rogers has posted double-doubles in 5 of the last 10 games.

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 33-66 at the school and a career record of 53-77 (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 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
Head Coach: Doc Sadler (Arkansas, 1982); 63-28, 3 seasons
Series vs. Baylor: NU leads 11-5
Last meeting: NU 60-45, Feb. 4, 2006 at Lincoln
Streak: NU won 3 straight
Series in Waco: tied 3-3
Drew vs. NU: 0-3

NU NOTES: The Cornhuskers are 15-10 under first-year head coach Doc Sadler... Nebraska is 2-6 in true road games this season... The Huskers are led by junior C Aleks Maric, who averages 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game... Maric shoots 59.4 percent from the field, the top percentage in the Big 12... Senior G Charles Richardson Jr. leads the conference in assist-to-turnovers, with a 2.80 ratio... Maric is a former teammate of Baylor junior Aaron Bruce - the two played together on various Australian national teams and the Australian Institute of Sport.

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 (11-5 vs. 1-8 away), the following chart details other significant statistical differences based on location:

       Home    AwayWin-Loss Record:    11-5    1-8Scoring Margin: +11.3   -11.7Field Goal %:   .488    .388Opp. Field Goal %:  .420    .468Rebounding Margin:  +6.5    -4.7

BRUCE RECOVERING FROM ANKLE INJURY
Aaron Bruce, Baylor's most veteran player and third-leading scorer, suffered an ankle injury (high ankle sprain) in a Feb. 10 game vs. Oklahoma and sat out the team's last two games (had started all 68 career games prior). Bruce is questionable for Wednesday's game vs. Nebraska.

MR. ROGERS CRAFTING BREAKOUT SEASON
The Bears' second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Kevin Rogers ranks among the Big 12 leaders in several statistical categories. In Big 12 conference games, the sophomore forward is averaging 13.6 points and 9.5 rebounds and has recorded five 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 9.5 rebounds in Big 12 games ranks second in the league (7.9 average in all games ranks fifth). On the season, the southpaw averages 13.2 points (18th in Big 12), 7.9 rebounds (fifth in Big 12), shoots 53.6 percent (third in Big 12) and averages 1.0 blocks. As a frosh in 2005-06, Rogers averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench.

BAYLOR'S BACKCOURT: "IN GUARDS WE TRUST"
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 44.2 points per game. The guard rotation consists of Curtis Jerrells (13.4 ppg, 32.2 mpg), Aaron Bruce (11.6 ppg, 29.7 mpg), Henry Dugat (10.6 ppg, 27.4 mpg) and Tweety Carter (8.6 ppg, 24.6 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.

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   55% (1,025/1,857)   61% (515/842)   49% (173/351)

MOST WINS IN DREW ERA
This season's 12 wins represent the most for a Baylor (12-13) 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 (13.4 points per game, 17th in Big 12), assists (3.8 apg, eighth in Big 12) and minutes (32.2 mpg), and he averages 1.0 steals. He averages 15.0 points in Big 12 games (15th in Big 12) and has scored in double-digits in eight straight. 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 24.6 minutes per game and broke into Baylor's starting lineup seven games ago after coming off the bench in his first 18 career games. Carter ranks second among all Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers (46) and third in assists (2.6). Carter, Baylor's first-ever McDonalds All-America signee, is averaging 8.6 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 4.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks [3rd Big 12] despite playing through ankle and knee injuries throughout the season. Diene has totaled 11 blocks in his last 12 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 1.95 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 37 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.

COLD-SHOOTING BEARS
Baylor has shot poorly during Big 12 Conference play, hitting on just 39.5 percent of field goals [11th in the league rankings]. In seven of 12 conference games (2-10 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).

ROGERS AMONG BIG 12's MOST IMPROVED SCORERS
Sophomore Kevin Rogers has doubled his scoring output from his freshman season in 2005-06. Rogers' 13.2 scoring average is 7.1 points higher than last season's 6.1 and currently ranks fourth among the Big 12's most improved scorers from last season.

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.

MILESTONES & RECORDS WATCH
• Aaron Bruce is 2 points shy joining Baylor's 1,000-point scorers club (998 points, would be 19th member).
• 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 2 made 3-pointers shy of moving into 3rd place (46, Roddrick Miller No. 3 with 48) on Baylor's freshman 3-pointers list.
• Tweety Carter is 1 assist shy of moving into 5th place and 2 assists shy of 3rd place (64, Nelson Haggerty No. 5 with 65, Eric Johnson & Micheal Williams No. 3 with 66) on Baylor's freshman assists list.
• Scott Drew is 1 game shy of coaching his 100th game at Baylor (just the 9th BU coach to coach 100 games).

LAST TIME OUT: TEXAS 68 - BAYLOR 67
Baylor's furious last-minute rally fell just short as the Bears fell 68-67 to Texas at the Ferrell Center. A hectic last second possession by Baylor ended with Mark Shepherd heaving an off-handed shot that rimmed out at the buzzer. Down 68-60 with less than a minute remaining, Baylor's pressure defense and Texas' missed free throws led to the last-second finish. Texas didn't score after Connor Atchley made his first free throw with 1:40 left to make it 68-60. Kevin Durant rebounded when Atchley missed his second attempt, but D.J. Augustin committed an offensive foul. Baylor missed a shot, but Augustin gave it right back when he was stripped by Tweety Carter with 44 seconds left and made a layup. Carter stole it from him again 18 seconds later, this time in the backcourt after a jumper by Curtis Jerrells that followed two missed free throws by J.D. Lewis. Carter's second steal led to a 3-pointer by Henry Dugat that got Baylor within a point before they fouled Augustin with 11 seconds left. Augustin missed both free throws, but Baylor had no timeouts to stop and set up a play. Dugat and Jerrells both tried to drive before Jerrells passed errantly to little-used forward Shepherd, a lefty who was forced to beat the buzzer with a right-handed shot. Texas led 36-31 at the half behind 10 first-half points by A.J. Abrams. The loss was the 19th straight for Baylor in the series against Texas. Baylor played the game without veteran leader Aaron Bruce, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. Baylor outrebounded the Horns 39-33, but Texas was 21-of-29 from the line compared to the Bears' 11-of-17.

THE LAST MEETING: NEBRASKA 60 - BAYLOR 45 [Feb. 4, 2006]
A dismal second half effort spoiled a great first half and Baylor was downed 60-45 on the road at Nebraska's Devaney Center. Baylor led 30-23 at the break, the first halftime lead of its abbreviated season. In the second half, Nebraska chipped away at the Bears' lead while Baylor went more than eight minutes without a field goal. The Huskers took their first lead of the half on a Wes Wilkinson jumper that made the score 36-33 with 13:48 left. Baylor closed to within 36-35 on a Curtis Jerrells layup, before Aleks Maric had consecutive dunks, the last being part of a 3-point play, to give the Huskers a 41-35 lead at the 8:01 mark. The Huskers never trailed again. NU capped a 13-0 spurt with a dunk with 4:48 remaining, as Baylor wrapped up a stretch where they hit just 1-of-15 shots. Baylor closed to within 52-43 after a pair of Tommy Swanson free throws with 2:13 left, but could not get closer. Behind the long-range shooting of Aaron Bruce and Henry Dugat, Baylor got off to a quick start, scoring 11 of the game's first 14 points taking an 11-3 lead after consecutive 3-pointers. Bruce, who scored all of his game-high 17 points in the first half, helped Baylor build an 11-point lead. The sophomore guard was held scoreless in the second half before fouling out at the 5:56 mark.

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 60 of its last 70 games (over the last three seasons); in 31 of those 70 a freshman has been top scorer.]

INJURIES: BRUCE QUESTIONABLE, THIAM OUT
Through 25 games six different Baylor players have missed a total of 49 games for medical reasons. Currently nursing injuries is junior G Aaron Bruce, who sprained an ankle Feb. 10 vs. Oklahoma and is questionable to play Wednesday vs. Nebraska (missed first two career games last week). 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.

FERRELL CENTER'S 19th YEAR
The Bears are in their 19th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center this year. Baylor is 11-4 at home in 2006-07 and owns a 165-117 all-time record in the arena, which opened in November 1988. The Ferrell Center is a golden-domed structure that seats 10,284 for basketball games.

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)

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.

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 travels down Highway 6 for the 195th edition of the hardwood version of the Battle of the Brazos against No. 8 Texas A&M Feb. 24 at College Station. The game is scheduled to tip off at 12:30 p.m. at Reed Arena and will be televised live regionally via ESPN Plus syndicated stations.