BAYLOR (12-10, 2-7) vs. OKLAHOMA (14-8, 5-4)
Feb. 10, 2007 • Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) • 3:00 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: ESPN Plus (KWTX & The CW in Waco/Temple) [complete TV listings]
INTERNET VIDEO: live video stream at BaylorBears.com
LIVE STATS:

THE GAME
Baylor plays its first game in seven days when it hosts Oklahoma Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Ferrell Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. CST and will be televised live regionally via ESPN Plus syndicated stations (KWTX & The CW in Waco/Temple/Bryan). Baylor is 12-10 (2-7 Big 12) and coming off a 71-58 loss at Iowa State last 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. Oklahoma is 14-8 (5-4) and has won three straight games, most recently a 67-60 win over No. 17 Oklahoma State Wednesday in Norman. The Sooners are 0-5 in true road games this season, the Bears are 11-3 at home this year. Baylor has lost 25 straight games to Oklahoma dating back to 1977.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
• Baylor's 12 wins is the most in a season in Scott Drew's four years at the helm.
• Baylor has lost 25 straight games to Oklahoma (dating back to a 75-67 win Dec. 6, 1977), including all 21 since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
• Aaron Bruce lacks 11 points to be the 19th Baylor player to score 1,000 points.
• Kevin Rogers has totaled 46 rebounds the last 4 games (11.5 rpg).
• Curtis Jerrells is shooting 54% (7-13) on 3s & averaging 16.5 points the last 2 gms.
• Freshman G Tweety Carter boasts a 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio in Big 12 games.
• BU has won 6 of its last 9 Big 12 home games dating to last season.
• Baylor is 15-4 in its last 19 home games (dating to last season), 11-3 in 2006-07.
• Tweety Carter is 2nd among Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers made (43) and assists-per-game (2.6).
• Kevin Rogers is averaging 11.8 points & 9.3 rebounds (3rd in Big 12) in conf. gms.
• Sophomore Kevin Rogers has more than doubled his scoring output from last season - 12.3 ppg up from 6.1 ppg - the 6th 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.
• Kevin Rogers has posted double-doubles in 3 of the last 7 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.
• 65% (129-199) of Tweety Carter's points come from 3-pointers (43).
• Due to ankle & knee injuries Mamadou Diene has just 8 blocks over the last 13 games (23 blocks in first 8 games). Diene ranks 3rd 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 33-63 at the school and a career record of 53-74 (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 OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Head Coach: Jeff Capel (Duke, 1997); 93-49, 5 seasons
Series vs. Baylor: OU leads 29-5
Last meeting: OU 91-51, Jan. 20, 2007 at Norman
Streak: OU won 25 straight
Series at Waco: OU leads 13-2
Drew vs. OU: 0-7

OU NOTES: Oklahoma is 14-8, 5-4 under first-year head coach Jeff Capel... The Sooners returned two starters from last season's 20-9 squad... OU is 0-5 in true road games this season and 2-7 away from home... Oklahoma has won 25 straight games vs. the Bears and is a perfect 21-0 against Baylor since the schools became Big 12 opponents (including a 91-51 win three weeks ago in Norman)... The Sooners are led by junior C Longar Longar, who averages a team-high 11.8 points and 7.2 rebounds... Senior F Nate Carter leads the Big 12 Conference in free throw percentage, shooting 86.9 percent from the line... Oklahoma leads the conference in rebounding defense, allowing a league-low 30.6 rebounds against.

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 (11-3 vs. 1-7 away), the following chart details other significant statistical differences based on location:

       Home    AwayWin-Loss Record:    11-3    1-7Scoring Margin: +13.2   -12.2Field Goal %:   .504    .391Opp. Field Goal %:  .413    .475Rebounding Margin:  +7.1    -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. The sophomore forward has recorded double-doubles in three of the last seven games and is nearly averaging a double-double in conference games, with 11.8 points and 9.3 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 9.3 rebounds in Big 12 games ranks third in the league (7.6 average in all games ranks sixth). On the season, the southpaw averages 12.4 points (19th in Big 12), 7.6 rebounds (6th in Big 12), shoots 55.3 percent (5th 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.

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 44.1 points per game. The guard rotation consists of Curtis Jerrells (12.7 ppg, 31.6 mpg), Aaron Bruce (11.7 ppg, 29.9 mpg), Henry Dugat (10.7 ppg, 26.5 mpg) and Tweety Carter (9.0 ppg, 24.4 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.

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 67 career games, has scored 989 points heading into Saturday's game vs. Oklahoma [Bruce has played in every game since arriving at BU: 28 as freshman, only 17 due to shortened season as sophomore and 22 this season). He has averaged 14.8 points per game in three seasons.

ESTABLISHING A HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
The rebuilding Bears are quietly establishing a winning tradition at home in the Ferrell Center. Baylor is 15-4 in its last 19 games in Waco (dating back to last season) and the Bears have won six of their last nine home games vs. Big 12 teams.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY POWERS THE BEARS
Third-year guard Aaron Bruce, Baylor's veteran-most player with 67 career games played, is averaging 11.7 points and 3.8 assists [8th in Big 12]. His 1.62 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 82.5 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 9.0 and 12.7 points. Only one Baylor player averages more than 30 minutes played per game: sophomore G Curtis Jerrells, 31.6 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% (878/1,655) 60% (447/741)   48% (154/321)

JERRELLS CONTINUES TO LEAD FROM THE POINT
Sophomore point guard Curtis Jerrells leads the Bears in scoring (12.7 points per game, 17th in Big 12) and minutes (31.6 mpg), and he averages 3.7 assists (ninth in Big 12) and 1.0 steals. He averages 13.9 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 24.4 minutes per game and entered the starting lineup four 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 assists (2.6). Carter, Baylor's first-ever McDonalds All-America signee, is averaging 9.0 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 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds [20th in Big 12] and 1.8 blocks [3rd Big 12] despite playing through ankle and knee injuries the last 13 games (sat out four 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' 12.4 scoring average is 6.3 points higher than last season's 6.1 and currently ranks sixth 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 16 assists shy of moving into 8th place (244, Pat Nunley No. 8 with 260) 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 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 5 assists shy of moving into 6th place (57, Rodney Smith No. 6 with 62) on Baylor's freshman assists list.
• Scott Drew is 4 games shy of coaching his 100th game at Baylor (just the 9th BU coach to coach 100 games).

LAST TIME OUT: IOWA STATE 71 - BAYLOR 58
Baylor dropped its 22nd straight true road game with a 71-58 loss to Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum. Up seven at the break, ISU jumped ahead 47-32 by hitting eight of its first 11 shots in the second half. Mike Taylor hit a 3-pointer to give Iowa State its biggest lead, 52-36, with 12:05 left. Baylor made things interesting late, getting within 65-58 on a 3-point play by Kevin Rogers with 2:17 to go. Iowa State's Corey McIntosh answered with a layup on the other end, and Baylor turned it over on its next possession. Jiri Hubalek then hit a floater in the lane and a free throw to seal the win. Curtis Jerrells led Baylor with 16 points. Rogers had 15 and Josh Lomers added a career-high 13 for the Bears, who have dropped five of their last six.

THE LAST MEETING: OKLAHOMA 91 - BAYLOR 51 [Jan. 20, 2007]
An early lead disappeared quickly and Baylor was soundly defeated 91-51 by Oklahoma at the Lloyd Noble Center. OU capped a 17-8 run with a Bobby Maze layup to take its first lead with 10:25 left in the first half. A Curtis Jerrells layup gave Baylor a brief lead before two foul shots by Nate Carter put the Sooners up for good at 21-20 at the nine minute mark. Oklahoma outscored the Bears 70-31 the rest of the way. Baylor started quickly behind the play of Aaron Bruce, who scored 10 of his 12 points during the opening seven minutes. The Bears led 10-2 three minutes into the game before Oklahoma began methodically chipping away behind Carter's inside play and an attacking man-to-man defense. Oklahoma shot 57 percent in the first half and led 45-27 at the break. Oklahoma's Michael Neal squelched any comeback hopes the Bears still harbored when he buried consecutive 3-pointers early in the second half. The Sooners shot 57.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bears 42-30.

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 67. [Note: Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 57 of its last 67 games (over the last three seasons); in 31 of those 67 a freshman has been top scorer.]

INJURIES: DIENE QUESTIONABLE, THIAM OUT
Through 22 games five different Baylor players have missed a total of 44 games for medical reasons. Currently nursing injury is sophomore C Mamadou Diene, who has missed the last two games due to an ankle injury (sprain) 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.

FERRELL CENTER'S 19th YEAR
The Bears are in their 19th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center this year. Baylor is 11-3 at home in 2006-07 and owns a 165-116 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)

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...
The Bears travel to Columbia, Mo., for a Feb. 14 matchup against Missouri. The Valentine's Day game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. CST at Mizzou Arena and will be televised regionally in Central Texas (FSN Southwest) and Missouri (FSN Midwest).