Nov. 25, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

GAME CENTER: GAME 5 [76 CLASSIC]
PROVIDENCE FRIARS (3-1) vs. [RV/RV] BAYLOR BEARS (4-0)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008
Tip-Off: 10:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. PT)
Location: Anaheim, Calif.
Arena: Anaheim Convention Center (8,200)
Television: ESPN2 and ESPN360.com
Talent: Scott Graham (pxp), Stephen Bardo (color)
Radio: Baylor ISP Sports Network; ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM (Waco)/Sirius Satellite (Ch. 161); BaylorBears.com
Talent: John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (color)
Live Stats: none
Web Stream: BaylorBears.com (live audio only)
Series: first meeting
Last Meeting (Result): never met
Tickets: (254) 710-1000

GAME NIGHT STORY LINES
• Baylor enters the toughest stretch of its non-conference schedule this weekend when the Bears face the Providence Friars in the first round of the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif. Tip-off is set for 10:30 p.m. (CT)/8:30 p.m. (PT) Thanksgiving Night on ESPN2.
• Thursday's meeting is the first between the schools. Baylor is 3-9 all-time vs. current BIG EAST members.
• The 76 Classic marks Baylor's first regular season tournament trip to California since the Fresno State Classic in 1991.
• Freshman Quincy Acy set a new Big 12 record with 20 consecutive field goals made. Acy is 20-of-21 from the floor this season; his first miss came at the 11:07 mark of the first half Monday vs. Jacksonville.
• Sophomore sixth-man LaceDarius Dunn scored a season-high 23 points, while tying career highs for 3-pointers made (7) and attempted (11) during Baylor's 76-68 win over Jacksonville Monday. Dunn has made five consecutive 3-pointers and he is one off the Big 12 record of six held by six different players.
• Baylor has started the season 4-0 for the second consecutive season under sixth-year head coach Scott Drew.
• Baylor is 10-8 all-time on nationally televised games (8-7 on the ESPN family of networks). Thursday will be the second of a school-record 11 games televised on the ESPN family of networks. Prior to this season, Baylor had only been on ESPN 14 times.
• Baylor is 2-4 all-time on ESPN2.
• Senior Curtis Jerrells dished out a game-high eight assists vs. Jacksonville, moving up to third on the school's career list with 322 assists. He is now 142 away from tying Micheal Williams for second all-time (464).
• The Bears are 86-93 all-time in 76 regular season tournaments, claiming 10 tournament titles. Last season, Baylor won its first regional season tournament title in 11 seasons after claiming the 2007 Paradise Jam crown in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Baylor will face either No. 15 Arizona State or Charlotte in the second round of the 76 Classic Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center. If Baylor loses its tournament opener, the Bears will play at 9 p.m. (CT) Friday on ESPNU. If Baylor wins its opener, the Bears will play at 11:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2.

SERIES HISTORY
• Thursday's meeting will be the first between the schools.
• Baylor is 3-9 all-time vs. the BIG EAST. It will be the third consecutive season that Baylor has played a BIG EAST opponent. Last season, the Bears edged out Notre Dame, 68-64, at the Paradise Jam (Nov. 18, 2007). Prior to that, Baylor suffered a 94-71 loss at No. 23 Syracuse on Dec. 16, 2006.

PROVIDENCE SCOUTING REPORT
• The Friars are 3-1 after defeating Maine 83-62 on Saturday. Senior Jeff Xavier led PC with 23 points and added three steals in Providence's third-straight win. After dropping their season opener 70-66 to Northeastern, the Friars have outscored their opponents by nearly 21 points per contest.
• Marshon Brooks leads the Friars with 15.0 points in 22.8 minutes. Jeff Xavier is second in scoring with 12.8, followed by Weyinmi Efejuku with 12.5 points. Geoff McDermott is averaging a double-double with 10.8 points and 10.0 rebounds.
• Much like the Bears, Providence will be playing away from home for the first time this season. PC opened the season with four straight home games, posting a 3-1 record.

LAST TIME OUT - BAYLOR 76, JACKSONVILE 68 [NOV. 24]
• LaceDarius Dunn scored 23 points as Baylor defeated Jacksonville 76-68 Monday night.
• Curtis Jerrells scored 18, while Kevin Rogers and Fred Ellis had 10 points each for Baylor, which struggled from the field after winning its first three games by an average of 45 points.
• Ben Smith scored 18 for Jacksonville and Travis Cohn had 11 points.
• Baylor shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field, but shot just 38 percent in the first half, making 13 of its 34 attempts.
• After setting a Big 12 record for consecutive field goals, Baylor freshman Quincy Acy missed his first shot of the season when an 8-foot baseline jumper fell short with 11:07 left in the first half. He had made his previous 18 shots and finished the game 2-of-3 from the field.
• Baylor led 34-32 at the half.

UP NEXT - ARIZONA STATE/CHARLOTTE [NOV. 28]
• Baylor will face either No. 15 Arizona State or Charlotte in the second round of the 76 Classic Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center. If Baylor loses its tournament opener, the Bears will play at 9 p.m. (CT) Friday on ESPNU. If Baylor wins its opener, the Bears will play at 11:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2.
• Arizona State Preview: The 15th-ranked Sun Devils opened the season 3-0 with victories over Mississippi Valley State, San Diego State and Pepperdine. Preseason All-American James Harden leads the Sun Devils with 25.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Ty Abbott is second on the team with 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.
• Charlotte Preview: Charlotte dropped a 71-70 heartbreaker to Clemson Saturday in Charlotte. It was the 49ers' second consecutive tough defeat as Charlotte lost 87-84 in overtime at Appalachian State on Wednesday. Lamont Mack leads the 1-3 Charlotte 49ers with 14.0 points and 5.3 rebounds. Ian Andersen is second with 12.3 points, followed by An'Juan Wilderness with 10.8 points and 3.5 rebounds.

LOOKING AHEAD - BAYLOR TO PLAY AT 76 CLASSIC
• Baylor will participate in the second annual 76 Classic, an eight-team tournament played Thanksgiving weekend in Anaheim, Calif. The tournament, which was formerly known as the Anaheim Classic, is sponsored by ConocoPhillips, the parent company of 76.
• The 12-game, bracketed collegiate basketball tournament features eight schools that combined to win more than 62 percent of their games last season. The games will air live on either ESPN2 or ESPNU and will be played at the Anaheim Convention Center adjacent to Disneyland on Nov. 27, 28 and 30.

AFTER THE 76 CLASSIC...
• Following the 76 Classic, Baylor will return home briefly before heading back to the West Coast for a non-conference match-up with the Washington State Cougars as part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
• Last season, Washington State snapped Baylor's eight-game November win streak with a 67-64 loss at the Ferrell Center.
• Baylor and Washington State are set to meet on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Pullman, Wash. Tip off is set for 10:30 p.m. (CT) on FSN.

THE GLASS IS ALWAYS HALF FULL
• The Bears have shot 50 percent of better from the floor in all four games this season, including a Scott Drew era-best 64.0 percent vs. Centenary (32-of-50) last Tuesday on ESPN.
• The Bears have held the opposition below 40 percent shooting in the three games to start the season. Saturday, Southern shot a Scott Drew era-low 25.9 percent against the Bears. It was the lowest field goal percentage by a Baylor opponent since holding Troy State to 19.7 percent from the floor (14-of-71) on Nov. 15, 1997.
• Monday, Jacksonville became the first BU opponent to shoot better than the Bears, connecting on 51.9 percent of its shots.

THREE GAMES IN, ACY ALREADY SETTING RECORDS
• Freshman forward Quincy Acy has only played three games as a Baylor Bear, but he has already set a new Big 12 record. With his 18th field goal, Acy set a new Big 12 record for consecutive field goals made, surpassing Texas A&M's DeAndre Jordan (17 in 2007).
• Acy's consecutive field goals made streak ended at 20 in the first half Monday vs. Jacksonville.
• "The Cookie Monster" fell five shy of tying the NCAA mark of 25 set by American University's Ray Voelkel in 1978.

IT'S DUNN-BELIEVABLE
• Super sophomore sixth-man LaceDarius Dunn scored a game-high 23 points Monday vs. Jacksonville. Twenty-one of Dunn's 23 points came via the 3-point ball as Dunn tied a career high with 7 3-pointers made on 11 attempts.

ACY NAMED BIG 12 CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
• Quincy Acy was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Co-Rookie of the Week Monday for the week of Nov. 17-23 in voting by a panel of media covering the conference. Acy shares his first weekly honor with Oklahoma's Willie Warren; Warren's teammate Blake Griffin was named Big 12 Player of the Week.
• Acy becomes the 11th player in school history to earn Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors, joining teammates Curtis Jerrells, Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn.

GETTING IT DONE
• Monday's win over Jacksonville was Baylor's first by less than 10 points this season. It snapped Baylor's streak of six wins by 10 points or more. Monday was the first time BU won by less than 10 points since Feb. 23, 2008 vs. No. 24/25 Kansas State (92-86).

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A 3-POINTER STREAK
• Baylor has made at least one 3-point field goal in 488 straight games.
• Louisiana guards Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn currently own streaks of 11 and 7 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made, respectively.
• Dunn's current streak is his thirdone of seven games or more. Senior guard Curtis Jerrells posted a streak of 18 consecutive games. Aaron Bruce owns the second-longest in school history (behind Tevis Stukes' 29-game streak).

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH 3-POINT FG STREAKS (SINCE 1986)

BAYLOR IN THE AP POLL
• Last season, Baylor cracked The Associated Press Top 25 Poll for the first time in nearly 40 years. The Bears were ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll in back-to-back weeks for the first time in school history.
• The Bears have never been ranked in the preseason or final AP Top 25 polls.
• BU has not been ranked in the Top 20 since Feb. 11, 1969 (No. 19).
• Baylor has been voted into the AP Top 25 Poll only five times in program history.

BAYLOR APPEARANCES IN AP TOP 25 POLL (courtesy AP Poll Archive)
Week Rank
Jan. 25, 1949 No. 18
Jan. 14, 1969 No. 18
Feb. 11, 1969 No. 19
Jan. 21, 2008 No. 25
Jan. 21, 2008 No. 25

WATCH BEARS BASKETBALL LIVE AT BAYLORBEARS.COM
• Live video coverage by BaylorVision will be streamed for eight select home games during the 2008-09 season at BaylorBears.com. It is free for All-Access members in Texas, but the video coverage is blacked out outside of Texas.

LIVE VIDEO SCHEDULE (Live video from BaylorVision; in Texas only): 12/13/08 Prairie View A&M 2 p.m.; 12/20/08 UT Arlington 8:30 p.m.; 12/22/08 Hartford 7 p.m.; 12/29/08 Portland State 7 p.m.; 12/31/08 Jackson State 4 p.m.; 1/2/09 South Carolina 4:30 p.m.

BEARS BASKETBALL ON THE AIR
• Bear basketball is aired live via the Baylor-ISP SportsNetwork on flagship station 1660AM ESPN Radio (KRZI) in Waco and worldwide on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 161. All games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his 14th season, and former BU basketball standout Pat Nunley, in his 27th season as analyst.

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
• Inside Baylor Sports, the award winning weekly TV show that covers all aspects of Baylor athletics, returns for its 10th season in 2008-09.
• Senior Producer Robert Shiekh provide viewers an inside look at Baylor athletics with thorough highlights, in-depth interviews and imaginative features on all 18 sports presented in a fast-paced, entertaining style. Co-hosts John Morris and Lori Fogleman guide viewers through the best coverage of Baylor athletics on television.
• Inside Baylor Sports airs Sundays, Aug. 24, 2008 through June 7, 2009, at 10:30 p.m. CT on KCEN-TV in Central Texas. The program also airs weekly throughout the region on FS Southwest at 1 p.m. each Wednesday and is archived on the web at www.BaylorTV.com. Inside Baylor Sports also may been seen nationally on CBS College Sports Television.