Feb. 11, 2002
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BAYLOR (14-9, 4-6) at No. 24 TEXAS TECH (16-6, 5-5)
United Spirit Arena (15,050) - Lubbock, Texas
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002 - 8:15 p.m. CST
RADIO: Baylor Radio Network
KRZI 1660/1580 AM (Waco)
WBAP 820 AM (Dallas)
on-line @ www.GoBaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: Texas Tech Television Network
tape-delay at 9 p.m., T-W Cable Ch. 18 (Waco)
THE GAME
Baylor returns to the road Tuesday, traveling to Lubbock, Texas, for a showdown with Texas Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. CST at the United Spirit Arena. Baylor (14-9, 4-6) is coming off an 81-80 victory over No. 22 Missouri at home Saturday. Texas Tech (16-6, 5-5) dropped out of the Top 25 this week after losing three of its last four outings, including a 108-81 decision Saturday at second-ranked Kansas. The Bears are aiming to break a 13-game losing streak on its opponents home courts. Tuesday's game will be telecast in Waco on a tape delay, and can be seen at 9 p.m. on Time-Warner Cable channel 18.
HEAD COACH DAVE BLISS
Dave Bliss, in his third season at Baylor, is a 27-year coaching veteran and ranks 17th among active Division I coaches in victories with 512. The former head coach at New Mexico, Southern Methodist and Oklahoma owns a career record of 512-307 (.625). He has led teams to 15 postseason tournament appearances, including 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Five times Bliss has been honored as his conference's coach of the year, and he is one of only 23 Division I coaches ever to have taken three different schools to the NCAA Tournament (UNM, SMU, OU).
Bliss took over the reigns of Baylor basketball on March 23, 1999, and was given the task of rebuilding a program that had finished the 1998-99 season without a Big 12 Conference win. Bliss proceeded to guide the Bears to a 14-15 record in 1999-2000 and in his second year led Baylor to a 19-12 mark and into the NIT.
BLISS A MEMBER OF COACHING'S 500 CLUB
Baylor's Dave Bliss became the 92nd collegiate head coach to reach 500 career victories Nov. 21 when the Bears defeated Texas-Arlington 88-64. In 27 years as a head coach, Bliss has averaged more than 19 wins per season.
THE TEXAS TECH SERIES
Baylor trails in its long-standing series with Texas Tech by a 63-38 mark. Tuesday marks the 102nd meeting between the schools. The teams split their season series last year with the home team winning both times. Tech handed Baylor its first loss of the 2000-2001 season, a 68-58 decision Jan. 9 in Lubbock. The Red Raiders have won five of the last seven meetings, including three straight at Lubbock. Baylor's last win at Tech was during the 1997-98 campaign. The two schools have met as conference foes since 1957, when Texas Tech joined Baylor in the Southwest Conference, Tech holds a slim 6-4 advantage since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
THE TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech (16-6, 5-5) is led by the legendary Bobby Knight, in his first season with the Raiders and his 35th as a collegiate head coach. Knight, who owns a career record of 780-295, ranks second nationally in career wins among active Division I coaches.
TTU NOTES: The Red Raiders are led by sophomore guard Andre Emmett, who is tops on the team with 18.4 points per game and second on the squad with 6.8 rebounds per contest... Emmett, senior center Andy Ellis (17.1 ppg) and junior forward Kasib Powell (15.4) provide 64 percent of Tech's offense (79.4 ppg)... Ellis leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game... The Raiders are 12-2 at home this season.
BLISS vs. TEXAS TECH
Dave Bliss is 15-14 all-time as a head coach vs. Texas Tech, including a 2-2 mark against Tech since taking over at Baylor. Bliss compiled a 4-2 record vs. the Raiders while at New Mexico, and was 9-10 against Tech while coaching SMU.
BLISS TO FACE KNIGHT FOR FIRST TIME
Baylor's Dave Bliss will face his former employer Bobby Knight for the first time in his head coaching career Tuesday. Bliss began his coaching career under Knight's tutelage in 1967 at Army, he spent two seasons on Knight's USMA staff. In 1971, Bliss rejoined Knight at Indiana in the fall of 1971. Bliss spent four seasons on Knight's staff at IU, during which time the Hoosiers were 93-20.
THE LAST MEETING, BAYLOR 82-TEXAS TECH 74, FEBRUARY 2001
Baylor held off a late Red Raider rally to defeat Texas Tech 82-74 at the Ferrell Center. The Bears led by as much as 17 with 8:05 to go in the game, but Texas Tech steadily worked away at that lead. A 3-pointer by Tech's Marcus Shropshire with 6.9 seconds to go cut the Baylor lead to seven, but that was as close as the Red Raiders would get.
The Bears controlled the game all night. Texas Tech held two brief first-half leads, and Baylor's biggest lead of the first period was six. The Bears took a 34-30 lead into the locker room.
Baylor opened the second half with a 14-4 run over the first 4:08 to build their lead to 16. Texas Tech got within 10 at the 9:05 mark, but the Bears answered the Red Raider charge with a run of their own to go up by 17, the biggest margin of the game.
Six Bears reached double-digit point totals, the first time Baylor has reached that total this season. Terry Black led the way with 19 points, followed by DeMarcus Minor (14), Chad Elsey (13), Greg Davis (11), Wendell Greenleaf and Matt Sayman (10 each).
BEARS ENDURE ROUGH STRETCH
The Bears are in the middle of perhaps the toughest portion of their schedule, as Tuesday's game against Texas Tech is the only in a six-game stretch that isn't against a ranked opponent - and the Red Raiders were in the Top 25 last week. Baylor dropped the first game in the stretch, falling 70-57 last Wednesday at No. 4 Oklahoma, but the Bears rebounded for an 81-80 win at home Saturday over 22nd-ranked Missouri. Following Tech on Baylor's schedule are No. 2 Kansas, No. 4 OU again, and No. 15 Oklahoma State.
ROAD BEARS
Though the Bears have earned a 4-9 record in their last 13 games away from the Ferrell Center, Baylor has dropped 13 straight decisions in games played on their opponents' home court. That 13-game losing streak dates back to a 63-55 victory at Kansas State on Jan. 13, 2001.
THE LAST TIME OUT, BAYLOR 81-No. 22 MISSOURI 80
Two free throws by Matt Sayman with 11 seconds remaining gave Baylor an 81-80 win over No. 22 Missouri before a frenzied crowd at the Ferrell Center.
Following Sayman's go-ahead free throws, Mizzou's Kareem Rush missed a jumper with two seconds on the clock that was rebounded by Lawrence Roberts to end the game as gold-clad Baylor fans stormed the court.
Rush scored 29 points, including 11 in a 20-6 run that gave Missouri its first lead since just after halftime. The last of Rush's seven 3-pointers put Missouri ahead 78-76 with 1:37 left.
John Lucas made a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to put Baylor back in front, before Arthur Johnson scored inside for Missouri for an 80-79 lead. Sayman was then fouled by Rush as he drove inside.
Lucas and Wendell Greenleaf both had 19 points for Baylor, while R.T. Guinn had 14. Lucas and Guinn each had three of the 11 3-pointers by Baylor, which leads the Big 12 with more than nine a game.
Baylor led 63-53 after Lucas flashed inside and took a pass from Greg Davis for a layup with 11:45 left. The Bears still led by 10 nearly five minutes later before Rush hit two free throws.
Missouri led 43-41 at the half after Clarence Gilbert's 3-pointer - and after blowing a 14-point lead. A 3-pointer by Rush gave the Tigers a 36-22 lead, but Baylor went on a 17-2 run over the final 5:37 of the half.
Greenleaf started the Bears' comeback with two free throws, followed by a steal he turned into a layup. Four players scored in the run, capped when Sayman found a gap in the lane for a layup that pushed the Bears ahead 41-40.
The victory over a ranked opponent was Baylor's first in five tries, since defeating then-No. 7 Iowa State 62-49 in the 2001 Big 12 Tournament.
BEARS' WINNING WAYS AT HOME
The Bears are 12-2 at home in the Ferrell Center this season. Baylor recorded a 14-3 record at home in 2000-2001, giving the Bears a school-record 26 wins at home over a two-year span. Since Dave Bliss took over the reigns of Baylor's basketball program, the Bears have compiled a 37-12 record (.755) at home, that is the best three-year record at home in the program's history.
BEAR FANS SHATTER ATTENDANCE MARKS
With two home games remaining, Baylor has already established a new Ferrell Center record for attendance in a single-season of 92,973. The previous record of 91,421 was set last season in 17 home games. Baylor is averaging 6,641 fans per game this season (14 games), which is on pace to set a new average attendance record as well (previous high is 5,856 in 1992-93). Additionally, Baylor fans broke the single-game attendance mark in January, when 10,496 were on hand against Texas.
GOLD DOME BRINGS OUT BEST IN BEARS
The Bears once again hit the road, where they have struggled to match the success they've enjoyed at home in the Ferrell Center.
GREENLEAF LIGHTING IT UP
Junior Wendell Greenleaf has performed at a torrid pace over the past six games. In that span, the junior guard has averaged 18.7 points, shot 54.3 percent (38-70) from the field, hit an impressive 51.1 percent (24-47) of 3-pointers and averaged 4.0 assists and 2.7 steals. Greenleaf has scored in double figures in 13 straight games. He has also hit at least one 3-pointer in 16 straight games, making at least two from long range in 14 of those 16 games and in each of the last seven.
3-POINT BARRAGE
Baylor is averaging 9.43 3-point shots made per game (217) this season, a figure that ranks first in the Big 12 Conference and fifth nationally. The Bears are on pace to break the school's single-season record of 265 3-pointers in 1994-1995. Projected over a 30-game season, the Bears are on track to make 283 3s this year. Baylor has made 10 or more 3s in in 13 of 23 games this season.
BAYLOR LED BY ITS CUBS
Baylor's three true freshmen (John Lucas, Lawrence Roberts, and Kenny Taylor) have made an immediate impact on this year's team. Through 23 games, the three freshmen have combined for 40 percent of the team's points, 30 percent of the rebounds, 36 percent of the steals and 33 percent of the assists.
3-POINT MISCELLANY
Leading the Bears' charge in 3-pointers made is junior Wendell Greenleaf with 56, freshman John Lucas has hit 47. In all, nine Bears have made at least 10 shots from 3-point range this season. Prior to this season, no Baylor team has ever had more than seven players make at least 10 3-pointers in a season... With 11 3-pointers Saturday against Missouri, the Bears have made at least one 3-pointer in 315 consecutive games. That streak dates back to Feb. 21, 1990, when Baylor was 0-for-8 from long range at home against Texas Tech.
BEARS GREEDY WITH BALL
Baylor has shown a strong sense of court awareness this season, evidenced by the fact that the Bears rank first in the Big 12 Conference in steals (10.43 per game), second in turnover margin (+3.96) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.30) and third in assists (18.04). However, BU is even better at controlling the ball in conference contests. According to the Feb. 10 conference rankings, the Bears lead the league in steals (9.70), turnover margin (+4.40) and assist-to-turnover ration (1.46), and third in assists (16.40) in Big 12 games.
ROBERTS AMONG FRESHMAN BOARD LEADERS
Freshman Lawrence Roberts has made his presence felt in virtually every aspect of the game this season, however, perhaps nowhere moreso than in the rebounding department. He leads the Bears and ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 7.9 rebounds per game. Through games of Feb. 3, Roberts ranks fifth nationally in rebounding average among freshmen.
COOL HAND LUCAS
In the waning minutes with the game on the line, who better to have on the line than freshman John Lucas. Through 23 games, Lucas is 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) from the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games. Overall, Lucas is shooting 81.5 percent (44-of-54) from the free throw line, second on the team.
ROBERTS ENJOYING STELLAR FROSH SEASON
Lawrence Roberts has hit the ground running in his first season of college basketball. In 23 games, the true freshman has compiled five double-doubles, been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week and to the San Juan Shootout all-tournament team, and leads the team in several categories, including: scoring (15.9 ppg), rebounds (7.9 rpg), blocks (27), field goals (123), free throws made (100) and free throws attempted (146). The Houston, Texas, native is also second on the team in steals (43). According to the Feb. 10 Big 12 rankings, Roberts is 10th in scoring, seventh in rebounding, third in steals, ninth in blocks, fifth in defensive rebounds and ninth in offensive rebounds..
YOUNG LUCAS LEADING THE BEARS
Freshman point guard John Lucas III (son of Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Lucas Jr.) has adequately assumed the Bears' point guard position. Lucas is shooting 39.2 percent on 3-point shots (47-of-120), 15th in the Big 12. The Houston, Texas, native has scored 20-plus points three times and his assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.06 (97-to-47), 10th in the conference. According to the Feb. 10 rankings, Lucas is 24th in the Big 12 in scoring, ninth in assists, 10th in 3-pointers and tied for 14th in steals. He has twice been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 10, Jan. 7).
GREENLEAF'S THIEVERY
Junior Wendell Greenleaf continues to ascend Baylor's career steals list, his total of 144 trailing third-ranking David Wesley (145) by just one theft. Greenleaf leads the Big 12 with 2.52 steals per game.
FERRELL CENTER'S 14th YEAR
The Bears are in their 14th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center. Including this season's 12-2 mark, the Bears own a 128-81 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.
BIG 12 ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Three of 10 Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors this season have gone to Baylor true freshmen. Forward Lawrence Roberts was selected Nov. 27, and guard John Lucas was honored Dec. 10 and Jan. 7. Roberts received the award following his performance in season-opening wins over Hardin-Simmons, UT-Arlington and Sacred Heart. He averaged a double-double and led Baylor in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (12.0 rpg), steals (12), blocks (7), free throws made (13) and free throws attempted (20). Lucas was initially honored after the Bears' 95-81 victory over North Texas, in which he had career highs with 27 points and 11 field goals. Lucas earned his second selection after averaging 17.5 points in wins over Colorado State and Iowa State.
BEARS ON TV
Tuesday's contest at Texas Tech is Baylor's 11th game this season in front of a television audience. The Bears are 4-6 this season in TV games. Baylor is 13-24 in televised games under Dave Bliss.
BEAR FAMILY LOSES ECHOLS
The Baylor basketball program lost one of its own in January, when letterman Ben Echols died following surgery. Echols, who transferred to Baylor from Centenary, played for the Bears from 1997 to 2000. Echols started every game at center in 1999-2000, Dave Bliss' first season, and led the team in blocks and averaged 6.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. Following graduation from Baylor in May 2000, Echols had played overseas in Lebanon and Russia.
PLENTY OF NEW BRUINS
The 2001-2002 Baylor roster includes four new players: three true freshmen (John Lucas, Lawrence Roberts and Kenny Taylor) and one junior college transfer (Rod Nealy). Also seeing their first game action in the Green and Gold this season are former transfers R.T. Guinn and Kevin Henry. The pair, both former New Mexico players, sat out last season at Baylor to gain eligibility.
THE LOBO TRANSFERS
As has been well documented, the Baylor roster includes three former players from the University of New Mexico, where Dave Bliss and his staff previously coached. The players, senior Greg Davis, sophomore R.T. Guinn and senior Kevin Henry, were all recruited by Bliss' UNM staff. Guinn (who was recruited by-but never played for-Bliss at UNM) and Henry sat out last year due to NCAA transfer policy. All three players were starters at New Mexico.
NATION'S LONGEST-STANDING COACHING DUO
Baylor boasts Division I basketball's longest-tenured current coaching tandem. Bear assistant coach Doug Ash has been Dave Bliss' top aide for all 27 years Bliss has been a collegiate head coach. The Bliss and Ash duo began at Indiana University in the early 1970s when both were assistants under Bobby Knight. When Bliss became head coach at Oklahoma in 1975, he took Ash with him. The pair has been together ever since, at SMU, New Mexico and Baylor.
BEARS ADD 3 EARLY SIGNEES
Baylor has signed three early signees, all from the state of Texas, to national letters of intent during the early signing period: Ellis Kidd Jr., a guard from Seminole (Okla.) State College, Tommy Swanson, a forward from North Crowley (Texas) High School, and Terrance Thomas, a forward from Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas.
Kidd, a 6-4, 185-pound guard, is in his first season at Seminole State after transferring from Oklahoma State. He redshirted the 2000-2001 season at OSU after playing only 10 minutes in two early games and will have three seasons of eligibility at Baylor. A former Dallas Morning News all-area selection at James Madison High School in Dallas, Kidd was named a USA Today honorable mention all-American as a senior in 2000.
Swanson, a 6-9, 215-pound forward, played only seven games as a junior last season at North Crowley following a head injury. He averaged 14 points and nine rebounds before a hairline fracture to his skull sidelined him for the season. Texas Hoops rated Swanson the state's No. 24 player prior to his senior season. He is listed among the nation's top 300 prep seniors by Athon Sports and was named an honorable mention all-American by Street & Smith's College Basketball.
Thomas, a 6-7, 220-pound forward, was highly recruited after being named to the All-Region XIV team as a freshman last season at Lon Morris. Thomas averaged 19.3 points and 12 rebounds last season, and is rated No. 4 among junior college small forwards by The Sporting News in its preseason preview. He is also listed as the 22nd-best junior college recruit by Mike Mitchell's Midwest Report and is rated the No. 27 juco player nationally by Greg Swaim's scouting service. A native of Waco, Thomas attended Maceo Smith High School in Dallas. He averaged 23 points and 14 rebounds as a senior in 2000 and was named a USA Today honorable mention all-American.
GOBAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.GoBaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the FANSonly Network. FANSonly currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including eight Big 12 schools.
OVER THE AIR
Bear basketball games can be heard live on the Baylor Radio Network. The flagship station is KRZI-AM (1660/1580) in Waco. Selected Baylor games will be broadcast on Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate WBAP News/Talk 820, which covers 80 percent of the nation during night games. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his seventh season. Former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley is in his 20th season as color analyst for Bear broadcasts.
BAYLOR GAMES ON THE NET
The radio broadcast from all Baylor basketball games can be heard live on the internet on Baylor's official online website, www.GoBaylorBears.com, or at www.yahoo.broadcast.com.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest.
BIG-12 PRESEASON PROJECTIONS
Baylor's 2001-2002 edition has been projected in preseason polls to finish anywhere from seventh to 10th in the Big 12 Conference. The league's coaches picked the Bears to finish ninth in preseason balloting, and the conference media projected Baylor eighth. The highest projected finish for Baylor was seventh, by Lindys magazine.
UP NEXT...
Baylor's murderous February schedule continues Saturday, Feb. 16 when the Bears travel to Lawrence, Kan., for a 3 p.m. CST game at No. 2 Kansas. This is Baylor's first game against KU since upsetting the then-No. 6 Jayhawks in Waco last February.
