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BAYLOR (11-10, 2-8) at KANSAS STATE (12-11, 3-7)
Feb. 19, 2003 - Bramlage Coliseum (Manhattan, Kan.) - 7:00 p.m. CST

RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (KRZI 1660/1580 AM Waco)
TELEVISION: None

THE GAME
Baylor plays a second straight road game Wednesday, Feb. 19, when it faces Kansas State in Manhattan. Tipoff at Bramlage Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. CST. The Bears enter the game with a record of 11-10, 2-8 in the Big 12, and fresh off their biggest victory of the season - a 74-72 upset of No. 13 Oklahoma State in Stillwater Saturday. The Wildcats are 12-11 and 3-7 in league play, most recently a 71-63 setback on the road at No. 21 Missouri Saturday. Baylor is 3-5 in away games this season, KSU is 10-3 at home. Wednesday's game will not be televised.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Baylor's 9.3 3-pointers per game ranks 9th nationally.
- Baylor has faced 8 ranked teams in its last 10 games, more than any team nationally.
- Baylor's 73.5% team free throw shooting is tops in the Big 12.
- Freshmen and sophomores account for 65% of Baylor's scoring (953-of-1,466).
- Baylor is 9-9 in its last 18 games vs. Big 12 North teams, including 6 straight losses.
- Baylor is 5-0 this season when outscoring its opponents in the paint.
- In 7 of the last 10 games, the Bears' opponents have shot 50 percent or higher from the field, all Baylor losses.
- Baylor is 30-3 under Dave Bliss when scoring 80 or more points (5-0 this year).
- Over the past three seasons Baylor is 36-1 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (8-0 in 2002-2003).
- 7 of Baylor's 8 Big 12 losses have come to ranked teams (at time of game).
- The Bears are averaging 9.3 3-pointers and attempting 26.3 per game; both figures lead the Big 12 and are on pace to break Baylor's single-season school records.
- 45% of Baylor's field goal attempts (552-1214) are 3-pointers.
- Baylor is 28-3 under Dave Bliss when recording 40 or more rebounds (6-0 this year).
- Lawrence Roberts is averaging a double-double (14.4 ppg/10.0 rpg) this season.
- Kenny Taylor is the Big 12's most improved scorer, averaging 8.8 points more (12.7 ppg) than last season.
- R.T. Guinn and Kenny Taylor are among Baylor's top 3-point shooters of all time (by percentage), Guinn is No. 3 on the career list (43.2%), Taylor is No. 4 (40.1%).
- Kenny Taylor leads the Big 12 in made 3-pointers, averaging 3.3 per game.
- John Lucas has scored in double-digits in 12 straight games.
- Lawrence Roberts is 2nd in the Big 12 in rebounds, averaging 10.0 per game.
- Over the last 4 games John Lucas has totaled 20 assists and 6 turnovers (3.3 ratio).
- John Lucas' 82.1% career free throw percentage ranks 3rd all-time at Baylor.
- 81% (171-211) of Kenny Taylor's field goal attempts are 3-pointers.
- R.T. Guinn has scored in double-digits in 3 straight games (a career first).
- Lawrence Roberts has compiled 9 double-doubles this season; and 17 in 49 career games played.
- R.T. Guinn is shooting 64% (7-of-11) from 3-point range the last 2 games.
- Five times this season John Lucas has played every minute of a game.
- Kenny Taylor has made a 3-pointer in 15 straight games.
- Freshman Corey Herring has yet to make a field goal in 105 minutes played.

HEAD COACH DAVE BLISS
Dave Bliss, in his fourth season at Baylor, is a 27-year coaching veteran and ranks 12th among active Division I coaches in victories with 523. The former head coach at New Mexico, SMU and Oklahoma owns a career record of 523-324 (.617). 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 two dozen 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, a 19-12 mark and into the NIT in 2000-2001 and in his third year led Baylor to a 14-16 record.

THE KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
Kansas State (12-11, 3-7) is led by third-year head coach Jim Wooldridge, who owns a 36-45 record at K-State and a 265-192 career record in four stints as a collegiate head coach at Central Missouri (1985-91), Southwest Texas State (1991-94) and Louisiana Tech (1994-98).

KSU NOTES: The Wildcats boast four players with double-digit scoring averages, led by senior swingman Gilson DeJesus with 11.6 points per game... KSU has lost five of six games since beginning the Big 12 schedule with a 2-2 record... K-State is 10-3 at home in the Bramlage Center this season... DeJesus, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is shooting a conference-best 47.5 percent from 3-point range... Senior Pervis Pasco played on the Big 12 All-Star team last summer in Scandinavia along with Baylor's Lawrence Roberts; the squad was coached by Bear head coach Dave Bliss.

THE KANSAS STATE SERIES
Baylor trails in its all-time series with Kansas State 7-6, though the Bears have won five of seven games since the two schools became conference foes in the Big 12. The Wildcats own a 5-2 series lead in games played in Manhattan. Kansas State won the last meeting, a 74-73 overtime victory in the first round of the 2002 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. Baylor and K-State first met in the 1948 NCAA Western Regional Finals in Kansas City, Mo., with Baylor winning 60-52 and thus earning a trip to the National Championship Game.

BLISS vs. KANSAS STATE
Dave Bliss is 12-7 all-time as a head coach vs. Kansas State, including a 3-1 mark vs. K-State since taking over at Baylor. Bliss compiled a 7-6 record vs. the Wildcats while at Oklahoma, and was 2-0 against KSU while coaching New Mexico. Bliss has won nine of 10 against the Wildcats, dating back to the 1978-79 season.

NATION'S ROUGHEST STRETCH
Eight of Baylor's last 10 games were against nationally ranked opponents, including five-straight to open the conference season (Baylor is 1-7 vs. Top-25 teams). No other Division I team in the nation has faced such a stretch.

ROBERTS NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF WEEK
Sophomore forward Lawrence Roberts was selected Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week Monday following his performance in Baylor's win at No. 13 Oklahoma State. The 6-9 forward from Houston recorded a career-high 20 rebounds in the Bears' upset of OSU, and added 11 points and three assists. For the week, Roberts averaged 11.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in two games vs. nationally ranked teams. Roberts is Baylor's seventh Big 12 Player of the Week honoree, and the first since Terry Black was honored on Feb. 19, 2001.

BEARS vs. BIG 12 NORTH
Baylor is 9-9 over the last two-plus seasons in games against schools from the Big 12 North (7-8 in regular reason, 2-1 in the Big 12 Tournament), though the Bears have dropped six straight games vs. Northern schools.

3-POINT PROPENSITY
The Bears are averaging 9.3 made 3-pointers and 26.3 attempts per game this season. Both of those figures top the Big 12 Conference and are on pace to break Baylor's single-season school records (273 made, 783 att.). In three previous seasons under Dave Bliss, Baylor has finished no lower than fourth in 3-point field goals or attempts in the conference rankings. Last season's squad established a new school record with 273 made 3-pointers (9.1 per game). Kenny Taylor leads the Big 12 with 69 made 3-pointers (3.3 per game). Baylor has made at least one 3-pointer in 343 consecutive games (dating back to Feb. 21, 1990).

MILESTONES & RECORDS WATCH
- John Lucas is third on Baylor's career free throw percentage list, at 82.1% (96-117), [David Wesley owns the top mark - 82.8% 1989-1992].
- Lawrence Roberts is 2 blocks shy of 6th place on Baylor's career blocks list.
- John Lucas has 217 career assists and is 18 shy of moving into 7th on Baylor's career list (passing Roddrick Miller - 234 from 1994-98).
- Kenny Taylor's 69 3-pointers is 9 shy of tying Aundre Branch (78, 1993-94) for 4th place on the school's Top 10 single-season list.
- John Lucas has made 99 career 3-pointers, and is 25 treys shy of moving into 5th place on Baylor's career list (passing David Wesley - 123 from 1989-92).

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Baylor's prized freshman class of 2001, John Lucas, Lawrence Roberts and Kenny Taylor, has improved significantly in 2002-03 on its impressive performance last season. Through 21 games the sophomore trio from Houston has accounted for 58 percent of the team's points, 39 percent of rebounds, 51 percent of steals and 53 percent of assists. Production in every category is up from the trio's fabulous freshman season.

BEARS' STELLAR SHOOTING FROM LINE
Baylor as a team is shooting 73.5 percent, the best mark in the Big 12 Conference. Four Bear players are shooting 80 percent or higher from the line including: Carlton Dotson (16-18, 89 percent), Terrance Thomas (16-18, 89 percent), John Lucas (46-54, 85 percent - 3rd in Big 12) and Matt Sayman (41-51, 80 percent).

TAYLOR AND BEARS QUICK TRIGGER WITH 3-POINTERS
Sophomore Kenny Taylor currently leads the Big 12 Conference in 3-point field goals made, averaging 3.3 per game. He is shooting 41 percent from 3-point distance. Taylor has attempted 171 3-pointers this season. Treys account for an incredible 81 percent of the 211 field goals he has attempted. As a team, the Bears have taken 552 of their 1,214 shot attempts (45%) from behind the arc.

TAYLOR BIG 12's MOST IMPROVED SCORER
Sophomore Kenny Taylor owns the highest increased scoring average in the Big 12 Conference from last season to this. During 2001-02, Taylor averaged 3.9 points per game. This season he has raised his scoring average to 12.7, an increase of 8.8 points per game.

LAST TIME OUT: BAYLOR 74 - No. 13 OKLAHOMA STATE 72
Behind 14 3-pointers, Baylor snapped a 22-game road losing streak by stunning No. 13 Oklahoma State 74-72 in front of a boisterous crowd at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Bears held their composure after seeing a 15-point second-half lead turn into a five-point deficit in the late going. The Bears used an early 12-0 run to take a 13-4 lead and led by as much as 15 before taking a 47-35 halftime lead. They twice led by 15 in the second half, the final time 52-37 with 17:36 remaining. OSU went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 52-47. The Cowboys stayed in range for several minutes, then made a 14-2 spurt to take a 68-63 lead with 4:48 to play. But Baylor didn't buckle. R.T. Guinn and Ellis Kidd Jr. hit consecutive 3-pointers to get the Bears within 70-69 with 3:06 remaining. Cheyne Gadson's follow shot at the 2:41 mark made it 72-69 and proved to be Oklahoma State's final basket. A John Lucas steal and layup cut the lead to 72-71 with 2:28 left. Oklahoma State missed on its next trip and Kenny Taylor hit the eventual game-winner; 3-pointer from the right baseline, with 1:54 remaining to give the Bears the 74-72 lead. After that, OSU missed three shots, the last with about seven seconds left. Lawrence Roberts grabbed the rebound but fell out of bounds, giving the Cowboys the ball with 4.4 seconds remaining. The Cowboys called a timeout, then Baylor called two more. Finally OSU got the ball to Victor Williams along the right baseline, but his desperate pass into the lane was intercepted by Roberts who was fouled with 0.3 seconds left. The Bears inbounded the ball and the buzzer sounded.

THE LAST MEETING: KANSAS ST. 74 - BAYLOR 73 OT [March 7, 2002]
Baylor dropped a heartbreaker in overtime 74-73 to No. 8 seed Kansas State in the first round of the 2002 Big 12 Tournament at Kemper Arena. K-State's Matt Seibrandt hit the go-ahead free throw with 1.4 seconds remaining, but the ensuing inbounds pass by Baylor was stolen by Seibrandt. With the score tied at 73 and 33 seconds remaining in overtime, Wendell Greenleaf was called for an offensive charge. KSU missed a layup with three seconds left, but Seibrandt rebounded and was fouled by R.T. Guinn on the putback. Lawrence Roberts led Baylor with 23 points and 10 rebounds. John Lucas added 16 points. Five of Lucas' points came in overtime, he gave Baylor its last lead, 73-71, on a layup with 1:12 left. Roberts scored from the lane with 23.8 seconds left in regulation, giving Baylor a 60-58 lead, but KSU's Larry Reid hit a driving layup with six seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. The two teams played to a 30-all halftime tie, as streaky shooting in the first half kept either team from pulling away early.

ROBERTS LEADING BAYLOR'S YOUNG CUBS
After sitting out two of the season's first three games with a stress fracture in his left leg (fibula), All-Big 12 forward Lawrence Roberts has returned to lead Baylor with 14.4 points and 10.0 rebounds (2nd in Big 12) per game while recording 20 blocks (11th in Big 12). He has tallied nine double-doubles this season. The sophomore set the Big 12 freshman scoring record last season with 498 points.

ROAD LOSING STREAK SNAPPED
Saturday's 74-72 upset at Oklahoma State snapped Baylor's 22-game regular-season road losing streak that dated back to a 63-55 victory over Kansas State in 2001, the Bears' last trip to Manhattan.

BAYLOR IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
As of Feb. 10, Baylor's average of 9.0 3-pointers per game ranked ninth amongst NCAA Division I teams. The Bears are led in that department by Kenny Taylor, who ranked 19th nationally with an average of 3.3 treys per contest.

MONUMENTAL COACHING MATCHUPS
This season the Bears play six games featuring matchups of current college coaching legends. Baylor's Dave Bliss, who ranks 12th among the nation's winningest active coaches with 523 career wins, faces four other coaches who rank among the list's top 11. Baylor has faced Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan (No. 1 - 829), Texas Tech's Bob Knight (No. 2 - 801) Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton (No. 4 - 721) and Alcorn State's Davey L. Whitney (No. 11 - 559). Bliss is 3-2 vs. these top coaches through five games.

LOTS OF NEW BRUINS
The 2002-03 Baylor roster includes nine new players: four high school players (Will Allen, Corey Herring, Steve Raquet and Tommy Swanson), four junior college transfers (Carlton Dotson, Robert Hart, Ellis Kidd and Terrance Thomas) and a four-year transfer (Patrick Dennehy). Dennehy, a transfer from New Mexico, is a redshirt this season.

TRANSFERS FIND HOME AT BAYLOR
The 2002-2003 Bear roster boasts two players who transferred to Baylor from Division I schools, and a third who previously played at a DI institution. A fourth transferred from a DIII school.

THE LOBO TRANSFERS
Baylor's 2002-2003 roster includes two former players from the University of New Mexico, where Dave Bliss and his staff previously coached. Neither Patrick Dennehy or R.T. Guinn played under Dave Bliss at UNM, though Guinn was recruited to New Mexico by Bliss and staff. Dennehy played at New Mexico under current Bear assistant Rodney Belcher, who was not a part of Bliss' staff at UNM, but joined Baylor this off-season. Both players were starters at New Mexico.

BEARS INK NELSON IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Baylor signed big-man Tyrone Nelson of Hempstead (Texas) High School to a national letter of intent in the early signing period. A 6-9 forward/center, Nelson averaged 29 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks as a junior at Hempstead in 2001-2002. He was named to the TABC Class 3A All-State first team and MVP of District 25-AAA following his junior year. A highly sought recruit nationwide, Nelson is included on several national top-100 recruiting lists. He was rated the 60th-best recruit by TheInsidersHoops.com, No. 64 by Basketball News, No. 70 by The Sporting News, No. 79 by PrepStars, No. 90 by RivalsHoops and No. 125 by Hoop Scoop. Street & Smith's named Nelson an honorable mention prep All-America.

NATION'S LONGEST 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 28 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.

BAYLOR GAMES ON THE NET
The radio broadcast of all Baylor basketball games can be heard live on-line on Baylor's official website, www.BaylorBears.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 Fox Sports Net Southwest.

UP NEXT...
Baylor returns home for a Saturday, Feb. 22 contest against Nebraska. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 2 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center.