2005 BIG 12 TOURNAMENT - Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Mo.)
[12] BAYLOR (9-18, 1-15) vs. [5] IOWA STATE (17-10, 9-7)
Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 2:00 p.m. CST

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THE GAME
Baylor enters the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 12 seed and will face fifth-seeded Iowa State in Game 2 Thursday, March 10. Tipoff at Kemper Arena in Kansas City is 2 p.m. CST and the game will be telecast on syndicated ESPN+Plus stations and ESPNU (Time Warner ch. 15 in Waco/Temple/Bryan). The Bears (9-18, 1-15) finished the regular season with 13 straight losses, most recently an 84-76 defeat to Texas A&M at home Saturday in the regular season finale. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team, is playing with limited scholarships and with nine newcomers. Iowa State (17-10, 9-7) won nine of its final 11 regular-season games and is coming off a 78-73 win at Colorado Saturday. Iowa State won the regular season meeting between the two teams, a 77-51 decision in Ames. The two schools have split two previous conference tournament contests.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Aaron Bruce is the highest scoring freshman in the nation (18.4 ppg).
- Dick Vitale named Aaron Bruce the "Big 12 Diaper Dandy of the Year."
- Baylor is 4-7 in Big 12 Tournament games.
- Scott Drew owns a 2-1 record in conference tournaments (1 season at Valpo).
- Baylor has no players who have played in a conference tournament game before.
- Aaron Bruce was selected a 2nd-team Freshman All-American by Rivals.com.
- Tim Bush was selected to the recently released 2005 Big 12 All-Newcomer team.
- Aaron Bruce was voted an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection & to the Big 12 All-Freshman squad.
- Aaron Bruce averaged 23 pts and shot 52% (14-27) on 3-pointers the last 3 games.
- In the season's final 2 games (after returning from injury), Tommy Swanson averaged 16.0 points and 7.5 rebounds.
- Baylor trails Iowa State 8-5 in the all-time series, ISU has won 2 straight.
- Baylor has lost 13 straight games, its longest losing steak since dropping 17 straight to close the 1998-99 season.
- Opponents have shot 64% (95-of-149) from the field against Baylor the last 3 games.
- With 9 wins, Baylor has surpassed last season's win total (8-21).
- Aaron Bruce ranks 3rd in FT shooting (84%), 4th in 3-point shooting (40%) & 9th in FG shooting (47%) in the Big 12.
- Tim Bush (84.1%) and Aaron Bruce (83.5%) rank 2nd & 3rd in Big 12 FT shooting.
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Baylor has dressed 7 or fewer scholarship players for 56 straight games [17-39 record] (since final game of 2002-2003 season).
- Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 25 of 27 games.
- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, averaging 7.7 3s per game.
- 108 of Kevis Shipman's 128 points scored (84%) this year are from 3-pointers (36).
- Baylor is 6-0 when recording more points in the paint than its opponent this season.
- Baylor's roster includes two active players taller than 6-6 (Tommy Swanson 6-10 and walk-on Mark Shepherd 6-9).
- 4 Bears have double-digit scoring averages.
- Baylor is 11-1 when scoring 70+ points (in Drew Era; 2 seasons).
- Baylor is 0-4 this season in games in which Tommy Swanson fouls out.
- Aaron Bruce has made a 3-pointer in 24 straight games (2nd-longest streak in school history - Tevis Stukes hit a 3 in all 29 games of 1999-2000).
- BU is 1-28 when allowing opponents to shoot 50% or higher (in 2 years under Drew).

HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is in his second season of the massive rebuilding project he undertook at Baylor and owns a two-year mark of 17-39 and a career record of 37-50 (3 seasons). 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 four national Top-20 recruiting classes over the last six years. He was named the 1998-99 National Recruiter of the Year by Court Vision and helped produce what HoopScoop named the nation's sixth best recruiting class in 2001, the 10th best in 2004, the 13th best in 1999 and the 19th best in 2003.

BAYLOR TO FACE ISU IN REMATCH OF BIG 12 TOURNEY'S BIGGEST UPSET
The biggest upset in Big 12 Conference Tournament history occurred in 2001, when eighth-seeded Baylor knocked off top seed and No. 7 ranked Iowa State by a 62-49 score at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Iowa State had defeated Baylor by 21 points in the teams' earlier meeting that season, and 12,000-plus Cyclone fans had traveled from Ames to Kansas City to root on the defending conference tournament champs. The underdog Bears held the Big 12 Player of the Year, All-American Jamal Tinsley, to just eight points and six rebounds before he fouled out, playing just 26 minutes. DeMarcus Minor led Baylor with 25 points and eight rebounds and later earned all-tournament honors.

THE IOWA STATE CYCLONES
Iowa State (17-10, 9-7) is led by Wayne Morgan, in his second year at ISU and his eighth year as a head coach. Morgan is 37-23 at ISU and owns a career record of 128-107 with a stint at Long Beach State (1996-2002) prior to ISU.

ISU NOTES: The Cyclones are 6-7 in previous Big 12 Tournaments... Iowa State has won nine of its last 11 games... ISU is led by sophomore G Curtis Stinson, last season's Big 12 Freshman of the Year, who averages 17.3 points and 4.4 assists... The Cyclones lead the Big 12 in steals (9.4 spg) and turnover margin (+4.8)... Sophomore F Jeff Bergstrom is from Kingwood, Texas.

BAYLOR MISCELLANY vs. ISU
Only one Baylor player, junior Tommy Swanson with three, has played more than one career game vs. Iowa State... In the teams' earlier meeting this season (a 71-55 ISU win), the Bears forced a season-low eight turnovers and gave up a season-high 14 steals... The Cyclones held Baylor's leading scorer, Aaron Bruce, to nine points in the victory.

THE IOWA STATE SERIES
Thursday marks the 14th meeting between Baylor and Iowa State with the Cyclones holding an 8-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Bears have lost two straight to the Cyclones, including a 77-51 defeat earlier this season in Ames. The schools have split two previous Big 12 Tournament meetings.

DREW IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Scott Drew has compiled a 2-1 career record in one previous conference tournament (2003 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament in only season as head coach at Valparaiso, Crusader lost by two points in championship game). Baylor did not participate in the Big 12 Tournament in Drew's first season due to self-imposed sanctions.

BEARS IN THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
In the short eight-year history of the Big 12 Tournament, the Bears have compiled a 4-7 record (Baylor did not participate in 2004 tourney). In three of seven tournaments participated in, Baylor has reached the quarterfinals (1998, 2000, 2001). Baylor is 3-4 in first round games, 1-2 in the quarterfinals and 0-1 in the semis. Baylor's highest seeding in the tournament was a No. 5 seed in 1998. The Bears are the No. 12 seed in this year's tourney, matching their worst seeding ever (also No. 12 in 1999 tournament).

ZERO TOURNEY EXPERIENCE
Baylor enters the Big 12 Tournament without any players who have played in a conference tournament game before. Only three players returned from last season's squad that did not participate in the league tourney, and junior Tommy Swanson dressed but did not play in the Bears' 2003 first round tournament loss to Texas Tech.

BRUCE NAMED FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA, ALL-BIG 12
Aaron Bruce was named to All-Big 12 and freshman All-America teams announced Monday. Bruce received his first freshman All-America recognition, being named to the Rivals.com 2005 Freshman All-America second team. He is Baylor's first freshman All-American since Lawrence Roberts was a second-team selection in 2002. He also received All-Big 12 honorable mention as selected by the conference's coaches and was voted to the Big 12 All-Freshman team by a panel of media who cover the league. He joins Roberts (2002) and John Lucas III (2002) as the only three Baylor players to make the league's all-freshman team.

BUSH SELECTED TO BIG 12 ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Sophomore F Tim Bush earned a spot on the 2005 Big 12 All-Newcomer team, as voted on recently by a panel of media who cover the league. Bush has averaged 12.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in his first season at Baylor since transfering from LSU. Bush is the fourth Bear to be selected all-newcomer, joining Harvey Thomas (2004), Terry Black (2000) and Patrick Hunter (1997).

VITALE SELECTS BRUCE "BIG 12 DIAPER DANDY OF THE YEAR"
ESPN.com's Dick Vitale named Aaron Bruce the "Big 12 Diaper Dandy of the Year," the top freshman in the league. In January Vitale included Bruce in his "Super Six All-Diaper Dandies" - a six-pack of the nation's top freshmen (Joining Bruce on the list were UCLA's Jordan Farmar, Texas' Daniel Gibson, Oregon's Malik Hairston, Indiana's D.J. White and North Carolina's Marvin Williams).

BRUCE LEADS NATION'S, BIG 12 FRESHMEN
True freshman Aaron Bruce, a candidate for freshman All-America teams, tops the nation's freshmen in scoring, averaging 18.4 per game. Bruce leads all Big 12 Conference freshmen in four major categories: scoring (1st, 18.4 ppg), field goal percentage (1st, 47.2%), 3-point field goal percentage (40.1%) and free throw percentage (1st, 83.5%) - and is third in assists (3.67).

MILESTONES & RECORDS WATCH
- Aaron Bruce is 1 point shy of becoming Baylor's all-time leading freshman scorer (498, Lawrence Roberts 2001-02).
- Aaron Bruce is 3 points shy of 500 for the season.
- Patrick Fields is 1 point shy of 300 for the season.
- Tim Bush is 3 points shy of 300 for the season.
- Aaron Bruce is 1 point shy of moving into 2nd place (Lawrence Roberts, Baylor - 498) on the Big 12 freshman single-season list.
- Aaron Bruce is 1 3-pointer shy of 4th place (Luke Axtell, Texas - 68) and 7 shy of 3rd place (J.R. Giddens, Kansas - 74) on the Big 12 freshman single-season list.
- Tommy Swanson is 3 rebounds shy of 150 for the season.
- Aaron Bruce is 11 3-pointers shy of 5th place (Aundre Branch 78, `92-93) on BU's single-season list.
- Tommy Swanson is 18 rebounds shy of 300 for his career.
- Aaron Bruce is 1 assist shy of 100 for the season.

CUB FROM DOWN UNDER LEADING BEARS
True freshman G Aaron Bruce has led the inexperienced Bears since the start of his young career. Bruce has started every game and leads the Bears in scoring (18.4 ppg; 2nd in Big 12), free throw shooting (83.5%; 3rd in Big 12) and minutes played (34.7 mpg) and is second in 3-point percentage (40.1%; 4th in Big 12). Bruce has scored in double-digits in 25 of 27 games and has a 24-game streak with at least one 3-pointer.

BUSH POSTING IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS
Sophomore F Tim Bush, a transfer from LSU, made an immediate impact after gaining his eligibility following the fall semester. Bush is averaging 12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds [19th in Big 12], 34.3 minutes, is shooting 84.1% on free throws [2nd in Big 12] and has scored in double-digits in 16 of 23 games. Bush is playing substantial minutes for the first time in four seasons. After not playing his senior season of high school, Bush played just 36 minutes in 10 games for LSU as a true freshman in 2002-03 and transferred prior to last season - which he sat out at Baylor as a redshirt.

"VETERAN" SWANSON A STEADY CONTRIBUTOR
Junior C Tommy Swanson, Baylor's only scholarship returnee, has stepped into his role as a contributor in scoring and rebounding for the young Bears. In the season's final two games after returning from an eye injury, Swanson averaged 16.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals. On the season, Swanson has increased his scoring average to 12.1 (from 6.4 as a sophomore), shooting percentage to 52 percent (from 45), rebounds to 5.9 [14th in Big 12] (from 4.1) and minutes to 29.8 (from 22.1).

BRUCE ALMIGHTY: PURE SHOOTER
In his first season true freshman Aaron Bruce has established himself as a proficient shooter. The guard from Australia, tabbed the Big 12's "best jump shooter" in Lindy's preseason publication, currently ranks fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting (40.1%), ninth in field goal shooting (47.2%) and third in free throw shooting (83.5%).

THE LAST MEETING: IOWA STATE 77 - BAYLOR 51 [Feb. 1, 2005]
A seven-and-a-half minute first-half field goal drought doomed Baylor's chances as Iowa State ran away from the Bears 77-51 at Hilton Coliseum. Trailing just 18-17 after a Richard Hurd basket with 7:30 to go in the first, the Baylor offense stalled and was outscored 19-1 the remainder of the half and never recovered. After a slow start, the Cylcones ran with impunity, shot 52.5 percent, forced 23 turnovers and even made five 3-pointers. Patrick Fields led Baylor with 16 points and was the team's only player in double figures. Aaron Bruce, coming off a 27-point outing against Texas A&M, scored only nine on 3-for-7 shooting. Iowa State needed almost 12 minutes to score its first 18 points, then ran off 19 in less than 6 minutes. Damion Staple scored eight of his 10 points early in the second half to help the Cyclones build the lead to 54-31. Rahshon Clark's steal and dunk and Tasheed Carr's free throw made it 63-33, and it was 71-38 after Stinson's 3-pointer with 5:09 to play.

LAST TIME OUT: TEXAS A&M 84 - BAYLOR 76
For the third straight game Baylor allowed its opponent to shoot better than 60 percent and was defeated, this time an 84-76 decision to Texas A&M in its home finale at the Ferrell Center. The loss was Baylor's 13th straight to close the regular season. A Bobby Leach 3-pointer put A&M ahead 53-42 with just over 13 minutes remaining. The Aggies scored only one field goal in the game's final four minutes but connected on 15-of-18 free throws to clinch the win. Baylor never got closer than nine points on several occasions, the last coming at 73-64 with 2:08 left to play. A Tim Bush layup gave Baylor an early 14-7 lead with 13:31 to go in the first half. A&M then went on a 13-0 run and led for good at 20-14 with 9:38 remaining. Aaron Bruce had a game-high 28 points and Tommy Swanson recorded a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. Baylor's lone senior, Ryan Pryor, earned his first career start on Senior Day and finished scoreless with a career-high four assists.

BEARS SURPASS LAST SEASON'S WIN TOTAL
Despite losing nine lettermen from its 2003-04 depleted roster, Baylor has surpassed its win total from last season. With a 67-59 victory over Colorado Jan. 19, the Bears upped their win total to nine. In 2003-04, the first in Scott Drew's rebuilding project, the undermanned Bears finished 8-21 (3-13 Big 12).

SEVEN-FOOT SENEGALESE CENTER JOINS TEAM
Baylor freshman Mamadou Diene arrived on campus at the end of January and is practicing with the team. Diene, a 7-foot, 200-pound center from Yeumbeul, Senegal, was Scott Drew's first-ever signee at Baylor and one of the top international prospects when he signed with Baylor in 2003. The coaching staff plans to redshirt Diene this season.

BIG 12 ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Twice this season Baylor newcomers have been honored as Big 12 Rookie of the Week. In back-to-back weeks, sophomore F Tim Bush (Jan. 3) and true freshman G Aaron Bruce (Dec. 27) won the award. Bush, a transfer from LSU, received the award after leading the Bears to wins over Purdue and Prairie View A&M and averaging 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. Bruce, a native of Australia, was honored for his performance in a win over Maryland-Eastern Shore in which he scored a game-high 22 points and shot 73 percent (8-for-11) from the field - including 4-for-7 from 3-point distance. This is the first time Baylor has had two players named rookie of the week in the same season since 2001-2002, when former Bears John Lucas III (twice) and Lawrence Roberts were so honored.

NATION'S MOST INEXPERIENCED TEAM
Baylor returned just three players from its 2003-04 roster this season, including two walk-ons. Nine new players were included on the 2004-05 preseason roster. Baylor is the nation's only team (and the only team in recent memory) to have only one scholarship returnee. The three returnees had a combined total of four seasons of experience at the Division I level prior to this season. The 2004-05 roster includes nine underclassmen. This marks Baylor's second consecutive season of enduring short roster numbers (the Bears suited up between five and seven scholarship players during the 2003-04 season). Baylor has dressed 7 or fewer scholarship players for 56 straight games (since final game of 2002-03 season; 17-39 record during that span).

LOTS OF NEWCOMERS
The 2004-2005 Baylor roster includes seven newcomers and an additional two players who sat out last season. The nine new faces include three junior college transfers (junior G Kevis Shipman, sophomore G Roscoe Biggers and G/F Patrick Fields); one Division I transfer (sophomore F Tim Bush); and five high schoolers (G Aaron Bruce, C Mamadou Diene, G/F Hall Henderson, F Richard Hurd, F Mark Shepherd).

DEPARTED PLAYERS
Nine lettermen from Baylor's season-opening 2003-2004 roster are not on the 2004-2005 edition. With those departed players the Bears have lost 88.8 percent of their scoring and 86.4 percent of last season's rebounding. Gone is Baylor's all-time games-played leader Matt Sayman, the USBL's No. 1 draft pick R.T. Guinn, talented All-District honoree Terrance Thomas, the scoring of third-team All-Big 12 selection Harvey Thomas and 22-game starter Carl Marshall. Four players left due to graduation/expired eligibility (Guinn, Robbie McKenzie, Sayman, T. Thomas), three transferred (Will Allen, Corey Herring, Marshall), one left to play professionally (H. Thomas) and one was dismissed from the team (Ellis Kidd Jr.).

BAYLOR'S EARLY SIGNING CLASS RATED 13th NATIONALLY
Baylor's five-man early signee class is rated the 13th-best class in the nation according to HoopScoop and is one of the highest rated recruiting classes in recent school history. The class includes three national Top-100 players and three Top-10 state recruits. The signees include four prep seniors, Henry Dugat of Dayton (Texas) High School, Curtis Jerrells of Del Valle High School in Austin, Texas, Kevin Rogers of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas and Jari Vanttaja of Oulu, Finland; as well as Tony Jones, a freshman at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.

Rogers, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward, is rated the 35th-best recruit nationally by Rivals and Hoop Alliance and the sixth-best recruit in the state by Rivals. Dugat is a 6-0, 160-pound combo guard rated No. 69 nationally by Scout.com and the fifth-best recruit in the state by TexasHoops. Jerrells, a 6-1, 170-pound point guard, was named to the TABC 4A All-State second team. He is rated the No. 94 recruit nationally by Rivals and the No. 7 recruit in Texas by Texas Roundball. Vanttaja is a 6-10, 215-pound forward who recently averaged 14 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Finnish Junior National Team at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim, Germany. According to HoopScoop, if Vanttaja played in the U.S. he would be rated among the Top 50 high school prospects. Jones is a 6-7, 185-pound forward who redshirted the 2003-2004 season at Hill College and will have three seasons of eligibility at Baylor.

BAYLOR EARLY SIGNEES:
Name		Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown (Schools)
Henry Dugat	G	6-0	160	Fr.	Dayton, Texas (Dayton HS)
Curtis Jerrells	G	6-1	170	Fr.	Austin, Texas (Del Valle HS)
Tony Jones	F	6-7	185	So.	San Antonio, Texas (Taft HS/Hill College)
Kevin Rogers	F	6-8	220	Fr.	Dallas, Texas (South Oak Cliff HS)
Jari Vanttaja	F	6-10	215	Fr.	Oulu, Finland (South Tapiola HS)

OVER THE AIR
Bear basketball games are aired live on the Baylor Radio Network and flagship station 1660AM ESPN Radio (KRZI) in Waco. Selected games are broadcast on Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate WBAP 820AM, which covers 80 percent of the nation and reaches 38 states during night games. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his 10th season, and former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley, in his 23rd season as color analyst.

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour wrap-up of BU athletics, airs weekly throughout the Southwest. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV (Sundays at 10:30 p.m.), FSN Southwest (Wednesdays at 1 p.m) and CSTV (Thursdays at 5 or 5:30 p.m). All shows are archived online at BaylorBears.com and BaylorTV.com.