Game Preview: Men's Hoops vs. SMU Nov. 27

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SMU (2-1) at BAYLOR (3-0)
Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas
Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2001 - 8:00 p.m. CST

THE GAME
Baylor will play its second of four games in an eight-day stretch Tuesday, Nov. 27, with a home game against Southern Methodist. The game is set to tipoff at 8:00 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center, the game will be the nightcap of a men's-women's doubleheader as the 13th-ranked Lady Bears will host Sam Houston State at 6:00 p.m. The Bears (3-0) are coming off an 81-55 victory over Sacred Heart at home last Saturday. SMU (2-1) dropped a 78-75 decision at home to Texas Tech last Tuesday. The game will pit Baylor head coach Dave Bliss against his former employer for the first time since his arrival at Baylor. Bliss coached eight seasons at SMU from 1980-88.

HEAD COACH DAVE BLISS
Dave Bliss, in his third season at Baylor, is a 27-year coaching veteran and ranks 18th among active Division I coaches in victories with 501. The former head coach at New Mexico, Southern Methodist and Oklahoma owns a career record of 501-298 (.627). 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 CLAIMS 500th CAREER VICTORY
Baylor's Dave Bliss became the 92nd collegiate head coach to reach 500 career victories last Wednesday when the Bears defeated Texas-Arlington 88-64. In 27 years as a head coach, Bliss has averaged more than 19 wins per season. Bliss' milestone wins are listed below:

    BLISS' MILESTONE VICTORIES    No. Date        Opponent    1   Nov. 20, 1975   Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma City (67-65)    100 Jan. 18, 1983   SMU vs. Baylor (62-61)    200 Dec. 29, 1987   SMU vs. Creighton (88-51)    300 Mar. 19, 1992   UNM vs. Louisiana Tech (90-84)    400 Dec. 23, 1996   UNM vs. Jackson State (98-45)    500 Nov. 21, 2001   Baylor vs. Texas-Arlington (88-64)

BLISS COACHING 800th CAREER GAME
Baylor's Dave Bliss will coach the 800th game of his head coaching career Tuesday when the Bears host SMU. Bliss' milestone games are listed below:

    BLISS' MILESTONE GAMES    No. Date        Opponent    1   Nov. 20, 1975   Oklahoma at Oklahoma City (W, 67-65)    100 Jan. 31, 1978   Oklahoma at Kansas State (W, 70-62)    500 Feb. 6, 1992    UNM vs. Wyoming (W, 79-65)    800 Nov. 27, 2001   Baylor vs. Southern Methodist

THE SOUTHERN METHODIST SERIES
This will be the 172nd meeting between Baylor and SMU, however, the teams have not met since 1996, the final season of the Southwest Conference. This ranks as the fourth-most played series in the 96-year history of Baylor basketball. Only Texas (212), Texas A&M (181) and Rice (174) have played more games against the Bears. Baylor won its last meeting with SMU, a 78-74 decision Feb. 10, 1996 in Dallas. That snapped a three-game winning streak for the Mustangs. Baylor and SMU first met during the 1917-1918 season, the Mustangs were victorious 16-9 in Waco.

THE SOUTHERN METHODIST MUSTANGS
SMU (2-1) is led by head coach Mike Dement, in his 16th season as a head coach and his seventh season at the helm of the Mustangs' program. Dement owns a record of 220-202 in his career, 96-78 while at SMU. He is 1-1 all-time against Baylor, he was in his first season at SMU during the final season of the Southwest Conference (1995-1996).

SMU NOTES: SMU is a member of the Western Athletic Conference... The Mustangs are 2-1 on the season after dropping a 78-75 decision at home to Texas Tech last Tuesday... G Damon Hancock led the Mustangs with 19 points... Hancock leads the team in scoring on the season with 22.7 ppg.

BLISS vs. SOUTHERN METHODIST
Baylor's Dave Bliss, who coached SMU from 1980 to 1988, is 3-0 against the Mustangs during his head coaching career. All three meetings were while Bliss was head coach at New Mexico, the Lobos and the Mustangs were members of the WAC during Bliss' final three seasons at UNM. Bliss, who also spent five years at Oklahoma, is 4-7 all-time against schools he has formerly coached.

LOTS OF BAYLOR-SMU TIES
Four members of the Baylor basketball program have ties to SMU. Head coach Dave Bliss, assistant coaches Doug Ash and Kevin Lewis and senior Chad Elsey are all former Mustang coaches or players. All four are facing SMU for the first time since their departures.

BLISS & ASH TO FACE FORMER EMPLOYER
Head coach Dave Bliss was head coach of the Mustangs for eight seasons from 1980-1988 and led SMU to four postseason appearances. His 1987-88 team finished 28-7, won the Southwest Conference title and postseason tournament, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Assistant coach Doug Ash was on Bliss' staff for each of those eight seasons.

ELSEY PLAYS FORMER TEAM
Senior forward Chad Elsey played his first two seasons at SMU and scored 631 points. Elsey shot 32.5 percent from 3-point range in two seasons and as a sophomore averaged 13.4 points, second on the squad.

LEWIS, SMU ALUMNUS
Baylor assistant coach Kevin Lewis is a former SMU basketball letterman. Lewis played four seasons at SMU (under Dave Bliss) and was named first-team all-SWC following his senior season in 1985-86 in which he averaged 18.6 points per game.

BAYLOR vs. WAC
Baylor is 173-192 all-time against teams currently playing in the Western Athletic Conference. SMU (74-97) and Rice (85-89) take up most of that record due to the teams all having been members of the Southwest Conference. Baylor is 5-7 against Tulsa, 3-3 against Louisiana Tech, 2-2 against Nevada, 1-2 against Texas-El Paso and 1-1 against Hawai'i. Head coach Dave Bliss is 62-24 against teams currently playing in the WAC, 1-0 while at Baylor.

BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
Baylor has won 19 consecutive regular-season games vs. non-conference opponents. In addition to this season's 3-0 non-conference start, the Bears finished the regular-season, non-conference portion of last year's schedule with a perfect 11-0 record. Under head coach Dave Bliss, Baylor is 23-3 against non-conference opponents in three seasons.

THE LAST TIME OUT - SACRED HEART
Lawrence Roberts scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, leading Baylor in an 81-55 win over Sacred Heart last Saturday. Roberts scored 12 second-half points, and the Bears (3-0) had a 58-38 margin with just over 10 minutes remaining. Greg Davis added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bears. Poor shooting hampered Sacred Heart (1-1) with the Pioneers hitting only 31 percent from the field. Tre Samuels led Sacred Heart with 15 points. The Bears pulled in front of the Pioneers midway through the first half, 25-13, with a 7-0 run. Baylor closed the final 2:30 of the first half on a 10-0 run and took a 39-22 lead at halftime. Chad Elsey scored eight of the 10 points, connecting on two 3-pointers in the final minute. Elsey finished the game with 16 points, including 3-of-6 3-point baskets. Switching between man-to-man and trap defenses, the Bears forced 20 turnovers and scored 23 points off Sacred Heart's miscues.

LONG TIME FROM LONG RANGE
With six 3-pointers last Saturday against Sacred Heart, the Bears have made at least one 3-pointer in 295 consecutive games. That streak dates back to Feb. 21, 1990, when Baylor was 0-for-8 from long range at home against Texas Tech. During their last 38 games, the Bears are 17-0 when making seven or more 3-pointers. On the flip side, Baylor is 7-14 during that stretch when making six or fewer.

ROBERTS MAKING A BIG SPLASH
True freshman Lawrence Roberts has made quite a debut in his first three collegiate games. The 6-8 forward is averaging a double-double (18.3 points-12.0 rebounds) and leads the team in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (12.0 rpg), steals (12), blocks (7), free throws made (13) and free throws attempted (20).

FRESHMEN SENSATIONAL
Three Baylor freshmen combined for 30 points in the Bears' 81-55 victory last Saturday over Sacred Heart. F Lawrence Roberts had 21 points, nine rebounds and two steals. G John Lucas added four points and two assists, and G Kenny Taylor came off the bench for five points and three steals. In Baylor's first three games, that trio has combined for 41.2 percent of the Bears' points, 28.6 percent of the Bears' rebounds and 41.5 percent of the Bears' steals.

ATTENDANCE UP FROM LAST SEASON
Through three games, Baylor is averaging 5,464 fans per game, which would rank as the second-best season average in Ferrell Center history behind only the 5,856 average from the 1992-1993 season. Through three home games last season, Baylor was averaging 2,296 fans per contest.

EARLY SEASON NOTES OF INTEREST
G/F Chad Elsey is up to his usual early-season tricks, averaging 18.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Last season, Elsey scored at least 10 points in each of his first four games and five of his first six... F Lawrence Roberts is averaging a double-double through the first three games with 18.3 ppg and 12.0 rpg.

BEARS' QUALITY DEPTH
This season's Bear squad appears much deeper than last year's, evidenced by the fact that nine Baylor players are averaging more than 14 minutes per game. The player with the highest minutes played is freshman John Lucas, who averages 27.7 minutes. Additionally, through three early wins, Baylor's bench has outscored its opponent's bench by an average of 31.3 to 21.3.

BEARS' HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
The Bears are a perfect 3-0 at home in the Ferrell Center this season. Baylor recorded a 14-3 record at home in 2000-2001. Since Dave Bliss took over the reigns of Baylor's basketball program, the Bears have compiled a 25-10 record (.714) at home.

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.

TRANSFERS FIND HOME AT BAYLOR
The 2001-2002 Bear squad boasts four players who transferred to Baylor from Division I schools, and a fifth who previously played at a DI institution. A sixth transferred from a DIII school. The players are:

    Player          Prev. School            Status    Greg Davis  New Mexico      Senior forward    Chad Elsey  SMU         Senior guard    R.T. Guinn  New Mexico      Sophomore center    Kevin Henry    New Mexico      Senior guard    Rod Nealy *  Ark.-Little Rock    Junior forward    Andre White    Hardin-Simmons          Junior guard

* Nealy played as a freshman (1999-2000) at Arkansas-Little Rock before transferring to McLennan Community College.

FERRELL CENTER'S 14th YEAR
The Bears are in their 14th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center. Including this season's 2-0 mark, the Bears own a 118-80 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.

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.

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 4th-HIGHEST ATTENDANCE INCREASE
Baylor experienced a 2,131 increase in average home attendance from 1999-2000 to last season (3,247 to 5,378), the fourth-largest such increase in the nation during that span.

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 schools, including eight institutions of the Big 12 Conference.

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. Morris is a veteran broadcaster in his seventh season behind the mic at Baylor. 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 other regional outlets. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports 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.

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.

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.

BAYLOR EARLY SIGNEESName        Pos.    Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (High School)Ellis Kidd Jr.  G   6-4 185 So. Dallas, Texas (Madison HS/OSU/Seminole St.)Tommy Swanson   F   6-9 215 Fr. Fort Worth, Texas (North Crowley HS)Terrance Thomas F   6-7 220 Jr. Dallas, Texas (Maceo Smith HS/Lon Morris)

UP NEXT...
The Bears play the third of four games in an eight-day stretch when they take on Cal State Fullerton Thursday at 7 p.m. CST in the Ferrell Center. Baylor defeated the Titans 80-50 last season in Fullerton, Calif.

Game Preview: Men's Hoops vs. SMU Nov. 27

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