Game Preview: Men's Hoops at Rice Dec. 1

Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

BAYLOR (5-0) at RICE (2-3)
Autry Court (5,000) - Houston, Texas
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001 - 2:05 p.m. CST

THE GAME
Baylor hits the road for its first road game of the season Saturday, Dec. 1, at Rice. The game is set to tipoff at 2:05 p.m. CST at Autry Court. The Bears (5-0) are undefeated coming off a 92-56 victory over Cal State Fullerton at home Thursday. Rice (2-3) has lost three straight, most recently a 62-61 defeat at the hands of Houston Thursday. Saturday's game will mark the third contest in five days for the Bears.

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 503. The former head coach at New Mexico, Southern Methodist and Oklahoma owns a career record of 503-298 (.628). 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 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 RICE SERIES
Baylor trails in its all-time series with Rice by an 89-85 margin. The two schools have met 174 times, making it the third most-played series in Baylor history. The two schools met as league opponents in the Southwest Conference between 1914 and 1996. Baylor trails in games played in Houston by a 48-26 margin. The Bears won the last meeting between the schools, a 73-57 victory in Waco last season.

THE RICE OWLS
Rice (2-3) is led by Willis Wilson, in his 10th year as a head coach, all at Rice. Willis owns a career record of 119-139.

RICE NOTES: The Owls are led by freshman guard Jason McKrieth, who is averaging 16.3 points and six rebounds a game... Rice has dropped three straight contests after starting the season 2-0... The Owls lost a one-point decision at cross-town rival Houston Thursday night.

BLISS vs. RICE
Baylor's Dave Bliss is 17-4 all-time as a head coach against Rice. In addition to a 1-0 record vs. the Owls while at Baylor, Bliss compiled a 4-0 record vs. Rice as head coach at New Mexico and a 12-4 record while guiding SMU.

THE LAST MEETING - RICE
BAYLOR 73 - RICE 57
Dec. 28, 2001 - Ferrell Center - Waco, Texas
Terry Black scored 17 and Greg Davis scored a career-high 15 points to lead Baylor to a 73-57 victory over Rice at the Ferrell Center. The win improved the Bears' record to 9-0 and extended their non-conference home winning streak to 11 games. Black posted his fourth double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) of the season in the victory. DeMarcus Minor had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bears. Minor was 2-for-2 from the free throw line and extended his current streak to 38 free throws without a miss. Mike Wilks led the Owls with 22 points and six rebounds. Shawn Tyndell added 13 points, and Erik Cooper had 11. The Bears shot 50 percent from the field for the third consecutive game.

BAYLOR vs. WAC
Baylor is 174-192 all-time against teams currently playing in the Western Athletic Conference. Former Southwest Conference foes SMU (75-97) and Rice (85-89) make up most of that record. 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 63-24 against teams currently playing in the WAC, 2-0 while at Baylor.

HOUSTON HOMECOMING FOR FIVE BEARS
Five current Baylor players hail from Houston and will get a chance to play in front of friends and family Saturday at Rice. Juniors Wendell Greenleaf (Northshore HS) and Rod Nealy (Smiley HS), as well as freshmen John Lucas (Bellaire HS), Lawrence Roberts (Lamar HS) and Kenny Taylor (Sugar Land HS) will make their first collegiate appearence in their hometown Saturday.

BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
Baylor has won 21 consecutive regular-season games vs. non-conference opponents. In addition to this season's 5-0 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 25-3 against non-conference opponents in three seasons.

IMPRESSIVE SEASON STARTS UNDER BLISS
Baylor has started the season 5-0 for the second straight year for just the second time in school history (13-0 in 2000-01). During the 1911-12 and 1912-13 seasons, the Bears' started 13-0, 5-0 respectively.

THE LAST TIME OUT - CAL STATE FULLERTON
Baylor drained 14 3-pointers, led by freshman John Lucas' 20 points on five 3s to lead Baylor to a 92-56 win over Cal State Fullerton Thursday night at the Ferrell Center. Fellow freshman Lawrence Roberts added 15 points and six rebounds. For the game, Baylor (5-0) connected on 56 percent of its shots, making 31-of-55 attempts, including 14-of-23 3-pointers. Six Bears reached double figures in the contest with Wendell Greenleaf scoring 12, Kevin Henry 11, and R. T. Guinn and Chad Elsey 10 apiece. Brandon Campbell led Cal State Fullerton (1-3) with 15 points. The Titans shot 32 percent from the floor. The Bears led 48-31 at halftime. The Bears have won 21 consecutive regular-season, non-conference games.

3-POINT BARRAGE
Baylor is averaging an incredible 12.0 3-point shots made per game (60) this season and is on pace to shatter the school's single-season record of 265 3-pointers in 1994-95. Projected over a 30-game season, the Bears are on track to make 360 3s this year. Baylor has made 10 or more 3-point shots in four of five games this season. Leading the Bears' charge in 3-pointers made are freshman John Lucas (13), senior Chad Elsey (12), junior Wendell Greenleaf (9) and freshman Kenny Taylor (8).

LUCAS III LIGHTING UP 3s
Freshman point guard John Lucas III (son of Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Lucas II) has put together incredible numbers over the last two games (wins over SMU and Cal State Fullerton). Lucas has shot an amazing 84.6 percent on 3-point shots (11-of-13) and scored 20-plus points in the two victories. His assist-to-turnover ratio the last two games is 7.0-to-1.0 (14-2).

ROBERTS MAKING PRESENCE FELT
Lawrence Roberts has hit the ground running in his first season of college basketball. In five games, the true freshman has compiled two double-doubles, been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week and leads the team in several categories, including: scoring (16.8 ppg), rebounds (9.4 rpg), steals (14), blocks (8), free throws made (24) and free throws attempted (35).

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. Roberts and Lucas combined for 35 points Thursday to lead Baylor past Cal State Fullerton 92-56. In Baylor's first five games, the three freshmen have combined for 41 percent of the team's points, 29 percent of the rebounds and 40 percent of the steals.

ROBERTS NAMED BIG 12 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
True freshman Lawrence Roberts was named the season's first Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week Nov. 27 following his stellar performance in the Bears' three season-opening victories. In wins over Hardin-Simmons, UT-Arlington and Sacred Heart, the 6-8 forward 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).

BEARS' SUCCESS EQUALS IMPROVED ATTENDANCE
Through five home games, Baylor is averaging 5,817 fans per game, which is on pace to rank as the second highest season average in Ferrell Center history. Through five home games last season, Baylor was averaging 2,518 fans per contest. Last season, Baylor set a Ferrell Center total attendance record, drawing 91,421 in 17 home games. Baylor's 5,378 average in 2000-2001 marked an increase of 2,131 from the 1999-2000 season, the fourth-largest attendance increase in the nation.

BEARS' QUALITY DEPTH
This season's Bear squad appears much deeper than last year's, evidenced by the fact that 10 Baylor players are averaging more than 10 minutes per game. The player with the highest minutes played is freshman John Lucas, who averages 29.8 minutes. Additionally, through five early wins, Baylor's bench has outscored its opponent's bench by an average of 29.4 to 24.6.

BEARS' HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
The Bears are a perfect 5-0 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 30-10 record (.750) at home.

LONG TIME FROM LONG RANGE
With 14 3-pointers Thursday in a win over Cal State Fullerton, the Bears have made at least one 3-pointer in 297 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 40 games, the Bears are 19-0 when making seven or more 3-pointers. On the flip side, Baylor is 7-14 during that stretch when making six or fewer.

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 5-0 mark, the Bears own a 121-80 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.

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.

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...
After a six-day respite, the Bears are back at the Ferrell Center to host the Mean Green of North Texas Saturday, Dec. 8. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CST.

Game Preview: Men's Hoops at Rice Dec. 1

Related News

Related Videos

Promotional Background Photo

Footer