Men's Hoops Preview: Baylor vs. Texas Jan. 26

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BAYLOR (12-6, 2-3) vs. No. 24 TEXAS (13-5, 4-1)
Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas
Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002 - 8:00 p.m. CST

TELEVISION:
ESPN+Plus
KWBU-TV Ch. 34 / 4 (Waco/Temple/Bryan)

RADIO:
Baylor Radio Network
KRZI 1660/1580 AM (Waco)
WBAP 820 AM (Dallas)
on-line @ www.GoBaylorBears.com

BAYLOR QUICK NOTES
??? Baylor is 10-1 at home this season.
??? BU is 9-0 when outrebounding its opponent.
??? In the past two years Baylor is 27-1 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (9-0 this year).
??? Baylor is 9th nationally with 9.17 3-pointers per game.
??? In the last two seasons Baylor is 23-3 when scoring 70 points or more (10-2 this year).
??? Baylor teams have made at least one 3-point basket in 310 straight games.
??? Wendell Greenleaf is tied for 25th nationally with a 2.44 steals average, and he is fourth on BU???sup>TMs career steals list with 130.
??? Lawrence Roberts has scored in double-digits in in 15 of 18 games this season.
??? Wendell Greenleaf has scored in double-digits in nine consecutive games.
??? Matt Sayman is averaging 9.0 points per game in six starts this season, 4.1 points per game in 12 non-starts.

THE GAME
Baylor returns to the floor after a week layoff Saturday, Jan. 26, when it hosts No. 24 Texas. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center. The Bears are coming off a 63-60 loss at Texas A&M last Saturday, this is Baylor???sup>TMs first home game since a Jan. 16 victory over Kansas State. Texas, ranked 24th nationally in the Associated Press Top 25, dropped a 80-74 decsion to Texas A&M at home Wednesday night. The Longhorns won the teams???sup>TM previous meeting this season, a 102-78 victory in Austin Jan. 12. Saturday???sup>TMs game will be televised live regionally by ESPN+Plus. The game will be aired in the Waco-Temple-Bryan area on KWBU-TV, channel 34 over the air and channel 4 on Time-Warner Cable. Trey Bender will handle play-by-play duties, and Renzi Stone will provide color analysis.

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 510. The former head coach at New Mexico, Southern Methodist and Oklahoma owns a career record of 510-304 (.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 A MEMBER OF COACHING???sup>TMS 500 CLUB
Baylor???sup>TMs 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 SERIES
This is the 215th meeting between Baylor and Texas with the Longhorns holding a 139-75 advantage in the all-time series. Texas holds a 55-45 edge in games played in Waco. The Bears have played Texas more times than any other team in the program???sup>TMs history. The Longhorns have won the last eight meetings, including a 102-78 decision two weeks ago at Austin. Baylor???sup>TMs last victory over Texas came Feb. 21, 1998 when the Bears knocked off UT 80-75 at home. The series dates back to the 1905-06 season.

THE TEXAS LONGHORNS
Texas (13-5, 4-1) is led by fourth-year head coach Rick Barnes, in his 15th year as a collegiate head coach. Barnes owns a career record of 283-170 with stints at George Mason (1987-88), Providence (1988-94) and Clemson (1994-98), he is 78-35 with the Longhorns.

UT NOTES: The Longhorns are led by sophomore guard/forward Brandon Mouton, who is averaging 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game... UT???sup>TMs leading scorer (15.8 ppg) and leading rebounder (7.4 rpg), senior forward Chris Owens, is out for the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee Dec. 31 in a loss at Utah... Freshman point guard T.J. Ford played on the same prep team as Baylor freshman guard Kenny Taylor at Willowridge High School in Houston, Texas.

BLISS vs. TEXAS
Baylor head coach Dave Bliss is 13-14 in his career against Texas, 0-5 while with the Bears. Against Texas, Bliss was 2-2 while at Oklahoma, 10-7 while at SMU and 1-0 while at New Mexico. He enjoyed an eight-game winning streak against UT while at SMU, extending from the 1982-83 season to the 1985-86 campaign.

THE LAST MEETING: TEXAS 102-BAYLOR 78, JANUARY 2002
Baylor fell victim to a red-hot Texas squad that drilled 14 3-point shots en route to a 102-78 victory over the Bears at the Frank Erwin Center. Texas shot 54 percent, including 10-of-14 3-pointers, in the first half and roared to a 65-36 halftime lead. Baylor freshman Lawrence Roberts scored a career-high 30 points in the loss, and added nine rebounds. The Bears lost for the fourth time in the last six games after a 9-1 start. Texas set a record for the most first-half points (65) in a Big 12 game. The Longhorns also outrebounded the Bears 51-36. Brandon Mouton scored Texas' first 10 points, with a 3-pointer to open the game. The Longhorns led 38-17 when Fredie Williams nailed his second 3-pointer with 9:28 to play in the first half. Texas cooled off in the second half, and Baylor cut the lead under 20 when Matt Sayman's 3-pointer made it 86-67. But the rally was short-lived as Williams hit two free throws, and Baylor never got closer than 18 the rest of the way.

THE LAST TIME OUT: TEXAS A&M 63-BAYLOR 60
Matt Sayman's 3-point attempt bounced off the rim with four seconds to play as Texas A&M defeated Baylor 63-60 at Reed Arena. Wendell Greenleaf scored 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, to lead the Bears. Baylor made seven 3-pointers in the first half???QUOTE]three of them by Greenleaf???QUOTE]as the Bears took a 17-7 lead and led 34-28 at the half. But Bean's 7 points in the first six minutes of the second half pulled the Aggies into a 41-41 tie. Dylan Leal's 3-pointer gave A&M a 44-41 lead, its first advantage since scoring the opening basket. Greenleaf scored baskets on back-to-back A&M turnovers, tying the game at 57-57 with four minutes to play. Bernard King's jump shot at 3:37 put the Aggies ahead 59-57, and Jackson's two free throws extended the lead to 61-57. Greenleaf's fourth 3-pointer made it a one-point game, but two time-outs later, the Aggies got the ball to Bean in the paint for a goal that widened the lead to 63-60 at 1:10. Logan Kosmalski's 3-point attempt with 49 seconds to play missed the rim. The Aggies rebounded, but Baylor got the ball with 12.1 seconds to play on a rebound of Andy Leatherman's missed 3-point attempt. The Bears called time out, but Sayman's attempt to send the game into overtime was off the mark, and the Aggies rebounded to seal the victory.

BEARS vs. NATIONALLY RANKED FOES
Saturday???sup>TMs game against No. 24 Texas will be Baylor???sup>TMs second this season against a nationally ranked opponent. Baylor dropped a 68-57 decision at home Jan. 8 to then-No. 6 Oklahoma State. The Bears are 2-3 in their last five games against nationally ranked foes, including two victories over top 10 opponents.

    Date    Opponent        W/L Score    2/12/01 vs. No. 6 Kansas    W   85-77    2/17/01 at No. 13 Oklahoma    L 60-82    3/9/01  vs. No. 7 Iowa State    W   62-49    3/10/01 vs. No. 20 Texas      L 62-76    1/8/02  vs. No. 6 Oklahoma St.    L 57-68

BEARS???sup>TM WINNING WAYS AT HOME
The Bears are 10-1 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???sup>TMs basketball program, the Bears have compiled a 35-11 record (.761) at home.

BEARS???sup>TM STRONG STARTS
Baylor has demonstrated a penchant for building early leads this season, evidenced by the fact that the Bears have led at the half of all but one game this season*. Baylor is outscoring its opponents in the first half by an average of 40.3 to 33.4. Though the Bears also hold a 39.6 to 35.9 edge in second-half scoring, they have posted a 12-5 record in games led at the half. *lone game with halftime deficit was 65-36 at Texas

GOLD DOME BRINGS OUT BEST IN BEARS
Baylor returns home to the friendly confines of the Ferrell Center, where the Bears have played far better than in away games. The following chart illustrates the difference between Baylor???sup>TMs play at home vs. other venues in key stat categories:

    HOME-AWAY COMPARISON                Ferrell Center  Road    Record          10-1        2-5    Points per game     84.6        72.4    Scoring Margin      +18.6       -2.3    Field Goal Pct.     47.1%       41.4%    Assists per game    20.1        14.7    3-pointers per game 9.6     8.4

3-POINT BARRAGE
Baylor is averaging 9.17 3-point shots made per game (165) this season, a figure that ranks first in the Big 12 Conference. The Bears are on pace to break the school???sup>TMs single-season record of 265 3-pointers in 1994-1995. Projected over a 30-game season, the Bears are on track to make 275 3s this year. Baylor has made 10 or more 3-point shots in nine of 18 games this season. Leading the Bears???sup>TM charge in 3-pointers made is freshman John Lucas with 39. Junior Wendell Greenleaf has hit 36, senior Chad Elsey has 19, freshman Kenny Taylor has 17, freshman Lawrence Roberts has 15 and sophomore Matt Sayman has 10.

3-POINT MISCELLANY
With 10 3-pointers last Saturday at Texas A&M, the Bears have made at least one 3-pointer in 310 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 53 games, the Bears are 25-4 when making seven or more 3-pointers. On the flip side, Baylor is 8-16 during that stretch when making six or fewer.

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 7.6 rebounds per game. Roberts ranks seventh nationally in rebounding average among freshmen. Emeka Okafor of UConn leads the nation with 8.7 rpg.

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 18 games Lucas is 15-of-16 (93.8 percent) from the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games. Overall, Lucas is shooting 81.3 percent (39-of-48) from the free throw line, second on the team and ninth in the Big 12 Conference.

DAVIS???sup>TM ABSCENCE CREATES VACANCY IN POST
Senior Greg Davis is out with an injured left shoulder, and has missed the last three games. The forward, who averaged 8.5 points and 6.7 rebounds before dislocating the shoulder (the same injury he suffered in the 2000-2001 preseason) Jan. 11, is expected to be out approximately one month.

UNHAPPY NEW YEAR
Since flipping the calendar from 2001 to 2002, Baylor has experienced a drop in its offensive output. In five games during the new year, the Bears are averaging 69.2 points per game. Prior to the new year, Baylor was averaging 85.3 points per contest. Likewise, the Bears???sup>TM rebounding average has dipped from 40.9 boards per game to 37.1 per game. Baylor???sup>TMs four lowest rebounding totals this season have all come since the beginning of the new year, including a season-worst 25 last Saturday at Texas A&M.

BEARS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Through games of Jan. 23, Baylor ranks ninth nationally with 9.2 3-pointers per game. Additionally, Wendell Greenleaf is tied for 25th nationally with 2.4 steals per game.

BAYLOR LED BY ITS CUBS
Baylor???sup>TMs three true freshmen (John Lucas, Lawrence Roberts, and Kenny Taylor) have made an immediate impact on this year???sup>TMs team. Through 18 games, the three freshmen have combined for 42 percent of the team???sup>TMs points, 28 percent of the rebounds, 35 percent of the steals and 33 percent of the assists.

ROBERTS ENJOYING STELLAR FROSH SEASON
Lawrence Roberts has hit the ground running in his first season of college basketball. In 17 games, the true freshman has compiled three 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 (7.6 rpg), blocks (23), field goals (97), free throws made (77) and free throws attempted (113). The Houston, Texas, native is also second on the team in steals (34). According to the Jan. 24 Big 12 rankings, Roberts is 12th in scoring, eighth in rebounding, tied for sixth in steals, seventh in blocks and sixth in defensive rebounds. He is also tied for 10th with three double-doubles.

YOUNG LUCAS LEADING THE BEARS
Freshman point guard John Lucas III (son of Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Lucas Jr.) has adequately assumed the Bears???sup>TM point guard position. Lucas is shooting 44.8 percent on 3-point shots (39-of-87), fourth in the Big 12 Conference. The Houston, Texas, native has scored 20-plus points three times and his assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.83 (75-to-41). According to the Jan. 24 rankings, Lucas is 15th in the Big 12 in scoring, ninth in assists, seventh in 3-pointers and ninth in free throw percentage. He has twice been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 10, Jan. 7).

GREENLEAF???sup>TMS THIEVERY
A key component in Baylor???sup>TMs pick-pocket defense, which ranks third in the Big 12 in steals (10.06 per game), is junior Wendell Greenleaf. He leads the conference and is tied for 25th nationally in steals, averaging 2.44 per contest. Greenleaf has 130 career steals, and recently cracked the school???sup>TMs top 5 all-time steals listing trailing only former Bear legends Michael Williams (282), Terry Black (153) and David Wesley. Greenleaf finished fifth in the Big 12 as a sophomore last year with a 1.93 steals average.

BEARS???sup>TM SUCCESS EQUALS IMPROVED ATTEDANCE
Through 11 home games, Baylor is averaging 6,203 fans per game, which is on pace to rank as the highest season average in Ferrell Center history. Through 11 home games last season, Baylor was averaging 4,510 fans per contest. The 68,233 fans that have passed through the turnstiles this year already ranks as the fifth-best season total in school history. Last season, Baylor set a Ferrell Center total attendance record, drawing 91,421 in 17 home games. Baylor???sup>TMs 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.

FERRELL CENTER???sup>TMS 14th YEAR
The Bears are in their 14th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center. Including this season???sup>TMs 10-1 mark, the Bears own a 126-80 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.

BEARS ON TV
Saturday???sup>TMs contest against Texas on ESPN+Plus is Baylor???sup>TMs seventh game this season in front of a television audience. The Bears are 2-4 this season in TV games this season. Baylor is 11-22 in televised games under Dave Bliss.

BIG 12 ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Three of six 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???sup>TM 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.

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???sup>TM UNM staff. Guinn (who was recruited by???QUOTE]but never played for???QUOTE]Bliss at UNM) and Henry sat out last year due to NCAA transfer policy. All three players were starters at New Mexico.

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.

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)

NATION???sup>TMS LONGEST-STANDING COACHING DUO
Baylor boasts Division I basketball???sup>TMs longest-tenured current coaching tandem. Bear assistant coach Doug Ash has been Dave Bliss???sup>TM 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.

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 ???eVoice 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???sup>TMs 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.

UP NEXT...
The Bears will travel to Boulder, Colo., for a Wednesday, Jan. 30 game against Colorado. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. MST (8 p.m. CST). This will be the first meeting between Baylor and CU this season, the Bears won both meetings last year, including an 86-84 overtime victory in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.

Men's Hoops Preview: Baylor vs. Texas Jan. 26

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