Men's Hoops Big 12 Tournament Preview

Big 12 Men's Basketball Coaches Teleconference Audio March 4, 2002 Requires Real Player
? Baylor ? Colorado ? Iowa State ? Kansas ? Kansas State ? Nebraska	? Oklahoma ? Oklahoma State ? Missouri ? Texas ? Texas A&M ? Texas Tech

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(10) BAYLOR (14-15, 4-12) at 2002 BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
Kemper Arena (18,700) - Kansas City, Mo.

vs. (7) KANSAS STATE (12-15, 6-10)
Thursday, March 7, 2002 - 6:00 p.m. CST

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

BAYLOR BIG 12 TOURNAMENT HISTORY
All-time record: 4-5 (.444), 5 tournaments
Best finish: Semifinals (2001)
2001 finish: 2-1 (W OT 86-84 CU, W 62-49 ISU, L 62-76 UT)

QUICK NOTES
??? Baylor is 4-5 in Big 12 Tournament games.
??? Baylor has won its opening-round Big 12 Tournament game in 3 of the past 4 seasons.
??? Baylor has won 11 of its last 17 games vs. teams from Big 12 North.
??? BU is 8th in nation with 9.1 average 3-pointers.
??? Baylor teams have made at least one 3-point basket in 321 straight games.
??? Freshmen have led Baylor in scoring in 7 straight games & 24 of 29 games this year.
??? This season Baylor set new records for total attendance (109,494), average attendance (6,843) and single-game attendance (10,496).
??? Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in steals (9.45 spg), fourth in turnover margin (+2.45) and fourth in assists (17.21).
??? BU is winless (0-5) in Big 12 games when Wendell Greenleaf scores 10 or fewer points.
??? In the past two seasons Baylor is 28-1 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (10-0 this year).
??? Baylor is 4-2 in last 6 games at neutral sites.
??? Dave Bliss is 3-0 vs. Kansas State since taking over at Baylor.
??? Dave Bliss is the 3rd winningest active coach in the Big 12 - 512 victories.
??? Dave Bliss is 30-21 in conference tournaments (Big 8, SWC, WAC & Big 12) and has won 4 tourney titles.
??? Lawrence Roberts is highest scoring freshman (475 points) in Big 12 history.
??? Center R.T. Guinn finished 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting at 47.5% (1 percentage point off lead), 29-of-61.
??? Wendell Greenleaf led the Big 12 in steals with 2.24 per game.
??? In the last 3 games, R.T. Guinn is averaging 16.3 points, 8.3 boards and is shooting 71% (10-14) on 3-pointers.
??? John Lucas leads Big 12 freshmen with 57 3-pointers & is 3rd among frosh scorers (13.1).
??? Lawrence Roberts ranks 5th among the nation's freshmen in rebounding average.
??? Freshman Lawrence Roberts ranks in the Big 12's Top 10 in four categories: scoring, rebounding, blocks & steals.

THE GAME
Baylor enters the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 10 seed and will face seventh-seeded Kansas State in Game 3 Thursday, March 7. Tipoff at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., is 6 p.m. CST, and the game will be telecast live on ESPN+Plus. The Bears (14-15, 4-12) finished the regular season in a 10th-place tie in the conference and are coming off a 91-89 loss to Texas Tech at home Saturday. The Wildcats (12-15, 6-10) beat Nebraska Saturday night in their regular season finale. The winner of the Baylor-Kansas State game will face No. 2 seed Oklahoma in Game 7 Friday at 6 p.m.

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 512. The former head coach at New Mexico, Southern Methodist and Oklahoma owns a career record of 512-313 (.621). 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'S 500 CLUB
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.

BLISS IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Dave Bliss has compiled a 30-21 record in conference tournaments in 27 seasons as a head coach, including four tournament championships. In addition to a 3-2 record in two Big 12 tournaments, Bliss compiled records of 4-3 in the Big 8 Conference Tournament (Oklahoma), 7-7 in the Southwest Conference Tournament (SMU) and 16-9 in the WAC Tournament (New Mexico). Bliss' teams won conference tournament titles at SMU (1979 Big 8), Oklahoma (1988 SWC) and New Mexico (1993 and 1996 WAC).

    DAVE BLISS IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS    Tournament  School          Record  Years       Titles    Big 8       Oklahoma    4-3 1976-80         1 (1979)    SWC     SMU     7-7 1981-1988   1 (1988)    WAC     New Mexico  16-9    1989-1999   2 (1993, 1996)    Big 12          Baylor          3-2 2000-2001    TOTAL               30-21   1976-2001   4

THE KANSAS STATE SERIES
Baylor's all-time series with Kansas State is tied 6-6, though the Bears have won five of six games since the two schools became conference foes in the Big 12. Baylor has won three straight in the series, including a 73-70 victory in Waco in January. The two schools have never met in the Big 12 Tournament. 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.

THE KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
Kansas State (11-15, 6-10) is led by second-year head coach Jim Wooldridge, who owns a 22-33 record at K-State and a 224-161 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). Prior to taking over at Kansas State, Wooldridge spent two seasons as an assistant for the Chicago Bulls under former Iowa State head coach Tim Floyd.

KSU NOTES: Junior forward Pervis Pasco, who averages 12.1 points and 8.4 rebounds, has scored in double-figures in 10 of 11 games... Senior guard Larry Reid is the team's leading scorer with 14.4 points per contest... Two Wildcat players are shooting better than 40 percent on 3-point field goals in conference play: Reid at 41.8% (28-67) and junior guard Gilson DeJesus at 41.9% (18-43).

BLISS vs. KANSAS STATE
Dave Bliss is 12-6 all-time as a head coach vs. Kansas State, including a 3-0 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 straight against the Wildcats, dating back to the 1978-79 season.

THE LAST MEETING, BAYLOR 73-KANSAS STATE 70
Lawrence Roberts scored 20 points and Wendell Greenleaf added 15 as Baylor held on to defeat Kansas State 73-70 at the Ferrell Center. With the Bears leading 64-61 with 35 seconds remaining, John Lucas, Matt Sayman and Greenleaf went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line to seal the Bears' victory. Kansas State kept the score close in the final seconds as Larry Reid hit two 3-pointers. Ahead 71-67 with eight seconds left, Greenleaf missed the second of two free throws, and Reid grabbed the rebound. Lucas stripped the ball when Reid turned upcourt, then fed it to Roberts for a dunk and Baylor's final points. Nick Williams nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Wildcats to make the final score 73-70. Baylor improved its home record to 10-1 this season. Lucas scored 14 points for Baylor, Sayman added 11 points and tied his career high with six rebounds. Kansas State outshot Baylor from the field, making 26-of-52 attempts for 50 percent. The Bears hit only 39 percent of their field goals with a 24-for-61 effort. Despite leading 34-31, cold shooting plagued Baylor in the first half with the Bears connecting on only 11-of-30 shots for 37 percent. The Wildcats totaled 48 percent, hitting 11 of their 23 attempts.

BEARS IN THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
In the short five-year history of the Big 12 Tournament, the Bears have compiled a 4-5 record. In three of the five tournaments, Baylor has reached the quarterfinals (1998, 2000, 2001). Baylor is 3-2 in first round games, 1-2 in the quarterfinals and 0-1 in the semis. Baylo's highest seeding in the tournament was a No. 5 seed in 1998. The Bears are the No. 10 seed in this year's tourney.

TOURNEY EXPERIENCE
Six members of Baylor's team have Big 12 Tournament experience, all but one from last season's three-game run (Wendell Greenleaf played in the 2000 tournament as a freshman. Below are the detailed career stats for Baylor???sup>TMs players in tournament games:

Player              GP-GS   FG  FG% 3FG 3FG%    FT  FT% Reb.    Avg.    Asst.   Pts PPGGreg Davis      3-3 9-16    .563    1-3 .333    4-6 .667    19  6.3 5   23  7.7Chad Elsey      3-0 0-5 .000    0-4 .000    0-0 .000    0   0.0 0   0   0.0Wendell Greenleaf    5-3 13-36   .361    9-25    .360    4-6 .667    9   1.8 9   39  7.8Logan Kosmalski            3-0 10-20   .500    5-10    .500    4-4 1.000   11  3.7 3   29  9.7Steve Othoro          3-3 6-9 .667    0-0 .000    7-11    .636    17  5.7 1   19  6.3Matt Sayman        3-0 3-14    .214    0-7 .000    6-7 .857    5   1.7 1   12  4.0* Blocks

MILESTONES & RECORDS WATCH
??? Baylor has tied the team single-season steals record (274 - 2000-01) and needs one more theft to set a new mark.
??? Baylor is 1 made 3-pointer shy of tying the team single-season 3-point record (265 - 1994-95).
??? Lawrence Roberts is 20 rebounds shy of tying the Big 12 freshman rebounding record (257 - Arthur Johnson, MU, 2000-01).
??? Wendell Greenleaf is 2 steals shy of moving into 2nd in career steals at Baylor.
??? Greg Davis is 3 blocks shy of moving into 4th in career blocked shots at Baylor.
??? Kevin Henry is 14 points shy of 1,000 career points (including 3 years at UNM).
??? Chad Elsey is 28 points shy of 1,000 career points (including 2 years at SMU).
??? Greg Davis is 3 assists shy of 100 career assists.
??? Wendell Greenleaf is 9 made 3-pointers shy of moving into 12th in career 3-pointers made in the Big 12.

THE LAST TIME OUT, TEXAS TECH 91 - BAYLOR 89
Baylor had a 10-point lead erased in the final 13 minutes and lost 91-89 to Texas Tech at the Ferrell Center. Tech's Andy Ellis scored the game-winning basket on a putback slam with 0.9 seconds remaining. A final inbound pass by R.T. Guinn intended for Kevin Henry was knocked away by Andre Emmett. After John Lucas missed a 3-pointer for Baylor with about 5 seconds left, Kasib Powell grabbed the rebound and passed to Ronald Ross, who missed a contested layup. Ellis caught the ball in midair and stuffed it in with nine-tenths of a second left. With the game tied at 89 with 1:04 left, Lucas then stole the ball from Ross but his shot was blocked by Nick Valdez with 36 seconds left. Baylor kept the ball, and decided to hold for one shot, but Lucas was forced to take a long 3-pointer. Tech shot 55 percent, hitting 35-of-64 shots. Baylor shot 49 percent (32-of-66), including 14-of-31 3-pointers. Guinn had a career game, his first-ever double-double and career highs of 13 rebounds and 22 points, including four 3-pointers. Lawrence Roberts also scored 22 points to break the Big 12 freshman scoring record. Lucas had 19 points with five 3-pointers. Baylor led 69-59 when Lucas made a layup with 12:42 left. It was seven minutes more before Ellis made a 3-pointer, the first of the game by Tech, to cut the lead in half, 78-73. Baylor led 46-42 at halftime, and 3-pointers were the difference. The Bears made 8-of-16 treys and Texas Tech missed all nine of its long-range shots in the first half.

4 BEARS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12
Four Baylor men's basketball student-athletes were named to the 2002 Academic All-Big 12 Team. Sophomore Logan Kosmalski was honored to the league's first team. Three Bear student-athletes were on the second team, junior Andre White and seniors Chad Elsey and Kevin Henry. Baylor had the second most representatives on the 26-player teams, trailing only Texas A&M's five selections. The four student-athletes represented the most Baylor all-academic honorees since the conference's inception in 1996-97.

BEARS TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
Baylor has shown a strong sense of court awareness this season, evidenced by the fact that the Bears rank second in the Big 12 Conference in steals (9.45 spg), and fourth in turnover margin (+2.45) and assists (17.21).

GUINN BLOSSOMING IN THE POST
Sophomore center R.T. Guinn stepped up his play and made an impact for the Bears in the stretch run. Guinn entered the starting lineup following an injury to Greg Davis in mid-January, and in the last 14 games he has made 13 starts and put up impressive numbers. His 9.3 scoring average in Big 12 games is more than double that of his non-conference average (4.3) and he finished second in the Big 12 rankings in 3-point percentage (47.5%). Guinn posted his first-ever double-double and career highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds in the season finale vs. Texas Tech, and over the last three games is averaging 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and shooting a torrid 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the 3-point arc.

GOLD DOME BRINGS OUT BEST IN BEARS
The Bears again hit the road, where they have struggled to match the success they've enjoyed at home in the Ferrell Center. 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              12-4        2-11    Points per game         82.2        69.8    Scoring Margin          +15.0       -8.4    Rebounding Margin   -1.1        -6.4    Opp. 3-Pt FG Pct.   33.3%       42.1%    Lucas 3-Pt FG Pct.      44.0%       28.3%    Roberts FG Pct.         47.9%       40.8%

3-POINT MISCELLANY
Baylor is averaging 9.10 3-point shots made per game (264) this season, a figure that ranks third in the Big 12 Conference and eighth nationally... The Bears are two 3-pointers shy of breaking the school's single-season record of 265 3-pointers set in 1994-1995... Baylor has made 10 or more 3s in in 14 of 29 games this season... Leading the Bears' charge in 3-pointers made is junior Wendell Greenleaf with 66, freshman John Lucas has hit 57... In all, nine Bears have made at least 10 shots from 3-point range this season... The Bears have made at least one 3-pointer in 321 consecutive games (dating back to Feb. 21, 1990, 0-for-8 vs.Texas Tech).

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???sup>TMs team. Through 29 games, the three freshmen have combined for 42 percent of the team???sup>TMs points, 31 percent of the rebounds, 35 percent of the steals and 32 percent of the assists.

ROBERTS BREAKS BIG 12 FROSH SCORING RECORD
With his 22-point performance against Texas Tech in the regular-season finale, true freshman Lawrence Roberts set a new Big 12 freshman record for points in a season. Roberts has scored 475 points heading into the conference tournament, one more than the previous mark of 474 set by Bernard King of Texas A&M in 1999-2000. Roberts is 20 rebounds away from the freshman rebounding record of 257 set by Missouri???sup>TMs Arthur Johnson last season.

ROBERTS PUTTING UP ROOKIE OF YEAR NUMBERS
Lawrence Roberts has hit the ground running in his first season of college basketball. The true freshman has compiled seven double-doubles, been honored a second-team NABC All-District 9 selection, been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week and to the San Juan Shootout all-tournament team. Roberts is one of three Big 12 players to rank in the league???sup>TMs top 10 in scoring and rebounding (10th, fifth). Roberts finished the regular season ranked 10th in scoring, fifth in rebounding, fourth in steals and eighth in blocks.

ROBERTS TABBED NABC ALL-DISTRICT 9
Freshman Lawrence Roberts was named second-team all-District 9 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in February. Roberts was one of 10 athletes selected from District 9, joining 140 other athletes nationwide who are now eligible for the NABC/Pontiac Division I all-America team.

ROBERTS 5th nationally in ROOKIE rebounding Freshman Lawrence Roberts leads the Bears and ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 8.2 rebounds per game. That figure also ranks fifth nationally among the nation???sup>TMs freshman rebounders.

YOUNG LUCAS LEADING THE BEARS
Freshman point guard John Lucas III (son of Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Lucas Jr.) adequately assumed the Bears' point guard position this season. Lucas is shooting 37.7 percent on 3-point shots (57-of-151). The Houston, Texas, native has scored 20-plus points three times and his assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.97 (116-to-59). Lucas finished 24th in the Big 12 in scoring (13.9), 10th in assists (4.0), 14th in steals (1.4) and 11th in 3-pointers (2.0). He was twice named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 10, Jan. 7).

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 29 games, Lucas is 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) from the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games. Overall, Lucas is shooting 78.0 percent (46-of-59) from the free throw line, second on the team.

GREENLEAF NEARING SECOND ON STEALS LIST
Wendell Greenleaf enters the conference tournament just two steals shy of second place at Baylor in career steals. Greenleaf, who has 151 career steals, is two thefts shy of former teammate Terry Black (153). Greenleaf led the Big 12 this season with 2.24 steals per game.

BIG 12 ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Three 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.

BEAR FAMILY LOSES ECHOLS
The Baylor basketball program lost one of its own in January, when letterman Ben Echols died following surgery. Echols, who transferred to Baylor from Centenary, played for the Bears from 1997 to 2000. Echols started every game at center in 1999-2000, Dave Bliss???sup>TM first season, and led the team in blocks and averaged 6.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. Following graduation from Baylor in May 2000, Echols had played overseas in Lebanon and Russia.

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)

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???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.

NATION???sup>TMS LONGEST-STANDING COACHING DUO
Baylor boasts Division I basketball's 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.

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.

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