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BAYLOR (2-1) vs. SMU (2-1)
Dec. 3, 2003 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 7:00 p.m. CST
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RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (KRZI 1660/1580 AM Waco)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: none
INTERNET VIDEO: live stream at baylorbears.nmnathletics.com
THE GAME
Baylor faces former Southwest Conference foe SMU in the fourth game of a five-game season-opening homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Tipoff at the Ferrell Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST. The Bears (2-1) are coming off a 69-62 come-from-behind victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday. Baylor has won 30 of its last 32 non-conference home games. The Mustangs (2-1) most recently knocked off Texas Tech 62-59 Monday night in Dallas. SMU has won its last two games against Big 12 schools.
BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
The Bears are 41-8 in regular-season non-league play over the last five seasons, including a 2-1 record this year. The Bruins have won 30 of their last 32 games vs. non-conference opponents in the Ferrell Center (2-1 in 2003-2004).
HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is 2-1 in his first season as head coach at Baylor and 22-12 in two seasons as a head coach. He came to Waco after 10 seasons coaching at Valparaiso, the final as head coach. Drew led the Crusaders to a 20-11 record and into the NIT in 2002-2003. Valpo earned the Mid-Continent Conference regular season championship with a 12-2 league record last season.
The previous nine seasons, Drew served as an assistant at Valpo under his father Homer Drew. During Drew's decade at Valparaiso, the Crusaders earned six NCAA Tournament berths, including the magical 1997-1998 squad that shocked the nation by advancing to the Sweet 16. Valpo made five straight NCAA appearances from 1996-2000. An outstanding recruiter, Drew was responsible for three national Top-20 recruiting classes the last five years. Drew was named the 1998-99 National Recruiter of the Year by Court Vision and helped produce what Hoop Scoop magazine named the nation's sixth best recruiting class in 2001, the 13th best in 1999 and the 19th best in 2003 (including four Top-100 national recruits).
THE SMU SERIES
Wednesday marks the 174th meeting between the Bears and the Mustangs. SMU holds a 98-75 series advantage, but Baylor has a 44-39 edge in games played in Waco. The Bears have won two of the last three meetings, though SMU won the most recent contest 66-58 last season in Dallas.
THE SMU MUSTANGS
SMU (2-1) is led by Mike Dement, in his ninth season at the helm of the Mustangs. He is 130-106 in nine seasons at SMU, and has compiled a career record of 252-229 in 18 years at Cornell, UNC-Greensboro and SMU.
SMU NOTES: The Mustangs are led by G Bryon Hopkins, who is averaging 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds... Hopkins, the WAC Freshman of the Year last season, is a unanimous preseason first-team All-WAC selection... Junior G Justin Isham averages 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds... The Ponies have won their last two games vs. Big 12 teams.
DREW vs. SMU
Baylor head coach Scott Drew has never coached against SMU.
BAYLOR vs. WAC
The Bears have an all-time record of 172-208 against teams currently in the Western Athletic Conference. The majority of those games have been played against former Southwest Conference schools SMU (75-98) and Rice (85-90).
BAYLOR vs. FORMER SWC FOES
The Bears are 2-5 against non-Big 12 former Southwest Conference schools since the league disbanded (1-1 SMU, 1-1 Rice, 0-3 TCU). The Mustangs are the only non-Big 12 former SWC foe Baylor will face this season.
LAST TIME OUT: BAYLOR 69 - TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 62
Terrance Thomas scored 22 points and Baylor hit 11 of 12 free throws in the closing minutes as the Bears came back to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 69-62 at the Ferrell Center. Baylor trailed 54-48 with 8:10 remaining before going on a 10-1 run over the next five minutes. Ellis Kidd Jr. hit two straight jumpers and Tommy Swanson scored two layups that put Baylor ahead 58-55. A&M-Corpus Christi closed to within 58-57, but the Bears hit 11-of-12 free throws in the final three minutes. Matt Sayman finished with 15 points for Baylor. Kidd had 14 and Swanson had 10. Thomas finished 4-of-5 on 3-pointers. Baylor led 33-31 at halftime, and the lead switched hands six times early in the second half before A&M-Corpus Christi moved ahead 46-42 with just under 14 minutes remaining.
THOMAS LEADING BEARS IN BIG WAY
Senior Terrance Thomas is the Bears' leader in scoring (20.7 ppg), rebounds (7.7 rpg), assists (3.3 apg), 3-pointers (8), field goal percentage (52.5%), 3-point field goal percentage (42.1%) and minutes (37.3 mpg). Thomas has hit 8-of-14 3-pointers over the last two games (57.1%).
STEADY SAYMAN
Matt Sayman is the Bears' most veteran player and a co-captain. The senior provides leadership and consistent play as Baylor's most experienced player (92 games played). He is averaging 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 2003-2004. Sayman, a career 79 percent free throw shooter, is 21-for-24 (87.5%) from the line in the game's final three minutes over the last two seasons.
THE LAST MEETING: SMU 66 - BAYLOR 58 [Dec. 21, 2002]
Baylor shot 33 percent from the field and was outrebounded 45-28 en route to a 66-58 defeat to SMU at Moody Coliseum. The Bears were missing starting forward Terrance Thomas, out with a sprained ankle, and played the final 10 minutes without Lawrence Roberts after the team's leading scorer and rebounder fouled out. Kenny Taylor led Baylor with 21 points and five 3-point baskets. John Lucas added 10 points. The Bears were down 33-23 at the half and trailed by 17 three separate times in the second half. Down 57-40 with seven minutes remaining, Baylor went on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 59-51 at the five-minute mark. Taylor scored six points during that run. SMU's Eric Castro made three straight points, and the Mustangs held off Baylor the rest of the way. Baylor took an early lead, but a jumper by Bryan Hopkins with 8:26 left in the first half gave SMU the lead for good.
NEW STAFF GUIDING BEARS
Head coach Scott Drew is joined on the Baylor coaching staff by new assistants Matthew Driscoll, Mark Morefield and Jerome Tang. Driscoll and Morefield followed Drew from his staff at Valparaiso, and Tang joined Baylor after 10 years as a prep coach at Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas.
NEW BRUINS
The 2003-2004 Baylor roster includes five new players: three high school players (Carl Marshall, Robbie McKenzie and Turner Phipps) and two junior college transfers (Ryan Pryor and Harvey Thomas). Marshall and Thomas are scholarship players. Seven players return from last year's team.
REMEMBERING PATRICK
Baylor's jerseys include a black stripe across the left shoulder in honor of the late Patrick Dennehy, a former teammate who was a redshirt at Baylor during the 2002-2003 season after transferring from New Mexico.
McKENZIE BIO [NOT INCLUDED IN MEDIA GUIDE]
Walk-on Robbie McKenzie joined the Bears' squad after open tryouts Oct. 20. The 6-5 guard/forward will provide needed depth. HIGH SCHOOL - Three-year letterwinner at Callisburg High School in Gainesville, Texas, under coach Randy Romines... First-team all-district selection as a junior and again as a senior... Named district newcomer of the year as a sophomore... Also lettered once in football and once in track... Won 2000 district championship and placed seventh at regionals in the triple jump... Placed third in district the same year in the long jump and the 400m... Valedictorian of his graduating class. PERSONAL - Full name is James Robert McKenzie... Born Nov. 10, 1981 in Gainesville, Texas... Son of Mike McKenzie and Debi McKenzie... University Scholar major (pre-med).
BAYLOR PRAISED FOR PAIR OF EARLY SIGNEES
Baylor has inked two prep athletes to national letters of intent during the early signing period: center Mamadou Diene of Senegal and guard Aaron Bruce of Australia. The pair are ranked as the 35th-best recruiting class to date by HoopScoop.
Diene, a 7-footer, is rated as the top NBA prospect in Africa and the sixth-best international prospect in the world by NBAdraft.net. The analysts at HoopScoop said that if Diene were playing high school basketball in the United States, he would rank among the top 40 players in the nation. HoopScoop also reported that Diene was ranked as the top player in camp when he attended the Babacar Sy Basketball Camp in July.
Bruce spent last summer playing for the Australian junior national team in the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece. The 6-2 guard led Australia with 25 points as the Aussies upset Team USA 106-85. HoopScoop reports that if Bruce were playing high school basketball in the United States, he would rank among the top 50 seniors in the country.
BAYLOR SIGNEES:Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. HometownAaron Bruce G 6-2 190 Fr. Horsham, VictoriaMamadou Diene C 7-0 210 Fr. Yeumbeul, Senegal
LSU TRANSFER TO ENROLL AT BAYLOR
Tim Bush, a freshman forward at LSU in 2002-2003, has signed scholarship papers to transfer to Baylor. The 6-6 forward will enroll at Baylor for the spring 2004 semester but will not be eligible to play until after the conclusion of the fall 2004 semester. Bush will compete for the Bears as a sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining. As a true freshman last season at LSU, Bush appeared in 10 games, averaging 0.7 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest. Coming out of high school, Bush was ranked the No. 137 prospect in the class of 2003 by HoopScoop. Bush averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game as a junior at Shaw High School in New Orleans.
FERRELL CENTER'S 16th YEAR
The Bears are enjoying their 16th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center. Baylor is 2-1 at home in 2003-2004 and owns a 139-91 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.
BAYLOR GAMES ONLINE - AUDIO AND VIDEO
For the first time, Bear fans can both watch and listen to live video and audio of Baylor basketball online in 2003-2004. The radio broadcast of all Baylor basketball games can be heard live on-line on Baylor's official website, BaylorBears.com, or at www.broadcast.com. Live video is available at baylorbears.nmnathletics.com; all home games that are not scheduled to be televised are included in the package. Subscriptions are available for $6.95 per game, or $49.95 for a season pass that covers both men's and women's games.
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 are broadcast on Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate WBAP News/Talk 820, 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 ninth season. Former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley is in his 22nd season as color analyst for Bear broadcasts.
BIG 12 PRESEASON PROJECTIONS
Baylor's 2003-2004 edition has been projected to finish last in the Big 12 Conference in virtually every preseason poll. The only preseason publication that didn't pick the Bears 12th in the conference was Athlon Sports, which was published prior to the transfers of three Baylor returnees.
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, College Sports TV and the College Channel (Waco Time Warner 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. Each show is archived online at BaylorBears.com and BaylorTV.com.
NEXT UP...
Baylor concludes a five-game homestand to open the season when it hosts Midwestern State Saturday, Dec. 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center.
