BAYLOR (2-2) vs. MIDWESTERN STATE (5-0)
Dec. 6, 2003 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 7:00 p.m. CST
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RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (KRZI 1660/1580 AM Waco/WBAP 820 AM Dallas)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: none
INTERNET VIDEO: live stream at baylorbears.nmnathletics.com
THE GAME
Baylor concludes its five-game season-opening homestand on Saturday, Dec. 6, when it hosts Midwestern State. Tipoff at the Ferrell Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST. The Bears (2-2) are coming off a 66-62 loss to SMU at home Wednesday. Baylor has won 30 of its last 33 non-conference home games. The Indians (5-0) defeated Tarleton State 75-74 at home Tuesday night. Baylor is the first Division I opponent Midwestern State has faced this season.
BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Baylor totaled a season-high 18 offensive rebounds vs. SMU.
- Opponents bench points have outscored BU's bench 72-33 (18-8 average) this year.
- Over the past four seasons Baylor is 38-2 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (2-0 this season).
- Baylor teams have made at least one 3-point basket in 353 straight games.
- Terrance Thomas leads BU in scoring (19.3), rebounding (8.0), 3-pointers (11), 3-point field goal % (40.7%) & minutes (36.8).
- Terrance Thomas is shooting 50% on 3-pointers (11-for-22) over the last 3 games.
- R.T. Guinn owns the 3rd-best career 3-point shooting % in Baylor history (41.1%).
- R.T. Guinn, a career 43% 3-point shooter prior to this season, is 2-of-11 on 3s.
- Robbie McKenzie (walk-on from Oct. tryouts) is averaging 5.8 minutes in 4 games.
- Freshman Carl Marshall has 2 points & 1 assist in 54 minutes played.
- Baylor added football letterman Joe Simmons as a 6-5 foward in December.
KIDD JR. STEPPING UP
Ellis Kidd Jr. had a career night in Baylor's loss to SMU Wednesday. The junior guard put together career-bests of 26 points, six 3-pointers (6-of-12) and six rebounds, and added three assists.
HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is 2-2 in his first season as head coach at Baylor and 22-13 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 MIDWESTERN STATE SERIES
Baylor leads the short all-time series vs. Midwestern State by a 2-0 margin. Both previous contests were played in Waco, the Bears defeating the Indians 101-68 in 1971 and winning 84-69 in 1986.
THE MIDWESTERN STATE INDIANS
Midwestern State (5-0) is led by Jeff Ray, in his sixth season as a head coach, all at MSU. His career record is 123-60.
MSU NOTES: Midwestern State is a Division II member of the Lone Star Conference... MSU is located in Wichita Falls, Texas... The Indians are led by Marquette Wilkins, who averages 13.4 points per game.
DREW vs. MIDWESTERN STATE
Baylor head coach Scott Drew has never coached against Midwestern State.
THOMAS LEADING BEARS IN BIG WAY
Senior Terrance Thomas is the Bears' leader in scoring (19.3 ppg), rebounds (8.0 rpg), 3-pointers (11), 3-point field goal percentage (40.7%) and minutes (36.8 mpg). Thomas has hit 11-of-22 3-pointers over the last two games (50%).
LAST TIME OUT: SMU 66 - BAYLOR 62
Ellis Kidd Jr. scored a career-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers, but Terrance Thomas missed a last-second 3-point attempt to give Baylor the lead and SMU beat the Bears 66-62 Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. A 3-pointer by Kidd with 42 seconds remaining cut the margin to 64-62. SMU's Patrick Simpson missed a free throw attempt with 12 seconds left and Baylor rebounded to set up Thomas' 3-point shot that hit the rim with four seconds remaining. Simpson was fouled on the rebound and hit two foul shots to end the scoring. Kidd had 26 points on 9-fo-16 shooting for Baylor, and Thomas scored 15 to go with nine rebounds. The lead went back and forth until the Mustangs put together an 8-0 run and took a 64-59 lead with just over two minutes left. Baylor trailed through much of the first half and grabbed its first lead at 23-21 on a putback by Thomas with just under six minutes remaining. The Bears led 33-32 at the half.
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 (93 games played). He is averaging 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.3 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.
BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
The Bears are 41-9 in regular-season non-league play over the last five seasons, including a 2-2 record this year. The Bruins have won 30 of their last 33 games vs. non-conference opponents in the Ferrell Center (2-2 in 2003-2004).
SORTING OUT THE ROSTER
The 2003-2004 Baylor roster lists 13 players: seven returnees and six newcomers. Of the six newcomers, two are scholarship recruits (junior Harvey Thomas, freshman Carl Marshall), two arrived as walk-ons prior to the fall semester (junior Ryan Pryor, freshman Turner Phipps), one earned a spot during open walk-on tryouts in October (junior Robbie McKenzie) and one is a football player who joined the squad in December (senior Joe Simmons). Eight of Baylor's 13 players are on basketball scholarships.
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.
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 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).
SIMMONS BIO [NOT INCLUDED IN MEDIA GUIDE]
Four-year football letterman Joe Simmons joined the Baylor basketball squad in December. The fifth-year senior from Fort Worth, Texas, last played organized basketball as a senior in high school in 1999. The 6-5, 250-pound forward is the first football/basketball dual-sport athlete at Baylor since Rodney Smith, who averaged 6.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 26 minutes a game as a basketball letterman in 1996 and lettered in football from 1996-1999. BAYLOR FOOTBALL - Appeared in all 12 games in 2003, making four starts at defensive end... Registered 22 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks, and he had three quarterback hurries... Finished career with 110 tackles and 4.5 sacks. HIGH SCHOOL - Lettered three years in basketball at Wyatt High School in Ft. Worth, Texas... Averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game as a senior in 1998-99... Standout football player, selected to Fort Worth Star-Telegram area Top-75. PERSONAL - Full name is Joseph H. Simmons... Born 6-18-81... Son of Venita Simmons... Communication specialist major.
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 2-2 at home in 2003-2004 and owns a 139-92 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.
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 hits the road for its first away contest of the year, a Tuesday, Dec. 9, game at North Texas. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Super Pit in Denton.
