Men's Hoops Preview: vs. No. 25 Oklahoma Jan. 28
1/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BAYLOR (6-11, 1-3) vs. No. 25 OKLAHOMA (11-4, 1-3)
Jan. 24, 2004 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 6:00 p.m. CST
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
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RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (KRZI 1660/1580 AM Waco)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net Southwest
INTERNET VIDEO: none
THE GAME
Baylor, fresh off its first Big 12 win of the season, plays host to No. 25 Oklahoma Wednesday, Jan. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center and the game will be televised live regionally on Fox Sports Net Southwest. The Bears are 6-11, 1-3 after snapping a five-game losing streak with a 63-59 win over Iowa State Saturday in Waco. The Sooners are 11-4, 1-3 and snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating Kansas State 61-49 at home Saturday. The game pits the league's most short-handed team (Baylor has just seven scholarship players) against the conference's youngest squad (Oklahoma has six underclassmen in its regular rotation). Baylor hasn't beaten Oklahoma since the inception of the Big 12, and the Sooners have won 18 straight games in the series.
BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Baylor is currently playing with 7 active scholarship players and 5 active walk-ons.
- BU is shooting 38% on 3-pointers in conference play (29% in non-conf. play).
- Baylor has lost 18 straight games to Oklahoma dating to 1977.
- The Bears are 2-17 vs. ranked opponents over the last 3 seasons (0-3 this year).
- Baylor hasn't won back-to-back games all season.
- Baylor's coaching staff, with an average age of 34 years, is the nation's youngest among major conference schools.
- Baylor has held every opponent under 80 points this season.
- Over the past four seasons Baylor is 41-3 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (5-1 this season).
- BU has won 11 of its last 12 games when totalling 40 or more rebounds over the last 2 seasons (3-1 this year).
- In Big 12 games, Matt Sayman ranks 2nd in the conf. in steals (2.3), 4th in assists (4.3) and 5th in 3-pt. % (46%).
- Corey Herring's 3-pt% is 42% in Big 12 games, up from 15% in non-conf. play.
- R.T. Guinn leads the Big 12 with 2.14 steals per game.
- After fouling out of his first 2 games at Baylor and totaling 9 points, Harvey Thomas is averaging 18.1 points and 6.3 rebounds over the last 7 games.
- Terrance Thomas ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in scoring (17.6 ppg) and 7th in rebounding (7.6 rpg).
- Terrance Thomas leads BU in scoring (17.6), rebounding (7.6), 3-pointers (31) & minutes (34.3).
- Terrance Thomas has scored 20+ points in 6 of 14 games.
- Senior Matt Sayman has played in all 106 games of his career.
- R.T. Guinn owns the 3rd-best career 3-point shooting % in Baylor history (41.4%).
- Baylor's jerseys include a black stripe in honor of late teammate Patrick Dennehy.
HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is 6-11 in his first season as head coach at Baylor and 26-22 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. He was named the 1998-99 National Recruiter of the Year by Court Vision and helped produce what HoopScoop 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).
BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
Baylor's current 2003-2004 roster lists 14 players: six returnees and eight newcomers. Of the eight 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), one was added in early January from a prep school (freshman Nino Etienne), one is a Division I transfer who joined in early January and will sit out the season (sophomore Tim Bush), and one walked on in mid January (forward Mark Shepherd). Seven of Baylor's 13 active players are on scholarships (five returnees & two newcomers). [note: Ellis Kidd Jr. was dismissed from the team in December for violation of team policy; senior football letterman Joe Simmons played five games before leaving to focus on football]
THE OKLAHOMA SERIES
Baylor and Oklahoma will meet for the 28th time Wednesday. The Sooners lead the all-time series 23-5 and have won 18 straight dating back to the 1977-78 season. The Bears trail 10-2 in series games in Waco and have lost 10 straight.
DREW vs. OKLAHOMA
Baylor head coach Scott Drew has never coached against Oklahoma.
THE OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Oklahoma (11-4, 1-3) is in its 10th season under the direction of Kelvin Sampson, who owns a 401-233 career record with stops at Montana Tech (1981-85) and Washington State (1985-94) prior to his days in Norman. Sampson has amassed a 225-85 ledger in nine seasons at Oklahoma, including seven 20-win campaigns.
OU NOTES: The Sooners snapped a four-game losing streak with a 61-49 victory over Kansas State Saturday... OU is 1-3 on the road this season... The Sooners lead the Big 12 in turnover margin with a +5.47 ratio... Sophomore F Kevin Bookout is out for the season after starting the first 13 games and averaging 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds... The Sooners are led by freshman G Drew Lavender, who is averaging 11.9 points and 4.1 assists.
BEARS vs. NATIONALLY RANKED FOES
Wednesday's matchup vs. No. 25 Oklahoma is Baylor's fourth game against a ranked opponent this season (0-3). The Bears are 2-17 over the last three seasons vs. ranked teams and have lost four straight. The last Baylor win over a Top-25 foe was Feb. 15, 2003 at No. 13 Oklahoma State.
TERRANCE LEADING THE BEARS
Senior F Terrance Thomas leads the Bears in scoring (17.8 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg), 3-pointers (31) and minutes played (34.3 mpg). He also ranks as the second-leading scorer and the seventh-best rebounder in the Big 12 Conference. Thomas and fellow senior R.T. Guinn sat out three games in January due to academically ineligibility but were granted waivers and reinstated by the NCAA. Thomas was named to the Hawai'i Surf N' Slam all-tournament team in December.
HERRING TURNING HEADS
Sophomore F Corey Herring has steadily improved his performance recently, improving his numbers dramatically over the last four games. Herring's 3-point percentage is 42 percent (5-12) in Big 12 games, up from 15 percent (2-13) in the non-conference. His scoring has improved from 6.9 points to 10.0 points in conference games, and his rebounds are 4.0 compared to 2.5 in non-conference games.
SAYMAN IMPRESSIVE IN BIG 12 PLAY
Senior co-captain Matt Sayman has stepped up his play since Big 12 Conference action began. In four games of league play, Sayman is ranked second in the conference in average steals (2.25), tied for fourth in assists (4.25) and fifth in 3-point percentage (5-11, .455).
HARVEY POSTING BIG NUMBERS
Junior Harvey Thomas has played nine games for Baylor since becoming eligible in late December. The transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M fouled out of each of his first two games. In the seven games since, the former Georgetown player has averaged 18.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles.
SUCCESS UNDER THE GOLD DOME
Baylor has had more success this season at home than in games played away from the Ferrell Center. Below is a breakdown of some statistical categories to illustrate the comparison:
Home AwayW-L Record 5-6 1-5Avg. Points 67-67 62-73Rebounds 36.5 31.7Opp. 3-point % .324 .414Avg. Points off Turn. 19-20 11-16Avg. 2nd-half points 37-35 35-41
BAYLOR'S IRON MAN
Matt Sayman is the Bears' most veteran player and a co-captain. The fourth-year senior provides leadership and consistent play as Baylor's most experienced player (106 games played). He is averaging 7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 2003-2004. Sayman is on pace to break the school's games-played record (116, Jamie Kendrick 1997-2000) and is currently ninth on the school's career minutes played chart (2,348).
WALK-ON CONTRIBUTIONS
Playing behind a current roster of seven active scholarship players, Baylor's five active walk-ons (juniors Robbie McKenzie and Ryan Pryor, sophomore Will Allen and freshmen Nino Etienne and Turner Phipps) have played an important role, and the quintet has quickly become crowd favorites at home in the Ferrell Center. Though they log minutes individually as reserve subs (typically Allen and McKenzie), the unit has been utilized by head coach Scott Drew as an entire five-man substitution team to both rest and energize the regulars. The entire walk-on "team" has appeared in six games and has logged 19 minutes together on the floor and has been outscored 42-24. [note: five of the walk-ons are new this season, Allen is a second-year sophomore]
LAST TIME OUT: BAYLOR 63 - IOWA STATE 59
Corey Herring scored 16 points to lead short-handed Baylor to an improbable 63-59 victory over Iowa State at the Ferrell Center, the Bears first Big 12 win of the season. Playing with just seven scholarship players, Baylor built an 11-point second half lead and held off a late Cyclone rally to secure head coach Scott Drew's first conference win and snap a five-game losing streak. The Bears led 54-46 with just over three minutes to play, but five consecutive free throws by Jake Sullivan and Jackson Vroman's layup closed the gap to 54-53 less than a minute later. Iowa State never pulled within a single point again, and Baylor's Carl Marshall iced the victory with a pair of free throws in the game's final two seconds. Baylor outscored Iowa State 16-8 to open the second half and led 37-28 with just over 14 minutes left to play. The Cyclones closed the margin to four points at 39-35, but the Bears went on a 9-2 run and extended their lead to 48-37 at the 8:22 mark. Neither team shot well in the game's early stages. With just under eight minutes remaining, the Cyclones led 10-8 and had connected on only three of 11 attempts from the field. Baylor fared even worse against the Iowa State zone defense with a 4-of-20 shooting performance. The Cyclones moved in front 18-13 with three and half minutes left to play. But the Bears went on an 8-2 run and led at the half 21-20 despite hitting only eight of 29 field goal attempts.
THE LAST MEETING: No. 5 OKLAHOMA 91 - BAYLOR 42 [Feb. 8, 2003]
The fifth-ranked Sooners made a season-high 13 3-pointers as Oklahoma overwhelmed Baylor 91-42 at the Lloyd Noble Center. The loss was Baylor's worst since a 50-point romp by Clemson in December 1983. The Sooners shot a season-best 58 percent in beating Baylor for the 18th straight time. The Bears lost their 22nd straight road game. John Lucas scored 12 and R.T. Guinn 10 for Baylor. Quannas White hit two 3-pointers to open the game, a sign of things to come. The Sooners made eight 3-pointers in taking a 50-21 halftime lead - their highest first-half total of the season and Baylor's lowest. A jumper by Guinn about five minutes into the game made the score 12-5, then Price hit a 3-pointer in transition to start an 11-0 run that gave Oklahoma a 23-5 lead. The Sooners scored on five of their six possessions during that time. Oklahoma made 17 of their first 24 shots and wound up 36-for-62 from the field. They led by as many as 53 in the second half.
NATION'S YOUNGEST COACHING STAFF
Baylor's coaching staff is the youngest among the nation's major college conferences (tallied by average age). The Bears staff averages 34 years of age (head coach Scott Drew [34] and assistants Mathew Driscoll [39], Mark Morefield [27] and Jerome Tang [37]). New Mexico's staff also averages 34 years.
SHEPHERD ADDED TO ROSTER
Baylor added another walk-on to its roster last week, Mark Shepherd, a three-year letterman from St. Michael's Academy in Austin, Texas. The 6-8, 210-pound forward led the Crusaders to a 28-7 record and the 2003 TAPPS 5A state championship as a senior. Shepherd averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks and was named to the TABC All-State Large School second 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.
FERRELL CENTER'S 16th YEAR
The Bears are enjoying their 16th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center. Baylor is 5-6 at home in 2003-2004 and owns a 141-95 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.
LSU TRANSFER JOINS BEARS
Tim Bush, a freshman F at LSU in 2002-2003, joined the Bears in January and is practicing with the team. The 6-5 forward will be eligible to play after the fall 2004 semester as a sophomore with three years of eligibility. 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. Bush won MVP honors at the 2001 Michael Jordan camp in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was also a top-10 prospect at the 2001 Great American Shootout in Denton, Texas.
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 39th-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
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.
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 travels to Boulder for a matchup Saturday, Jan. 31, against Colorado. Tipoff at the Coors Events Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST.
