BAYLOR (9-16, 1-13) vs. TEXAS TECH (17-8, 9-5)
March 2, 2005 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 7:00 p.m. CST

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THE GAME
Baylor begins a regular-season ending two-game homestand by hosting Texas Tech Wednesday, March 2. Tipoff at the Ferrell Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST. The Bears are 9-16, 1-13 on the season and attempting to snap an 11-game losing streak, most recently a 103-60 defeat at then-No. 22 Oklahoma Saturday. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team, is playing with limited scholarships and with nine newcomers. Texas Tech is 17-8, 9-5 and is coming off an 85-63 loss at Texas A&M Saturday. Wednesday marks the 110th meeting between the former Southwest Conference rivals, and the Red Raiders have won seven of the last eight meetings.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Aaron Bruce is the highest scoring freshman in the nation (18.0 ppg).
- Baylor has lost 11 straight games, its longest losing steak since dropping 17 straight to close the 1998-99 season.
- Wednesday is the 110th meeting between Baylor and Tech (Tech leads 69-39), the Raiders have won 7 of last 8 games, Baylor leads 25-24 in Waco.
- With 9 wins, Baylor has surpassed last season's win total (8-21).
- Walk-on freshman Mark Shepherd has started the last 2 games (first career starts) in place of injured center Tommy Swanson.
- Junior Tommy Swanson missed the last 2 games due to injury, breaking a 52-game starting streak.
- Aaron Bruce is averaging 21.3 points over the last 7 games.
- Aaron Bruce ranks 2nd in FT shooting (86%), 5th in 3-point shooting (39%) & 9th in FG shooting (47%) in the Big 12.
- Aaron Bruce (85.7%) and Tim Bush (84.0%) rank 2nd & 3rd in Big 12 FT shooting.
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Baylor has dressed 7 or fewer scholarship players for 54 straight games [17-37 record] (since final game of 2002-2003 season).
- Underclassmen have led Baylor in scoring in 23 of 25 games.
- Roscoe Biggers has 27 assists & 9 turnovers the last 7 gms (last 6 as starting PG).
- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, averaging 7.6 3s per game.
- Freshman Aaron Bruce is on Dick Vitale's Super Six All-Diaper Dandies listing.
- 108 of Kevis Shipman's 125 points scored (86%) this year are from 3-pointers (36).
- Baylor's roster includes two active players taller than 6-6 (Tommy Swanson 6-10 and walk-on Mark Shepherd 6-9) [freshman Mamadou Diene, 7-0, has yet to dress].
- 4 Bears have double-digit scoring averages.
- Baylor is 11-0 when scoring 70+ points (in Drew Era; 2 seasons).
- Aaron Bruce was named the Midseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year by the Rocky Mountain News.
- Aaron Bruce has made a 3-pointer in 22 straight games (2nd-longest streak in school history - Tevis Stukes hit a 3 in all 29 games of 1999-2000).
- BU is 1-26 when allowing opponents to shoot 50% or higher (in 2 years under Drew).
- Aaron Bruce's 33-pt game vs. OSU is the highest total by a Big 12 player this year & set a new Baylor single-game freshman scoring mark.

HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is in his second season of the massive rebuilding project he undertook at Baylor and owns a two-year mark of 17-37 and a career record of 37-48 (3 seasons). Drew spent 10 seasons at Valparaiso, the last as head coach after nine seasons as an assistant to his father Homer. During his decade at Valpo, the Crusaders earned six NCAA Tournament berths, including five straight from 1996-2000. An outstanding recruiter, Drew is responsible for four national Top-20 recruiting classes over the last six 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 10th best in 2004, the 13th best in 1999 and the 19th best in 2003.

THE TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech (17-8, 9-5) is led by fourth-year head coach Bobby Knight, in his 39th year as a collegiate head coach. Knight owns a career record of 849-330 and an 85-41 mark at Tech. He is the winningest active coach in Division I men's basketball.

TECH NOTES: The Red Raiders have lost three of their last five games; one of the two wins was a double-overtime victory over Kansas at home... Tech is 4-5 in road games this season... The Raiders are led by senior G Ronald Ross, who averages 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds a game... Texas Tech leads the Big 12 in scoring (80.0 ppg), free throw percentage (.767%), assists (17.88 apg), turnover margin (+4.92) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41).

THE TEXAS TECH SERIES
The Bears and Red Raiders meet for the 110th time Wednesday, and Texas Tech holds a 70-39 series advantage. Tech has won seven of the last eight meetings, and two of the last three in Waco. Baylor leads 25-24 in games played in Waco.

BEARS' TOURNAMENT SEED SET
Baylor, by virtue of its 1-13 conference record, is assured the No. 12 seed in next week's Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. The 12th seed plays the fifth seed Thursday, March 10, at 2 p.m. at Kemper Arena.

BRUCE NATION'S TOP FRESHMAN SCORER
With an 18.0 scoring average, Aaron Bruce leads the nation's freshmen in points per game.

CUB FROM DOWN UNDER LEADING BEARS
True freshman G Aaron Bruce has led the inexperienced Bears since the start of his young career. Bruce has started every game and leads the Bears in scoring (18.0 ppg; 3rd in Big 12), free throw shooting (85.7%; 2nd in Big 12, 17th nationally) and minutes played (34.4 mpg) and is second in 3-point percentage (38.7%; 5th in Big 12). Bruce has scored in double-digits in 23 of 25 games and has a 22-game streak with at least one 3-pointer.

BRUCE LEADING BIG 12 FRESHMEN
True freshman Aaron Bruce tops the Big 12 freshmen in three major categories: scoring (1st, 18.0 ppg); field goal percentage (1st, 46.6%); free throw percentage (1st, 85.7%), and is second in 3-point field goal percentage (38.7%) and third in assists (3.76)..

BUSH POSTING IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS
Sophomore F Tim Bush, a transfer from LSU, has made an immediate impact since gaining his eligibility following the fall semester. Bush is averaging 13.2 points [19th in Big 12], 5.5 rebounds [19th in Big 12], 34.4 minutes, is shooting 84.0% on free throws [3rd in Big 12] and has scored in double-digits in 15 of 21 games. Bush is playing substantial minutes for the first time in four seasons. After not playing his senior season of high school, Bush played just 36 minutes in 10 games for LSU as a true freshman in 2002-03 and transferred prior to last season - which he sat out at Baylor as a redshirt.

SWANSON'S STARTING STREAK ENDS WITH INJURY
Tommy Swanson had his 52-game consecutive starts streak snapped when he missed the last two games due to an eye injury he sustained Feb. 19 vs. Texas. Swanson's status for the Texas Tech game will be a gametime decision.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY: PURE SHOOTER
Through 24 games of his career, true freshman Aaron Bruce has established himself as a proficient shooter. The guard from Australia, tabbed the Big 12's "best jump shooter" in Lindy's preseason publication, currently ranks fifth in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting (38.7%), ninth in field goal shooting (46.6%) and second in free throw shooting (85.7%).

VITALE NAMES BRUCE AMONG TOP SIX DIAPER DANDIES
Dick Vitale included Baylor true freshman Aaron Bruce among his "Super Six All-Diaper Dandies" - a listing of the top freshman in the nation published in January. Vitale wrote: "Coming via Australia, he is a lethal three-point shooter who is putting up big numbers for Scott Drew's Bears." Joining Bruce on the list were Jordan Farmar (UCLA), Daniel Gibson (Texas), Malik Hairston (Oregon), D.J. White (Indiana) and Marvin Williams (North Carolina).

RECORD SUCCESS FROM THE LINE BY BUSH & BRUCE
Baylor newcomers Aaron Bruce (85.7%) and Tim Bush (84.0%) are putting up record numbers from the free throw line this season. The duo ranks second and third, respectively, in the Big 12 in free throw shooting. Bruce's 85.7 percent ranks 17th nationally and currently ranks fourth all-time on Baylor's single-season free throw percentage listing.

THE LAST MEETING: No. 23 TEXAS TECH 83 - BAYLOR 67 [Feb. 9, 2005]
Ronald Ross scored 25 points to lift No. 23 Texas Tech past Baylor 83-67 at the United Spirit Arena. Down 36-31 at the half, Tommy Swanson scored five points in an 8-2 run to open the second half and give Baylor a 39-38 lead. Texas Tech responded with a 15-0 run to virtually put the game out of reach for the Bears. After nearly 6 minutes without scoring, Patrick Fields hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to whittle the deficit to 55-44. Tech's lead dwindled to 69-60 on a free throw by Fields with 6:22 remaining. Fields scored 18 points and Tim Bush added 17 for the Bears, who hit three straight 3-pointers to open the game and finished 9-of-22 from beyond the arc. Baylor freshman Aaron Bruce, who came in averaging 17.6 points, had 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

LAST TIME OUT: No. 22 OKLAHOMA 103 - BAYLOR 60
Shorthanded Baylor ran into a buzz saw in Norman as No. 22 Oklahoma shot a school record 66.1 percent from the floor en route to a 103-60 win over the Bears at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Bears were limited, down to just five active scholarship players with Tommy Swanson out with injury and leading scorer Aaron Bruce playing sick. Baylor lost its 11th straight game and suffered its most lopsided defeat since a 91-42 loss at Oklahoma on Feb. 8, 2003. The Sooners extended a 16-point halftime lead by hitting their first seven shots of the second half. Up 48-33 a minute and a half into the second OU went on a 26-3 run that ended any chance of a comeback by Baylor. The Bears, who last beat Oklahoma on Dec. 6, 1977, were outrebounded 16-4 in the first half and trailed 44-28 at the break. Oklahoma hit its first 10 shots of the game and took a 28-10 lead on Terrell Everett's layup after Taj Gray stole a Baylor inbounds pass.

"VETERAN" SWANSON SHOWS IMPROVEMENT
Junior C Tommy Swanson, Baylor's only scholarship returnee, has stepped into his role as a contributor in scoring and rebounding for the young Bears. Swanson has increased his average points to 11.7 (from 6.4 as a sophomore), shooting percentage to 53 percent (from 45), rebounds to 5.7 [15th in Big 12] (from 4.1) and minutes to 29.4 (from 22.1).

BEARS SURPASS LAST SEASON'S WIN TOTAL
Despite losing nine lettermen from it's 2003-04 depleted roster, Baylor has surpassed its win total from last season. With a 67-59 victory over Colorado Jan. 19, the Bears upped their win total to nine. In 2003-04, the first in Scott Drew's rebuilding project, the undermanned Bears finished 8-21 (3-13 Big 12).

$3 TICKETS FROM FAZOLI'S FOR A&M GAME SATURDAY
Waco Fazoli's restaurants are offering tickets for Saturday's Baylor-Texas A&M game for $3 at area locations. No food purchase is necessary and tickets will be available until Saturday, or until supplies last. Saturday's game tips off at 12:45 p.m. CST.

SEVEN-FOOT SENEGALESE CENTER JOINS TEAM
Baylor freshman Mamadou Diene arrived on campus at the end of January and is practicing with the team. Diene, a 7-foot, 200-pound center from Yeumbeul, Senegal, was Scott Drew's first-ever signee at Baylor and one of the top international prospects when he signed with Baylor in 2003. The coaching staff plans to redshirt Diene this season.

BIG 12 ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Twice this season Baylor newcomers have been honored as Big 12 Rookie of the Week. In back-to-back weeks, sophomore F Tim Bush (Jan. 3) and true freshman G Aaron Bruce (Dec. 27) won the award. Bush, a transfer from LSU, received the award after leading the Bears to wins over Purdue and Prairie View A&M and averaging 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. Bruce, a native of Australia, was honored for his performance in a win over Maryland-Eastern Shore in which he scored a game-high 22 points and shot 73 percent (8-for-11) from the field - including 4-for-7 from 3-point distance. This is the first time Baylor has had two players named rookie of the week in the same season since 2001-2002, when former Bears John Lucas III (twice) and Lawrence Roberts were so honored.

NATION'S MOST INEXPERIENCED TEAM
Baylor returned just three players from it's 2003-04 roster this season, including two walk-ons. Nine new players were included on the 2004-05 preseason roster. Baylor is the nation's only team (and the only team in recent memory) to have only one scholarship returnee. The three returnees had a combined total of four seasons of experience at the Division I level prior to this season. The 2004-05 roster includes nine underclassmen. This marks Baylor's second consecutive season of enduring short roster numbers (the Bears suited up between five and seven scholarship players during the 2003-04 season). Baylor has dressed 7 or fewer scholarship players for 46 straight games (since final game of 2002-03 season; 17-29 record during that span).

FERRELL CENTER'S 17th YEAR
The Bears are in their 17th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center this year. Baylor is 8-7 at home in 2004-2005 and owns a 150-107 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.

LOTS OF NEWCOMERS
The 2004-2005 Baylor roster includes seven newcomers and an additional two players who sat out last season. The nine new faces include three junior college transfers (junior G Kevis Shipman, sophomore G Roscoe Biggers and G/F Patrick Fields); one Division I transfer (sophomore F Tim Bush); and five high schoolers (G Aaron Bruce, C Mamadou Diene, G/F Hall Henderson, F Richard Hurd, F Mark Shepherd).

DEPARTED PLAYERS
Nine lettermen from Baylor's season-opening 2003-2004 roster are not on the 2004-2005 edition. With those departed players the Bears have lost 88.8 percent of their scoring and 86.4 percent of last season's rebounding. Gone is Baylor's all-time games-played leader Matt Sayman, the USBL's No. 1 draft pick R.T. Guinn, talented All-District honoree Terrance Thomas, the scoring of third-team All-Big 12 selection Harvey Thomas and 22-game starter Carl Marshall. Four players left due to graduation/expired eligibility (Guinn, Robbie McKenzie, Sayman, T. Thomas), three transferred (Will Allen, Corey Herring, Marshall), one left to play professionally (H. Thomas) and one was dismissed from the team (Ellis Kidd Jr.).

BAYLOR GAMES ONLINE - AUDIO AND VIDEO (BEARCAST)
A live audio stream of all Baylor basketball games can be heard on BaylorBears.com at no cost. Live video (BearCasts) is available at BaylorBears.com; all non-televised home games will be streamed on-line. BearCast subscriptions are $6.95 a month or $49.95 annually. Single-game basketball fees are $0.95 for an annual BearCast subscriber, $1.95 for a monthly BearCast subscriber or $4.95 for non-BearCast subscribers.

BAYLOR'S EARLY SIGNING CLASS RATED 13th NATIONALLY
Baylor's five-man early signee class is rated the 13th-best class in the nation according to HoopScoop and is one of the highest rated recruiting classes in recent school history. The class includes three national Top-100 players and three Top-10 state recruits. The signees include four prep seniors, Henry Dugat of Dayton (Texas) High School, Curtis Jerrells of Del Valle High School in Austin, Texas, Kevin Rogers of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas and Jari Vanttaja of Oulu, Finland; as well as Tony Jones, a freshman at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.

Rogers, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward, is rated the 35th-best recruit nationally by Rivals and Hoop Alliance and the sixth-best recruit in the state by Rivals. Dugat is a 6-0, 160-pound combo guard rated No. 69 nationally by Scout.com and the fifth-best recruit in the state by TexasHoops. Jerrells, a 6-1, 170-pound point guard, was named to the TABC 4A All-State second team. He is rated the No. 94 recruit nationally by Rivals and the No. 7 recruit in Texas by Texas Roundball. Vanttaja is a 6-10, 215-pound forward who recently averaged 14 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Finnish Junior National Team at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim, Germany. According to HoopScoop, if Vanttaja played in the U.S. he would be rated among the Top 50 high school prospects. Jones is a 6-7, 185-pound forward who redshirted the 2003-2004 season at Hill College and will have three seasons of eligibility at Baylor.

BAYLOR EARLY SIGNEES:Name        Pos.    Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Schools)Henry Dugat G   6-0 160 Fr. Dayton, Texas (Dayton HS)Curtis Jerrells G   6-1 170 Fr. Austin, Texas (Del Valle HS)Tony Jones  F   6-7 185 So. San Antonio, Texas (Taft HS/Hill College)Kevin Rogers    F   6-8 220 Fr. Dallas, Texas (South Oak Cliff HS)Jari Vanttaja   F   6-10    215 Fr. Oulu, Finland (South Tapiola HS)

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour wrap-up of BU athletics, airs weekly throughout the Southwest. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV (Sundays at 10:30 p.m.), FSN Southwest (Wednesdays at 1 p.m) and CSTV (Thursdays at 5 or 5:30 p.m). All shows are archived online at BaylorBears.com and BaylorTV.com.

NEXT UP...
Baylor concludes its regular season with a home finale Saturday, March 5, against Texas A&M. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the Ferrell Center and the game will be televised live on syndicated stations via ESPN+Plus (Time Warner Cable channel 16 in Waco/Temple/Bryan).