Posts Tagged ‘Aaron Bruce’

BAYLOR BASKETBALL UPDATE: Bears fall to Purdue in NCAA Tourney, garner highly successful season with Drew at the helm

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

BAYLOR BASKETBALL UPDATE: Bears fall to Purdue in NCAA Tourney, garner highly successful season with Drew at the helm

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

 

WACO, Texas – Now that the bracket’s been notched down to the Sweet 16, it’s time to take a look back at the season that was for the Baylor Bears basketball team.

The green and gold men’s hoops team, under the direction and leadership of the one and only Scott Drew, had a highly successful season – compiling a 21-11 overall record while establishing the team as one of the up-and-coming programs in a very elite conference with a 9-7 mark in Big 12 play.

Despite a disappointing first round Big 12 Tourney loss to Colorado in double overtime, the Bears still made the Big Dance – with BU bursting their bubble status when the final pairings were announced on Selection Sunday.

“How sweet man,” Baylor’s Curtis Jerrells said following the news the team had made the NCAA Tourney. “I was a little nervous. It was faith. First off, we just want to thank God for giving us the opportunity for being a part of the NCAA Tournament.

“This is something that we set out to do all season. We felt like we worked hard enough to do it, and it just came down to that last spot. We just had to have faith, so we just want to thank God.”

Coach Drew concurred with his junior star guard.

“I think I lost my voice in all of the screaming and the excitement, so I apologize for that,” Drew said. “I also want to echo CJ’s [Curtis Jerrells] thoughts about thanking the Lord for helping us get to this situation. Being the 65th pick is indicative of the Baylor Bears; we persist and we hang in there. When it looks like we are down and out, we are able to come through. This is very exciting for us and the fans.

“When you put in perspective, it is the second time Baylor has been to the NCAA tournament in 58 years. So it has been a long time coming. Being able to progress this far as we have in such a short time is just a tribute to the players that we brought in, the school administration and the community that has been able to support us over this time.”

And regardless of a first round 90-79 loss to Purdue when the NCAA Tournament tipped off last week, the Baylor Bears still have a lot to be proud of – and they also have a lot to look forward to.

“It wasn’t the performance that we wanted, but at the same time I think this team has accomplished a tremendous amount this year,” Drew said. “It’s something that hopefully they can be proud of the rest of their lives.”

Jerrells led the way for Baylor in their match-up with Purdue, netting 27 points while dishing out eight assists in the Bears first round loss to the Boilermakers.

“In the second half, we thought we were coming back,” Baylor sophomore guard Tweety Carter said. “We had all season long. But we just couldn’t come back [against Purdue].”

Also contributing in the scoring department for BU were freshman guard LaceDarius Dunn with 15 points and junior guard Henry Dugat, who matched his freshman teammate by chipping in with 15 points.

“We gained a lot; we gained hunger,” Jerrells said. “I think the taste in our mouth will be a whole lot better next year. And we’ll actually guard somebody.”

One way or the other, the Bears have a lot to be proud of – as senior guard Aaron Bruce can testify.

“When I first got here, thinking of days like this and thinking about going to the tournament wasn’t even in the picture,” Bruce said. “I think it is just a testament [to this program]; the coaching staff, and the people that they brought in. We’re fighters and we are going to keep fighting.

“You count us out, we are going to show up on a board on the NCAA tournament sooner or later, and that is what we did. It is just a credit to those guys, credit to the staff, and everybody that has something to do with [the Baylor basketball program].”

In addition to leading the team in scoring in a losing effort for Baylor against Purdue, Jerrells also became the first player to score at least 27 points and eight or more assists since Dwyane Wade put up 29 points and dished out 11 assists for Marquette in an Elite Eight battle with Kentucky on March 29, 2003 – a game that Wade and the Golden Eagles won to advance to the Final Four.

 

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

 

TEXAS A&M 71, BAYLOR 57: Bears shoot ice cold from field, fall to Aggies at Ferrell Center

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

TEXAS A&M 71, BAYLOR 57: Bears shoot ice cold from field, fall to Aggies at Ferrell Center

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

 

WACO, Texas – For some unknown reason, the Baylor Bears haven’t been able to find a way to defeat Texas A&M on their home hardwood over the past four meetings.

Baylor (20-9, 8-7 Big 12) fell to Texas A&M (22-8, 8-7 Big 12) 71-56 on Wednesday, March 5 at the Ferrell Center, the Bears’ fourth straight loss to the Aggies in Waco.

“As far as tonight’s game, I think Texas A&M won the game,” Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew said. “They hit big shots and played very well. Josh Carter hit big shots, Donald Sloan hit big shots, and the interior did a great job defensively. I think we wanted to win so bad for our seniors that you either play great or you come out and play tight.

“I think we came out and played tight. Obviously with their interior [defense] we needed to hit some outside shots. We had some good looks early, and we didn’t make those. Their outside defense was very good.”

The Bears began the game shooting ice cold from the field and beyond the arc, hitting only 24.1 percent of their shots in the first half (7-for-29) while going 0-for-9 from the three-point line through the first 20 minutes of play.

“Physical and half court basketball favors them [Texas A&M],” Drew said. “Again, I thought it was a bit different than the first time we played. Give [Texas A&M] Coach [Mark] Turgeon the credit for doing a great job controlling the tempo and getting the style of play that they wanted.”

Swarming defense was the key to the Aggies defeating the Bears at home, as Texas A&M pressured Baylor’s guards from start to finish – with BU ending the evening making just 21.1 percent of their shots from three-point range (4-for-19).

“I thought early we had some good looks, and as the game went on we started to press a little bit more and then we took some tougher looks,” Drew said. “Early on, I thought CJ [Curtis Jerrells] had a couple of good looks and I know Lace [LaceDarius Dunn] had a good look. It was a situation where we didn’t get off to a good start. After that, we tried to go inside more and they did a good job defensively.”

The Aggies also slowed down the tempo of the game – toning down the pace to work in Texas A&M’s favor over a Baylor offense that thrives when moving at a quicker speed.

“That is what coach [Scott Drew] preaches to us; he just tells us to push the tempo up and get it into our style of game, but I think they [Texas A&M] did a good job of slowing it down, getting inside and doing what they do,” Baylor junior guard Henry Dugat said. “We had a game like that not too long ago [with shots not falling in the first half]. We know that we just have to stick with what we do and what has got us here. Eventually they are going to fall, but tonight was just one of those nights in which they didn’t.”

In addition to shooting ice cold from the field, the Bears and Aggies played a very physical game on the Ferrell Center hardwood – with Texas A&M being known as one of the tougher teams in the conference.

“That is how they play,” Dugat said. “They have good big men down low. They like to bang a lot; that is the style they play, so we are used to it. They are one of the most physical teams in the Big 12.

“I think they just keyed in on us and locked down a bit more. They did a great job defensively on us; obviously, look at the stat sheet.”

On a night that saw the Bears shoot just 33.3 percent from the field (21-for 63), not a single green and gold player hit double-digits in scoring and the team was held to a season-low 57 points.

“It was a tough night tonight; we didn’t shoot like we normally do,” Baylor center Mamadou Diene said. “We play with these guards every day; we know that they can make those shots. We just didn’t hit shots tonight, and sometimes that just happens. Tonight was just one of those nights.

“It was pretty physical, that is the Big 12. Every game is physical, but this one [against Texas A&M] was the most physical game this year.”

Baylor was led offensively by Jerrells and Diene, netting nine points apiece. Also scoring for the Bears was Dugat with eight points, Tweety Carter with seven points and Aaron Bruce with seven points.

Texas A&M, meanwhile, had four players hit double-digits in scoring – with Carter and Sloan leading the Aggies with 17 points each.

After a low scoring first half saw Texas A&M take a 26-21 lead into the break, both teams played a much better second half – with the Aggies outscoring the Bears 45-36 through the final 20 minutes of play, due primarily to A&M hitting clutch free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Unfortunately, the game concluded with some unneeded showboating by the Aggies, as Texas A&M’s Sloan assisted himself via the backboard for an uncontested slam dunk with the seconds ticking off the clock and the road team up by 12.

“I did not like it [Sloan’s final dunk as time ran out],” Turgeon said. “The arena was already hostile. They were throwing bottles all over the place which was ridiculous. I wish he would have just let the clock go out. The game was over.”

The Bears and Aggies return to the hardwood on Saturday – with Baylor slated to face Texas Tech on the road and Texas A&M set to host Kansas – as both teams conclude regular season conference play prior to the Big 12 Tourney tipping off on March 13.

 

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

 

TEXAS A&M-BAYLOR PREVIEW: Bears set to host Aggies in rematch of epic five-overtime hardwood showdown

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

TEXAS A&M-BAYLOR PREVIEW: Bears set to host Aggies in rematch of epic five-overtime hardwood showdown

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

 

WACO, Texas – In approximately 24 hours, a rematch of one of the greatest games to ever hit the college hardwood tips off at the Ferrell Center.

On Wednesday, March 5 at 8 p.m. CT, Baylor (20-8, 8-6 Big 12) will host Texas A&M (21-8, 7-7) as the Bears aim for back-to-back victories over the Aggies – with the game slated to be televised on ESPN2.

The prior BU-TAMU conference contest, an epic five-overtime battle ‘til the buzzer at Texas A&M’s Reed Arena, resulted in a remarkable 116-110 Baylor victory.

After the Bears marathon victory in College Station, Scott Drew’s squad picked up just one win over the next seven Big 12 match-ups before garnering three straight W’s – as Baylor seeks to make it four on Wednesday under BU’s gold dome for the team’s home finale.

Baylor is 12-3 at home this season – and having already won on the road against the Aggies this season, the Bears look to sweep the season series with Texas A&M when they take center stage on the green and gold hoops court Wednesday night in Waco.

The Bears are currently tied for third place with Kansas State in conference standings, pushing to end the regular season on a high note in hopes of acquiring a first-round bye in the Big 12 Championship – running March 13-16 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Drew’s basketball bunch defeated Missouri 100-89 last Saturday for Baylor’s third straight win, as well as the team’s 20th victory of the season, and the Bears hope to make it 21 on Wednesday with an NCAA Tournament birth on the line.

Although the Bears have dropped three consecutive match-ups with the Aggies in Waco, Baylor looks to end that streak when hosting Texas A&M on senior night at the Ferrell Center – where BU’s three grads-to-be, Aaron Bruce, Richard Hurd and Mark Shepherd, will be honored on Wednesday evening in a pregame ceremony.

Check back on Thursday, March 6 for postgame notes, quotes, stats and more from the annual TAMU-BU hardwood showdown in Waco…

 

2008 BU@TAMU: Reed Arena Revisited

First the first time, fans will be able to witness the epic showdown between Baylor and Texas A&M held on Jan. 23 at College Station’s Reed Arena – with the game scheduled to be televised on ESPN Classic beginning at 5 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 5.

The Bears three-and-a-half hour marathon victory over the Aggies, a 116-110 Baylor win over then-No. 16 Texas A&M, set seven Big 12 records – including longest game (five overtime periods), most points by a team (116 by Baylor in a conference game), most combined team points (226 in a conference contest), most team rebounds (70 by Baylor), most field goal attempts by a team (97 by Baylor), most team free throws made (29 by Baylor tied a Kansas State record set on Feb. 13, 1999) and most individual free throws made (20 by Curtis Jerrells).

Shortly thereafter, the rematch tips off as the Bears and Aggies get reacquainted – this time on the BU hardwood – in a Ferrell Center match-up at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2…

 

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

 

Baylor ends skid, knocks off Kansas State at rowdy Ferrell Center

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

Baylor ends skid, knocks off Kansas State at rowdy Ferrell Center

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

 

WACO, Texas – The Baylor Bears men’s basketball team is back on track.

And Head Coach Scott Drew couldn’t be happier about his young team’s terrific turnaround.

After dropping four straight conference contests, Baylor (18-8, 6-6) used a solid second half surge in a 92-86 come-from-behind victory over Kansas State (18-8, 8-4) on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Ferrell Center.

“After the last two press conferences, this one’s a lot more enjoyable for our coaching staff and players,” Drew said. “I’m very proud of the team effort. We did a great job in the second half holding them to 37 percent [shooting], and then us only missing two free throws and shooting a high percentage at 58 percent, where we really moved the ball and took high-percentage shots. Much needed win; it feels great.”

Saturday’s win comes at a good time for the Big 12’s Bears, pulling BU into a four-way tie for fourth place after both Kansas and Texas A&M fell on a college hardwood day filled with upsets.

“I really felt that down the stretch, everybody made big plays,” Drew said. “I was also very pleased because I know how tough the last couple of games have been, not only on our players, but also on our fans, and it was great to see them be rewarded after a couple of sleepless nights as well.”

Curtis Jerrells led the way for Baylor, netting 24 points and dishing out seven assists in the Bears six-point win over the No. 24 Wildcats.

“I can assure you, I stepped up to the free throw line for the first time, and I saw OU players and OU fans, and I kind of couldn’t put it past me,” Jerrells said. “Kool [LaceDarius Dunn] here, he kind of got into me when I was shooting those last ones. I told him he kind of ticked me off, but he did what he had to do to make me mad and to make me not miss, so that was a good job.

“My teammates did a good job of picking me up, [along with] my family, my friends and coach. I really wanted to blame myself for it, but those guys picked me up and put me over the hump.”

Four of Jerrells’ teammates also hit double figures in scoring, with Kevin Rogers (18 points and 10 rebounds), LaceDarius Dunn (16 points, seven rebounds and two steals), Tweety Carter (12 points and three assists) and Aaron Bruce (11 points) all chipping in as Baylor ended a four-game Big 12 skid.

“We still have a couple of games left, so I don’t want to talk too soon and say something out of line,” Rogers said. “We just came out and played as a team today and did some things that we weren’t doing in those last two games, and fortunately we came out with a victory.”

Baylor fell behind early before a hot shooting streak briefly put the Bears on top, but shortly thereafter BU lost some momentum as the Kansas State Wildcats took a 44-38 lead into halftime.

“That’s the reason that we did what we did in the offseason; for the last five minutes of games, to try to close those things out because we lost so many close ones last year,” Rogers said. “In a game like this, that offseason work really paid off.”

The second half was all Baylor, as the Bears battled back from a short-lived deficit and regained control of a must-win game against a very talented Wildcats basketball team – as Kansas State’s Michael Beasley set a new conference record with 44 points to go along with 13 rebounds.

“I don’t know if there’s a better two-man performance that I’ve seen personally than what Beasley and [Bill] Walker put on, but the big thing that I look at is our bench,” Drew said. “Our bench had 32 points and their bench had five, so again it was a great team effort.

“The other thing is that I thought we did a very good job on the boards considering that they’re so good on the boards. Kevin [Rogers] had 10, LaceDarius [Dunn] had seven, and I think we did a very good job limiting them to not as many boards as they normally get.”

Kansas State’s Walker added 31 points for the Wildcats – as he and teammate Beasley contributed to a majority of the KSU scoring.

“All week coach’s been talking about playing as a team, and when we went into halftime, those two guys were beating us by themselves,” Jerrells said. “It takes a team, and you see that we had five guys in double figures, and we just outplayed them as a team tonight.”

The Bears next challenge comes on Wednesday, Feb. 27, as Baylor travels to Colorado to face the Buffalos in an effort to gain ground in the race for a postseason birth.

“Every game is big in the Big 12,” Drew said. “Every game matters, and we’re just going to focus one at a time.”

Baylor’s match-up with Colorado on Wednesday is slated to tip off at 8:30 p.m. and will be televised live (locally) on FSN Southwest.

 

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

 

SPORTS ADDICT: The real reason OU beat BU in Norman is due to awful officiating and straight-up cheating…

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008

SPORTS ADDICT: The real reason OU beat BU in Norman is due to awful officiating and straight-up cheating…Commentary by Denton Ramsey, NCAA Basketball Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – I have never in my life seen as much unsportsmanlike conduct by a team as was exhibited by the Oklahoma Sooners against the Baylor Bears on Tuesday evening, Feb. 19 in Norman, Okla.

On top of that, I honestly don’t think I have a seen a more one-sided officiated game as called by the Big 12 trio of Steve Welmer, Mark Whitehead and Curtis Shaw.

In my opinion, those three should be fined, fired and never allowed to officiate another game as long as they live.

Yes, the Bears may have now lost four straight.

But at least they can say they didn’t cheat to get to where they are today.

And, they literally did everything in their power to make it a game on Tuesday night on the road – forcing overtime before a ridiculous call came against Baylor’s Aaron Bruce with 7.3 seconds left in OT after a made three-pointer by OU gave the Sooners a chance to take the lead at the free throw line.

First of all, Bruce never touched the Oklahoma player shooting the three; in fact, not a single part of his body touched the Sooner taking the shot.

Secondly, the “fight” that occurred earlier in the game was started – no doubt about it – by Oklahoma.

Yet two Baylor players – Mark Shepherd, who left with a laceration above his eye and trouble breathing after being put in a full-nelson by Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin prior to throwing an elbow in Griffin’s direction to get the OU forward to let him go, and Richard Hurd, who apparently was tossed for standing up for his teammate, were ejected after the skirmish with just one, an ASSISTANT COACH, being ejected for OU.

Unbelievable.

In addition, the Bears were whistled for 33 fouls compared to 23 fouls called on the Sooners – with OU outscoring BU at the charity stripe 28-17 (37 attempts for Oklahoma, 23 attempts for Baylor).

For those looking at the final box score for Oklahoma’s win over Baylor, they will find the sheet full of lies – two BU players were tossed from the game for so-called flagrant fouls while no OU players were ejected (the “official” box score has no Baylor players ejected, but those watching the game on television know that is not the case).

The NCAA needs to be held accountable for these actions.

First, their officials call an awful game – through the first half, second half and especially in overtime.

Secondly, it appears to me as though the NCAA now wants to cover this whole thing up by not mentioning anything about this incident in the official box score.

Also, the officials REVIEWED the skirmish before ejecting the two BU players – did they just decided to ignore what they saw and only punish Baylor?

Either way, it’s unreal and unfair.

The Big 12 and the NCAA need to look into this matter – and fast.

Baylor shouldn’t have lost in OU – and Sooner fans can say all they want about Curtis Jerrells being whistled for a foul in the lane with one second left and a chance to win the game for BU.

It never should have come down to that.

> Find Big 12 gear including Baylor hats & merchandise and Oklahoma Sooners apparel online through Big12-fans.com!

Bruce never fouled the OU shooter on the other end and the game should have been tied at 91; we should have played another five minutes of overtime.

Instead, the officials handed the Sooners a 92-91 Big 12 win – propelling the Oklahoma basketball team, albeit by cheating, into a two-way tie for fourth place with Texas A&M.

Let’s even go back towards the beginning of the game, when Oklahoma had a steal that led to a fast break the other way.

Have you ever, in your entire life of watching college hoops, seen a teammate showboat by tossing the ball off the glass as an “alley-oop” of sorts to setup a thunderous slam?

In my opinion, definitely should have been whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The sad thing is that not only was it not called unsportsmanlike, but OU head coach Jeff Capel appears to applaud the unsportsmanlike play of his players.

I guess that shouldn’t surprise me coming from Capel, a guy who loves to think of himself as a mini-god in college hoops…

Grow up, Capel – learn to win the right way, not by showboating and cheating.

The Oklahoma basketball team, coaching staff and the trio of officials who called Tuesday night’s game should all be investigated.

And if any wrongdoings are uncovered, they should all be severely punished.

The Bears are back in NCAA basketball, I guarantee you.

It’s just impossible to win games if the officials are going to cheat the entire time – from the opening tip to the 7.3-second mark in overtime.

Coach Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears basketball team deserve an apology and a win.

Unfortunately, I doubt they will receive either as the NCAA would rather pretend this never occurred than to actually do something about their terrible officiating crew.

If this is how Baylor games are going to be called the rest of the season, we’ll never win again.

But I’m not about to watch my Bears go down in flames due to cheating.

Wake up, NCAA – Baylor deserves, at the very least, sportsmanlike respect.

And, OU better get their heads out of their exits-only before they become so wrapped up in themselves that they think the world has come to an end and that they are all little deities led by mini-god Capel…

No matter how you slice it, the Sooners are a stuck-up bunch of jerks – and you can tell they learned it from the man at the helm, none other than Mr. Capel himself.

I just can’t wait until my Bears get revenge come Big 12 tourney time.

My only hope, and prayer, is that the same officiating crew won’t be hitting the hardwood come March…

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

BAYLOR-OKLAHOMA MEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Bears tip off against Sooners tonight at OU, seek to end three-game slide

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Bears tip off against Sooners tonight at OU, seek to end three-game slide

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Basketball Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Bears Correspondent

 

WACO, Texas – Tonight at 7 p.m. CT, the Baylor Bears (17-7 overall, 5-5 Big 12) shoot to end a three-game losing streak in conference play when they tip off against the Oklahoma Sooners (17-8, 5-5).

The Big 12 showdown will be broadcast live on ESPN Plus (The “CW” in Waco, Temple and Bryan), with Bob Carpenter and Paul Splittorff calling the action from the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla.

According to BU big man Kevin Rogers, despite the Bears recent three-game slide, the Baylor men’s basketball team’s confidence is still up.

“It [our confidence] is definitely still up,” Rogers said. “We can’t let a couple of games get us down because there’s still plenty of season left to go. We can only take things from [the Texas] game and learn from them and hope we get better before we play Oklahoma.”

Baylor dropped their last conference match-up, a home game at the Ferrell Center against the University of Texas, in a five-point heartbreaker after battling back in the game’s final seconds.

“From a coach’s standpoint, we did a great job coming back,” Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew said. “I was proud of the team’s effort to give ourselves a chance to get a win down the stretch. I credit Texas for making big plays.

“I told the guys in shoot-around that this program’s back to a point now where you have ESPN, you have the largest crowd in the school’s history, and you’ve got a chance to beat a top-10 program.”

Drew is exactly right.

Since Drew’s arrival in Waco nearly five years ago, the Baylor basketball program has gone from zero to hero – hanging with some of the best teams in the nation this season while finally beginning to get the recognition they deserve after taking a program from the ashes and creating an NCAA Tourney-bound team.

“This has been a tough week, and you’ve got to be above .500 in the league to normally get to the NCAA [Tournament],” Drew said. “We’re going to get five or six teams in, and our goal is to be in the top half so that we’re in that position.

“I don’t think we played well at Oklahoma State, but I think we played better [against Texas]. Over the last two years we’ve finished very strong, and I look for us to get on a roll pretty shortly here.”

Beginning tonight in Norman, the Bears’ hoops team will hopefully heed the words of their head coach as they face an OU team riding a two-game winning streak after defeating Texas Tech, 66-64, on Saturday (Feb. 16) in Lubbock.

A win tonight would push Baylor into a two-way tie for fourth place after Texas A&M was blown out last night (Feb. 18) in Austin, falling by 27 points to the Longhorns on ESPN Big Monday.

In just a few short hours, we’ll have a little better idea of who’s who in the Big 12 Conference… although a majority of our questions (postseason births, etc.) will still have to wait until March’s madness to be answered.

Check back tonight after the BU-OU match-up for post game quotes, notes, stats and more…

 

Game Notes

In addition to hopes and prayers of ending a three-game slide in the Big 12, the Bears also aim to end a 27-game losing streak against the Sooners – dating back to a 75-69 win at OU on Dec. 6, 1977.

On a happier note for Bears fans, Baylor’s 5-5 conference start matches its best ever in Big 12 play after opening the 1997-98 season (my freshman year at BU) with a 5-5 mark.

Also, Baylor’s 17 wins this year surpasses last season’s win total and is the most since Drew inherited the program (additionally, its the most wins since 2000-01, when the Bears won 19 games and received a postseason birth in the NIT tournament).

In conference play, Baylor leads the Big 12 in scoring (81.4 points per game), free throw shooting (78.1 percent) and three-pointers (8.0 threes per game).

With three more wins, Drew (53 victories with the Bears) will move into seventh place on Baylor’s career coaching victories list; also, if BU guard Curtis Jerrells (1,051 career points) can put up 11 or more points tonight on the road, he will move him into 15th place on Baylor’s career scoring list.

Aaron Bruce could also join the Bears’ top-10 milestones list as well – with Bruce (309 assists) needing just five more assists to move into fourth place on Baylor’s career assists list and needing just 66 more points to move into sixth place on BU’s all-time scoring leaders (Bruce currently has 1,294 career points).

In addition, Bruce (129 threes) is just three three-pointers shy of moving into sixth place in the Big 12’s career three-pointers in conference games list, while freshman LaceDarius Dunn (56 threes) is just three three-pointer shy of moving into second place on Baylor’s freshman three-pointers list (Tweety Carter is currently third with 57 in 2007 and John Lucas III is second with 59 in 2002).

 

 

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com