Sooners Meet Houston in GAS Second Round


	Orlando Allen

No. 25 Oklahoma (2-2) vs. Houston (1-1)
Date & Tip Time	Thursday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. AST (10:30 p.m. CST)
Location	Anchorage, Alaska \| Sullivan Arena
Tickets	OU Athletics Ticket Office
TV	Cox Cable 7 in Oklahoma City Cox Cable 3 in Tulsa MASN (DirecTV 640, Dish Network 432)
Radio	Sooner Radio Network KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa Sirius 127
Webcast	GoSeawolves.com
Live Stats	GoSeawolves.com
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF)

GAME PREVIEW
Ranked No. 25 in the AP poll, Oklahoma (2-2) meets Houston (1-1) in a second-round Great Alaska Shootout matchup Thursday at 10:30 p.m. CST. The contest, to be played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in OKC; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa; Sirius 127) with Ryan Ruocco and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised in Oklahoma City on Cox Cable 7 and in Tulsa on Cox Cable 3. It will also be shown on DirecTV (Ch. 640) and Dish Network (Ch. 432).

Houston's Projected Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Year	2009-10 Stats / Notes
F	3	Maurice McNeil	6-9	215	Jr.	7.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg
F	32	Kirk Van Slyke	6-9	215	Fr.	4.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg
G	0	Kelvin Lewis	6-4	195	Sr.	13.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 62.5 3FG%
G	2	Zamal Nixon	6-1	170	Jr.	4.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg
G	12	Aubrey Coleman	6-4	200	Sr.	32.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.0 spg

Oklahoma's Projected Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Year	2008-09 Stats / Notes
F	1	Ryan Wright	6-9	241	Sr.	4.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.8 bpg
F	24	Tiny Gallon	6-9	290	Fr.	11.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 53.3 FG%
G	5	Tony Crocker	6-6	209	Sr.	9.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 45.2 FG%
G	11	Tommy Mason-Griffin	5-11	203	Fr.	8.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.0 apg
G	13	Willie Warren	6-4	203	So.	19.3 ppg, 5.8 apg, 91.4 FT%

NOTEWORTHY
• This marks Oklahoma's third trip to the Great Alaska Shootout. It owns a 4-3 record with third-place finishes in 1983-84 and 2004-05. OU also won the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1999-00 (went 3-0).
• Sophomore guard Willie Warren is averaging team highs of 19.3 points and 5.8 assists through four games. He has scored 45 points from the field and 32 from the free throw line (averaging 8.8 free throw attempts).
• Warren is 32-for-35 from the free throw line for a sparkling .914 percentage. He has made and attempted 20 more free throws than the next closest Sooner.
• Freshman forward Tiny Gallon is averaging a double-double (11.0 points and 10.5 rebounds). His 15 boards in the season opener were the most in an OU freshman debut since Alvan Adams grabbed 28 caroms in the 1972-73 opener. Gallon pulled down double-digit rebounds in the first three contests and has two double-doubles.
• Freshman guard Steven Pledger has come off the bench to average 11.3 points in 20.0 minutes a contest. He is 9-for-21 from long distance (.429). The Chesapeake, Va., product netted 21 points in 19 minutes in OU's opener against Mount St. Mary's (he was 4-for-5 from long range).
• The Sooners have made 33 more free throws than their opponents on the young season. OU is 84-for-100 (.840) from the foul line while foes are 51-for-66 (.773).
• Guards have accounted for 215 of Oklahoma's 300 points (72 percent).
• The freshman foursome of Pledger (45), Gallon (44), Tommy Mason-Griffin (32) and Andrew Fitzgerald (20) have scored 47 percent of OU's points (141 of 300).
• After draining 13-of-23 (.565) 3-point attempts in its exhibition game against British Columbia Nov. 3, OU has gone just 24-for-84 (.286) from long distance in its four regular season contests.

Sooner to Watch
	Willie Warren \| So. \| Guard • Coming off a 30-point game against San Diego (third highest career output) in which he drained four 3-pointers • Averaging 19.3 points and 5.8 assists per contest (both team highs) • Is 32-for-35 (.914) from the free throw line • Ranks 33rd in OU career scoring (1,044) and seventh in 3-point makes (161)

PREVIEWING HOUSTON
Conference USA member Houston, which finished 21-12 last year and went 10-6 in league play, is off to a 1-1 start this season. The Cougars beat Nicholls State 92-60 in the season opener before losing 112-99 at Nevada. They're averaging 95.5 points a contest and shooting .432 from 3-point range (19-for-44). UH boasts a +13.5 turnover margin but is getting outrebounded by an average of 12.5 boards per contest.

Senior guard Aubrey Coleman leads a potent Houston offensive attack by averaging 32.5 points and 3.0 assists per game. He has attempted 55 field goals in two games. Coleman has also been good on the defensive end, averaging 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals. Junior guard Adam Brown, a junior college transfer, comes off the bench to supply 15.5 points in 16.5 minutes a contest. Brown has drained seven treys on 12 attempts (.583) and has racked up seven steals. Senior guard Kelvin Lewis is averaging 13.0 points and has hit five of his eight 3-point attempts (.625). Another guard, 5-8 sophomore Desmond Wade, is averaging 12.5 points and 5.0 assists off the bench.

Houston is coached by Tom Penders, a 1967 Connecticut graduate who is 103-62 (.624) in his sixth year with the Cougars. The former Texas head coach is 630-423 (.598) in his 36th year overall.

OU-HOUSTON SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma won its only previous meeting with Houston, a 55-51 outcome on Dec. 15, 1960, in Houston. Doyle Parrack was OU's head coach.

WEDNESDAY'S SAN DIEGO RECAP
Oklahoma suffered through a .328 shooting performance from the field and was outrebounded 42-31 in a 76-64 loss to San Diego in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout. The Sooners made just 19-of-58 field goal attempts for their worst shooting effort since the 2007-08 season finale. They also went just 7-of-25 from behind the arc (.280). OU watched San Diego take an early 12-3 lead before responding with a 17-2 run to go up 20-14. As quickly as the Sooners went ahead, though, the Toreros retook the lead with a 14-0 spurt that made the score 28-20. San Diego senior guard Brandon Johnson, who had 18 first-half points, hit a deep 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give his team a 33-27 lead. USD hit six of its first seven shots in the second half to go up 48-35 and later led by as many as 23 points (72-49). Willie Warren, who was 12-for-12 from the free throw line, led Oklahoma with a game-high 30 points. The sophomore was 4-of-10 from 3-point range and added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. No other Sooner had more than eight points (Tiny Gallon). Johnson hit four treys on nine attempts and led San Diego with 22 points. Chris Lewis added 10 points and 10 boards for the 3-1 Toreros.

MORE FROM WEDNESDAY'S LOSS
• Willie Warren's 30 points were the third most of his career (had games of 35 and 31 last year).
• Junior center Orlando Allen came off the bench to play a career-high 17 minutes. He scored five points and pulled down a career-high seven rebounds.
• Four Toreros scored in double figures. De'Jon Jackson contributed nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.

OU'S GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT HISTORY
This marks OU's third appearance in the Great Alaska Shootout. The Sooners went 2-1 in both the 1983 and 2004 events, finishing in third place on each occasion. Under head coach Billy Tubbs in 1983, Oklahoma beat USC (92-91), lost to Arkansas (84-78) and beat Santa Clara (91-77). Under head coach Kelvin Sampson in 2004, OU downed High Point (93-65), lost to Washington (96-91) and defeated Minnesota (67-54). Both OU squads went on to win the regular season conference title (Big Eight in 1983-84 and Big 12 in 2004-05).This year's event marks the second for current OU head coach Jeff Capel. As a player, Capel helped Duke to the 1995 Great Alaska Shootout title his junior season. The Blue Devils beat Iowa, 88-81, in the championship game and Capel was named to the all-tourney team. Duke's first-round matchup that year was against Old Dominion, a team coached by Capel's father (also Jeff Capel). The Blue Devils won 75-55.

NEXT UP
Oklahoma will play its final game of the 2009 Great Alaska Shootout on Saturday against Alaska Anchorage, Nicholls State or Washington State. Game time is to be determined.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Meet Houston in GAS Second Round

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