Sooners Meet Kentucky in Maui Invitational First Round


	Steven Pledger is averaging a team-high 16.7 points a game

Oklahoma (3-0) vs. No. 12/13 Kentucky (2-0)
Date & Tip Time	Monday, Nov. 22 at 4:30 p.m. CT
Location	Lahaina, Hawaii \| Lahaina Civic Center
Tickets	Sold out
TV	ESPN2
Radio	Sooner Radio Network KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa
Webcast	ESPN3.com
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com GameTracker
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF)

MONDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (3-0) plays its first game away from home this season when it takes on No. 12/13 Kentucky (2-0) Monday at 4:30 p.m. CT in the opening round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Sooners will be the visiting team and wear their road crimson uniforms. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa) with Tom Dore and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Carter Blackburn and Jimmy Dykes calling the action.

SOONER UPDATE
• Oklahoma is off to a 3-0 start following home wins over Coppin State (77-57), North Carolina Central (71-63 in overtime) and Texas Southern (82-52).
• The Sooners are shooting .457 from the field and .388 from 3-point range while holding opponents to respective .369 and .328 figures.
• Seven of OU's top eight scorers are in their first or second year of Division I basketball. Five of the eight are in their first year.
• OU is off to a great start at the foul line with its Big 12-best .806 mark. The team's top four scorers and seven of its top eight are shooting at least .750 from the stripe. The Sooners own a .897 free throw mark after halftime (35-for-39).
• Oklahoma has outrebounded each of its three foes and owns a +10.7 board advantage. It is averaging 12.3 offensive rebounds per game.
• OU's top two scorers are sophomores. Guard Steven Pledger is averaging a team-high 16.7 points while adding 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest. A natural shooting guard, Pledger has started at the point in all three outings. Forward Andrew Fitzgerald scored 22 points in each of the first two games before being held to two Thursday against Texas Southern (made his only field goal attempt). Fitzgerald, who is 27 pounds lighter than last year, adds 6.7 rebounds and a team-high 2.0 steals per game. He's also shooting a team-best .548 from the field.
• After going 3-for-14 from the field and 2-for-9 from 3-point distance in OU's first two games (averaged 8.5 points), senior guard Cade Davis erupted for 21 points against Texas Southern behind 7-of-12 field goal and 6-of-10 3-point shooting. The performance upped his season scoring average to 12.7 (he's also averaging 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting .421 from behind the arc).
• Junior college transfer Nick Thompson has contributed in several areas, as evidenced by his averages of 6.0 points and team highs of 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. The 6-9 forward registered seven handouts in each of OU's first two games.
• Freshman guard Calvin Newell has come off the bench to average 9.3 points in 21.7 minutes per contest. Fellow frosh guard Cameron Clark is averaging 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in three starts (he recorded 11 points and 11 boards in his collegiate debut). Clark has yet to commit a turnover in 80 minutes of play.
• Freshman forward Tyler Neal is averaging 5.5 points in his two appearances (8.0 minutes per game). The forward is 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 at the foul line.

Sooner to Watch
	Cade Davis \| Sr. \| Guard • Coming off a 21-point game in which he tied a career high with six 3-pointers • Averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game • Shooting .421 from 3-point range (8-for-19) and .833 from free throw line (10-for-12) • OU's leading returner in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals from last year

THURSDAY'S TEXAS SOUTHERN RECAP
• Oklahoma shot .583 from the field and .542 from 3-point range (its best marks in 28 games) and never trailed in an 82-52 home win over Texas Southern on Thursday. The 30-point victory margin was its largest since last January.
• Oklahoma's 13 makes from 3-point distance came one game after going 4-for-23 (.174) from behind the arc.
• Guards Steven Pledger (career-high-tying 23) and Cade Davis (21) combined for 44 of OU's 82 points. They also teamed for 10 3-point makes on 20 attempts. Pledger was 4-for-10 from deep and added four rebounds and four assists. Davis' six treys matched a career high.
• Andrew Fitzgerald, who scored 22 points in each of OU's first two games, was held to two points. The sophomore forward played just 20 minutes due to foul trouble and made his only field goal attempt.
• Freshman forward Tyler Neal netted a career-high nine points in eight minutes off the bench. He made all three of his field goal attempts (one of them a 3-pointer) and both of his free throw attempts.
• Sophomore point guard Carl Blair made his OU debut and racked up a team-high five assists in nine minutes.
• Freshman Calvin Newell scored in double figures (10 points) for the second straight game. The reserve guard added four rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes.
• Cade Davis led OU with five points in overtime. He played 42 out of 45 minutes.
• The Sooners racked up 22 offensive rebounds, their most in 55 games.
• OU's .328 field goal mark was its lowest in victory since Dec. 23, 2004 (shot .298 in a 61-53 win over Southwest Missouri State).

PREVIEWING KENTUCKY
Ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 13 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' version, Kentucky enters the week with a 2-0 record. After posting an 88-65 season-opening home win over East Tennessee State on Nov. 12, the Wildcats won 79-48 at Portland on Friday. UK is shooting .513 from the floor, .477 from 3-point range (21-for-44) and .558 from the free throw line (24-for-43). It is holding opponents to .342 field goal and .234 (9-for-37) 3-point marks.

Kentucky's top three scorers are freshmen. Point guard Brandon Knight, coming off a 21-point game at Portland, is averaging a team-high 19.0 points per contest to go along with 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He is 6-of-12 from 3-point range. Forward Terrence Jones is averaging 18.5 points and 8.5 boards per outing (he had 25 points and 12 boards against East Tennessee State) while guard Doron Lamb is contributing 16.5 points (.733 field goal shooting) and 4.0 rebounds in 26.0 minutes off the bench. Junior guards Darius Miller (11.5 points) and DeAndre Liggins (10.0) are also averaging double figures in scoring. Miller adds 8.0 rebounds while Liggins is averaging team-high 4.0 assists.

Visit the OU Blog to Keep Up With the Sooners in Hawaii

OU-KENTUCKY SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma and Kentucky have met twice, with the Wildcats prevailing both times. UK won 43-33 in the 1945-46 season and 75-74 during the 1986-87 campaign. Both games were played in Lexington, Ky.

REST OF THE FIELD
The other opening-round game on OU's side of the bracket pits Virginia against No. 18/15 Washington. The Sooners will play one of those teams Tuesday at 3:30 or 8:30 p.m. CT (ESPN or ESPN2). In Wednesday's third round, OU will face tournament host Chaminade, Connecticut, No. 2/2 Michigan State or Wichita State. Oklahoma owns a 14-10 all-time record against this year's EA SPORTS Maui Invitational field (2-0 vs. Chaminade, 3-1 vs. Connecticut, 0-2 vs. Kentucky, 3-4 vs. Michigan State, 1-1 vs. Virginia, 2-1 vs. Washington and 3-1 vs. Wichita State).

OU'S MAUI INVITATIONAL HISTORY
This marks Oklahoma's fourth time to participate in the Maui Invitational. Under former head coach Billy Tubbs, OU finished in third place (2-1) in the 1988 event (lost 91-80 to eventual national champion Michigan in the title game) and in fifth place (2-1) in the 1992 tournament. Head coach Jeff Capel brought the Sooners to Lahaina in 2006-07, his first season at OU, and went 1-2 to finish in seventh place. That year, Oklahoma lost 77-65 in the first round to a Memphis team coached by current Kentucky head coach John Calipari. Chaminade and Virginia are the only teams in this year's field that Oklahoma has previously met in the Maui Invitational.

Here are Oklahoma's previous three Maui Invitational results:

1988
Second place (2-1 record)
Head Coach: Billy Tubbs
Round 1: OU 97, Ohio State 93
Round 2: OU 83, UNLV 81
Round 3: Michigan 91, OU 80

1992
Fifth place (2-1 record)
Head Coach: Billy Tubbs
Round 1: BYU 76, OU 75
Round 2: OU 105, Chaminade 88
Round 3: OU 108, DePaul 94

2006
Seventh place (1-2 record)
Head Coach: Jeff Capel
Round 1: Memphis 77, OU 65
Round 2: Purdue 74, OU 71
Round 3: OU 72, Chaminade 57

FIVE-MINUTE RULE
The Sooners improved to 6-0 in overtime games under head coach Jeff Capel with their 71-63 win over North Carolina Central last Monday. Other overtime wins under Capel have come at West Virginia (88-82 in two overtimes on Dec. 29, 2007), versus Baylor (92-91 on Feb. 19, 2008), against Purdue (87-82 on Nov. 28, 2008, in Preseason NIT championship game), at Utah (78-73 on Dec. 12, 2009) and versus Oklahoma State (62-57 on Jan. 11, 2010).

SOONERS SIGN JUNIOR COLLEGE STANDOUT
Junior college preseason All-American Robert Goff signed a letter of intent with the Sooners last Monday and will be a junior at OU starting in 2011-12. Goff, a 6-9, 230-pound sophomore who attends Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, originally hails from Indianapolis, Ind. He played at Cowley County (Kan.) Community College as a freshman in 2008-09 before transferring to Hutchinson and sitting out the 2009-10 season. At Cowley, Goff averaged 9.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game while shooting .612 from the field for head coach Steve Eck, who's now the head coach at Hutchinson.

"Robert's a perfect fit," said OU head coach Jeff Capel. "We identified him very early as someone we really wanted, and we're fortunate that he's a Sooner. He's a tremendous athlete and will provide size for us, which we need. Plus, he's older and will come in and contribute right away. I think he can be an anchor for our defense with his ability to clog up the lane and block shots. Offensively, he has skill. He can also really run the floor. The thing I'm excited about is he's a great kid. He has a strong desire to grow as a basketball player and as a young man."

CAPEL TO PARTICIPATE IN "SHOTS FROM THE HEART"
Head coach Jeff Capel is one of 64 Division I men's basketball head coaches from around the country who will participate in "Shots From the Heart," a free throw shooting contest designed to create more awareness about heart disease and to raise money to benefit the American Heart Association.

Starting Nov. 15, coaches will compete head-to-head in a season-long, bracket-style contest with each round's winners advancing to the next round. Each coach will shoot 25 free throws per round, with shots No. 1 through 20 worth one point each, shots No. 21 through 24 worth two points each, and shot No. 25 worth three points. The four finalists will compete at the Final Four in Houston in early April.

Capel's first-round opponent will be first-year Sam Houston State head coach Jason Hooten.

Fans and businesses can contribute to the American Heart Association by pledging a dollar amount for every shot Capel makes during the competition. For more information, send an e-mail to shots@collegeinsider.com, or visit www.collegeinsider.com/shots.

Capel was a 67.6 percent free throw shooter during his four-year career at Duke University.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Meet Kentucky in Maui Invitational First Round

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