*****Oklahoma-Houston Game Thread*****

[OUHoops]

Source: SoonerSports.com

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).

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.

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.

 

[Tony]

tryptophan kicking in... eyes getting heavy... someone keep me entertained 'til gametime

 

[Sam]

tryptophan kicking in... eyes getting heavy... someone keep me entertained 'til gametime

Anchorage Alaska vs Nichols St is on Cox 7, watch that Tony it will keep you awake.

 

[Tony]

Elf is on USA. Will Ferrell's most underrated movie? Plus Zooey Deschenel, my not-so-secret crush.

 

[SoonersRule]

The other Deschanel is HOTTER!

 

[cfin5256]

Elf is on USA. Will Ferrell's most underrated movie? Plus Zooey Deschenel, my not-so-secret crush.

:woot :woot

Just watched her in Yes Man the other day.

 

[htownSOONER]

anyone have a stream that does not require a download or installation of software?

 

[Tony]

Buddy the Elf just dominated in a snowball fight.

 

[Sooner23]

Let's do this thang.

 

[Tony]

i think we win tonight

 

[OklahomaLibertarian]

Be interesting to see if we care about playing defense tonight. Also, we need to stop expecting our guards to fight through ball screens without any help. But we'll see.

Here's an E-How article on how to defend ball screens.. LOL

If the on-ball defender can’t fight through the screen, as a last option, you can decide to switch the screen. To switch a screen the off-ball defender will still call out screen to inform his teammate there is a screen coming. Then if one of the players calls out switch then the person who is guarding the ball will now be guarding the screener, and the off-ball defender will now become the on-ball defender.

 

[Sooner23]

Hope we have the same announcers as last night. Those guys were money. :ez-laugh:

 

[Sooner23]

Cade, Pledger and Allen starting. Wow.

 

[seniorsooner]

I'm in guys. Got some Bass and some Cabernet and I'm ready to go.

 

[runner1182]

so changing up the starting line up

 

[Tony]

oof

 

[Sam]

Umm wow to say the least just wow.

 

[seniorsooner]

LOL @ jewfro Penders

 

[runner1182]

what are the coaches wearing

 

[SoonerinNC]

Lineup suprise

Warren, Allen, Davis, Pledger, Crocker