Teams: Oklahoma (2-0) vs. Texas Southern (0-2)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 18
Tip: 7:07 p.m. CT
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa)
TV: Sooner Sports Network (KAUT Ch. 43 in OKC; Cox Ch. 3 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Webcast: SoonerSports.com
Series: Oklahoma leads 3-0
THURSDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (2-0) hosts Texas Southern (0-2) Thursday at 7 p.m. CT at Lloyd Noble Center. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (KAUT Channel 43 in Oklahoma City; Cox Channel 3 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Bob Carpenter and former OU head coach Billy Tubbs calling the action.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are available for $10, $15 and $30 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office and online at SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center’s north and east ticket windows will open at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
TEXAS SOUTHERN'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 23 Keithtrick Denson (6-7, 227, Jr., 4.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
F 32 Aaron Clayborn (6-6, 215, So., 7.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
G 11 Lawrence Johnson-Danner (6-4, 180, Fr., 16.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
G 13 Kevin Galloway (6-7, 215, Sr., 14.0 ppg, 7.0 apg)
G 15 Abdallah Boune (6-5, 190, Sr., 1.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
OKLAHOMA'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 4 Andrew Fitzgerald (6-8, 231, So., 22.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
F 55 Nick Thompson (6-9, 208, Jr., 7.0 ppg, 7.0 apg)
G 2 Steven Pledger (6-4, 212, So., 13.5 ppg, 3.5 apg)
G 21 Cameron Clark (6-6, 189, Fr., 8.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg)
G 34 Cade Davis (6-5, 209, Sr., 8.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
PREVIEWING TEXAS SOUTHERN
Texas Southern enters Thursday’s game with a 0-2 record following losses at Drake (60-46) and Wichita State (79-67). The Tigers, who open the year with six road games (after OU they play at Oregon State, Oregon and Kansas State), are shooting .408 from the field, .233 (7-for-30) from 3-point range and .722 (26-for-36) from the free throw line. They own a -2.0 rebounding margin and average 16.0 turnovers.
Under the direction of third-year head coach Tony Harvey (former Missouri assistant coach), Texas Southern posted a 17-16 record last year for the program’s first winning mark in seven years. The Tigers advanced to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game. This year, TSU is picked in the preseason SWAC poll to finish fifth in the league race. Harvey is 24-43 as a head coach.
Guards Lawrence Johnson-Danner and Kevin Galloway have led the way for the Texas Southern through two games. Johnson-Danner, a redshirt freshman, scored a game-high 22 points against Wichita State on Tuesday with the help of 4-for-9 3-point shooting. He is averaging 16.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 36.0 minutes a contest. Galloway, a senior who transferred from Kentucky (he averaged 1.9 points and 1.7 assists in 30 games during the 2008-09 season under head coach Billy Gillispie), is averaging 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 7.0 turnovers in 38.5 minutes per outing. Galloway racked up 20 points, eight boards and eight assists against Wichita State. Sophomore forward Aaron Clayborn contributes 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. Senior guard Harrison Smith, a transfer from Texas, scored 12 points in the season opener but did not play against Wichita State. Preseason SWAC Player of the Year Travele Jones has yet to play due to what TSU terms as "NCAA clerical issues." A senior forward, Jones averaged 13.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals last year. He attempted 204 free throws (6.4 per game) and shot .588 from the line.
OU-TEXAS SOUTHERN SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 3-0 all-time record against Texas Southern. The Sooners posted home wins in 1991-92 (110-85) and 1995-96 (77-63), as well as a victory in the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City in 2001-02 (97-55).
