OU-Villanova Pearl Harbor Game

[OUHoops]

I know it was talked about a couple weeks ago, but OU just issued this release confirming the game is on:

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=210056189

Sooners to Play Villanova at Pearl Harbor
April 29, 2015

NORMAN — Helping pay tribute to the almost 2,400 lives lost during the sudden attack of United States military installations on the Hawaiian Islands on Dec. 7, 1941, the University of Oklahoma men's basketball team will play Villanova on Dec. 7 this season on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam near Honolulu. This year will mark the 74th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which catapulted the U.S. into World War II.

The OU-Villanova game, which will be televised by FOX Sports 1, will be played inside Bloch Arena and will be part of a four-day remembrance by FOX Sports, with the network also covering activities and events associated with Major League Baseball and the National Football League.

The Sooners and Wildcats will tip off at 6 p.m. CT (2 p.m. local time) and be followed by Navy vs. Oregon (also televised by FOX Sports 1). Villanova finished 33-3 this past season and won the Big East regular season title with a 16-2 conference mark. The Wildcats were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

"Playing in this game will be a true honor for our basketball program," said OU head coach Lon Kruger. "The activities surrounding our trip will provide a tremendous educational opportunity for everyone in our group. We're very much looking forward to learning in person about the events of Dec. 7, 1941, the servicemen who tragically fell that day and the remarkable patriotism that united our country as a result."

One of the casualties in the Pearl Harbor attack was the USS Oklahoma. The 583-foot battleship capsized and sank after it was hit by Japanese torpedoes. A total of 429 of the ship's officers and crew were killed.

OU owns a 1-2 overall mark against the Wildcats, winning a 1988 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game (78-59 in Birmingham, Ala.) and losing regular season contests in 2005-06 (85-74 at Villanova) and 2006-07 (67-51 in Norman).

The trip to Hawai'i will be OU's first of two next season. The Sooners will play in the eight-team Diamond Head Classic Dec. 22, 23 and 25 in Honolulu. The field will also include Auburn, BYU, Harvard, Hawai'i, New Mexico, Northern Iowa and Washington State.

This is the arena the game will be played in:

 

[dahldennsull]

what the heck kind of architect decided to put all the beams closest to the court, thus blocking even more seats?! I mean it's bad enough when they are halfway up, but I at least get it, and you have over half the seats in front of them... but boy, that is a new look haha

 

[BoulderSooner]

what the heck kind of architect decided to put all the beams closest to the court, thus blocking even more seats?! I mean it's bad enough when they are halfway up, but I at least get it, and you have over half the seats in front of them... but boy, that is a new look haha

it is an on base fitness center ...

 

[MsProudSooner]

what the heck kind of architect decided to put all the beams closest to the court, thus blocking even more seats?! I mean it's bad enough when they are halfway up, but I at least get it, and you have over half the seats in front of them... but boy, that is a new look haha

Our high school gym had beams like that. It was built 60 years ago or so.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I was wondering:

> What is the seating capacity?
> Is the game "sold out" for military personnel and special guests?

Since the game is being held on a military base in honor of Pearl Harbor Day, my guess is that local military personnel will pack the place. I would hope that military personnel get free tickets for an event like this.