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Source: SoonerSports.com
GAME SPECIFICS
Teams: No. 17/16 Oklahoma (1-0) vs. ULM (1-1)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 17
Tip: 7:07 p.m. CST
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 43 in OKC; Cox 3 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Internet Video Webcast: SoonerSports.com
Series: OU leads 3-0
TUESDAY'S GAME BASICS
Ranked No. 16 in ESPN/USA Today top-25 poll and No. 17 in the AP version, Oklahoma (1-0) hosts the University of Louisiana at Monroe (1-1) Tuesday at 7 p.m. CST at Lloyd Noble Center. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in OKC; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing, and will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (KAUT Ch. 43 in OKC; Cox Cable 3 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court; ESPN360.com) with Bob Carpenter and Charlie Spoonhour calling the action. A live video Webcast will be available on the "All-Access" portion of OU’s official athletics site, SoonerSports.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
Reserved seats are available for $10, $20 and $30 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office. Lloyd Noble Center’s north and east ticket windows will open at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
ULM'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 3 Rudy Turner (6-8, 275, Jr., 3.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
F 22 Lawrence Gilbert (6-7, 210, Jr., 11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
F 23 Malcolm Thomas (6-6, 185, Sr., 6.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
G 00 Tony Hooper (5-11, 175, Sr., 14.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
G 5 Dynile Forbes (6-2, 170, Sr., 5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
OKLAHOMA'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 1 Ryan Wright (6-9, 241, Sr., 4.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
F 24 Tiny Gallon (6-9, 290, Fr., 18.0 ppg, 15.0 rpg)
G 5 Tony Crocker (6-6, 209, Sr., 4.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
G 11 Tommy Mason-Griffin (5-11, 203, Fr., 11.0 ppg, 4.0 apg)
G 13 Willie Warren (6-4, 203, So., 15.0 ppg, 11.0 apg)
NOTEWORTHY
• A win on Tuesday against ULM would be the 1,500th in the history of the OU men’s basketball program and the 150th in the career of head coach Jeff Capel.
• Oklahoma has won 13 straight home non-conference games and 71 of its last 73.
• Including OU’s exhibition win, the freshman combination of Andrew Fitzgerald, Tiny Gallon, Tommy Mason-Griffin and Steven Pledger has combined for 110 points in two outings.
PREVIEWING ULM
The University of Louisiana at Monroe (formerly Northeast Louisiana University) enters Tuesday’s contest with a 1-1 record. The Warhawks, who are picked to finish fifth by league coaches in the seven-team West Division of the Sun Belt Conference, lost their season opener at LSU Friday, 82-62, then rebounded for an 82-66 home win over Alcorn State Sunday. They’ve shot .435 from the field, .438 from 3-point range (14-for-32) and .698 from the free throw line (30-for-43). Opponents have combined to shoot .413 from the field and .229 from long range (8-for-35).
ULM is led by senior and preseason third-team All-Sun Belt pick Tony Hooper. A 5-11 guard, Hooper is averaging 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting .471 from the field and .714 from behind the arc (5-for-7). Hooper ranks 15th in school history in points (1,304), 10th in assists and sixth in steals. Junior forward Tommie Sykes, a junior college transfer, is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 5.5 boards per contest, and is 11-or-12 from the free throw line (11-for-12). Another junior forward, Lawrence Gilbert, is averaging 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds a game, and has made a team-high six 3-pointers on 11 attempts (.545). Gilbert led the Warhawks last year with a .458 mark from long distance.
Orlando Early, a 1990 Gardner-Webb graduate, is 49-74 (.398) in his fifth year as ULM’s head coach. The Warhawks finished 10-20 overall last year and went 6-12 in the Sun Belt Conference.
OU-ULM SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 3-0 series lead against ULM, with all games played in Norman. The Sooners posted wins in 1984-85 (101-95), 1994-95 (93-68) and 1996-97 (95-68).
HOME NON-CONFERENCE DOMINATION
The Sooners have dominated home non-conference games over the last decade, winning 71 of their last 73 non-league contests inside Lloyd Noble Center going back to Jan. 3, 2000 (good for a .973 winning percentage). Included was a streak of 49 non-conference home victories that was snapped by Villanova on Dec. 6, 2006. The current string stands at 13 games.
SATURDAY’S MOUNT ST. MARY’S RECAP
Oklahoma won its 16th straight home opener by handing preseason Northeast Conference favorite Mount St. Mary’s a 95-71 defeat Saturday. Sophomore Willie Warren and freshman Tiny Gallon registered double-doubles and were two of five Sooners who scored in double figures. Warren netted 15 points and handed out a career-high 11 assists while Gallon finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds in his collegiate debut. Neither led the team in scoring, however, as freshman guard Steven Pledger came off the bench to pour in 21 points in just 19 minutes of action. Pledger was 8-for-9 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range. The other two Sooners in double figures were also freshmen. Andrew Fitzgerald recorded 14 points and five rebounds in a reserve role and starting point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin racked up 11 points and four assists.
MORE FROM SATURDAY’S WIN
• Oklahoma’s freshman foursome of Steven Pledger (21), Tiny Gallon (18), Andrew Fitzgerald (14) and Tommy Mason-Griffin (11) combined for 64 of the team’s 95 points, or 67 percent. It is believed to be the first time in school history that four freshmen scored in double figures in a season opener.
• Pledger’s 21 points were the most by a Sooner off the bench since Drew Lavender scored 29 in a reserve role in a 69-68 win at Kansas State on Feb. 19, 2005 (a span of 140 games).
• Gallon’s 15 rebounds were the most by a Sooner frosh in his first career game in 37 years. Alvan Adams recorded 28 rebounds against Indiana State in 1972 in his debut. Adams’ 28 boards still stand as an OU single-game record.
• Ahead just 31-29, the Sooners outscored Mount St. Mary’s 18-7 over the final 4:45 of the first half. Freshmen scored 16 of the 18 points during the spurt, including nine by Pledger during a span of 2:50.
OU RANKS FOURTH NATIONALLY IN McDONALD’S ALL-AMERICANS
Oklahoma boasts three McDonald’s High School All-Americans on its 2009-10 roster, fourth most nationally and most ever at OU on one team. The trio consists of sophomore guard Willie Warren, freshman guard Tommy Mason-Griffin and freshman forward Tiny Gallon. Only North Carolina (seven), Duke (six) and Villanova (five) have more. Georgetown, Georgia Tech and Kansas also claim three each, while Connecticut, Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, Texas and UCLA claim two each.
Head coach Jeff Capel has signed four McDonald’s All-Americans over his first three years at Oklahoma, as 2009 national player of the year Blake Griffin was also one in 2007. Prior to Capel’s arrival, four Sooners were McDonald’s All-Americans: Wayman Tisdale in 1982, Jeff Webster in 1989, Ryan Humphrey in 1997 and Drew Lavender in 2003.
SOONERS APPROACHING WIN NO. 1,500
Oklahoma enters Tuesday’s game just one victory shy of 1,500 in its history. OU ranks 29th in NCAA Division I history in wins.
CAPEL’S QUICK START
When Jeff Capel was named OU head coach in May 2006, he inherited a thin roster and recruiting restrictions from the previous staff. After a 16-15 initial season, Capel directed seven-win improvements in both 2007-08 (23-12 record) and 2008-09 (30-6). His 69-33 mark as Sooners’ boss entering the season ranked him No. 1 in school history in wins and winning percentage (.676) through the first three years of tenure. Kelvin Sampson ranks second through three years in both categories (59 wins; .641) while Billy Tubbs ranks third (55 wins; .591).
NEXT UP
Oklahoma plays its first road game of the season Saturday when it travels to Richmond, Va., to face VCU at 6:30 p.m. CST. OU head coach Jeff Capel served as the Rams’ head coach for four seasons prior to his arrival in Norman. The game will be televised in Oklahoma on the Sooner Sports Network.
