HOUSTON, TEXAS (December 16, 2011) After more than 10 days off from competition, the University of Houston men’s basketball team returns to action at 7 p.m., Saturday, when it meets Oklahoma inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Against
the Bobcats, junior guard junior guard Jonathon Simmons posted a career-high points total
and freshman forward TaShawn Thomas finished with a double-double –
each for the second straight game – to lead the Cougars.
The
Cougars trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half before chipping away
at the deficit. Houston moved to within two points with just more than a
remaining but was unable to tie the score.
Sophomore
forward Alandise
Harris and freshman
point guard J.J.
Thompson each posted
11 points for the Cougars.
This
season, Harris leads the Cougars and ranks fourth in Conference USA with 16.0
points per game. Simmons is averaging 24.0 points in Houston’s last two games
and moved into second among the Cougars with 13.6 points per contest. Junior
forward Kirk Van Slyke stands third with 11.6 points per, game, while Thomas
ranks fourth with 10.4 points per game and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per
contest.
Houston
is no stranger to the RAMADA All-College Classic. The Cougars are 9-6 all-time
at this event, and the 2011 appearance will be the sixth time that the Cougars
have competed here.
However,
this is the first
time since Dec. 27-29, 1973, that the Cougars will take part in this tournament.
It also will be the first time that the Cougars have faced Oklahoma at this
event.
The
Cougars went 1-2 in their first appearance at the RAMADA All-College Classic and
followed that with 2-1 showings in 1960, 1961, 1963 and 1974.
Saturday’s game will be the third
meeting in the all-time series against the Sooners with the previous games being
played during regular-season tournament play.
Despite
its brief history, the series has been a tight one with no game being decided by
more than seven points.
This will
be the second time in the last three years that the Cougars will face Oklahoma
on the hardwood. In the last meeting, the Cougars took a 100-93 win during the
Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 26, 2009, in Anchorage,
Alaska.
In the
only other meeting, Oklahoma snared a 55-51 win on Dec. 15, 1960, during the
Cougars’ own Lion’s Club Tournament at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston.
Oklahoma
brings a 7-1 overall record into this weekend’s game. The Sooners have won their
last three games.. The Sooners have won handily in 2011-12, winning by an
average of 15.1 points per game.
In their
most recent win, Oklahoma took a 78-63 win against Arkansas on Dec. 10 in
Norman, Okla. Against the Razorbacks, the Sooners raced out to a 12-point
halftime lead. Steven Pledger led OU with 22 points, while forward Andrew
Fitzgerald added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Tyler Neal came off
the bench to post 18 points and five boards, and Romero Osby totaled 10 points
and seven rebounds in the win.
This
season, Pledger leads the Sooners with 17.9 points per game, while Calvin Newell
ranks second with 13.0 points per contest. Andrew Fitzgerald stands third at
11.0 ppg, and Osby ranks fourth with 10.6 points per game but averages a
team-high 7.5 rebounds per contest.
Head
coach Lon Kruger is in his first year at Oklahoma and has posted a 7-1 record.
He is in his 26th year overall as a head coach and has posted a 486-305 record
during that time.
Kruger
previously served as head coach at UT Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State
(1986-90), Florida (1990-96), Illinois (1996-00), with the Atlanta Hawks
(2000-03) and UNLV (2004-11). He is 2-0 against the Cougars during his career
with both wins coming during his tenure at UNLV.
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