? Game notes (.pdf)
UTSA Roadrunners (1-0) at No. 15 Texas Longhorns (0-0)
Monday, Nov. 12 ? 7:05 p.m. ? Erwin Center (16,755) ? Austin, Texas
TV: FOX Sports Southwest ? Series Record: Texas leads, 5-0 ? Last Meeting: Texas, 100-82 (Dec. 29, 2004)
SAN ANTONIO ? Fresh off a 69-47 victory against Hardin-Simmonsin the regular season opener on Friday night, UTSA makes the short tripto Austin to face No. 15 Texas on Monday, Nov. 12. Tip is set for 7:05p.m. at the Erwin Center and the game will be televised on FOX SportsSouthwest by the Longhorns Sports Network.
Tuning In: Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com. Andy Everett has the call. Live stats will be provided online at www.texassports.com. The game will be televised live on FOX Sports Southwest in the state of Texas by the Longhorns Sports Network. Greg Lucas (play-by-play) and Jim Haller (color) will call the action.
Fast Break Points:
? Texas leads the all-time series, 5-0, and won the last meeting, 100-82 (Dec. 29, 2004)
? Four of the five meetings have been in Austin with the Longhorns winning the only game in San Antonio, 91-69, on Jan. 5, 1994
? UTSA is 6-35 all-time versus Big 12 Conference opponents
UTSA/Texas Series History: UTSA and Texas are meeting for the sixth time in series history, with the Longhorns owning a 5-0 advantage. Texas won the last meeting, 100-82, on Dec. 29, 2004, in Austin, rallying from a 70-66 deficit with just over 12 minutes to play.
Date Location Score
Dec. 9, 1989 ? Austin ? L, 86-89
Jan. 5, 1994 ? San Antonio ? L, 69-91
Dec. 5, 1995 ? Austin ? L, 98-110
Nov. 28, 2000 ? Austin ? L, 51-70
Dec. 29, 2004 ? Austin ? L, 82-100
Scouting the Longhorns: Texas is ranked No. 15 in The Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll and No. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Preseason Poll. The Longhorns lost consensus National Player of the Year Kevin Durant to the NBA Draft over the summer but do return 10 letterwinners ? including four starters ? from last year’s 25-10 team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore D.J. Augustin is back as one of the top point guards in the country after averaging 14.4 points and 6.7 assists per game in 2006-07. Junior A.J. Abrams drained a league-record 120 3-pointers last season, while sophomore Damion James posted 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per outing. Head coach Rick Barnes is 216-86 entering his 10th season at the helm. Monday’s game is the regular season opener for Texas, an 87-56 winner against Xavier (La.) in its only exhibition game on Nov. 2.
Last Time Out: Freshman Devin Gibson led three Roadrunners in double figures with 20 points as UTSA defeated Hardin-Simmons, 69-47, in the regular season opener Friday night at the Convocation Center. Gibson was 6-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line and added five steals, four rebounds and an assist in his 31-minute debut. Junior Travis Gabbidon drained 5-of-8 from the field en route to a 14-point effort, while junior Joey Shank hit three 3-pointers as part of a 13-point performance. The Roadrunners improved to 23-4 all-time in season openers and 13-3 against Hardin-Simmons in the first meeting between the two former Trans America Athletic Conference rivals since 1990. UTSA overcame a sub-par shooting performance in the first half, converting 13-of-27 from the floor in the second half in the win. The Roadrunners forced 29 turnovers ? 15 of those steals ? and posted 16 second-chance points to just three for Hardin-Simmons.
Exhibition Game Recap: Juniors Travis Gabbidon and Orrin Greer and freshman Devin Gibson all reached double figures as UTSA downed Mary-Hardin Baylor, 76-58, in the first and only exhibition game of the season for the Roadrunners on Nov. 3 at the Convocation Center. Gabbidon led all players with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, while Gibson and Greer poured in 16 apiece. Gibson added five assists, four rebounds and three steals in a game-high 33 minutes of action. Greer came off the bench to knock down 6-of-9 from the floor and senior Keith Spencer led all players with 11 rebounds.
Tough Slate: UTSA will face one of the toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas and Arkansas are ranked Nos. 16 and 19, respectively, in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Preseason Poll, while the Longhorns and Razorbacks are 15th and 19th in The Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll. Also on the slate are traditional power Oklahoma State, an NIT participant last season, Navy, SMU and defending Southland Conference champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the league’s NCAA representative last March.
Tough At Home: The UTSA Convocation Center has been a tough place for opponents to play. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 233-105 (.689) in the facility dating back to the inaugural 1981-82 season. UTSA is 1-0 at home this year.
Record-Setting Defense: UTSA broke three school records in back-to-back games last season. In a 64-49 victory against San Diego on Nov. 26, the Roadrunners limited the Toreros to 13-of-53 shooting from the floor, or 24.5 percent, which broke the school record for lowest field goal percentage by an opponent previously held by Howard Payne (26.9%) in 1988. The 13 field goals also were the fewest allowed since Texas State made 14 in 1996. One game later, UTSA held Henderson State to 36 points, breaking the previous fewest-points record of 42 set by Texas State in 1996. The Roadrunners surrendered just 649 field goals for the season, also a new school record, and ranked second in the league in scoring defense (66.3 points per game). That trademark tough defensive approach continued into the first game of this season as UTSA held Hardin-Simmons to just 47 points, including 19 in the first half.
Improvement At The Line: UTSA shot just 58.9 percent from the free throw line as a team in 2006-07. The Roadrunners are already out to a marked improvement in that category after the first game this season as they drained 22-of-31 (71.0 percent) from the charity stripe in the Hardin-Simmons win.
Next Up: UTSA returns home to host Navy at the Alamodome on Saturday, Nov. 17. Tip is set for 7 p.m. in what is the “Dress Rehearsal” game for hosting the 2008 Men’s Final Four at the venue.
