? Game notes (.pdf)
UTSA Roadrunners (4-1) vs. SMU Mustangs (1-4)
Saturday, Dec. 1 ? 2 p.m. ? Convocation Center (4,080) ? San Antonio, Texas
Series Record: Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: UTSA, 80, SMU 60 (Dec. 30, 1991)
SAN ANTONIO ? Winners of three straight, UTSA concludes its three-gamehome stand against SMU (1-4) on Saturday, Dec. 1. Tip is set for 2 p.m.at the Convocation Center. Free pizza and t-shirts will be provided tothe first 300 fans.
Tuning In: The game will be televised in the San Antonio area on Time Warner Cable channel 50. Jason Minnix (play-by-play) and Dan Hughes (color) will call the action. Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com. Andy Everett has the call. Live stats will be provided online at goUTSA.com. NOTE: Due to TWC’s exclusive broadcast rights, live video streaming will not be available.
Fast Break Points:
? This is the third meeting between UTSA and SMU, with the series tied at 1-1
? UTSA won the last meeting, 80-60, on Dec. 30, 1991, while SMU won the first battle, 88-86, on Jan. 9, 1990
? At 4-1, the Roadrunners are off to their best start since the 2001-02 campaign
? A victory Saturday would match the school record for the best record through the first six games (6-1), which also was accomplished in 1988-89 and 2001-02
? Saturday’s game is the second of at least seven televised UTSA games this season
UTSA/SMU Series History: This will be the third meeting between UTSA and SMU, with the all-time series tied at 1-1. UTSA won the last meeting, 80-60, on Dec. 30, 1991, in San Antonio, while SMU won the first battle, 88-86, on Jan. 9, 1990, in Dallas. The Roadrunners are 5-16 all-time against current members of Conference USA.
Scouting the Mustangs: SMU (1-4) picked up its first win of the season on Tuesday night, downing Paul Quinn, 81-63, in Dallas. The Mustangs had lost their first four games of the season, three of those at home. Senior guard Jon Killen leads the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game, while freshman guard Alex Malone (11.6) and junior center Bamba Fall (10.4) also score in double figures. Freshman forward Papa Dia and Paul form a solid one-two punch on the glass, pulling down 6.8 and 6.6 rebounds per game, respectively. SMU is shooting 41.1 percent from the floor, including 29.8 percent from behind the 3-point line, and is converting just 55.6 percent from the free throw line. Matt Doherty, former head coach at Notre Dame and North Carolina, is 15-21 in his second season at SMU.
Last Time Out: Junior Joey Shank drained six 3-pointers as part of a game-high 23 points to help lead UTSA past UMKC, 73-61, on Thursday night at the Convocation Center. UTSA broke open a close game, outscoring UMKC, 45-34, behind 63 percent shooting in the second half. Shank was 6-of-10 from downtown and 5-of-5 from the free throw line and he grabbed a season-best six rebounds as part of his career night. Senior Keith Spencer scored 14 points, his second straight game in double digits, and pulled down a team-best seven boards. Freshman JohnMark Ludwick was 5-of-6 from the floor in posting a season-high 12 points, while fellow freshman Devin Gibson dished out a season-high 10 assists with no turnovers, as UTSA posted an 18-to-9 ratio on the night. UTSA shot 48.1 percent for the game and converted 9-of-18 from behind the arc. The Roadrunners held the Kangaroos, who entered the game with 59 3-pointers (9.8 per game) on the year, to just five on the night. Trailing 12-8 early, UTSA went on a 6-0 run to take a 14-12 advantage with 10:50 left in the half. The Roadrunners held the Kangaroos scoreless for the next five minutes until a Brumagin 3-pointer from the corner at the 7:48 mark put UMKC back on top, 15-14. UTSA finished the half on an 8-2 run capped by treys from Shank ? one of four in the half ? and junior Orrin Greer to take a 28-27 lead into the locker room. Shank drained another three and Spencer threw down his third dunk to key a 10-2 run over the first two minutes of the second half, as UTSA jumped out quickly to a nine-point advantage. UMKC pulled back to within 40-36, but UTSA answered with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to build a comfortable, double-digit lead. The Roadrunners led by as many as 18 down the stretch and never allowed the Kangaroos any closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Tough Slate: UTSA will face one of the toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas is ranked No. 8, while Arkansas is receiving votes in both the USA Today/ESPN and The Associated Press Top 25 Polls this week. 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.
A Good Beginning: At 4-1, the Roadrunners are off to their best start in six seasons. UTSA also began the 1988-89 and 2001-02 campaigns wth 4-1 marks through five games. With a win Saturday, UTSA can match the best six-game start in school history also posted during those two seasons. The 1988-89 team owns the school record for the best start with a 10-1 record through 11 contests.
Tough At Home: The Convocation Center has been a tough place for opponents to play. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 235-105 (.691) in the facility dating back to the inaugural 1981-82 season. UTSA is 3-0 at home this year.
Closing In On 400: UTSA is closing in on victory No. 400 for the program. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 389-354 (.524).
New Faces: UTSA returned five letterwinners, each of whom earned one letter apiece, from last year’s 7-22 team which marked the least returning NCAA Division I experience in the nation entering this season. A talented group of first-year players has joined forces with the returnees and their contributions are being felt immediately. Three of UTSA’s top four scorers ? freshman Devin Gibson (15.8) and juniors Joey Shank (14.0) and Travis Gabbidon (10.6) ? are each in their first season of action, while Gibson (5.0), junior Antoine Dade (4.5) and Gabbidon (4.2) rank as three of the team’s top four rebounders.
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 has continued into this season as UTSA limited Hardin-Simmons to just 47 points, including 19 in the first half, in the season opener. The Roadrunners held Texas to its lowest point total (58) since a 46-43 loss at Texas A&M on March 1, 2006. UTSA held Paul Quinn to 17 points below its scoring average and limited UMKC, which was averaging 9.8 3-point field goals made per game, to just five.
Turnover Feast: A big key to UTSA’s early-season success can be contributed to its ability to force turnovers. Opponents have turned the ball over 108 times through five games, an average of 21.6 per game, and three teams have committed at least 27 turnovers, including a season-high 29 by Hardin-Simmons. UTSA leads the Southland Conference in turnover margin (+6.4) and steals per game (11.6). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson leads the league with 3.4 steals per game, while junior Joey Shank ranks 10th (1.8).
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 five games this season as they have converted 83-of-124 (66.9 percent) from the charity stripe.
Double-Double Tracker: Freshman Devin Gibson registered his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss at No. 15 Texas. Senior Keith Spencer posted UTSA’s second double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the 93-79 win over Paul Quinn. It marked his seventh double-double in a UTSA uniform.
No Shank Shot Here: Junior Joey Shank has emerged as one of the league’s top 3-point shooters this season. The Folsom, Calif., native has drained 17-of-36 from behind the arc for 47.2 percent, and is shooting 52.3 percent (23-of-44) from the floor overall. Shank also is a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line and is averaging 14.0 points per game. The American River College product leads the Southland Conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 3.4 and ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (47.2%), 11th in scoring (14.0 ppg) and 15th in field goal percentage (52.3%). Shank exploded for six treys en route to a game-high 23 points in the 73-61 win over UMKC on Nov. 29 and combined with four 3-pointers and 16 points in the Paul Quinn win on Nov. 26, is averaging five 3-pointers and 19.5 points per game this week.
Wiping the Glass: Senior Keith Spencer missed the first two regular season games, but has returned to the lineup with a vengence. The San Diego, Calif., native is averaging 13.0 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game in three contests. In his second game back, he posted his seventh career double-double with 19 points and 10 boards in the 93-79 win over Paul Quinn. He followed that with 14 points and seven rebounds in the UMKC victory and has been the team’s leading rebounder in all three of his games played. Spencer led the squad with 206 rebounds last season and is pulling down 7.2 boards per outing for his UTSA career.
Second-Half Shooting The Key: In its four victories this season, UTSA is outscoring its opponents by an average margin of 45-37 in the second half. The Roadrunners have topped 40 points in the second half in all four contests, including a Brooks Thompson era-best 53 in the Paul Quinn victory. Hot shooting has been a major key to the post-halftime success as UTSA is shooting 55.1 percent in the second stanza, including 62.5 percent over the last two games.
Second-Half Scorer: Junior Travis Gabbidon has scored 43 of his 53 points ? or 81 percent ? in the second half. The Phoenix, Ariz., native picked up two quick first-half fouls in both the Texas and Navy contests, but came out strong in the second stanza to score 9 and 14 points, respectively. Gabbidon is averaging 10.6 points per game, 8.6 points coming in the second half.
Fall Signing Class: UTSA signed Richie Frolich (Oldendorf, Germany/Citrus College) and Leslie Jackson (Bryan, Texas/Blinn College) to National Letters of Intent for the 2008-09 season.
Next Up: UTSA will take 11 days off before traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., to face Arkansas on Wednesday, Dec. 12.
