UTSA Roadrunners at Oklahoma State Cowboys
Friday, Nov. 14 ? 7 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611) ? Stillwater, Okla.
Series History: Oklahoma State leads, 5-0
Last Meeting: Oklahoma State 73, UTSA 61 (Jan. 2, 2008)
Opening Tip: UTSA will tip off the third season of the Brooks Thompson era against Oklahoma State on Friday, Nov. 14. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at historic Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Tuning In: The game will be televised by the Cowboy Sports Network on FOX Sports Southwest (check local listings) and ESPN Full Court. Chad McKee (play-by-play) and Bryndon Manzer (analyst) will call the action. The game will be aired live in the San Antonio area on KRPT-FM 92.5 The Outlaw beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. Andy Everett has the call. Free live audio will be available online at goUTSA.com. ESPN360.com will offer free live video to anybody on a campus or military base computer network or that has their high speed Internet connection through one of its affiliates. Live stats will be provided by Oklahoma State (okstate.com) and shared at goUTSA.com.
Fast Break Points:
? UTSA is 18-9 all-time in season openers, including a 2-0 mark under third-year head coach Brooks Thompson
? The Roadrunners have lost six consecutive road openers and are 7-20 overall
? Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 5-0, including a 73-61 victory on Jan. 2, 2008
? UTSA has six wins against members of the Big 12 Conference, four versus Baylor and one apiece against Texas A&M and Texas Tech
? Third-year head coach Brooks Thompson was a two-time All-Big Eight player for Oklahoma State in 1992-94
? Sophomore Devin Gibson is a preseason first-team All-Southland Conference selection and is one of 31 players on the Bob Cousy Award preseason watch list
? Dating back to last February and including this season’s exhibition game, Gibson has scored 20 or more points in seven of his last 13 contests
Last Time Out: Sophomore Devin Gibson led four players in double figures with 22 points and UTSA outscored Mary Hardin-Baylor by 15 in the second half en route to a 78-64 victory in the only exhibition game of the season on Nov. 6. Gibson was 6-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line and 6-of-8 from the free throw line, in leading all players in scoring. The Houston native added a game-high six steals and four rebounds. Juniors Omar Johnson and Morris Smith IV added 12 points apiece, while senior Travis Gabbidon tacked on 11. Junior Josh Bonney pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, while Johnson dished out a game-high six assists. Even though the statistics do not count toward the season total, UTSA came up with 20 steals, four more than last year’s season-high of 16 posted against Navy, and forced 32 turnovers.
UTSA/Oklahoma State Series History: Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 5-0, with all five meetings at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys withstood a furious, second-half rally in a 73-61 victory in the last meeting on Jan. 2, 2008.
Last Meeting: Devin Gibson led three Roadrunners in double figures with 19 points, but Terrel Harris poured in a game-high 21 to help Oklahoma State hold off UTSA, 73-61, on Jan. 2, 2008, at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Gibson was 7-for-11 from the floor and added five assists, four steals and four rebounds, while Travis Gabbidon and Joey Shank contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively. UTSA forced 23 turnovers ? 11 of those steals ? and converted them into 21 points, but the Cowboys turned 14 UTSA miscues into 24 points and recorded a 37-20 edge on the glass. UTSA trailed 37-23 at the half and by as many as 18 with 13 minutes to play, but used an 8-0 run to pull to within 55-45 with 7:11 remaining. A Shank trey cut the deficit to nine with just over six minutes left, but the Cowboys responded with four straight points to push their advantage back to 13. The Roadrunners would not go away as back-to-back layups by Gibson and a long 3-pointer from Gabbidon made it 64-59 with 1:51 remaining. OSU closed the game on a 9-2 run, seven of those points coming from the free line.
Scouting The Cowboys: Under first-year head coach Travis Ford, Oklahoma State returns eight lettermen, including five players that started at least 18 games, from last year’s 17-16 squad. The senior duo of Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris form one of the nation’s top backcourts, as they averaged 11.5 and 10.5 points per game, respectively, last year, while sophomore James Anderson led the team in scoring at 13.3 ppg. This season will mark the first since 1989-90 that a Sutton has not been in charge of the program.
Cowboy Connection: UTSA third-year head coach Brooks Thompson has several ties with the storied Oklahoma State basketball program. The Littleton, Colo., native was an All-Big Eight player in 1992-93 and 1993-94 under legendary head coach Eddie Sutton and was one of eight NBA Draft First Round selections to come out of Oklahoma State. Thompson still holds the school record for steals in a season with 99 in 1993-94 and finished his two-year career with averages of 15.8 points (No. 9 all-time), 2.70 3-pointers (No. 2), 5.4 assists (No. 3) and 2.7 steals (No. 1) per game. Thompson also served as an undergraduate assistant coach in 1998-99 and as director of basketball operations in 2000-01. Additionally, UTSA women’s head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair was a former player (1980-84) and assistant coach (1992-2000) at Oklahoma State.
Closing In On 400: UTSA is closing in on victory No. 400 for the program. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 398-370 (.518).
Gibson Up For Cousy Award: Sophomore Devin Gibson, the 2007-08 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, has been named a preseason nominee for the Bob Cousy Award, given annually to the nation’s top point guard. The Cy-Falls High product is one of two SLC players (Kenny Dawkins, Lamar) and one of 31 nationally named to the watch list.
More Preseason Accolades: In addition to making the Cousy Award preseason list, Gibson also has been named preseason first-team all-conference and a CollegeHoops.net Preseason Mid-Major All-American.
SLC Preseason Polls: UTSA has been picked to finish third in the West Division of the Southland Conference by the league’s sports information directors and fourth by the head coaches in the preseason polls. The Roadrunners received two first-place votes and 43 points in the SIDs poll to rank behind UT Arlington and Lamar, while they tallied 39 points for fourth behind UT Arlington, Lamar and Sam Houston State in the coaches poll. Stephen F. Austin is the unanimous choice to win the East.
Up Next: UTSA will travel to Iowa City to face Iowa on Monday, Nov. 17. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
