SAN ANTONIO – UTSA men's basketball plays host to the University of Oklahoma Sooners on Monday, Nov. 12. Tipoff from the Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.
UTSA Roadrunners (0-1)
vs.
Oklahoma Sooners (1-0)
7 p.m. | Nov. 12, 2018
Convocation Center (2,650) | San Antonio, Texas
Television: CBS Sports Network
Radio: Ticket 760 AM
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For the fans
• UTSA will host a student tailgate, presented by Vivint Smart Homes, on the Convocation Center plaza. The tailgate begins at 4 p.m. and will feature free food from DoubleDave's Pizzaworks and Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar, games, music and giveaways. In addition, UTSA students will have an opportunity to secure one of the final 100 student tickets to the game.
Headlines and Storylines
• UTSA is looking to bounce back from its season-opening defeat to St. Edward's.
• UTSA is in its 38th season of basketball. The Roadrunners are 546-545 (.501) all-time, which includes four NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Reigning Conference USA Gene Bartow Coach of the Year Steve Henson is in third year at the helm of the Roadrunners. Henson is 34-35 overall at UTSA with 19-17 conference record.
• UTSA is 23-8 at home in the Convocation Center during the Henson era.
• UTSA and Oklahoma are meeting on the hardwood for the fourth time with the Sooners leading the series 3-0.
• Oklahoma is the first high-major program to visit the Convocation Center since Baylor on Dec. 19, 1992.
• UTSA returns four starters from its 2017-18 20-win campaign, including junior point guard Giovanni De Nicolao, sophomore shooting guard Jhivvan Jackson, junior small forward Byron Frohnen and senior power forward Nick Allen. Sophomore point/shooting Keaton Wallace, who started 19 games as a freshman, also returns to bring UTSA's experience to 234 combined career starts.
• The Roadrunners' 2018-19 schedule includes 15 home games, highlighted by visits from Oklahoma and Texas State. The road slate includes games against Oklahoma State, Arkansas and the Gulf Coast Showcase.
• UTSA was selected fifth in the Conference USA Preseason Poll, as voted by the league's head coaches.
Game overview
• UTSA hosts Oklahoma at the Convocation Center Monday at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised nationwide on CBS Sports Network with John Sasak (play-by-play) Pete Gillen (analyst) on the call. The game will air on the Roadrunners Sports Network (Ticket 760 AM in San Antonio) with Andy Everett providing play-by-play and Tim Carter serving as analyst.
Series history vs. Oklahoma
• UUTSA and Oklahoma have met thrice before with the Sooners winning each. The series started in 1983 with a 112-72 OU in Oklahoma City as part of the All College Tournament. The programs squared off for a second time in 1995 with the home-standing Sooners claiming a 107-75 win. Last season Oklahoma scored a 97-85 victory in Norman in a game that featured seven ties, eight lead changes and combined 24 3-pointers.
Up next
• UTSA travels to Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Nov. 14 for a 7 p.m. tipoff in Stillwater. The game will be television on FOX Sports' regional networks.
UTSA - Oklahoma connections
• UTSA comes to Norman with a trio of connections to the Sooners program.
• UTSA head coach Steve Henson spent the 2011-16 seasons on the Oklahoma staff under head coach Lon Kruger. Henson played for Kruger at Kansas State (1986-90) and coached under him at UNLV (2004-11). During Henson's time in Norman, the Sooners posted four consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament berths, culminating in a 2016 Final Four with star guard Buddy Hield.
• Roadrunners assistant coach Scott Thompson spent five seasons alongside Henson on Kruger's staff at Oklahoma, where he served as video coordinator and character coach.
• In addition, UTSA's radio broadcaster, Andy Everett, is a 1986 graduate of Oklahoma.
Sooner State Roadrunners
• A pair of Roadrunners call Oklahoma home. Redshirt freshman Adrian Rodriguez hails from Tulsa and is a product of Union High School, while true freshman Adokiye Iyaye is from Oklahoma City and prepped at Putnam City North High School.
UTSA falls in season opener
• UTSA was upended in its season opener on Nov. 7 by a 77-76 final score by St. Edward's.
• UTSA was led in the contest by Nick Allen and Keaton Wallace with 15 points each, while Giovanni De Nicolao collected a 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists stat line.
Third season of the Steve Henson era
• The 2018-19 season marks the third season of the Steven Henson era at UTSA. Henson, who came to UTSA from Lon Kruger's staff at Oklahoma, has guided the Roadrunners to a 34-35 overall mark to this point. Under Henson's tutelage, UTSA won a program-best 11 Conference USA contests last season and picked up UTSA's second consecutive Conference USA tournament win. Moreover, Henson coached Jhivvan Jackson to C-USA Freshman of the Year and Deon Lyle to league Sixth Player of the Year plaudits in 2017-18.
Defending home court
• In the two seasons under head coach Steve Henson, UTSA has posted a 23-8 record at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners went 11-3 at home last season and 12-4 in 2017-18.
• Prior to these two seasons, UTSA last posted consecutive 11-win home seasons when the program went 11-3 in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 as members of the Southland Conference.
• The 1991-92 team was the last Roadrunners squad to win more than 12 games at the Convocation Center, finishing 14-1.
Seven new birds
• Seven newcomers will don the UTSA Blue and Orange for the first time in 2018-19, including four freshmen, a sophomore and two transfers.
• The freshmen class is composed of Texas high school products Tamir Bynum (Lamar HS), Mateo Escheik (Prestonwood Christian Academy) and Austin Timperman (The Woodlands HS), along with Oklahoman Adokiye Iyaye (Oklahoma City/Putnam North HS).
• Sophomore Christian Plummer joined the team as walk-on out of Coppell HS.
• Junior college transfer forward Atem Bior (New Mexico Military Institute) is joined by four-year transfer Knox Hellums (Pepperdine) as newcomers to the junior class. Hellums is required to sit out the 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer policies.
Rodriguez's return to floor
• After suffering a season-ending knee injury in last season's opener, redshirt freshman Adrian Rodriguez is medically cleared for the 2018-19 season.
•Before suffering the injury, the 6-foot-7 forward from Tulsa, Okla., scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench against East Central.
• The 6-foot-7 big man played 12 minutes against St. Edward's in the season lid-lifter, collecting five rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists.
70 straight starts
• Juniors Byron Frohnen and Giovanni De Nicolao are projected to make their 70th consecutive starts on Wednesday against Oklahoma. The first two signees of head coach Steve Henson in spring 2016 have started all 69 game of their careers. Frohnen has started at both the small and power forward positions, while De Nicolao has been the stalwart at point guard.
3-point record in 2017-18
• After making just 172 3-pointers all of 2016-17, the 2017-18 Roadrunners set the UTSA single-season team 3-point field goals made record with 353. The previous record was 272 by the 2011-12 squad.
• The Roadrunners' 10.1 triples per game led Conference USA and ranked 19th in the NCAA.
• UTSA's 353 makes this season ranked fifth on the Conference USA single season list. The conference record is 375 by the 2007-08 Houston Cougars.
• Deon Lyle (who elected to depart the program to pursue a professional career in the Junior Basketball Association after his junior season), Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace lead the Roadrunners from deep with 956, 77 and 74 made triples, respectively. Junior point guard Giovanni De Nicolao made 36 and senior big man Nick Allen stepped out to hit 33 threes, which was 13 more than his first two seasons combined.
Up Next
• UTSA travels to Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Nov. 14 for a 7 p.m. tipoff in Stillwater. The game will be television on FOX Sports' regional networks.
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