Friday, November 20, 2009

Rams return to Action Saturday against Oklahoma

After serving four years as head coach, VCU will welcome back Jeff Capel on Saturday when his 17th ranked Oklahoma Sooners lock horns with the 1-1 Rams.

VCU will be looking to avenge last year’s 81-70 loss to then fourth-ranked Oklahoma in the All-College Classic.

Leading the way for OU will be sophomore All-America candidate Willie Warren and senior Tony Crocker. The back court duo combined for 70 starts last year .

Warren recorded seven games of at east 20 points as a freshman while Crocker finished with a game-high 26 points and hit 5-of-6 3-point attempts in last year’s meeting between the Rams and Sooners.

The Rams are coming off a tough loss to Western Michigan on Wednesday. Virginia Commonwealth led by has many as 17 points in the first half but struggled to score in the second half ultimately loosing the contest 83-67.

VCU will be looking for improved performances from Larry Sanders and Bradford Burgess who had career-highs in a losing effort for Virginia Commonwealth University last year.

As head coach of VCU, Capel recorded a 79-41 (.658) overall record and a 50-22 (.694) mark in Colonial Athletic Association play. His Rams boasted a 47-11 overall home record for a staunch .811 winning percentage.

In 2003-04, he guided VCU past George Mason in the CAA Tournament championship game catapulting the Rams to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996.

Oklahoma posted a 30-6 mark in 2008-09 and made the program's first Elite Eight showing since 2003.

Game time at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center is set for 7:30 p.m.

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