EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Opening Round
Texas (1-0) vs. Coppin State (0-1)
Monday, November 12th, 2012
Frank Erwin Center, Austin TX
Television: 7:00 pm – Longhorn Network
The Longhorns (1-0) play their second game of the season tonight at the Frank Erwin Center against Fang Mitchell’s Coppin State Eagles (0-1) in an opening round of the 2012 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. Texas looks to improve on a poor shooting performance in the team’s 55-53 win over Fresno State last Friday that required a heavy dose of free throws to notch the victory against the Bulldogs. The ‘Horns shot only 35.6% with Sheldon McClellan turning in the leading scoring performance for Texas with 20 points, 14 of which came from the free throw stripe.
Sophmore point guard Myck Kabongo will not play against the Eagles this evening, missing his second consecutive game while the NCAA continues its investigation into whether or not improper benefits were administered as part of a trip Kabongo took to Chicago. In Kabongo’s absence freshman guard Jevan Felix will get the start again at the point, giving the freshman from St. Augustine High School in New Orleans invaluable playing time, especially with the cloud of uncertaintly surrounding Myck Kabongo’s future on this team.
The Freshmen Effect
Tonight Texas fans can expect to see a heavy dose of youth on the court much like the Fresno State game in which six freshmen saw playing time. Naamon Forest High School teammates Demarcus Holland and Prince Ibeh saw playing time, as did Ioannis Papapetrou, Connor Lammert, Cameron Ridley and Felix.
Coppin State, which returns no starter’s from last year’s team, lost its season opener to USC 87-73 last Friday in Los Angeles. Freshman guard Patrick Cole leads the Eagles in scoring after a 25 point performance against the Trojans. Senior guard Troy Franklin proved his worth, coming off the bench to contibute 23 points and 3 assists.  Coppin State is a young team by all accounts but shoots a lot and runs the court quick. They shot 35.1% on 57 attempts and attempted a whopping 26 shots from beyond the arc.
The Longhorns are 3-0 vs. Coppin State all-time with the two teams meeting last in 2010 in Austin. The Longhorns won that contest 95-75.
