BRONCS HIT THE ROAD TO PLAY RICE, OKLAHOMA STATE
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

EDINBURG, TX-The University of Texas-Pan American's men's basketball team will hit the road for the beginning of one of their toughest stretches of the season when they begin a two-game road trip at Rice Saturday afternoon. The game is set for 2:05 p.m. at Autry Court, and the Broncs will conclude their road trip when they visit Oklahoma State Monday evening at 7:00 p.m.

Texas-Pan American will take a 3-6 record into Saturday's game after an 87-81 overtime loss to North Texas Wednesday evening. The Owls are 5-2, and are coming off an 84-78 victory at Lamar Thursday evening. Rice won the Top of the World Classic at Alaska Fairbanks in November, and has lost only to Stanford and Tulane.

"Rice is a very good team, they're doing a lot of good things," said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. "We've had some success against them in the past. They're picked pretty high in their conference, and they had Stanford beaten, and let it get away from them. They're a quality team, (Head Coach) Willis (Wilson) does a great job with them, and it will be a tough game for us."

Oklahoma State is 5-1 and visits Arkansas Saturday. The Cowboys are undefeated at home, losing only to Brigham Young in a neutral site game in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"Oklahoma State is a very talented team, with a tremendous coaching staff," said Hoffman. "They're very good defensively. They guard you so well that you have to really execute and take care of the ball. Gallagher-Iba Arena is one of the most historic gyms in America, (Hall of Fame) Coach (Hank) Iba coached there, and they'll have a big crowd. It'll be an unbelievable atmosphere for college basketball."

After the OSU game, the Broncs will take several days off for the holidays, and return to action when they visit Oklahoma Monday, December 29th.

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