Steven Pledger had a game-high 31 points and Oklahoma beat Houston Saturday at the Chesapeake Arena 79-74 in the first game of the All College Classic.
Pledger was 10 for 13 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, rendering an off night from the Sooners' inside tandem of Andrew Fitzgerald and Romero Osby irrelevant. The two combined to go just 6 for 27 from the floor for a combined 15 points.
Oklahoma (8-1) is off to its best start since the 2008-2009 season. After consecutive losing seasons the past two years, OU has improved drastically under first-year coach Lon Kruger.
Houston (4-5) opened the second half on a 12-0 run and led by nine with 15:14 left, but the Sooners scored the next seven points to get back in the game and stage a comeback.
