Tulsa vs. Memphis: MBB Game 29 Preview

TULSA (19-9, 11-5 American) at MEMPHIS (15-13, 6-9 American)
Date/Time:	Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016 • 3:01 p.m.
Site:	FedEx Forum (18,400)
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88) – 42-20, 2nd year Memphis – Josh Pastner (Arizona '98) – 163-71, 7th year
TV:	ESPNU (Richard Cross and Brooke Weisbrod)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Memphis leads, 23-15
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Tulsa men's basketball team is on the road to face American Athletic Conference rival Memphis at 3 p.m. Sunday at the FedEx Forum.

The Golden Hurricane (19-9, 11-5 American) has won 11 of its last 14 games and three in a row, including a 74-55 victory over Temple on Tuesday. The Tigers (15-13, 6-9 American) have dropped four of five, including a 69-62 defeat to SMU on Thursday.

The game will be broadcast on Big Country 99.5 FM and the Golden Hurricane Radio Network, and televised on ESPNU.

Following a workout at the FedEx Forum Satuday, the Hurricane visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel.

The Series
This will be the 39th meeting between Tulsa and Memphis. Memphis leads the series, 23-15. The Golden Hurricane won both meetings last season, 73-55 in Tulsa and 74-72 in overtime in Memphis. The Tigers won 15 of 16 meetings from 2006-13 when both schools were members of Conference USA. The Hurricane also won in Memphis, 68-65, in 2011, and in the 2001 NIT semifinals in New York, 72-64. The Tigers won eight in a row between 1972-1989, and Tulsa won the first 11 against Memphis, between 1964-71. TU is 8-12 all-time against the Tigers in Memphis.

About Memphis
Memphis averages 76.6 points and 41.2 rebounds per game, as well as a .407 field goal and .316 3-point percentage, while allowing 71.1 ppg, 39.3 rpg, a .399 field goal and a .319 3-point percentage. Dedric Lawson leads the Tigers with 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, while Shaq Goodwin averages 14.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Ricky Tarrant Jr. puts up 12.0 points and 3.4 assists per outing.

Tulsa Statistical Leaders
James Woodard leads the Golden Hurricane with 15.7 points and adds 5.2 rebounds per game, while Shaquille Harrison averages 14.6 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds, along with 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals per contest. Pat Birt adds 12.8 points, Rashad Smith scores 7.3 points, Brandon Swannegan puts up 5.9 points, and Marquel Curtis scored 6.6 points per outing. Tulsa averages 73.6 ppg, 35.1 rpg, a .445 field goal percentage, .334 3-point pct. and a .672 free throw pct. The Hurricane allows opponents 68.0 ppg, 36.6 rpg, a .412 field goal pct. and a .357 3-point pct.

Quick Hits
• Tulsa's RPI is No. 34, and its strength of schedule is a league-best 28th in the nation.
• Tulsa has won 11 of its last 14 games.
• Tulsa defeated Temple, 74-55, Tuesday at the Reynolds Center. Pat Birt led the Golden Hurricane with 23 points, James Woodard tallied 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Marquel Curtis put up 13 points and seven rebounds.
• Shaquille Harrison is the only player in TU history to compile 1,300 points, 400 assists and 200 steals.
• James Woodard, Shaquille Harrison and Pat Birt combine to average 43.1 points per game.
• Three Tulsa starters are left-handed (60%), but only 12 percent of the population is left-handed.
• Tulsa is 2-2 vs. ranked opponents this season, with wins over No. 9 Wichita State (77-67) and No. 16 SMU (82-77), and losses to No. 18 SMU (69-81) and No. 22 Cincinnati (57-76).
• Through 28 games this season, Tulsa has a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio. TU has totaled 380 assists to 305 turnovers. In 2014-15 through 28 games, the Hurricane had 311 assists-322 turnovers–0.9 ratio.
• Pat Birt was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 19.5 points and leading the Hurricane to wins over Cincinnati and at UCF last week.
• Tulsa has two wins against top-25 opponents for the first time since the 1999-00 season.
• Two Tulsa players have scored 20 points in the same game six times this season – the most since the 1993-94 team had at least two players score at least 20 points in the same game eight times.
• Tulsa is 6-5 on the road this season.
• James Woodard is one of only three players in Tulsa history to total at least 60 3-pointers in three consecutive seasons.
• Harrison ranks 36^th in the nation in steals (1.9 spg).
• The Hurricane has scored 90 points in four games so far this season. It is the most 90-point games since 2013-14, when Tulsa scored 90 points five times, and is the second-most since 2000-01.
• Harrison is on the 2016 Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Early Season Watch List, from the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
• Tulsa is playing this season with nine seniors – the most seniors on one roster in the country.
• Tulsa is in its second year season under the direction of head coach Frank Haith. In his first season, the Hurricane posted a 23-11 overall record and a 14-4 conference record. TU finished second in the American Athletic Conference regular season, played in the semifinals of the conference tournament, and reached the second round of the postseason NIT.

American Athletic Conference Players of the Week
     Tulsa has claimed three American Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards this season. Senior guards James Woodard and Shaquille Harrison earned the first two awards of the season, and Pat Birt won the award on Feb. 22. Woodard won the award on Nov. 16 and Harrison earned the honor on Nov. 23. In addition, Woodard has been named on the weekly honor roll three times (12/14, 1/18, 1/25) and Pat Birt has made the honor roll twice (2/8, 2/15).

Tulsa Career Top-10 Rankings
     James Woodard ranks fourth in TU career scoring with 1,829 points, and second with 252 career 3-pointers. He needs 112 points to match Ben Uzoh (2006-10) for third place (1,951) and 47 threes to match Shea Seals (1993-97) for first place (299).
     Harrison ranks third at TU with 238 career steals, and fourth with 440 career assists. He needs 33 steals to match Steve Harris (1981-85) for second place (271), and 17 assists to match Byron Boudreaux (1983-87) for second place (457).
     Brandon Swannegan has 145 career blocks, ranking fourth in TU history. He needs 106 blocks to match Kevin Johnson (1999-03) for third place.

Other Statistical Notes
     Tulsa averages 31.9 points in the paint per game, and has scored 892 points, or 43 percent of its season total, in the paint – that is 8.3 ppg more than its opponents. Tulsa averages 16.6 points off turnovers per game, and has scored 464, or 23 percent of its season total, off turnovers – 5.8 ppg more than its opponents. Tulsa averages 8.6 fastbreak points per game, and outscores opponents by an average of 5.1 fastbreak points per game. The Tulsa bench averages 19.6 points per game. Rashad Ray has a 2.9 assist-turnover ratio this season (55 assists to 19 turnovers). For his career, Ray has a 1.8 assist-turnover ratio, including a 2.4 ratio over his last three years.

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Tulsa vs. Memphis: MBB Game 29 Preview

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Players Mentioned

Pat Birt

Marquel Curtis

Shaquille Harrison

Rashad Ray

Rashad Smith

Brandon Swannegan

James Woodard