Tulsa Continues Non-Conference Action Against UTSA on Tuesday

Tuesday, November 28

Reynolds Center

7 PM

Tulsa

UTSA

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Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Continues Non-Conference Action Against UTSA on Tuesday

11/27/2017 12:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME #7 ... TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (3-3) vs. UTSA ROADRUNNERS (4-2)
Date/Time:	Tuesday • Nov. 28 • 7 p.m.
Site:	Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 4th year UTSA – Steve Henson (Kansas State '90), 2nd year
TV:	ESPN3 (Chad McKee and Bryndon Manzer)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tulsa leads, 5-0
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| UTSA

TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa will continue non-conference play at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28, when it hosts UTSA at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tuesday's contest will mark the program's 300th contest in the Reynolds Center, where TU has posted a 228-71 (.763) mark since the venue opened on Dec. 29, 1998.

The Golden Hurricane (3-3) will look to keep its offense rolling after it registered season highs of 92 points and 12 3-pointers in a 92-72 win over Central Arkansas last Saturday. Corey Henderson Jr. was named to The American Weekly Honor Roll following his career-high 24 points in the win over the Bears. The senior went 8-of-12 from the floor and hit four 3-pointers, while Junior Etou registered a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

TU ranks fourth in the American Athletic Conference in scoring at 79.3 ppg, while the team's .487 field goal percentage ranks third in the conference and 66th in the nation.

Meanwhile, the Roadrunners (4-2) return eight letterwinners and three starters from last year's team, which went 14-19 overall and 8-10 in Conference USA action for first-year head coach Steve Henson. UTSA was picked to finish ninth in C-USA and the squad has won its last two contests. Freshmen guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace lead the team at 15.3 ppg and 13.7 ppg, respectively.

Tulsa has won all five previous matchups against the Roadrunners, all of which have come at the Reynolds Center.

Fast Break Points
• Tulsa is in its 107th season of basketball and fourth season in the American Athletic Conference.
• Tulsa continues non-conference play when it hosts UTSA at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the Reynolds Center.
• Tuesday's contest will mark the men's basketball program's 300th game in the Reynolds Center. TU has posted a 228-71 (.763) mark at the venue since its opening on Dec. 29, 1998.
• TU has won all five previous meetings, including a 72-70 overtime win in the last contest on March 2, 2014, when the teams met as members of Conference USA.
• Tulsa is coming off a 92-72 win over Central Arkansas last Saturday at the Reynolds Center. Led by Corey Henderson Jr.'s career-high 24 points, TU registered season highs for points (92) and 3-pointers (12).
• For his efforts against the Bears, Corey Henderson Jr. was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll. The senior went 8-of-12 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers in the victory.
• Junior Etou leads the team at 17.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg and those marks rank seventh and ninth in The American, respectively. The senior also ranks seventh in the circuit with a .588 field goal percentage.
• Tulsa is shooting 48.7-percent from the floor, which ranks third in The American and 66th in the nation. TU has shot at least 45-percent in five of its six contests, including four games of at least 50-percent shooting.
• The Hurricane also rank fourth in the conference by averaging 79.3 ppg. Tulsa has scored at least 78 points in four of its six games this season.
• Sterling Taplin is second on the team in scoring at 14.0 ppg to go along with a team-high 4.2 assists per outing. He is the only TU player to start and score in double-figures every game this season.
• Tulsa was picked to finish eighth in The American Preseason Poll. TU has finished better than its preseason prediction in all three previous seasons under head coach Frank Haith.

Notes
The Game
• Tulsa continues non-conference play with a 7 p.m. matchup against UTSA on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
• Tuesday's game can be seen on ESPN3, while fans in the Tulsa area can tune to Big Country 99.5 FM with Bruce Howard and former Hurricane player J.R. Rollo calling the action. The game also can be found on tulsahurricane.com or by using the TuneIn app.

The Series
• Tuesday's contest will mark just the sixth all-time meeting in the series, with Tulsa winning all five previous matchups at the Reynolds Center.
• TU won the last meeting, 72-70, in overtime on March 2, 2014, when both programs were members of Conference USA. James Woodard scored 19 points to lead the Hurricane and D'Andre Wright's offensive rebound and layup at the overtime buzzer lifted the home squad to a thrilling win on its way to a tie for the C-USA regular-season title.

Scouting the Roadrunners
• UTSA returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last year's team, which went 14-19 overall and 8-10 in Conference USA action for first-year head coach Steve Henson.
• The Roadrunners were picked to finish ninth in the 14-team C-USA prior to the 2017-18 season. UTSA has won its last two games and defeated I-35 rival Texas State in its only true road contest.
• Freshmen guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace lead the team at 15.3 ppg and 13.7 ppg, respectively. The duo has claimed the first two C-USA Freshman of the Week awards of the campaign.

Last Time Out
• Corey Henderson Jr. scored a career-high 24 points, while DaQuan Jeffries added 20, as Tulsa defeated Central Arkansas, 92-72, last Saturday at the Reynolds Center. TU set season highs for points (92) and 3-pointers (12).
• Henderson went 8-of-12 from the floor and hit four 3-pointers on the way to his career day. He also added three rebounds and a career-high three steals.
• Junior Etou registered his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. It was the seventh double-double of his career and fifth at TU.

Sharp Shooting
• TU is shooting 48.7-percent from the floor to rank third in the American Athletic Conference and 66th in the nation. The squad has shot better than 45-percent in five of the team's six games, including at least 50-percent in four contests.
• DaQuan Jeffries ranks third in the league by shooting 63.8-percent (30-of-47), while Junior Etou ranks seventh at 58.8-percent. In all, seven players are shooting better than 45-percent this season.
• The team's hot shooting has helped the offense rank fourth in the circuit by averaging 79.3 ppg. TU has scored at least 78 points in four of the team's six games.

Haith Enters Fourth Season at TU
• Head coach Frank Haith is in his fourth season at Tulsa, where he has compiled a 61-43 record and made a pair of postseason appearances during his tenure. Overall, he has an on-court record of 266-172 in his 14th season.
• Haith has led the Golden Hurricane to a pair of 20-win seasons and postseason appearances (2015 NCAA Tournament, 2016 NIT) during his first three seasons.
• With a win over No. 9 Wichita State in 2015-16, he led TU to its first win over a top-10 squad since 2000. Later that season, TU won at No. 16 SMU for its first road win against a top-16 program since 1981.

Haith in Exclusive Coaching Company
• Head coach Frank Haith is the only active Division I coach to take teams in four of the Power 6 conferences to the NCAA Tournament. Haith guided Tulsa (The American) to the Big Dance in 2015, Missouri (SEC) in 2013, Missouri (Big 12) in 2012 and Miami (ACC) in 2008.
• In addition, Haith is one of just 20 active coaches that have taken at least three different teams to the NCAA Tournament.
• Haith will face three other coaches on that list this season when TU matches up against Tubby Smith (Memphis), Kelvin Sampson (Houston) and Bruce Weber (Kansas State).

Tulsa's Success in The American
• Since joining the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2014-15 season, the Golden Hurricane has posted 34 league wins, which is tied with Temple for third-most in the circuit.
• Only SMU (44 wins) and Cincinnati (41 wins) have earned more victories than Tulsa's 34, which tops UConn (30) and Memphis (27) along with five other conference programs.
• TU has finished better than its preseason prediction in each of Haith's three seasons. The Golden Hurricane was picked to finish eighth in the conference prior to the 2017-18 season.

Etou Named Preseason Second-Team American Athletic Conference
• Senior forward Junior Etou was named preseason second-team American Athletic Conference in a vote by the league's head coaches.
• Last season, Etou led the Golden Hurricane in scoring (12.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg) and was the only player to start all 32 games. He was even better in conference play as he averaged 13.4 ppg and 6.9 rpg.
• So far in 2017-18, Etou leads the Hurricane in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg). Those marks rank seventh and ninth in the conference, respectively.
• Etou has scored in double-figures five times, including two games of at least 20 points.

Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, and 72-percent of its offense from last season's team.
• Returning starters include senior forward Junior Etou (32 starts), sophomore forward Martins Igbanu (17), junior guard Sterling Taplin (30) and senior guard Jaleel Wheeler (29).
• Other returners include junior forward Geno Artison, senior guard Corey Henderson Jr., sophomore guard Lawson Korita and junior forward Alex Foree.
• In all, Tulsa returns 68.8-percent of its minutes, 66.9-percent of its rebounding, 79.8-percent of its assists and 65.5-percent of its steals.

New Faces
• Along with the eight returning letterwinners, Tulsa has five newcomers, four of which made their debut in the season opener against Lamar.
• The newcomers eligible for 2017-18 are sophomore guard Curran Scott, junior guard/forward DaQuan Jeffries, freshman guard Darien Jackson and freshman guard Elijah Joiner. Sophomore forward Jeriah Horne will sit out the season after transferring from Nebraska.
• Scott redshirted the 2016-17 season after transferring from Charlotte, where he averaged 10.3 ppg as a freshman in 2015-16. He practiced with the Golden Hurricane last season.
• TU's four newcomers have totaled 177 points (29.5 ppg), led by 78 points (13.0 ppg) from DaQuan Jeffries.

Tulsa Enters 20th Season at the Reynolds Center
• After hosting the first TU men's basketball game on Dec. 29, 1998, the Golden Hurricane will play its 20th season in the Donald W. Reynolds Center this year.
• Tulsa has posted an overall record of 228-71 (.763) in its 19+ seasons, including a 2-1 mark this season.
• The building has seen 41 sellouts and 1,801,493 fans have witnessed Tulsa basketball at the Reynolds Center.

Offense Shines In Exhibition Wins
• Tulsa improved to 66-2 all-time in exhibition games, including a run of 37 consecutive victories, with wins over Northwestern Oklahoma State (96-65) and Missouri S&T (113-56) prior to the start of the 2017-18 season.
• TU put up impressive numbers in the wins as the team averaged 104.5 points and shot 56.6-percent from the floor, including 46.9-percent from behind the arc. Tulsa also recorded 46 assists to just 21 turnovers and out-rebounded its two opponents by a combined total of 99-46.
• Five players averaged in double-figures during exhibition play, led by Junior Etou's 17.0 ppg. Joining him were Corey Henderson Jr. (16.0 ppg), DaQuan Jeffries (12.5 ppg), Curran Scott (12.5 ppg) and Geno Artison (11.5 ppg).
• TU made 20 3-pointers in the win over Missouri S&T (the program's regular-season record for a game is 18), with half of that total coming from Henderson (6) and Artison (4).

TU Adds Three in the Early Signing Period
• Tulsa has signed three student-athletes — Chris Barnes, Peter Hewitt and Zeke Moore — to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period.
• All three signees are enrolled at junior colleges and will have three years of eligibility at TU.
• Barnes is a 6-foot-4 guard from Compton, Calif., who played his freshman season at UTEP. He appeared in 16 games for the Miners after earning all-conference honors as a senior at Compton HS. He is redshirting this season at Angelina College.
• Peter Hewitt is a 6-foot-10 forward from Mountain View, Calif., who redshirted last season at UC Davis. He currently plays for Las Positas College and he has helped the team average 99.0 ppg and start 3-0 this season. Hewitt was a three-year letterwinner at Saint Francis High School and led the Lancers to a pair of West Coast Athletic League titles.
• Zeke Moore is a 6-foot-7 guard from St. Louis, Mo., who played his freshman season at Saint Louis. He saw action in 29 games and averaged 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds before transferring to Southwest Illinois CC, where he is redshirting this season. Moore was a standout at Riverview Gardens HS for his father, head caoch Gerard Moore, and he averaged 21.1 ppg as a senior.

Season Tickets Available Now
• Season tickets for Tulsa's full home schedule are on sale now.
• A four-game Mini-Plan also is available, which features four American Athletic Conference matchups (Jan. 3 vs. UConn; Jan. 13 vs. Wichita State; Feb. 1 vs. SMU; March 4 vs. Temple).
• Additionally, discounted group tickets are available to groups of 15 or more and fans also can purchase an All-Sport FlexBook, which allows flexibility in attending games for basketball, football and ticketed Olympic sports.
• Fans can purchase tickets in person at the TU Athletics Ticket Office in the Reynolds Center or by calling 918.631.GoTU (4688).

Next Up
• Tulsa will play its first true road game when it travels to Normal, Ill., for a 3 p.m. matchup on Saturday, Dec. 2, against Illinois State.