Tuesday, February 7
Memphis, Tenn.
6 p.m.
Tulsa
at
Memphis
Tulsa Takes on Memphis Tonight on the Road
2/7/2017 5:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TULSA BASKETBALL
Tulsa On the Road to Face Memphis Tuesday at 6 pm
| GAME #23 ... TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (12-10, 6-4 AAC) vs. MEMPHIS (17-7, 7-4 AAC) | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time: | Tuesday • February 7, 2017 • 6:00 p.m. (CT) |
| Site: | FedEx Forum (18,400), Memphis, Tenn. |
| Coaches: | Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 3rd year Memphis – Tubby Smith (High Point '73), 1st year |
| TV: | ESPNU (Richard Cross and Julianne Viani) |
| Radio: | Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo) |
| Live Stats: | Live Stats |
| Series: | Memphis leads 25-16 |
| Twitter: | @TUMBasketball | @TulsaHurricane |
| Instagram: | TulsaMBasketball |
| Game Notes: | Tulsa I Memphis |
THE GAME . . .
• The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (12-10, 6-4 AAC) goes on the road after a three-game homestand to play the Memphis Tigers (17-7, 7-4 AAC) for the second time this season.
• Tulsa won the earlier meeting at home against the Tigers on Jan. 11 by a score of 81-71.
• Tulsa dropped a 76-53 decision at home against SMU on Saturday, while Memphis fell to UCF on the road 72-55.
THE SERIES . . .
• This is the 42nd meeting between Tulsa and Memphis.
• The Tigers lead the series 25-16, including a 13-8 record at home, 11-7 record in Tulsa and the series is tied 1-1 at a neutral site.
• Before Tulsa's win earlier this year, 81-71, at home. Memphis had won the previous two meetings after Tulsa had won two consecutive games.
• Tulsa's last win on the road against Memphis came in overtime, 74-72, on Feb. 28, 2015.
TULSA IN THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE . . .
• Tulsa is in its third season as a member of the American Athletic Conference, after finishing its first year in second-place and placing in a tie for third-place a year ago.
• Tulsa has an overall 32-14 record in its third season of American play, which in the last three years is the third best league mark behind SMU (38-9) and Cincinnati (35-11).
• Tulsa had league records of 14-4 in 2014-15 and 12-6 in 2015-16.
• In the preseason coaches poll, Tulsa was picked to finish 9th in the league . . . so far Tulsa has defeated teams picked above them –– UConn (2nd), Memphis (5th), Temple (6th) and UCF(8th).
COACH HAITH GETS 50TH WIN AT TULSA . . .
• While capturing its American Athletic Conference-opening win over UConn this year, it was also the 50th win for Frank Haith as the Tulsa head coach.
• Haith now has a 55-33 record in his third season as the Hurricane head coach.
• In his first two years, Haith led Tulsa to over 20 wins both years, including 23 in his first year and 20 victories a year ago.
• Haith averaged 21.5 wins in his first two years, while Tulsa made the NIT in 2014 and NCAAs in 2015.
GOING ON THE ROAD IN THE AAC . . .
• In its third year as a member of the American Athletic Conference, the Hurricane has posted a 13-9 record in league road games.
• Tulsa has a 2-2 road record this year, including wins at Temple (70-68) and USF (79-67), while losing its two road games by three points each, including at Houston (64-61) and at East Carolina (69-66).
• The Hurricane posted a 7-2 road record in 2014-15 and a 4-5 mark in 2015-16.
• Tulsa has an 8.2 win margin in its 13 road victories in the league since the 2014-15 season, while the opposition has a + 9.5 margin in the nine Tulsa road losses.
QUICK HITTERS . . .
• Tulsa is playing its 106th season of basketball.
• Tulsa features only three players on its roster that appeared in a game at TU prior to this season – Pat Birt, TK Edogi and Sterling Taplin.
• Tulsa graduated 9 seniors after last year's 20-12 season and NCAA tournament appearance, including losing 81-percent of its scoring and 78-percent of its rebounding.
• Tulsa has 10 newcomers to its roster, including two juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen.
• Tulsa has used 7 different starting lineups through 22 games this year.
• Ten players have made their Tulsa debuts this season . . . they have accounted for 65.5 percent of Tulsa's total points, scoring 993 of Tulsa's 1,515 points thru 22 games.
• Tulsa has out-rebounded 12 of its 22 opponents this season, winning 8 of those games . . . among those 12 games, Tulsa has had 7 double-digit rebounding margins, including a high of 21 more than ORU.
• After allowing its first two opponents this season to average 82.0 points, both losses, Tulsa has held its next 20 opponents to a 67.4 scoring average.
LOOKING AT NUMBERS . . .
• Tulsa held 14th-ranked Cincinnati to 21.5 points below its season scoring average.
• The Hurricane also shot 40.5 percent from the field against Cincinnati, the nation's second-ranked field goal defensive team.
• Tulsa's 77 points in its win over UCF was the most points allowed this season by UCF, bettering the previous high of 74.
• Tulsa shot 42.6% against a UCF team that came into the contest leading the nation for FG% defense, allowing opponents to just 34.8%.
• Junior TK Edogi is shooting .679 from the field on 56 attempts, while shooting .647 from the free throw line on 34 attempts.
• Edogi has made 15 of his last 21 free throws for a .714 percentage.
• Tulsa is shooting 72.7-percent from the free throw line at home and .734 on the road.
• The Hurricane has a .430 field goal percentage at home, while hitting .414 on the road.
• Sterling Taplin has a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio overall this year, and has a 2.3 ratio in home games.
• Tulsa leads the American Athletic Conference in league games with a free throw percentage of .783, and also leads for all games at 72.7 percent.
• Tulsa ranks third in league games for scoring offense with an average of 69.2 points, behind SMU's 74.6 and Cincinnati's 72.8 points.
LAST TIME OUT . . .
• SMU shot a sizzling 63-percent in the second half and pulled away from Tulsa for a 76-53 victory on Saturday.
• Junior Etou and Sterling Taplin led the Hurricane with 18 and 12 points, respectively.
• Leading by nine points at halftime, 28-19, SMU out-scored the Hurricane by 14 points in the second 20 minutes and led by double-digits through the final 11:34 after Sterling Brown's two free throws gave SMU a 47-36 lead at that point in the game.
• For the game, SMU scored 36 of their points from three-point range, converting 12-of-27 from long distance.
• Tulsa improved its field goal percentage in the second half by 25-percent to 50-percent, nailing 11-of-22.
• SMU held a 38-to-23 edge on the boards, including nine offensive boards that led to 10 points.
• The loss was Tulsa's fourth in conference play this year, but the first that was more than a three-point deficit.
TAKING #14 CINCINNATI TO THE WIRE . . .
• Cincinnati's Troy Caupain knocked down a 10-foot jumper at the 0:04 mark to give the 14th-ranked Bearcats a 57-55 comeback victory over Tulsa Wednesday night.
• Tulsa was led by Jaleel Wheeler's 13 points, followed by 10 points each by Junior Etou and Martins Igbanu. TK Edogi added 8 points and had a career-high 13 boards in 17 minutes of play.
• Tulsa shot 40.5 percent from the field against the nation's second-ranked field goal defensive team, while holding Cincinnati to 35-percent shooting.
• The Hurricane held Cincinnati to 21.5 points below its season scoring average, and out-rebounded the Bearcats by 10 boards, 38-to-28.
• Sterling Taplin's layup with 6:01 left in the game put the Hurricane ahead by 11 points, 52-41.
• Tulsa led by 9 points after Etou's two free throws with 5:13 remaining on the game clock made the score 54-45, but an experienced Bearcats squad used a 12-1 run over the final 3:28 to grab the victory.
JUNIOR LEADING HURRICANE . . .
• Junior Etou, a junior who sat out last year after transferring from Rutgers, has been a key component to the Tulsa team.
• Etou averages 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds to rank first on the team in both categories.
• Etou scored a new career-high with 31 points and added 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season at East Carolina on Jan. 25.
• His previous career-high was 23 points agaisnt Memphis, while he also turned in a career-best 13 rebounds in that game.
• His earlier career-high was 22 points, while knocking down 13-of-14 free throws, against Illinois State at the Diamond Head Classic.
• Etou has raised his free throw percentage to 78.9 percent . . . after his 13-of-14 performance against Illinois State, his free throw percentage improved from .667 to his current percentage.
• In the last 12 games, Etou has connected on 88.6 percent of his free throws (62-of-70).
• He has scored in double-figures in 14 games and has 4 double-doubles.
• Against Illinois State in the first meeting, Etou had 15 points, including a layup at 2:29 that gave Tulsa its first second-half lead, and added 3 rebounds.
• Against OSU, Etou's layup with 0:40 on the clock tied the game at 67-67.
• Etou began the year with a 20-point, 10-rebound performance against Jacksonville State.
Players Mentioned
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