Tulsa Set for Matchup at Temple on Tonight

Wednesday, January 17

Philadelphia, PA

5 PM

Tulsa

Temple

Photo by: John Lew

Tulsa Set for Matchup at Temple on Tonight

1/17/2018 9:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball

GAME #19: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (10-8, 3-3) vs. TEMPLE OWLS (8-9, 1-5)
Date/Time:	Wednesday • Jan. 17 • 5 p.m. CT
Site:	Liacouras Center (10,206) • Philadelphia, Pa.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 4th year Temple – Fran Dunphy (La Salle '70), 12th year
TV:	ESPNEWS (Kevin Neghandi and Mark Plansky)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tulsa leads, 6-1
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| Temple

TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa will head back on the road this week for a 5 p.m. (CT) matchup tonight (Wednesday) against Temple at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.

The Golden Hurricane (10-8, 3-3) will look to bounce back from a slim 72-69 setback to No. 5 Wichita State last Saturday night at the Reynolds Center. Sterling Taplin hit six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 26 points, 17 of which came in the second half. The junior is shooting 47.7-percent from the floor for the season and his 12.3 ppg rank second on the squad.

Meanwhile, the Owls (8-9, 1-5) are coming off a 75-72 overtime setback against Memphis on Saturday. Three of its five conference losses have been by one possession. Guard Quinton Rose leads the team at 14.7 ppg, while Shizz Alston Jr. is not far behind at 13.8 ppg. Six-foot-10 forward Obi Enechionyia averages 11.4 points and a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per game.

Wednesday's game will mark just the eighth all-time meeting between Tulsa and Temple, with the Hurricane holding a 6-1 lead in the series. Tulsa has won three of the four meetings in Philadelphia, including a 70-68 win over the Owls on Jan. 14, 2017, in the only contest between the teams last season.

Fast Break Points
• Tulsa is in its 107th season of basketball and fourth season in the American Athletic Conference.
• Tulsa's tough January stretch continues at 5 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday, Jan. 17, when it will face Temple at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
• All seven of Tulsa's games during January are against opponents currently ranked in the top-100 of the RPI.
• The Hurricane lead the all-time series against the Owls, 6-1, with five of the seven meetings in the series coming since Tulsa joined the American Athletic Conference prior to the start of the 2014-15 season.
• Tulsa has won three of the four matchups with Temple in Philadelphia, including a 70-68 win over the Owls at Liacouras Center in the only meeting between the teams last season.
• Tulsa is coming off a 72-69 setback against No. 5 Wichita State last Saturday at the Reynolds Center. Sterling Taplin hit six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 26 points, 17 of which came in the second half, to lead all scorers.
• Junior Etou leads the team at 15.9 ppg and 6.9 rpg and those marks rank seventh and sixth in The American, respectively. He scored a team-high 15 points in last season's matchup at Temple.
• Martins Igbanu is averaging 15.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in his last five games, including a career-high 27-point outing at Houston (Jan. 11). Igbanu's 14.0 ppg during conference play leads the team and ranks 11th in the league.
• After posting a -4.5 rebound margin through its first six games, TU has recorded a +5.5 rebound margin since. TU has outrebounded its opponent by double digits four times during that stretch.
• TU has notched 37 league wins since joining The American, which ranks third behind only SMU (47) and Cincinnati (45) during that span (2014-present).
• 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 will continue American Athletic Conference play at 5 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday, Jan. 17, when it will return to the road for a matchup at Temple.
• Wednesday's game can be seen on ESPNEWS, 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. Live audio from the game also can be found on tulsahurricane.com or by using the TuneIn app.

The Series
• Wednesday's game will mark just the eighth all-time meeting between Tulsa and Temple, with the Hurricane holding a 6-1 lead in the series.
• Tulsa has won three of the four meetings in Philadelphia, including a 70-68 win over the Owls on Jan. 14, 2017, in the only contest between the teams last season.
• Five of the seven meetings in the series have come since Tulsa joined the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2014-15 season and the Hurricane has won four of those five matchups.
• The teams met in non-conference action during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons, with Tulsa defeating the Owls in both ends of a home-and-home series.

Scouting the Owls
• Temple enters Wednesday's game at 8-9 overall and 1-5 in American Athletic Conference play after a 75-72 overtime setback against Memphis on Saturday. Three of its five conference losses have been by one possession.
• Temple was picked to finish seventh in the conference's preseason poll and the squad returned four starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's team, which went 16-16 overall and finished eighth at 7-11 in the league.
• Guard Quinton Rose leads the team at 14.7 ppg, while Shizz Alston Jr. is not far behind at 13.8 ppg. Six-foot-10 forward Obi Enechionyia averages 11.4 points and a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per game.
• During conference action, the Owls are averaging 63.0 ppg, but opponents have shot 46.4-percent against them and are putting up 69.2 ppg.

Last Meeting
• Sterling Taplin's layup with four seconds left capped an 11-3 run that lifted Tulsa to a 70-68 win at Temple on Jan. 14, 2017, in the only meeting between the schools last season.
• Junior Etou led the way with 15 points for the Hurricane, while Pat Birt and Taplin each added 14 points. Tulsa shot 52.2-percent from the field and outscored the Owls 32-22 in the paint.
• The Owls led by eight with seven minutes to play and had a 65-59 advantage with 6:03 on the clock before Tulsa's game-deciding run.

Last Time Out
• Sterling Taplin poured in a career-high 26 points, but No. 5 Wichita State edged Tulsa 72-69 in front of a sellout crowd last Saturday night at the Reynolds Center in the first-ever Havoc in the Heartland men's basketball game.
• Taplin went 10-of-17 from the field and 6-of-10 behind the arc to lead all scorers. The junior scored 17 of his game-high total in the second half to lead a TU rally.
• Tulsa led by as much as 10 points twice in the first half, but WSU bridged halftime with a 25-4 run to grab a double-digit lead in the second half.
• WSU led 59-49 with 8:42 to play and the deficit was cut to two points twice down the stretch, including 71-69 on Corey Henderson Jr.'s 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining.
• TU had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minutes, but Taplin's potential game-tying shot missed at the buzzer.

The Schedule
• Wednesday's game continues a tough January stretch for Tulsa. All seven of its opponents during the month are teams currently ranked in the top 100 of the RPI, with four matchups against top-100 teams coming on the road.
• TU already has faced Wichita State (18), Houston (49), UConn (77) and Memphis (95) in January.
• After facing Temple (52) in Philadelphia on Wednesday, TU will host Memphis (95) and take to the road for another contest with Wichita State (18) on Jan. 28.
• Tulsa has a pair of wins against teams in the RPI top-100: UConn (77) and Kansas State (91).

Tulsa 3 Party
• Tulsa hit a then-American Athletic Conference record 17 3-pointers in its Jan. 3 double-overtime win over UConn. The total was just one shy of the program's record, set against North Texas on Dec. 8, 1998.
• Other than its program-record 18 triples in 1998, TU had last hit 15 3-pointers against Jackson State on Dec. 17, 2009.
• TU also set conference and team records for 3-pointers attempted, with 41 on the night.
• Corey Henderson Jr. hit eight 3-pointers, which ties for the second-most in a single game in program history. James Woodard went 10-of-16 from deep against SMU on March 8, 2015, for the program record, while Jason Parker also hit eight treys against Wichita State on Dec. 4, 2002.
• Henderson became the sixth player in American Athletic Conference history to hit at least eight 3-pointers in a game and the first to do it since UCF's Matt Williams hit a league-record 11 on Jan. 17, 2017.

Trending
• Junior Etou ranks 32nd in the nation with 124 free-throw attempts this season and 44th in the nation in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.9) via kenpom.com. Etou has attempted at least 10 free throws four times this season.
• After averaging 1.6 ppg in his first five games, Corey Henderson Jr. is averaging 11.8 ppg in his last 13 contests and 11.8 ppg during conference play.
• Martins Igbanu is averaging 15.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in his last five games, including a career-high 27-point outing at Houston (Jan. 11). Igbanu's 14.0 ppg during conference play leads the team and ranks 11th in the league.
• TU is 51-7 under head coach Frank Haith when leading at halftime, including a 9-1 mark this season.

Crashing The Boards
• After being outrebounded in five of its first six games with a rebound margin of -4.5 rpg, Tulsa has crashed the glass and outrebounded its opponents by a combined 487-421 (40.6-35.1; +5.5 rpg) in its last 12 contests.
• TU has outrebounded four opponents (UTSA, Illinois State, Kansas State, Tulane) during that stretch by double-digits, including three games (UTSA, Illinois State, Tulane) with at least a +20 rebound margin.
• During that stretch, Junior Etou has led the way by averaging 7.3 rebounds per game, including a career-high 14 boards against ECU (Dec. 28). Martins Igbanu also has helped crash the glass at 6.3 rpg.
• The Hurricane is 8-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent.

Free Fallin'
• The Hurricane lead the league and rank 24th in the nation with 437 free throws attempted, while it is connecting at a 72.1-percent mark at the charity stripe to rank fifth in The American.
• TU has shot more free throws than its opponent 14 times this season and own a 9-5 record in those games.
• Junior Etou ranks second in the conference and 32nd in the nation with 124 free throws attempted. His 88 makes at the charity stripe also rank second in the league and 53rd in the nation.
• Martins Igbanu has attempted 34 free throws over the last four games, connecting on 29 for a 82.4-percent mark in that span. His 57 makes at the charity stripe rank second on the team and he is shooting 76.0-percent on the year.

TU To Participate In Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge
• Making 3-point shots this basketball season takes on even more meaning this year for head coach Frank Haith and The University of Tulsa men's basketball team. The Golden Hurricane will square off against teams across the nation to fight cancer as part of the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge.
• Fans can pledge a donation for each 3-point shot that TU makes over the final 16 games of the regular-season (Jan. 3-March 4) to support American Cancer Society research, education and patient programs at:
pledgeit.org/cvc18-tulsa. Fans also have the option of a fixed donation and Haith started the Golden Hurricane campaign with a contribution of $500.
•So far, Tulsa has made 43 3-pointers in four games during the challenge, which started with a then-conference record 17 triples against UConn (Jan. 3).

Haith In His Fourth Season at TU
• Head coach Frank Haith is in his fourth season at Tulsa, where he has compiled a 68-48 record and made a pair of postseason appearances during his tenure. Overall, he has an on-court record of 273-177 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 37 league wins, which is the third-most in the circuit.
• Only SMU (47 wins) and Cincinnati (45 wins) have earned more victories than Tulsa's 37, which tops UConn (33) and Memphis (30) along with six 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 (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg). Those marks rank seventh and sixth in the conference, respectively.
• Etou has scored in double-figures 16 times, including six 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 349 points (19.4 ppg), led by 120 points (6.7 ppg) from Curran Scott.

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 233-72 (.764) in its 19+ seasons, including a 7-2 mark this season.
• The building has seen 41 sellouts and 1,827,818 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 84.2 ppg and start 10-4 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 coach Gerard Moore, and he averaged 21.1 ppg as a senior.

Next Up
• Tulsa will continue its tough January stretch when it returns home for a 7 p.m. contest against Memphis (12-6, 3-2) on Jan. 20 before closing out the month with another meeting against No. 5/7 Wichita State at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita on Jan. 28. The Jan. 20 game will serve as TU's annual Legends Day, where former TU men's basketball lettermen will be in attendance and honored at the game.

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