Tulsa Set for Showdown with SMU on Thursday

Thursday, February 1

Reynolds Center

7 PM

Tulsa

SMU

Buy Tickets

Photo by: John Lew

Tulsa Set for Showdown with SMU on Thursday

1/30/2018 3:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME #22: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (11-10, 4-5) vs. SMU MUSTANGS (15-7, 5-4)
Date/Time:	Thursday • Feb. 1 • 7 p.m.
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 4th year SMU – Tim Jankovich (Kansas State '82), 2nd year
TV:	CBS Sports Network (Rich Waltz and Len Elmore)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tulsa leads, 31-19
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| SMU

TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa men's basketball team returns home for a 7 p.m. matchup with SMU on Thursday, Feb. 1 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

The contest will be a "white-out" game and all fans are encouraged to wear white. The TU Bookstore will have white t-shirts for sale both at the Campus Corner leading up to gameday and in the Storm Center on Thursday. Additionally, fans will be treated to the Quick-Change act at halftime.

The Golden Hurricane (11-10, 4-5) will look to improve on its 8-2 record at home this season when it hosts the Mustangs (15-7, 5-4). Corey Henderson Jr. was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll after he scored 28 points in Sunday's game at No. 17 Wichita State. The senior scored 22 points in the second half, including a stretch of 10 consecutive points for TU.

Meanwhile, SMU has won three of its last four games, which includes an 83-78 win at then-No. 7 Wichita State on Jan. 17. For the season, SMU is just 2-6 in games away from Moody Coliseum, but those wins have both come against ranked teams. The squad is led by Shake Milton, The American's preseason Player of the Year, and the junior guard is averaging 18.0 points and 4.4 assists per game for the season. During conference play, he leads all scorers at 19.2 ppg.

Tulsa leads the all-time series 31-19 and it owns an 11-10 edge at home. The series dates back to Feb. 20, 1920, when TU went on the road to defeat the Mustangs, 20-18, in Dallas.

Fast Break Points
• Tulsa is in its 107th season of basketball and fourth season in the American Athletic Conference.
• Tulsa will return to the Donald W. Reynolds Center for a 7 p.m. matchup with SMU on Thursday, Feb. 1.
• TU leads the all-time series against the Mustangs, 31-19, including an 11-10 edge in Tulsa. The teams have had success on each other's home floor recently as SMU has won the last six games at the Reynolds Center, while TU has won nine of its last 11 trips to Moody Coliseum.
• Tulsa is coming off a 90-71 setback at then-No. 17 Wichita State last Sunday afternoon in Wichita. Corey Henderson Jr. scored a game-high 28 points, 22 of which came in the second half, to lead the Golden Hurricane.
• Following his performance in Wichita on Sunday, Corey Henderson Jr. was named to The American Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. Henderson hit five 3-pointers and leads the league with 30 treys since the start of conference play. It's the third time this season that he has earned honor roll recognition from the conference.
• Junior Etou leads the team at 15.2 ppg and 7.3 rpg and those marks rank seventh and fifth in The American, respectively. Etou's 8.4 rpg during conference play rank second in the circuit.
• Martins Igbanu is averaging 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in his last eight games, including a career-high 27-point outing at Houston (Jan. 11). Igbanu's 12.6 ppg during conference play ranks second on the squad.
• After posting a -4.5 rebound margin through its first six games, TU has recorded a +4.0 rebound margin since. TU has outrebounded its opponent by double digits four times during that stretch.
• TU has notched 38 league wins since joining The American, which ranks third behind only SMU (50) and Cincinnati (49) 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 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1, when it will return to the Donald W. Reynolds Center for a matchup with SMU.
• Thursday's game can be seen on CBS Sports Network, 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
• Thursday's game will mark the 51st all-time meeting between Tulsa and SMU, with the Golden Hurricane holding a 31-19 lead in the series, including an 11-10 edge in Tulsa.
• The Mustangs have had recent success in Tulsa, winning the last six matchups in the Reynolds Center. During that stretch, the Hurricane has returned the favor with four wins at Moody Coliseum.
• The series dates back to Feb. 20, 1920, when TU went on the road to defeat the Mustangs, 20-18, in Dallas.
• The Golden Hurricane and Mustangs have been part of three conferences together: Western Athletic Conference (1996-2005), Conference USA (2005-13) and The American (20014-present).

Scouting the Mustangs
• SMU has won three of its last four games, including an 83-78 win at then-No. 7 Wichita State on Jan. 17. For the season, SMU is just 2-6 in games away from Moody Coliseum, but those wins have both come against ranked teams.
• The Mustangs are coming off an 86-61 home win over ECU on Sunday that saw all five starters score in double-figures, led by 20 points apiece from Jahmal McMurray and Jimmy Whitt. SMU shot 61.8-percent in the victory.
• The squad is led by Shake Milton, The American's preseason Player of the Year, and the junior guard is averaging 18.0 points and 4.4 assists per game for the season. During conference play, he leads all scorers at 19.2 ppg.
• Along with Milton, five other players average in double-figures including Jarrey Foster (13.2 ppg), Ethan Chargois (11.0 ppg), Jimmy Whitt (10.8 ppg), Jahmal McMurray (10.7 ppg) and Ben Emelogu (10.2 ppg). However, Foster is lost for the season with an ACL injury.

Last Meeting
• Led by Corey Henderson Jr.'s 17 points, Tulsa had four players in double-figures, but No. 14 SMU defeated the Golden Hurricane 93-70 on March 2, 2017, at Moody Coliseum.
• Along with Henderson, Junior Etou had 13 points, while Jaleel Wheeler added 11 points and Martins Igbanu finished with 10 points.
• The Mustangs shot 60-percent from the field and 53-percent behind the arc and were led by a game-high 26 points from Semi Ojeleye.

Last Time Out
• Corey Henderson Jr. led all scorers with 28 points, but No. 17 Wichita State withstood a Tulsa rally in the second half before pulling away for a 90-71 win over the Golden Hurricane on Sunday night at Charles Koch Arena.
• Henderson Jr. hit five 3-pointers and was a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line en route to his third game of at least 20 points this season. The senior scored 22 points in the second half, including a run of 10 straight points, to aid a TU comeback.
• Austin Reaves hit his first seven 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 23 points, all of which came in the first half, for the Shockers. WSU led by 19 early in the second half before the Hurricane went on a 17-3 run.
• TU got as close as four points, 66-62, with 7:48 left only to see the Shockers put the game away with a 17-2 run over the next five minutes.

The Schedule
• Tulsa is coming off a tough January stretch that saw the the Golden Hurricane play five of its seven games against opponents that are currently ranked in the top 100 of the RPI, with three of those matchups against top-100 teams coming on the road.
• TU faced Wichita State (23), Temple (44), Houston (48), UConn (80) and Memphis (113) in January.
• February will start with another tough test against SMU (60) on Thursday and the month also includes games against UCF (70), another matchup with UConn (80) and Cincinnati (16).
• Tulsa has a pair of wins against teams currently in the RPI top-100: K-State (64) and UConn (80).

Henderson Dialing Long Distance
• Senior guard Corey Henderson Jr. is TU's top threat behind the arc and he will enter Thursday's matchup with SMU leading The American with 30 3-pointers (3.3 per game) during conference action.
• Henderson Jr. is shooting 39-percent from downtown for the season and 46.2-percent since the start of league play.
• After hitting just two treys in the first five games of the season, Henderson Jr. has had at least two 3-pointers 13 of the last 16 games. He has hit at least four triples in a game six times, including four times since the start of conference play.

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
• After averaging 1.6 ppg in his first five games, Corey Henderson Jr. is averaging 12.5 ppg in his last 16 contests and a team-leading 13.1 ppg during conference play.
• Martins Igbanu is averaging 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in his last eight games, including a career-high 27-point outing at Houston (Jan. 11). Igbanu's 12.6 ppg during conference play ranks second on the squad.
• TU is 52-7 under head coach Frank Haith when leading at halftime, including a 10-1 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 600-540 (40.0-36.0; +4.0 rpg) in its last 15 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 7.7 rebounds per game, including a career-high 15 boards against Temple (Jan. 17). Martins Igbanu also has helped crash the glass at 6.1 rpg.
• The Hurricane is 8-2 this season when outrebounding its opponent.

Free Fallin'
• The Hurricane rank second in the league and 75th in the nation with 480 free throws attempted, while it is connecting at a 72.1-percent mark at the charity stripe to rank fourth in The American.
• TU has shot more free throws than its opponent 15 times this season and own a 9-6 record in those games.
• Curran Scott leads the league by shooting 85.5-percent from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Corey Henderson Jr. has hit 18 of his 21 attempts during conference play (.857) to rank fourth in the league during that time.
• Junior Etou leads the team and ranks second in The American with 129 free throws attempted. In addition, his 91 free throws made rank third in the conference.

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 67 3-pointers in six 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 69-50 record and made a pair of postseason appearances during his tenure. Overall, he has an on-court record of 274-179 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 has faced three other coaches on that list this season when TU matched 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 38 league wins, which is the third-most in the circuit.
• Only SMU (50 wins) and Cincinnati (49 wins) have earned more victories than Tulsa's 38, which tops UConn (34) and Memphis (31) 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 (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg). Those marks rank seventh and fifth in the conference, respectively.
• Etou has scored in double-figures 18 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 379 points (18.0 ppg), led by 143 points (9.5 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 234-72 (.765) in its 19+ seasons, including an 8-2 mark this season.
• The building has seen 41 sellouts and 1,833,007 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
• The Golden Hurricane will take to the road for a matchup at USF (8-14, 1-8) on Sunday, Feb. 4, before a home contest with Tulane (12-8, 3-5) on Feb. 8.

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