.png)
.png)
Tulsa Basketball Schedule Highlighted by Arkansas and Kansas Games
7/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 20, 2001
The University of Tulsa's 2001-02 men's basketball schedule features games against Arkansas and Kansas, as well as an 18-game Western Athletic Conference schedule, as announced today by TU Head Coach John Phillips.
The Hurricane will play six games against NCAA Tournament participants from a year ago, including one game each against non-conference foes Arkansas and Kansas and two contests against WAC opponents Fresno State and Hawaii.
"With Arkansas, Kansas and Southwest Missouri State we have a very strong non-conference schedule, and the Western Athletic Conference will be a tremendous league this year," said Phillips. "Playing the conference tournament at home will be an added benefit. Both our non-conference and conference schedules will definitely prepare us for the post-season tournament."
"Our schedule every year is becoming more and more competitive, which is a direct reflection on the success of this program over the past 10 years. That success has allowed Tulsa basketball to be looked upon as a nationally-prominent program," added Phillips.
Tulsa opens the regular season with three straight home games, including the season opener against Grambling on November 19 followed by a contest against Morris Brown on Nov. 24.
The Hurricane will face the Arkansas Razorbacks (Nov. 24) for the first time since the 1994-95 campaign. The last visit to Tulsa by the Razorbacks came in the 1993-94 season, as the nation's number one-ranked team went into overtime to defeat the host Hurricane by a 93-91 score. Last year, Arkansas posted an overall 20-11 record.
A date with cross-town rival Oral Roberts opens the month of December for the Hurricane. Tulsa and ORU will square off on Dec. 1 at the ORU Mabee Center. Tulsa leads the series by a count of 24-12, but the last visit to the Mabee Center in the 1999-2000 season ended in a Golden Eagles victory. The Hurricane captured an 89-81 overtime victory against ORU last season at the Reynolds Center.
Tulsa returns home three nights later to host Southwest Missouri State (Dec. 4). The Hurricane and Bears renewed the series between former Missouri Valley Conference rivals in December 1999, and played last year in Springfield, Missouri as the Hurricane captured a 61-55 victory. Although SMS leads the overall series 17-13, Tulsa has won eight of the last nine meetings. The Hurricane will then play their next eight games away from home, including four road games and four neutral site contests.
Tulsa begins its road swing with a Dec. 8 game at Wichita State. The Hurricane leads the overall series by just one game, 58-57, after last year's 78-49 victory in Tulsa. The Hurricane has won the last 11 games between the two schools. Tulsa plays Texas A&M at the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas as part of the Basketball Bowl Challenge on December 14. The second half of the doubleheader is between Texas Tech and Houston.
The Hurricane is off to the Hawaiian islands as Tulsa is making its second trip to the Yahoo! Sports Invitational (formerly the Pearl Harbor Classic) in Kahuku, Hawaii on the campus of BYU-Hawaii. In Tulsa's trip to the inaugural tournament in Dec. 1998, the Hurricane defeated Texas Tech, Oregon State and lost to Michigan State. Tulsa will play three games from Dec. 20-22. This year's field is comprised of Buffalo, New Mexico State, Valparaiso, Navy, Montana, Columbia, Tulsa and host BYU-Hawaii. The Hurricane will face Buffalo in first round action, followed by either Navy or Montana in the second round.
Upon returning from Hawaii, the Hurricane will face the Kansas Jayhawks on Dec. 29 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. Last year, the Jayhawks handed the Hurricane its worst loss in two years with a 92-69 victory in Lawrence, Kansas. KU posted a 26-7 record a year ago and were ranked 12th nationally in the final Associated Press poll.
Tulsa opens Western Athletic Conference play with a two-game road swing to begin the month of January. Tulsa opens league action at Nevada on January 3, followed by a trip to face defending WAC regular season champion Fresno State (Jan. 5). Tulsa holds a 2-0 series advantage against Nevada, while the Bulldogs have a 6-2 series edge against the Hurricane including a five-game winning streak. Fresno State was one of four WAC teams to register 20 wins a year ago, as the Bulldogs posted a 26-7 mark and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Hurricane returns to the friendly confines of the Reynolds Center, where the home team has posted a 37-5 record since moving into the on-campus facility in December 1998, for a conference game against UTEP on Jan. 10. Tulsa defeated the Miners three times last year, and has won the last seven meetings while holding a 13-6 lead in the overall series. UTEP finished the 2001 campaign with a 23-9 record and made a postseason trip to the NIT. Two days later, the Hurricane welcomes Boise State into the conference as the two teams meet for the first time ever on Jan. 12.
Another new member to the WAC is Tulsa's next opponent as the Hurricane travels to Ruston, Louisiana to take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Jan. 17, followed by a road game at SMU (Jan. 19). Tulsa and Louisiana Tech have met twice before on the basketball court as the Bulldogs have won both games. Last year, Tulsa and SMU each won on their home floor, as the Mustangs' win snapped a nine-game Hurricane win streak in the series.
Tulsa returns home for its longest homestand of the season, a five-game conference schedule. The Hurricane begins the homestand against San Jose State (Jan. 24), followed by a contest against the Hawaii Rainbows on Jan. 26. Tulsa has won all 12 games in the series against the Spartans, including three wins last year. Against Hawaii, Tulsa leads the series 6-4 after winning one game a year ago. Hawaii won its home game against the Hurricane last season, and defeated Tulsa for a second time in the championship game of the 2001 WAC Tournament.
A game against Rice (Jan. 28) continues the Hurricane hometstand. Tulsa leads the Rice series by an 8-3 margin. Fresno State (Jan. 31) and Nevada (Feb. 2) will make their return trips to the Reynolds Center to close out the five-game homestand for the Hurricane.
Tulsa goes back on the road to face Boise State (Feb. 7) and UTEP (Feb. 9), before returning home to finish the regular season home schedule with two games. Tulsa faces SMU on Feb. 14, and Louisiana Tech on Feb. 16 to close out the Hurricane home schedule.
Three road games to close out the regular season await the Hurricane. Tulsa takes to the Hawaiian Islands to face the Hawaii Rainbows on Feb. 21, followed by a trip to San Jose against the Spartans (Feb. 23) two days later. Tulsa closes out the regular season on the road against Rice (Feb. 28).
The Hurricane will return home, however, to host the 2002 Williams Western Athletic Conference Tournament for the second consecutive year, March 6-9. Tulsa will hold its annual Blue-Gold Scrimmage on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 2:05 p.m., and will play two exhibition contests before opening the regular season. Tulsa will play its first exhibition game against Athletes First on Nov. 4 and will face an international team from World Wide Foreign on Nov. 10. For ticket information, call the TU Athletic Ticket Office at 918-631-GoTU (4688).
