Tulsa vs. Cincinnati: MBB Game 14 Preview

TULSA (8-5, 0-1 American) vs. No. 22 CINCINNATI (10-4, 0-1 American)
Date/Time:	Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 • 3:05 p.m. CT
Site:	Fifth Third Arena (13,176)
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88) – 31-16, 2nd year Cincinnati – Mick Cronin (Cincinnati '97) – 195-122, 10th year
TV:	ESPNU (Zach Zaidman and Mark Adams)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Cincinnati leads, 22-10
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| Cincinnati

Video Preview

TULSA, Okla. – The Tulsa men's basketball team will tip-off the New Year with a road American Athletic Conference game at 22^nd-ranked Cincinnati at 3 p.m. CT Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.

The Golden Hurricane (8-5, 0-1 American) is looking to rebound from an 81-69 defeat to No. 17 SMU in its conference opener on Tuesday. The Bearcats (10-4, 0-1 American) also dropped its league opener, 77-70 to Temple on Tuesday.

The game will be broadcast on Big Country 99.5 FM and the Golden Hurricane Radio Network, and televised on ESPNU.

The Series
This will be the 33rd meeting between Tulsa and Cincinnati. Cincinnati leads the series, 22-10. The Bearcats won the only meeting last season, 56-47, in Tulsa. Prior to last season, the teams last met in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, a 69-61 Tulsa victory. TU also won in 1972, 92-86 in overtime in Tulsa – the last matchup before 2000. The schools were Missouri Valley Conference rivals from 1957-58 until 1969-70. This will be the first contest between TU and UC in Cincinnati since 1972, an 81-74 Bearcats win. The last Hurricane win in Cincinnati was a 65-64 victory in 1967, and the Bearcats have won the last four meetings at home. Tulsa is 2-13 all-time against the Bearcats in Cincinnati.

About Cincinnati
Cincinnati averages 77.6 points and 39.9 rebounds per game, as well as a .457 field goal and .362 3-point percentage, while allowing 62.2 ppg, 32.6 rpg, a .382 field goal and a .355 3-point percentage. Farad Cobb and Troy Caupain lead the Bearcats with 11.7 and 11.4 points per game, respectively, while Caupain adds 4.6 assists per outing. Octavius Ellis averages 10.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest, and Gary Clark puts up 9.8 points and leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game.

Tulsa Statistical Leaders
Shaquille Harrison leads the Golden Hurricane with 17.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. James Woodard averages 16.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 3-pointers per game. Pat Birt, Marquel Curtis and D'Andre Wright each average 7.8 points, and Curtis adds 2.4 assists per contest. Tulsa averages 76.2 ppg, 34.6 rpg, a .456 field goal percentage, .341 3-point pct. and a .669 free throw pct. The Hurricane allows opponents 70.9 ppg, 35.4 rpg, a .420 field goal pct. and a .376 3-point pct.

Quick Hits
• This is Tulsa's first conference road game of the season. TU is 2-0 in road games this year.
• This will be Tulsa's third game this season against a ranked opponent. The Hurricane is 1-1 in such games, with a 77-67 win over then-No. 9 Wichita State, and a defeat to No. 17 SMU, 81-69, on Tuesday
• Tulsa fell to No. 17 SMU, 81-69, on Tuesday. James Woodard led the Golden Hurricane with 22 points on five 3-pointers. Shaquille Harrison tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and D'Andre Wright added 14 points and six rebounds.
• Tulsa's five losses have been to teams with a combined 52-10 record. TU has lost five games by an average of 6.2 points.
• Through 13 games this season, Tulsa has a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio. TU has totaled 176 assists to 143 turnovers. In 2014-15 through 13 games, the Hurricane had 144 assists-160 turnovers–0.9 ratio.
• Tulsa's 8-4 record through 12 games was its best record since the 2009-10 season.
• The Hurricane has scored 90 points in four games so far this season. It is the most 90-point games since 2013-14, when Tulsa scored 90 points five times, and is the second-most since 2000-01.
• Harrison ranks fourth in the NCAA in getting to the free throw line. He has 113 attempts, and ranks 13^th in made free throws (69). Harrison also ranks 79^th in the nation in scoring (17.9 ppg) and 34^th in steals (2.2 spg).
• The Tulsa bench averages 25.2 points per game, and has accounted for 33 percent of the team's total points this season. The Hurricane is led by Pat Birt (8.5) and Marquel Curtis (8.3 ppg) off the bench. Brandon Swannegan contributes 5.3 points per game off the bench.
• Harrison is on the 2016 Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Early Season Watch List, from the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
• Harrison has been nominated for the Allstate NABC Good Works Team, which recognizes players at all levels of college basketball who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of volunteerism and civic involvement.
• TU nabbed the first two American Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards of the season. Woodard won the award on Nov. 16, and Harrison received the honor on Nov. 23.
• Tulsa is playing this season with nine seniors – the most seniors on one roster in the country.
• The Hurricane returned 97 percent of its scoring and 98 percent of its minutes to the team in 2015-16 – one of only five schools in the country to return at least 90 percent of its scoring and minutes this year.
• The Golden Hurricane is in its second season as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
• Tulsa is in its second year season under the direction of head coach Frank Haith. In his first season, the Hurricane posted a 23-11 overall record and a 14-4 conference record. TU finished second in the American Athletic Conference regular season, played in the semifinals of the conference tournament, and reached the second round of the postseason NIT.

Tulsa Career Top-10 Rankings
James Woodard ranks fifth in TU career scoring with 1,618 points, and sixth with 221 career 3-pointers. He needs six threes to match Justin Hurtt (2007-11) for fifth place, and 205 points to match Tracy Moore (1984-88) for fourth place. Harrison ranks fourth at TU with 211 career steals, and fifth with 365 career assists. He needs 11 steals to match Shea Seals (1993-97) for third place, and 23 assists to match Seals for fourth place. Brandon Swannegan has 131 career blocks, ranking fifth in TU history. He needs five blocks to match Eric Coley (1996-00) for fourth place.

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Tulsa vs. Cincinnati: MBB Game 14 Preview

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Players Mentioned

Pat Birt

Marquel Curtis

Shaquille Harrison

Brandon Swannegan

James Woodard

D'Andre Wright