Tulsa-Texas State Game Preview

Saturday, December 17

7 p.m.

Tulsa

Texas State

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Tulsa-Texas State Game Preview

12/16/2016 6:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Don Tomkalski

TULSA BASKETBALL

GAME #9 ... TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (4-4) vs. TEXAS STATE BOBCATS (5-4)
Date/Time:	Saturday, December 17, 2016 • 7:03 p.m.
Site:	Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 3rd year Texas State – Danny Kaspar (North Texas '78), 4th year
TV:	ESPN3 (David Saltzman and Bryndon Manzer)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tulsa leads 4-0
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa I Texas State

THE GAME . . .
•      The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-4) and the Texas State Bobcats (5-4) meet for the fifth time.
•      Texas State has won three of its last four games
•      Tulsa split two games last week, winning on late heroics from Sterling Taplin against Illinois State, and falling against Oklahoma State, late in the game.

THE SERIES . . .
•      This is the fifth meeting between Tulsa and Texas State.
•      Tulsa leads the series 4-0, including a 3-0 mark in games played in Tulsa.
•      The last meeting in the series came on December 23, 2003, as the Hurricane won by a score of 84-46.
•      Tulsa has a 20.5 winning margin in all games, and a 22.0 win margin in the three games played in Tulsa.

QUICK HITS . . .
•      Tulsa is playing its 106th season of basketball.
•      Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith is in his third season at Tulsa and averaged 21.5 wins in his first two seasons, while leading Tulsa to an NIT in 2014 and the NCAAs in 2015.
•      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 has 10 newcomers to its roster, including two juniors, one sophomore and five freshmen.
•      Tulsa is in its third season as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
•      In two seasons as a member of The American, Tulsa finished second and tied for third place in the regular season, respectively.
•      For the third straight year, all of Tulsa's conference games and non-conference home games will be televised on an ESPN network or CBS Sports Network.

IN THE EARLY GOING . . .
•      Ten players have made their Tulsa debuts this season . . . they have accounted for 70.5 percent of Tulsa's total points, scoring 392 of Tulsa's 556 points thru 8 games.
•      Tulsa has outrebounded 5 of its first 8 opponents this season.
•      After allowing 80+ points in the first two games (82.0 ppg), both losses, Tulsa held its next three opponents to 65.7 points per game for a difference of 16.3 points.
•      Tulsa has used 5 different starting lineups through 8 games this year.

SINCE HIS ARRIVAL . . .
•     Junior College transfer Jaleel Wheeler missed the first two games for the Hurricane, but since he has been on the floor has averaged a team-leading 13.8 points and ranks second in rebounding at 6.6 in 5 games and 34.2 minutes of playing time per game.
•     Wheeler scored at least 15 points in his first 4 games played.
•     He had a season-best 17 points at Little Rock, and a personal-best 9 rebounds at Oral Roberts.
•     He did not reach double-figures vs. Illinois State, but had 9 rebounds and 3 assists to go along with 6 points in 34 minutes.

TAPLIN HAD BIG WEEK . . .
•     A week ago, sophomore guard Sterling Taplin led Tulsa back from a 14-point deficit to a 70-68 victory over Illinois State, while scoring the game-winning layup with 0:11 left on the clock to put Tulsa ahead by 2 points at 69-67
•     Taplin also led Tulsa back from a 13-point deficit against Oklahoma State, despite losing 71-67, as he scored 5 straight points to bring Tulsa to within two points at 67-65.
•     He averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in the two games, while shooting 57.8 percent from the field.
•     For his performances, Taplin was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll.

JUNIOR DOES IT TOO . . .
•     Junior Etou, a junior who sat out last year after transferring from Rutgers, has been a key component to the Tulsa team.
•     Etou averages 11.9 points to rank second on the team, and has a team-best 7.3 rebounds.
•     The 6'8" forward leads the team in three-point percentage, making 10-of-21 treys for 47.6 percent, while also shooting 57.1 percent from the field overall.
•     He has scored in double-figures in 5 of 8 games this year and has two double-doubles.
•     Against Illinois State, 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.

HOLDING OPPONENTS UNDER 50 PERCENT . . .
•      Under Frank Haith, Tulsa has held the opposition to under 50-percent from the field in 61 of 74 games.
•      This year, Jacksonville State in the season opener was the only opponent to shoot over 50-percent from the field, shooting .556.
•      The Hurricane has held three opponents under 40-percent from the field – Oral Roberts, Illinois State and Oklahoma State.
•      Tulsa held Oral Roberts to a opponent season low of .369 percent.
•      The Hurricane has prevented its opponent from reaching 50 points nine times under Haith.