Tulsa-Oklahoma State Preview: Hurricane Hosts Cowboys Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, December 10

4 p.m.

Tulsa

Oklahoma State

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Tulsa-Oklahoma State Preview: Hurricane Hosts Cowboys Saturday Afternoon

12/9/2016 8:32:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: Don Tomkalski

TULSA BASKETBALL

GAME #8 ... TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (4-3) vs. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (6-2)
Date/Time:	Saturday, December 10, 2016 • 4:00 p.m.
Site:	Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 3rd year Oklahoma State – Brad Underwood (Kansas State '86), 1st year
TV:	CBS Sports Network
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	OSU leads series 70-39
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa

THE GAME . . .
•      The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-3) and the Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-2) meet for the 110th time, which is the third longest series in school history for the Golden Hurricane . . . Wichita State (126) and Drake (118) are the only two schools with a longer series standing than OSU.
•      Oklahoma State began the season with a four-game winning streak, while Tulsa started the season 0-2, then won three straight games.
•      Tulsa has won 3 of its last 4 games, including a 70-68 win over Illinois State on Wednesday, while Oklahoma State lost its last game at Maryland (71-70).

THE SERIES . . .
•      This is the 110th meeting between Tulsa and Oklahoma State.
•      OSU leads the series 70-39, while the Cowboys lead the series in Tulsa 21-27.
•      13 of OSU's 27 wins in Tulsa came between the 1942-43 and 1954-55 seasons, as OSU won all 13 of those games during that stretch.
•      Since then (1955-56), Tulsa has an 11-6 mark in games played in Tulsa.
•      OSU won the last meeting in Tulsa on Dec. 6, 2010, in a game that was played at the downtown BOK Center.
•      The last meeting at the Reynolds Center came on Dec. 2, 2009, as Tulsa came away with an 86-65 win.

IN THE EARLY GOING . . .
•      Ten players have made their Tulsa debuts this season . . . they have accounted for 71.4 percent of Tulsa's total points, scoring 349 of Tulsa's 489 points thru seven games.
•      Tulsa has outrebounded 5 of its first 7 opponents this season, and has a 4.6 rebounding margin.
•      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 4 different starting lineups through 7 games this year.

THE LAST TIME OUT . . .
•     Tulsa trailed 36-32 at halftime and fell behind by 14 points within the first 3 minutes of the second half.
•     Tulsa cut the deficit to under double-digits at the 12:09 mark, 53-45, then reduced it to 4 points, 58-54, with 8:58 left to play.
•     Tulsa took its first lead since early in the first half when Junior Etou's layup put Tulsa ahead 65-64 at 2:57.
•     With the score tied 67-67 at the 2:15 mark, Sterling Taplin hit a layup at the 0:11 mark, followed by a Corey Henderson free throw after an Illinois State technical that put Tulsa ahead 70-67.
•     Tulsa forced a long three-pointer that missed to preserve a 70-68 comeback victory.

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.

THE BIG AUSSIE . . .
•     Tulsa's first Australian-born men's basketball player, Will Magnay, made his first career start against Illinois State.
•     After a 13-point performance off the bench at Little Rock, Magnay was in the starting lineup a game later and responded with his first career double-double at 10 points and 13 rebounds.
•     Against Little Rock, Magnay also added personal-bests of 4 blocks and 3 assists.

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 12.6 points to rank second on the team, and has a team-best 7.7 rebounds.
•     The 6'8" forward leads the team in three-point percentage, making 10-of-20 treys for 50 percent, while is also shooting 58.8 percent from the field overall.
•     He has scored in double-figures in 5 of 7 games this year and has two double-doubles.
•     In the last outing vs. Illinois State, Etou had 15 points, including a layup at 2:29 that gave Tulsa its first second-half lead, and added 3 rebounds.
•     Etou began the year with a 20-point, 10-rebound performance against Jacksonville State.

TURNING THE TURNOVER TALE . . .
•     In Tulsa's first six games, the new-look Golden Hurricane averaged 16.7 turnovers with 100 turnovers.
•     After a season-high 20 turnovers at Little Rock, Tulsa responded with a season-low 9 turnovers a game later vs. Illinois State.