Saturday, January 28
12:30 p.m.
Tulsa
vs
UCF
Tulsa Hosts UCF Today at 12:30 pm
1/26/2017 2:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TULSA BASKETBALL
Tulsa Returns Home Saturday at 12:30 pm Against UCF to Begin 3-Game Homestand
| GAME #20 ... TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (11-8, 5-2 AAC) vs. UCF (14-6, 5-3 AAC) | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time: | Saturday • January 28, 2017 • 12:30 p.m. (CT) |
| Site: | Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355), Tulsa, Okla. |
| Coaches: | Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 3rd year UCF – Johnny Dawkins (Duke '86), 1st year |
| TV: | ESPNews (Dave LaMont and Bryndon Manzer) |
| Radio: | Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo) |
| Live Stats: | Live Stats |
| Series: | Tulsa leads 11-6 |
| Twitter: | @TUMBasketball | @TulsaHurricane |
| Instagram: | TulsaMBasketball |
| Game Notes: | Tulsa I UCF |
THE GAME . . .
• The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (11-8, 5-2 AAC) is coming off of a 69-66 road loss at East Carolina after winning four consecutive games.
• Tulsa is in third place in The American with a 5-2 league mark, behind first-place Cincinnati (7-0) and second-place SMU (8-1).
• UCF has an overall 14-6 record and a 5-3 mark in the American Athletic Conference.
THE SERIES . . .
• This is the 18th meeting between Tulsa and UCF.
• Tulsa leads the series 11-6 and has won the last three games.
• The Hurricane has an 8-0 record at home and is 3-6 in Orlando.
• Tulsa has a 13.8 win margin in its home games against UCF, while in all of UCF's wins in the series the Knights have won by a 4.6 margin.
* The Hurricane won both games a year ago, winning at home, 75-60, and on the road, 75-67.
TULSA IN THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE . . .
• Tulsa is in its third season as a member of the American Athletic Conference, after finishing its first year in second-place and placing in a tie for third-place a year ago.
• Tulsa has an overall 31-12 record in its third season of American play.
• Tulsa had league records of 14-4 in 2014-15 and 12-6 in 2015-16.
• In the preseason coaches poll, Tulsa was picked to finish ninth in the league . . . Tulsa has already defeated teams picked above them –– UConn (2nd), Memphis (5th) and Temple (6th).
COACH HAITH GETS 50th WIN AT TULSA . . .
• While capturing its American Athletic Conference-opening win over UConn this year, it was also the 50th win for Frank Haith as the Tulsa head coach.
• Haith now has a 54-31 record in his third season as the Hurricane head coach.
• In his first two years, Haith led Tulsa to over 20 wins both years, including 23 in his first year and 20 victories a year ago.
• Haith averaged 21.5 wins in his first two years, while Tulsa made the NIT in 2014 and NCAAs in 2015.
BACK AT THE FRIENDLY CONFINES OF REYNOLDS CENTER . . .
• Since joining the American Athletic Conference for the 2014-15 season, Frank Haith's Hurricane teams have compiled an overall 18-3 record against league opponents in its three seasons.
• Tulsa posted a 7-2 mark in the 2014-15 campaign, an 8-1 record last year and is 3-0 this year.
• Two of the three home losses have come against a nationally-ranked SMU team, ranked #23 in 2014-15 and #18 in 2015-16 . . . the other loss was to Cincinnati in 2014-15.
• Tulsa has won its last 11 games, dating back to last year, in American Athletic Conference home games.
QUICK HITTERS . . .
• Tulsa is playing its 106th season of basketball.
• 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 graduated 9 seniors after last year's 20-12 season and NCAA tournament appearance, including losing 81-percent of its scoring and 78-percent of its rebounding.
• Tulsa has 10 newcomers to its roster, including two juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen.
• Tulsa has used 6 different starting lineups through 19 games this year.
• Tulsa's current starting lineup – Etou, Magnay, Birt, Wheeler and Taplin – has posted a 6-2 record as the starters.
• Ten players have made their Tulsa debuts this season . . . they have accounted for 65.8 percent of Tulsa's total points, scoring 875 of Tulsa's 1,330 points thru 19 games.
• Tulsa has out-rebounded 11 of its 19 opponents this season, winning 8 of those games . . . among those 11 games, Tulsa has had 6 double-digit rebounding margins, including a high of 21 more than ORU.
• After allowing its first two opponents this season to average 82.0 points, both losses, Tulsa has held its next 17 opponents to a 68.5 scoring average.
LAST TIME OUT . . .
• Junior Etou's career-high 31 points wasn't enough for Tulsa as the Golden Hurricane fell 69-66 at East Carolina.
• Trailing by double-digits for nearly 10 minutes of the second half, Tulsa used a late surge and pulled to within one point, 67-66, when Jaleel Wheeler hit a traditional three-point play with 1:03 left on the game clock.
• The Hurricane missed a three-pointer with 0:35 to play that would have given Tulsa its first lead of the second half, but instead the Pirates went down the court and hit two free throws.
• Etou added 12 rebounds to get his fourth double-double of the season, while Corey Henderson scored 12 points, with 10 of those coming in the final 6:57.
• ECU held a 49-39 advantage on the boards, while Tulsa shot just 31-percent from the field and 26-percent from three-point range for the game.
JUNIOR LEADING HURRICANE . . .
• Junior Etou, a junior who sat out last year after transferring from Rutgers, has been a key component to the Tulsa team.
• Etou averages 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds to rank first on the team in both categories.
• Etou scored a new career-high with 31 points and added 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season at East Carolina.
• His previous career-high was 23 points agaisnt Memphis, while he also turned in a career-best 13 rebounds in that game.
• His earlier career-high was 22 points, while knocking down 13-of-14 free throws, against Illinois State at the Diamond Head Classic.
• Etou has raised his free throw percentage to 76.8 percent . . . after his 13-of-14 performance against Illinois State, his free throw percentage improved from .667 to a current percentage of .778.
• In the last 9 games, Etou has connected on 88.3 percent of his free throws (53-of-60).
• He has scored in double-figures in 11 games and has three double-doubles.
• Against Illinois State in the first meeting, 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.
Players Mentioned
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