TU On The Road To Face Houston on Thursday

Thursday, January 11

Houston, TX

6 PM

Tulsa

Houston

Photo by: Bill Powell

TU On The Road To Face Houston on Thursday

1/9/2018 2:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME #17 ... TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (10-6, 3-1) vs. HOUSTON COUGARS (12-3, 2-1)
Date/Time:	Thursday • Jan. 11 • 6 p.m.
Site:	H&PE Arena (8,100) • Houston, Texas
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 4th year Houston – Kelvin Sampson (UNC Pembroke '78), 4th year
TV:	ESPNU (Jason Benetti and Reid Gettys)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Memphis leads, 26-16
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| Houston

TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will return to the hardwood at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, when it will face Houston at H&PE Arena.

The Golden Hurricane (10-6, 3-1) will look to bounce back from last Saturday's 76-67 setback at Memphis that snapped the team's three-game winning streak to start American Athletic Conference play. Martins Igbanu scored a season-high 17 points in the contest and the sophomore has averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in the team's last three games. During conference play, Igbanu ranks second on the team with averages of 12.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg.

Meanwhile, the Cougars (12-3, 2-1) enjoyed an off weekend following an 81-63 road loss at then-No. 9 Wichita State last Thursday. Picked to finish sixth in The American Preseason Poll, the squad returns five letterwinners and a three starters from last year's team that went 21-11 overall and finished third in the league with a 12-6 mark. The Cougars are led by senior guard Rob Gray, whose 18.6 ppg ranks second in The American, while senior forward Devin Davis has contributed 11.5 ppg and a team-high 6.7 rpg. Houston is 7-0 at home this season, which includes wins over Arkansas and Temple.

Tulsa leads the all-time series, 27-24, and has won seven of the last 10 contests against the Cougars.

Fast Break Points
• Tulsa is in its 107th season of basketball and fourth season in the American Athletic Conference.
• Tulsa will continue on the road with a 6 p.m. matchup at Houston on Thursday, Jan. 11 at H&PE Arena.
• Tulsa is coming off a 76-67 setback at Memphis last Saturday, despite a season-high 17 points from Martins Igbanu.
• Tulsa leads the all-time series against Houston, 27-24, but the Cougars won both meetings last season. TU and UH have been together in three leagues: Missouri Valley Conference (1951-59), Conference USA (2005-13) and The American (2014-present).
• TU is off to a 3-1 start in The American for the second consecutive season.
• Senior guard Corey Henderson Jr. was named to The American Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after he averaged 19.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg last week. Henderson Jr. hit 11 3-pointers, including eight triples on his way to a career-high 30 points against UConn.
• Junior Etou leads the team at 17.1 ppg and 7.1 rpg and those marks rank fourth and fifth in The American, respectively. He is averaging 14.0 points and a league-leading 9.0 rebounds during conference play.
• The TU defense has held its conference opponents to 40.0-percent shooting, including a 29.1-percent mark from behind the arc. TU has given up an average of 68.2 ppg in league play.
• After posting a -4.5 rebound margin through its first six games, TU has recorded a +8.5 rebound margin since. TU has outrebounded its opponent by double digits four times during that stretch.
• TU has notched 37 league wins since joining The American, which ranks third behind only SMU (48) and Cincinnati (44) during that span (2014-present).
• Tulsa was picked to finish eighth in The American Preseason Poll. TU has finished better than its preseason prediction in all three previous seasons under head coach Frank Haith.

The Game
• Tulsa will continue American Athletic Conference play on the raod at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, when it will face Houston at H&PE Arena.
• Thursday's game can be seen on ESPNU, while fans in the Tulsa area can tune to Big Country 99.5 FM with Bruce Howard and former Hurricane player J.R. Rollo calling the action. Live audio from the game also can be found on tulsahurricane.com or by using the TuneIn app.

The Series
• Thursday's game will mark the 52nd all-time meeting between Tulsa and Houston. Tulsa leads the all-time series 27-24, and it has won seven of the last 10 contests.
• Houston swept the series a season ago, which included a slim 64-61 win over Tulsa at Hofheinz Pavilion.
• The programs have shared three conferences. The teams were part of the Missouri Valley Conference together from 1951-59 and Conference USA from 2005-13. The Cougars joined The American in 2013, with the Hurricane reuniting with Houston a year later.

Scouting the Cougars
• Houston has won four of its last five games, but is coming off an 81-63 road setback at then-No. 9 Wichita State last Thursday.
• Picked to finish sixth in The American Preseason Poll, the squad returns five letterwinners and a three starters from last year's team that went 21-11 overall and finished third in the league with a 12-6 mark.
• The Cougars are led by senior guard Rob Gray, whose 18.6 ppg ranks second in The American, while senior forward Devin Davis has contributed 11.5 ppg and a team-high 6.7 rpg.
• Houston is 7-0 at home this season, which includes wins over Arkansas and Temple. The Cougars are averaging 79.5 ppg for the season and 72.7 ppg during conference play.

Last Time Out
• Martins Igbanu scored a season-high 17 points, but Memphis went on a 25-5 run in the second half to pull away for a 76-67 win over Tulsa last Saturday afternoon at FedExForum. Junior Etou added a dozen points for TU.
• TU went on a 14-2 run in the first half to take control and the visitors led 33-32 at halftime.
• The Hurricane would lead by as much as 55-47 with 11:18 to play, but the Tigers responded with their game-deciding 25-5 run to take the lead for good.
• It marked just the second time this season that a team shot 50-percent or better against TU and the team's first loss when leading at halftime.

The Schedule
• Thursday's game continues a tough January stretch for Tulsa, which will play five of its seven games during the month against teams currently ranked in the top 100 of the RPI. Additionally, three of those five top-100 games will come on the road for the Hurricane.
• After facing Houston (53), Tulsa will have a quick turnaround for a Saturday game against No. 5 Wichita State (19) at the Reynolds Center before a Jan. 17 matchup at Temple (41). TU then will host Memphis (140) and hit the road again for another contest with the Shockers on Jan. 28.
• Tulsa is 2-3 against teams in the RPI top-100, with its wins coming on the road at Kansas State (95) and Tulane (88).

Tulsa 3 Party
• Tulsa hit an American Athletic Conference record 17 3-pointers in its Jan. 3 double-overtime win over UConn. The total was just one shy of the program's record, set against North Texas on Dec. 8, 1998.
• Other than its program-record 18 triples in 1998, TU had last hit 15 3-pointers against Jackson State on Dec. 17, 2009.
• TU also set conference and team records for 3-pointers attempted, with 41 on the night.
• Corey Henderson Jr. hit eight 3-pointers, which ties for the second-most in a single game in program history. James Woodard went 10-of-16 from deep against SMU on March 8, 2015, for the program record, while Jason Parker also hit eight treys against Wichita State on Dec. 4, 2002.
• Henderson became the sixth player in American Athletic Conference history to hit at least eight 3-pointers in a game and the first to do it since UCF's Matt Williams hit a league-record 11 on Jan. 17, 2017.

Getting Defensive
• Since giving up a season-high 96 points in a Nov. 28 win over UTSA, the Golden Hurricane has clamped down on defense and is allowing just 66.9 ppg over its last nine games.
• During that stretch, opponents are shooting .405 from the field against TU, including a .336 mark from behind the arc. TU has held three opponents to fewer than 60 points in that span.
• TU has limited opponents to .400 shooting with a .291 clip from behind the 3-point line in conference play.
• For the season, Tulsa is holding opponents to 41.7-percent shooting (7th in The American), while opponents are hitting at just a 32.0-percent clip behind the arc (3rd in The American; 72nd in NCAA).

Trending
• Junior Etou ranks 22nd in the nation with 119 free-throw attempts this season and 25th in the nation in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.3) via kenpom.com. Etou has attempted at least 10 free throws four times this season.
• After averaging 1.6 ppg in his first five games, Corey Henderson Jr. is averaging 12.3 ppg in his last 11 contests and 13.3 ppg during conference play.
• The Hurricane is off to a 3-1 start in conference play for the second consecutive season.
• TU is 51-7 under head coach Frank Haith when leading at halftime, including a 9-1 mark this season.

Crashing The Boards
• After being outrebounded in five of its first six games with a rebound margin of -4.5 rpg, Tulsa has crashed the glass and outrebounded its opponents by a combined 425-349 (42.5-34.0; +8.5 rpg) in its last 10 contests.
• TU has outrebounded four opponents (UTSA, Illinois State, Kansas State, Tulane) during that stretch by double-digits, including three games (UTSA, Illinois State, Tulane) with at least a +20 rebound margin.
• During that stretch, Junior Etou has led the way by averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, including a career-high 14 boards against ECU (Dec. 28). Martins Igbanu also has helped crash the glass at 6.2 rpg.
• The Hurricane is 8-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent.

Free Fallin'
• The Hurricane lead the league and rank 21st in the nation with 402 free throws attempted, while it is connecting at a 72.1-percent mark at the charity stripe to rank fifth in The American.
• TU has shot more free throws than its opponent 13 times this season and own a 9-4 record in those games.
• Junior Etou leads the conference and ranks 22nd in the nation with 119 free throws attempted. His 83 makes at the charity stripe also lead the league and rank 42nd in the nation.

TU To Participate In Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge
• Making 3-point shots this basketball season takes on even more meaning this year for head coach Frank Haith and The University of Tulsa men's basketball team. The Golden Hurricane will square off against teams across the nation to fight cancer as part of the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge.
• Fans can pledge a donation for each 3-point shot that TU makes over the final 16 games of the regular-season (Jan. 3-March 4) to support American Cancer Society research, education and patient programs at:
pledgeit.org/cvc18-tulsa. Fans also have the option of a fixed donation and Haith started the Golden Hurricane campaign with a contribution of $500.
•So far, Tulsa has made 26 3-pointers in two games during the challenge.

Haith In His Fourth Season at TU
• Head coach Frank Haith is in his fourth season at Tulsa, where he has compiled a 68-46 record and made a pair of postseason appearances during his tenure. Overall, he has an on-court record of 273-175 in his 14th season.
• Haith has led the Golden Hurricane to a pair of 20-win seasons and postseason appearances (2015 NCAA Tournament, 2016 NIT) during his first three seasons.
• With a win over No. 9 Wichita State in 2015-16, he led TU to its first win over a top-10 squad since 2000. Later that season, TU won at No. 16 SMU for its first road win against a top-16 program since 1981.

Haith in Exclusive Coaching Company
• Head coach Frank Haith is the only active Division I coach to take teams in four of the Power 6 conferences to the NCAA Tournament. Haith guided Tulsa (The American) to the Big Dance in 2015, Missouri (SEC) in 2013, Missouri (Big 12) in 2012 and Miami (ACC) in 2008.
• In addition, Haith is one of just 20 active coaches that have taken at least three different teams to the NCAA Tournament.
• Haith will face three other coaches on that list this season when TU matches up against Tubby Smith (Memphis), Kelvin Sampson (Houston) and Bruce Weber (Kansas State).

Tulsa's Success in The American
• Since joining the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2014-15 season, the Golden Hurricane has posted 37 league wins, which is the third-most in the circuit.
• Only SMU (48 wins) and Cincinnati (44 wins) have earned more victories than Tulsa's 37, which tops UConn (31) and Memphis (28) along with six other conference programs.
• TU has finished better than its preseason prediction in each of Haith's three seasons. The Golden Hurricane was picked to finish eighth in the conference prior to the 2017-18 season.

Etou Named Preseason Second-Team American Athletic Conference
• Senior forward Junior Etou was named preseason second-team American Athletic Conference in a vote by the league's head coaches.
• Last season, Etou led the Golden Hurricane in scoring (12.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg) and was the only player to start all 32 games. He was even better in conference play as he averaged 13.4 ppg and 6.9 rpg.
• So far in 2017-18, Etou leads the Hurricane in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg). Those marks rank fourth and fifth in the conference, respectively.
• Etou has scored in double-figures 15 times, including six games of at least 20 points.

Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, and 72-percent of its offense from last season's team.
• Returning starters include senior forward Junior Etou (32 starts), sophomore forward Martins Igbanu (17), junior guard Sterling Taplin (30) and senior guard Jaleel Wheeler (29).
• Other returners include junior forward Geno Artison, senior guard Corey Henderson Jr., sophomore guard Lawson Korita and junior forward Alex Foree.
• In all, Tulsa returns 68.8-percent of its minutes, 66.9-percent of its rebounding, 79.8-percent of its assists and 65.5-percent of its steals.

New Faces
• Along with the eight returning letterwinners, Tulsa has five newcomers, four of which made their debut in the season opener against Lamar.
• The newcomers eligible for 2017-18 are sophomore guard Curran Scott, junior guard/forward DaQuan Jeffries, freshman guard Darien Jackson and freshman guard Elijah Joiner. Sophomore forward Jeriah Horne will sit out the season after transferring from Nebraska.
• Scott redshirted the 2016-17 season after transferring from Charlotte, where he averaged 10.3 ppg as a freshman in 2015-16. He practiced with the Golden Hurricane last season.
• TU's four newcomers have totaled 318 points (19.9 ppg), led by 118 points (7.4 ppg) from Curran Scott.

Tulsa Enters 20th Season at the Reynolds Center
• After hosting the first TU men's basketball game on Dec. 29, 1998, the Golden Hurricane will play its 20th season in the Donald W. Reynolds Center this year.
• Tulsa has posted an overall record of 233-71 (.766) in its 19+ seasons, including a 7-1 mark this season.
• The building has seen 41 sellouts and 1,819,463 fans have witnessed Tulsa basketball at the Reynolds Center.

Offense Shines In Exhibition Wins
• Tulsa improved to 66-2 all-time in exhibition games, including a run of 37 consecutive victories, with wins over Northwestern Oklahoma State (96-65) and Missouri S&T (113-56) prior to the start of the 2017-18 season.
• TU put up impressive numbers in the wins as the team averaged 104.5 points and shot 56.6-percent from the floor, including 46.9-percent from behind the arc. Tulsa also recorded 46 assists to just 21 turnovers and out-rebounded its two opponents by a combined total of 99-46.
• Five players averaged in double-figures during exhibition play, led by Junior Etou's 17.0 ppg. Joining him were Corey Henderson Jr. (16.0 ppg), DaQuan Jeffries (12.5 ppg), Curran Scott (12.5 ppg) and Geno Artison (11.5 ppg).
• TU made 20 3-pointers in the win over Missouri S&T (the program's regular-season record for a game is 18), with half of that total coming from Henderson (6) and Artison (4).

TU Adds Three in the Early Signing Period
• Tulsa has signed three student-athletes — Chris Barnes, Peter Hewitt and Zeke Moore — to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period.
• All three signees are enrolled at junior colleges and will have three years of eligibility at TU.
• Barnes is a 6-foot-4 guard from Compton, Calif., who played his freshman season at UTEP. He appeared in 16 games for the Miners after earning all-conference honors as a senior at Compton HS. He is redshirting this season at Angelina College.
• Peter Hewitt is a 6-foot-10 forward from Mountain View, Calif., who redshirted last season at UC Davis. He currently plays for Las Positas College and he has helped the team average 84.2 ppg and start 10-4 this season. Hewitt was a three-year letterwinner at Saint Francis High School and led the Lancers to a pair of West Coast Athletic League titles.
• Zeke Moore is a 6-foot-7 guard from St. Louis, Mo., who played his freshman season at Saint Louis. He saw action in 29 games and averaged 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds before transferring to Southwest Illinois CC, where he is redshirting this season. Moore was a standout at Riverview Gardens HS for his father, head coach Gerard Moore, and he averaged 21.1 ppg as a senior.

Next Up
• Tulsa will return home to the Donald W. Reynolds Center for a 6:30 p.m. contest on Saturday, Jan. 13 against No. 5 Wichita State (13-2, 3-0) for the first-ever Havoc in the Heartland men's basketball game. TU then will head back out on the road for a 5 p.m. (CT) matchup at Temple (7-8, 0-4) on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

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