Tulsa Back on the Road for Contest at ECU on Thursday

Thursday, March 1

Greenville, NC

6 PM

Tulsa

ECU

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Back on the Road for Contest at ECU on Thursday

2/27/2018 4:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME #28: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (17-11, 10-6) vs ECU PIRATES (10-17, 4-12)
Date/Time:	Thursday • March 1 • 6 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Minges Coliseum (7,100) • Greenville, N.C.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 4th year ECU – Michael Perry (Richmond '81), 1st year
TV:	ESPNU (Matt Schick & Dino Gaudio)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tulsa leads, 17-3
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| ECU

TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will return to the road for a 6 p.m. (CT) matchup at ECU on Thursday, March 1, in its final regular-season game away from the Reynolds Center.

The Golden Hurricane (17-11, 10-6) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end with an 82-74 setback on Sunday at then-No. 11 Cincinnati. TU played without injured starting point guard Sterling Taplin and got a game-high 21 points from Junior Etou.

The Hurricane remain in fourth place in the American Athletic Conference standings with just two games to play. TU can lock-up that spot, along with a first-round bye in the league tournament (March 8-11), with a pair of wins this week.

Meanwhile, the Pirates (10-17, 4-12) will look to snap a three-game losing streak as the squad has dropped decisions against UConn, SMU and Houston after an 82-80 win at Tulane on Feb. 14. ECU has four players averaging in double-figures, led by B.J. Tyson's 15.1 ppg, which ranks eighth in The American. Tyson (1,529 points) and Houston's Rob Gray (1,532 points) have spent the regular-season trading the conference's all-time scoring record.

Thursday's game will mark the 21st all-time meeting between Tulsa and ECU. The Golden Hurricane lead the series 17-3 and Tulsa has won eight of the last nine meetings, including a 79-53 win on Dec. 28 to open conference play.

Fast Break Points
• Tulsa is in its 107th season of basketball and fourth season in the American Athletic Conference.
• TU will play its final road game of the regular-season when it travels east for a 6 p.m. (CT) contest on Thursday, March 1 at ECU.
• Thursday's game will mark the 21st meeting between the Golden Hurricane and Pirates, with Tulsa leading the series 17-3. TU is 5-2 all-time against ECU in Greenville and overall has won eight of the last nine meetings.
• In three career games against ECU, Junior Etou is averaging 24.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest.
• Tulsa is coming off an 82-74 setback at No. 11 Cincinnati without starting point guard Sterling Taplin, who missed the contest with an injury. Junior Etou led the way with a game-high 21 points in the loss.
• Tulsa has surpassed last season's overall (15) and conference (8) win totals and the program now has recorded at least 15 wins in 11 consecutive seasons.
• Etou was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after he averaged 19.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists last week against UCF and No. 11 Cincinnati.
• Etou leads the team at 15.6 ppg and 7.7 rpg and those marks rank sixth and third in The American, respectively. His 8.6 rpg during conference play lead the league.
• After posting a -4.5 rebound margin through its first six games, TU has recorded a +4.5 rebound margin since. TU has outrebounded its opponent by double-digits six times during that stretch.
• TU has notched 44 league wins since joining The American, which ranks third behind only Cincinnati (55) and SMU (51) during that span (2014-present).
• Tulsa was picked to finish eighth in The American Preseason Poll. TU will be the first program in conference history to finish better than its preseason prediction for four consecutive seasons, all under head coach Frank Haith.

Notes
The Game
• Tulsa will play its final road game of the regular-season when it travels east for a 6 p.m. (CT) contest on Thursday, March 1 at ECU.
• 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 21st all-time meeting between Tulsa and ECU. The Golden Hurricane lead the series 17-3 and Tulsa has won eight of the last nine meetings.
• TU is 5-2 against ECU in Greenville, where the Pirates took a 69-66 win over Tulsa last season. Tulsa has won five of the last six games at Minges Coliseum.
• The series dates back to Dec. 28, 1984, when TU defeated ECU 86-63 in Tulsa. The programs were together in Conference USA from 2005-14 before joining The American together prior to the 2014-15 season.

Scouting the Pirates
• ECU will look to snap a three-game losing streak as the squad has dropped decisions against UConn, SMU and Houston after an 82-80 win at Tulane on Feb. 14.
• The squad has four players averaging in double-figures, led by B.J. Tyson's 15.1 ppg, which ranks eighth in The American. Tyson (1,529 points) and Houston's Rob Gray (1,532 points) have spent the regular-season trading the conference's all-time scoring record.
• Freshman Shawn Williams is averaging 12.0 ppg for the season and is shooting 40-percent from behind the arc during conference play, where he has averaged 14.4 ppg.
• Isaac Fleming also checks in at 12.9 points to go along with a team-leading 4.9 assists per outing, which ranks second in the league.

Last Meeting
• Junior Etou registered a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds and Tulsa went on a 29-4 run in the second-half en route to a 79-53 win over ECU on Dec. 28, 2017, in The American opener for both squads.
• Etou nearly had his double-double at halftime (10 pts/8 reb) and he moved past 1,000 points for his Division I career in the contest. He was joined in double-figures by Lawson Korita (career-high 12 pts), Corey Henderson Jr. (11 pts) and Geno Artison (career-high 10 pts).
• Tulsa led 31-27 at halftime, but opened the second half on a 10-2 run to extend the lead. After the Pirates cut the deficit back to single-digits at 46-37, TU blew the game open with its 29-4 run over the next nine minutes for a 75-41 cushion.

Last Time Out
• Junior Etou scored a game-high 21 points, but No. 11 Cincinnati went on a 27-6 second-half run and held off visiting Tulsa, who played without starting point guard Sterling Taplin, for an 82-74 win on Sunday afternoon.
• Corey Henderson Jr. added 11 points and Tulsa tied a season-high with 18 assists on its 27 baskets.
• TU ended the first-half on a 12-2 run over the final 4:20 of the period to take a 47-44 lead to halftime.
• TU extended its lead to 52-44 before the Bearcats' game-deciding run that resulted in a 71-58 UC cushion.
• The Hurricane got within 78-72 with 4:41 to play, but would get no closer.

The Back Nine
• Here's a closer look at the first seven games of Tulsa's "back nine", which has allowed the Hurricane to climb out of a tie for seventh place to sole possession of fourth place in The American standings.
• During the stretch, Tulsa has outscored its opponents by an average of 5.0 ppg (74.3-69.3). Five of the six wins have come by single-digits, including a pair of two-point wins over Tulane (Feb. 8) and UConn (Feb. 15).
• TU has produced a +5.6 rebound margin (36.3-30.7) during the stretch by outrebounding five of its seven opponents, including a pair of games with a double-digit rebound margin.
• Tulsa has taken care of business at home, where four of its wins have come during the stretch. TU is 12-2 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center this season.
• In addition to holding teams to an average of 30.7 rebounds, the TU defense has limited opponents to 43.6-percent shooting and has committed 102 fouls (14.6 pg) that have led to just 93 free throws (13.3 pg).

The Schedule
• Tulsa experienced a tough January stretch that saw the the Golden Hurricane play all seven of its games against opponents that are currently ranked in the top 125 of the RPI, with four of those matchups coming on the road.
• TU faced No. 13 Wichita State (13), Houston (20), Temple (40), Memphis (96) and UConn (117) in January.
• Tulsa had wins over SMU (99), UConn (117) and UCF (69) in February. TU will close the regular-season at home against Temple (40).
• TU head coach Frank Haith has dubbed the final nine games of the regular season (Feb. 1-March 4), "the back nine" and the Hurricane has carded six "birdies" (6-1) during the stretch.

Trending
• In three career games against ECU, Junior Etou is averaging 24.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. He had 20 points and 14 rebounds in the TU win over ECU on Dec. 28 to open conference play.
• Etou has seven double-doubles this season, including six during conference play. Those six double-doubles during league play are tied with Cincinnati's Gary Clark for most in the circuit.
• The Hurricane has surpassed last season's overall (15) and conference (8) win totals and the program now has recorded at least 15 wins in each of the last 11 seasons.
• TU is 55-8 under head coach Frank Haith when leading at halftime, including a 13-2 mark this season.

Pick Your Poison
• Tulsa's balanced offensive attack has kept opponents off-guard all season, but particularly during American Athletic Conference play.
• During conference action, TU has four different players averaging in double-figures: Junior Etou (13.7 ppg), Sterling Taplin (11.9 ppg), Corey Henderson Jr. (11.6 ppg) and Martins Igbanu (10.8 ppg).
• Five different players have led TU in scoring during its 16 conference games (four listed above and DaQuan Jeffries).
• For the season, Tulsa has three different players that have scored 30 points in a game, which is tops in the league, while five different players have scored at least 20 points in a game.

Henderson Dialing Long Distance
• Senior guard Corey Henderson Jr. is TU's top threat behind the arc and he will enter Thursday's matchup at ECU tied for fourth in The American with 46 3-pointers (2.9 per game) made during conference action.
• After hitting just two treys in the first five games of the season, Henderson Jr. has had at least two 3-pointers in 18 of the last 23 games. He has hit at least four triples in a game seven times, including five times since the start of conference play.
• He is the 10th player in TU history to record 50 or more triples in two or more consecutive seasons and this is the 12th consecutive season that at least one TU player has scored 50 or more 3-point field goals.

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 +4.5 margin (38.8-34.3) in its last 22 contests.
• TU has outrebounded six opponents (UTSA, Illinois State, Kansas State, Tulane [2x], USF) 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 8.0 rebounds per game, including a career-high 15 boards against Temple (Jan. 17) and SMU (Feb. 1). Martins Igbanu also has helped crash the glass at 5.6 rpg.
• The Hurricane is 13-2 this season when outrebounding its opponent.

Free Fallin'
• The Hurricane rank second in the league and 67th in the nation with 643 free throws attempted, while it also ranks second in the league and 54th in the country with 470 free throw makes.
• TU is connecting at a 73.1-percent mark at the charity stripe to rank third in The American.
• TU has shot more free throws than its opponent 21 times this season and own a 15-6 record in those games.
• TU is averaging more free throws made per game (16.7) than its opponents attempt (15.6). The Hurricane rank 17th in the nation with just 449 fouls committed (16.0 per game) this season.
• The Golden Hurricane rank 23rd in the nation in free-throw rate (41.1) by kenpom.com.
• Junior Etou leads the team and ranks second in The American with 169 free throws attempted and 122 free throws made.

Tulsa's Success in The American
• Since joining the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2014-15 season, the Golden Hurricane has posted 44 league wins, ranks third in the circuit during that time.
• Only Cincinnati (55 wins) and SMU (51 wins) have earned more victories than Tulsa's 44.
• 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. Tulsa will be the first program in The American history to finish better than its preseason prediction for four consecutive seasons.

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 131 3-pointers in 13 games during the challenge.

Tulsa 3 Party
• Tulsa hit a then-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 last hit 15 3-pointers against Jackson State on Dec. 17, 2009.
• 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.

Haith In His Fourth Season at TU
• Head coach Frank Haith is in his fourth season at Tulsa, where he has compiled a 75-51 record and made a pair of postseason appearances during his tenure. Overall, he has an on-court record of 280-180 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 has faced three other coaches on that list this season when TU matched up against Tubby Smith (Memphis), Kelvin Sampson (Houston) and Bruce Weber (Kansas State).

Etou Named Preseason Second-Team American Athletic Conference
• Senior forward Junior Etou was named preseason second-team American Athletic Conference.
• 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.
• In 2017-18, Etou leads the Hurricane in scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg). Those marks rank sixth and third in the conference, respectively.
• Etou has scored in double-figures 25 times, including seven games of at least 20 points. He has recorded seven double-doubles, six of which have come during conference play.
• Etou has been named the conference's Player of the Week twice (Jan. 2, Feb. 5) and to the league's weekly honor roll four times.

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 505 points (18.0 ppg), led by 227 points (10.3 ppg) from DaQuan Jeffries.

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 238-72 (.768) in its 19+ seasons, including a 12-2 mark this season.
• The building has seen 42 sellouts and 1,848,825 fans have witnessed Tulsa basketball at the Reynolds Center.

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.

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 is averaging 10.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. 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.

Up Next
• Tulsa will close the regular-season at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 4 when it hosts Temple (16-12, 8-8) at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Senior Day.

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