Tulsa to Open Play at The American Championship Today

GAME #31: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (19-11) vs. MEMPHIS TIGERS (20-12)
Date/Time:	Friday • March 9 • 1 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Amway Center (20,000) • Orlando, Fla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 4th year Memphis – Tubby Smith (High Point '73), 2nd year
TV:	ESPN 2 (Kevin Brown and John Thompson III)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Memphis leads Tulsa, 27-17
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa

TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will open play at the Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship, held at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., at 1 p.m. (CT) today (Friday, March 9) against fifth-seeded Memphis.

The Golden Hurricane (19-11) earned the tournament's No. 4 seed with a 12-6 league mark and it closed the regular-season last week with wins over ECU and Temple. This is the third time in four tournament appearances that TU has earned a first-round bye and the squad will face either the fifth-seeded Tigers (19-12) or the No. 12-seed Bulls (10-21).

Tulsa will head to Orlando having won eight of its last nine games and the squad is led by second-team all-conference selection Junior Etou. Etou leads the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg) for the second straight season and he is the only conference player to rank among the league's top five in both categories.

TU split two meetings against Memphis this season as each team won on its home floor.

Fast Break Points
• Tulsa is in its 107th season of basketball and fourth season in the American Athletic Conference.
• Fourth-seeded Tulsa will open play at the Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship at 1 p.m. (CT) on Friday, March 9 against either fifth-seeded Memphis or the No. 12-seed USF at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.
• TU went a combined 3-1 against USF and Memphis during the regular-season with a sweep of the Bulls and a split with the Tigers. Tulsa is 17-27 all-time against Memphis and a perfect 7-0 against USF.
• Junior Etou was named second-team all-conference on Monday. He led the league with seven double-doubles during conference play and he is the only player to rank in The American's top five for both scoring and rebounding.
• Tulsa is coming off a 76-58 win over Temple last Sunday at the Reynolds Center. Corey Henderson Jr. hit five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 21 points, while the Hurricane opened the game on a 24-0 run in the victory.
• Tulsa was picked to finish eighth in The American Preseason Poll. TU is the first program in conference history to finish better than its preseason prediction for four consecutive seasons, all under head coach Frank Haith.
• Tulsa 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. A win in Thursday's quarterfinal would give TU its 24th 20-win campaign overall and its third in four seasons under head coach Frank Haith.
• Etou leads the team at 15.1 ppg and 7.7 rpg and those marks rank fifth and third in The American, respectively. He led the league with 8.6 rpg during conference play and he has scored in double-figures 26 times this season.
• After posting a -4.5 rebound margin through its first six games, TU has recorded a +4.9 rebound margin since. TU has outrebounded its opponent by double-digits seven times during that stretch.
• TU has notched 46 league wins since joining The American, which ranks third behind only Cincinnati (57) and SMU (51) during that span (2014-present).

The Game
• Tulsa will face either Memphis or USF at 1 p.m. (CT) on Friday, March 9, in the quarterfinals of the Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship, held at Amway Arena in Orlando, Fla.
• Friday's game can be seen on ESPN2, 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.

Tulsa's Conference Tournament History
• Tulsa will make its fourth appearance in The American Championship and the Golden Hurricane have a 2-3 record in the event. TU has earned a first-round bye in three of its four tournament appearances in The American Championship.
• TU will be making its 41st appearance in a conference tournament and the Hurricane have an all-time mark of 52-34 in league tournaments.
• Tulsa has claimed six conference tournament titles (1982, '84, '86, '96 in the Missouri Valley Conference; 2003 in the Western Athletic Conference; 2014 in Conference USA).

A Tulsa Win Would ...
• Set up a semifinal matchup against either top-seeded Cincinnati, UConn or SMU at 12 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, March 10. It would be the second time that Tulsa has advanced to the semifinals of The American Championship (2015).
• Improve TU's all-time record in The American Championship to 3-3.
• Give Tulsa 20 wins for the 24th time in program history and the third time in four seasons under head coach Frank Haith.
• Be TU's second win over Memphis this season or would be TU's third win over USF this season.

Scouting the Opponents
• Memphis will enter The American Championship having won five of its last six games, including a 90-70 win over ECU last Sunday. The Tigers defeated then-No. 23 Houston during the stretch, 91-85, on Feb. 22.
• Memphis is without leading scorer Jeremiah Martin (18.9 ppg), who broke his foot during the Tigers' win over Houston. The Tigers are 3-1 this season without Martin, who also missed a 70-67 win at SMU.
• Memphis is led by Kyvon Davenport (12.8 ppg/6.0 ppg), while Mike Parks Jr. averaged 11.2 ppg during league play.
• Memphis is coached by former TU head coach Tubby Smith (1991-95) and former TU guard Pooh Williamson.
• USF enters the tournament with momentum after it closed the regular-season with wins over Memphis and SMU.
• The Bulls are led by Stephan Jiggetts' 12.4 points and 3.2 assists per game, while Payton Banks also is averaging double-figures with 11.6 ppg.
• David Collins, a member of the league's All-Rookie Team, averaged 11.3 ppg during conference play.

Last Time Out
• Corey Henderson Jr. scored a game-high 21 points and Tulsa opened the game on a 24-0 run to race past Temple, 76-58, on Senior Day at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
• Henderson Jr. hit five 3-pointers in the game and scored 11 straight points during Tulsa's 24-0 start. Curran Scott came off the bench to score 14 points along with seven rebounds, while Martins Igbanu added 16 points.
• Tulsa hit eight of its first 10 shots, while Temple missed its first 12 attempts, during the 24-0 start. The Owls did not score until the 9:56 mark of the 1st half.
• Temple got within seven in the final half, but Tulsa outscored the Owls 21-9 over a five-minute stretch to pull away.

The Back Nine
• Here's a closer look at Tulsa's "back nine" of the regular-season, which allowed the Hurricane to move from seventh place to fourth place in The American standings and earn a first-round bye in this week's league tournament.
• During the stretch, Tulsa outscored its opponents by an average of 7.4 ppg (74.2-66.8). Five of the eight wins came by single-digits, including a pair of two-point wins over Tulane (Feb. 8) and UConn (Feb. 15).
• TU produced a +6.5 rebound margin (37.6-31.1) during the stretch by outrebounding seven of its nine opponents, including three games with a double-digit rebound margin.
• Tulsa took care of business at home, where five of its wins came during the stretch. TU is 13-2 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center this season.
• In addition to holding teams to an average of 31.1 rebounds, the TU defense limited opponents to 41.6-percent shooting and committed 132 fouls (14.7 pg) that led to just 117 free throws (13.0 pg).

Conference Call
• TU has finished better than its preseason prediction all four years under head coach Frank Haith, becoming the first American program to outperform its prediction in four consecutive seasons.
• This is the 16th time in Tulsa history and the fourth time in the last five seasons that TU has produced at least 12 conference wins. TU has finished with 12 or more conference wins in three of its four seasons in The American.
• In 14 of those previous 15 seasons, Tulsa has advanced to postseason tournament play. Most recently, the 2015-16 team went 12-6 in The American and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
• Only once (1991-92) has a Tulsa team registered at least 12 conference wins and not made a postseason tournament.

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. 11 Wichita State (12), No. 21 Houston (19), Temple (52), UConn (106) and Memphis (114) in January.
• Tulsa had wins over SMU (115), UConn (106) and UCF (78) in February and it closed the regular-season with a home win over Temple (52).
• TU head coach Frank Haith dubbed the final nine games of the regular season (Feb. 1-March 4), "the back nine" and the Hurricane carded eight "birdies" (8-1) during the stretch.

Trending
• Tulsa has won eight of its last nine games to climb out of a tie for seventh place in the league standings to fourth place and a first-round bye in the Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship in Orlando, Fla.
• Junior Etou has eight double-doubles this season, including seven during conference play. Those seven double-doubles during league play were the 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 57-8 under head coach Frank Haith when leading at halftime, including a 15-2 mark this season.

Pick Your Poison
• Tulsa's balanced offensive attack has kept opponents off-guard all season, but particularly against American Athletic Conference opponents.
• During conference action, TU had four different players averaging in double-figures: Junior Etou (13.1 ppg), Corey Henderson Jr. (12.0 ppg), Sterling Taplin (11.5 ppg) and Martins Igbanu (11.3 ppg).
• Five different players led TU in scoring during its 18 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 and tied for third in the nation, while its five different 20+ point scorers is tied for 10th-most in the country.

Etou Leads the Way
• Senior forward Junior Etou, a second-team all-conference selection, leads the Hurricane in scoring (15.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg). Those marks rank fifth and third in the conference, respectively, and he is the only player in the circuit to rank in the top five of both categories.
• With 452 points this season, he is the 26th player in TU history to score 400 or more points in two or more consecutive seasons. This is the 93rd time that a TU player has topped 400 points in a single season.
• Etou has scored in double-figures 26 times, including seven games of at least 20 points. He has recorded eight double-doubles, a league-high seven of which came during conference play.
• Etou was named the conference's Player of the Week twice (Jan. 2, Feb. 5) and to the league's weekly honor roll four times.

Henderson Dialing Long Distance
• Senior guard Corey Henderson Jr. is TU's top threat behind the arc and he will enter Friday's matchup against either Memphis or USF ranked fifth in The American with 71 3-pointers (2.4 per game) made this season.
• After hitting just two treys in the first five games of the season, Henderson Jr. has had at least two 3-pointers in 20 of the last 25 games. He has hit at least four triples in a game eight times, including six times against American Athletic Conference opponents.
• He is the 10th player in TU history to record 50 or more triples in two or more consecutive seasons and the 13th player in program history to register at least 70 3-pointers in a single 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 +4.9 margin (39.1-34.2) in its last 24 contests.
• TU has outrebounded seven opponents (UTSA, Illinois State, Kansas State, Temple, 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 8.1 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 5.7 rpg.
• The Hurricane is 15-2 this season when outrebounding its opponent.

Just Tap It In
• Junior point guard Sterling Taplin has developed into one of the top point guards in The American and he has emerged as a team leader in his third season under head coach Frank Haith.
• The East Amherst, N.Y., native ranks second on the team and 23rd in the league in scoring at 11.7 ppg. Taplin also leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference at 4.4 assists per game.
• Taplin has set career highs this season in field goals (122), 3-pointers (38), points (340), rebounds (108) and assists (128). In addition, he has climbed to No. 19 on the program's career-assists charts with 271.

Free Fallin'
• The Hurricane rank second in the league and 60th in the nation with 691 free throws attempted, while it also ranks second in the league and 46th in the country with 506 free throw makes.
• TU is connecting at a 73.2-percent mark at the charity stripe to rank third in The American.
• TU has shot more free throws than its opponent 23 times this season and own a 17-6 record in those games.
• TU is averaging more free throws made per game (16.9) than its opponents attempt (15.3). The Hurricane rank 18th in the nation with just 479 fouls committed (15.9 per game) this season.
• The Golden Hurricane rank 19th in the nation in free-throw rate (41.3) by kenpom.com.
• Junior Etou leads the team and ranks second in The American with 177 free throws attempted and 128 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 46 league wins, which ranks third in the circuit during that time.
• Only Cincinnati (57 wins) and SMU (51 wins) have earned more victories than Tulsa's 46.
• TU has finished better than its preseason prediction in each of Haith's four seasons. The Golden Hurricane was picked to finish eighth in the conference prior to the 2017-18 season. Tulsa is the first program in The American history to finish better than its preseason prediction in four consecutive seasons.

TU In The Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge
• Making 3-point shots this basketball season took on even more meaning this year for head coach Frank Haith and The University of Tulsa men's basketball team. The Golden Hurricane squared off against teams across the nation to fight cancer as part of the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge.
• Fans had the opportunity to pledge a donation for each 3-point shot that TU made over the final 16 games of the regular-season (Jan. 3-March 4) to support American Cancer Society research, education and patient programs. Fans also had the option of a fixed donation and Coach Haith started the Golden Hurricane campaign with a contribution of $500.
• In all, Tulsa made 147 3-pointers during its final 16 games, in which it went 10-6, as part of 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 77-51 record and made a pair of postseason appearances during his tenure. Overall, he has an on-court record of 282-180 in his 14th season.
• His 77 wins put him in seventh on the program's all-time wins list and he moved ahead of former coaches Bill Self and Tubby Smith (each with 74) when Tulsa defeated UCF on Feb. 21.
• 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).

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 549 points (18.3 ppg), led by 240 points (10.0 ppg) from DaQuan Jeffries.

Tulsa In 20th Season at the Reynolds Center
• After hosting the first TU men's basketball game on Dec. 29, 1998, the Golden Hurricane played its 20th season in the Donald W. Reynolds Center this year.
• Tulsa has posted an overall record of 239-72 (.768) in its 19+ seasons, including a 13-2 mark this season.
• The building has seen 42 sellouts and 1,854,128 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 10.4 points and 9.1 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
• With a win in Friday's quarterfinal, Tulsa would advance to The American Championship semifinals where it would take on either top-seeded Cincinnati, UConn or Memphis at 12 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, March 10.

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Tulsa to Open Play at The American Championship Today

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Players Mentioned

Geno Artison

Junior Etou

Alex Foree

Corey Henderson Jr.

Jeriah Horne

Martins Igbanu

Darien Jackson

DaQuan Jeffries

Elijah Joiner

Lawson Korita

Curran Scott

Sterling Taplin

Jaleel Wheeler