Tulsa Back in the Reynolds Center for Wednesday Matchup with Memphis

Wednesday, January 30

Reynolds Center

7 PM

Tulsa

Memphis

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Bill Powell

Tulsa Back in the Reynolds Center for Wednesday Matchup with Memphis

1/29/2019 9:27:00 AM | Men's Basketball

GAME #22: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (12-9, 2-6) vs MEMPHIS TIGERS (13-7, 5-2)
Date/Time:	Wednesday • Jan. 30 • 7 p.m.
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 5th year Memphis – Penny Hardaway (Memphis '03), 1st year
TV:	ESPNEWS (John Brickley and Mark Adams)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Memphis leads, 28-17
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa \| Memphis
Tickets:	918-631-GoTU \| Buy Online

Fast Break Points
• Tulsa is in its 108th season of basketball and fifth season in the American Athletic Conference.
• Tulsa will continue American Athletic Conference play at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30 when it will host Memphis at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
• Memphis leads the all-time series, 28-17, but Tulsa has won the last three matchups at the Reynolds Center.
• TU has improved its 3-point shooting since the start of conference play. The Hurricane shot 32.5-percent behind the arc and averaged 6.3 treys per game in its 13 non-conference games, while it has shot 38.5-percent (2nd in AAC) and is averaging 7.5 3-pointers made during league contests.
• With 95 assists this season, Sterling Taplin has moved to sixth place on the program's all-time charts with 370. Taplin needs 19 assists to pass current TU assistant coach Shea Seals (1993-1997) and move into the top five on the list.
• Jeriah Horne is averaging 8.9 ppg, which is tops in the conference among players who have come off the bench in every game this season. The sophomore is averaging 10.6 ppg during league play.
• DaQuan Jeffries leads the team in scoring at 13.6 ppg and rebounding at 5.6 rpg. Jeffries has led the team in scoring nine times, including a season-high 24 points in a win over UT Arlington (Nov. 27). The Edmond native also averages a team-leading 13.5 ppg during conference play.
• TU has notched 48 league wins since joining The American, which ranks fourth-most behind only Cincinnati (64), SMU (55) and Houston (49) during that span (2014-present).
• Tulsa was picked to finish ninth in The American Preseason Poll. TU has finished better than its preseason prediction in all four seasons under head coach Frank Haith.
• With a 10-3 non-conference record, Tulsa had its best start under head coach Frank Haith. The Hurricane registered 10 wins before the start of league play for the first time since 2009-10.

Notes
The Game
• Tulsa will continue American Athletic Conference play at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30 when it will host Memphis at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
• The game can be seen on ESPNEWS, while fans in the Tulsa area can tune to Big Country 99.5 FM with Bruce Howard and former Hurricane player J.R. Rollo on the call. Live audio from the game also can be found by using the TuneIn app.

Scouting the Tigers
• Memphis was picked to finish fourth in The American as the team returns three starters and six letterwinners from last year's squad, which went 21-13 and advanced to The American Tournament finals.
• The Tigers come into Wednesday's game tied for third in The American standings with a 5-2 league mark. Memphis defeated preseason favorite UCF, 77-57, on Sunday afternoon at FedExForum.
• Memphis leads the league and ranks 22nd in the nation in scoring offense at 83.2 ppg. The squad is averaging a conference-leading 79.9 ppg during league action.
• Jeremiah Martin leads the way with 15.2 ppg, while Kyvon Davenport (14.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Tyler Harris (12.8 ppg) also average in double-figures.
• The squad also ranks 13th in the nation in turnovers forced per game (17.4) and 18th in steals per game (8.7).

The Series
• Wednesday's matchup marks the 46th all-time meeting between Tulsa and Memphis. The Tigers hold a 28-17 lead in the series and own a slim 10-8 edge in Tulsa.
• The Hurricane has won the last three games against Memphis in the Reynolds Center, including a 64-51 victory last season. Memphis' last win in Tulsa came on March 3, 2012.

Last Meeting
• Kareem Brewton Jr. hit a running 3-pointer as time expired to lift fifth-seeded Memphis past the No. 4 seed Tulsa, 67-64, in the quarterfinals of the Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship on March 9, 2018.
• Corey Henderson Jr. scored a game-high 20 points, 16 of which came in the second half, to lead the Golden Hurricane. Sterling Taplin added 14 points and Junior Etou recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
• Martins Igbanu tied the score at 64 at the free-throw line with just 3.5 seconds left, but Brewton Jr. dribbled up the floor and let go a running floater just before the buzzer that gave Memphis the 67-64 win.

A Tulsa Win Would ...
• Improve Tulsa's record to 13-9 on the season and improve its conference record to 3-6.
• Snap a three-game losing streak and give TU its fourth consecutive win over the Tigers at the Reynolds Center.
• Improve Tulsa's all-time record against Memphis to 18-28 overall and 9-10 in Tulsa.
• Give head coach Frank Haith his 90th win on the TU bench.

Last Time Out
• Tulsa shot 52.4-percent in the second half and went on a 13-1 run to help trim the deficit, but No. 17/17 Houston held on for a 77-65 win over Tulsa on Sunday afternoon at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
• DaQuan Jeffries led the Golden Hurricane with 17 points to go along with five assists.
• TU trailed by as much as 21 points in the second half, but went on a 13-1 run and cut the deficit to as little as eight points three times in the final five minutes.

TU To Participate in Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge
• Making 3-point shots this basketball season takes on even more meaning for head coach Frank Haith, who serves on the Coaches vs. Cancer Council, 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 11 games of the regular-season to support American Cancer Society research, education and patient programs at: pledgeit.org/cvc19-tulsa.
• Fans also have the option of making a fixed donation to Coaches vs. Cancer. Haith matched all donations made by fans during the Houston game on Jan. 27 for a total of nearly $5,500 donated to Coaches vs. Cancer.

Nothing But NET
• Tulsa entered conference play with an NCAA NET ranking inside the top 100 and had a ranking of 109th as of Jan. 28.
• All nine of Tulsa's oppnents in the first half of its league schedule are ranked in the top 125, with eight games against opponents in the top 100. In all, Tulsa's total strength of schedule ranks No. 35 in the nation and is the second-toughest in The American behind Wichita State (No. 8).
• The Hurricane got two games against Houston (No. 7) and Cincinnati (No. 23) during the stretch along with matchups against UCF (No. 40), Memphis (No. 54), UConn (No. 78), USF (No. 90) and SMU (No. 120).

Haith Enters Fifth Season at TU
• Head coach Frank Haith is in his fifth season at Tulsa, where he has compiled an 89-61 record and led the Golden Hurricane to a pair of postseason appearances during his tenure. Overall, he has an on-court record of 294-190 (.608) in his 15th season.
• Haith's 89 wins on the TU bench rank seventh in program history as he passed former Golden Hurricane coaches Bill Self (74), Tubby Smith (74), Francis Schmidt (73), Chet Benefiel (65) and John Phillips (61) on the charts last season.
• Haith's 19.3 wins per season at TU rank fifth among those who coached more than one season for the Hurricane.

Haith in Exclusive Coaching Company
• Head coach Frank Haith is the one of just two active Division I head coaches to take teams in four of the Power 6 conferences to the NCAA Tournament (Houston's Kelvin Sampson is the other). 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 24 active coaches that have taken at least three different programs to the NCAA Tournament.
• Haith and the Hurricane will face two other members of that list this season, when the team takes on Bruce Weber and Kansas State (Dec. 8) before two matchups with Sampson and Houston (Jan. 2 and Jan. 27).

Taplin Leads the Way
• Senior point guard Sterling Taplin has developed into one of the top point guards in The American and he was named preseason second-team all-conference in a vote by the league's head coaches.
• The East Amherst, N.Y., native is the team's leading returning scorer after he registered a career-best 11.8 ppg last season. He also set career bests with 3.7 rpg and 4.4 apg, which also ranked fourth in The American.
• Taplin's 11.8 ppg last season ranks 11th among returners in The American. In all, he set career highs last season in field goals (127), 3-pointers (38), points (354), rebounds (112) and assists (132).

Climbing the Charts
• Senior point guard Sterling Taplin is climbing the career assists charts at TU and he entered the program's all-time top 10 with three assists against Utah on Dec. 1. He currently ranks sixth with 370 assists and needs 19 assists to pass Shea Seals (1993-97) and into the top five.
• Taplin had a career-high 10 assists in TU's win over South Carolina State (Nov. 10). With that effort, he became the 14th TU player to have at least 10 assists in a game and he was the first to do so since Ben Uzoh had 10 on Feb. 13, 2010.
• With 934 points, Taplin needs 66 points to become the 38th player in TU history to reach 1,000 career points.

DaQuan Does It All
• Senior DaQuan Jeffries is averaging a team-leading 13.6 points 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, while shooting 51.6-percent, which ranks 12th in The American.
• Jeffries had one of the best outings of his career on Nov. 27 against UT Arlington, when he went 10-of-11 from the floor to tie a career high with 24 points. He had the best shooting percentage for a TU player who made at least 10 field goals since Charlie Davis went 11-of-12 (.916) against SMU on Jan. 19, 2002.
• In addition, Jeffries ranks 20th on the program's career blocks list with 60 swats. He has 24 blocks this season, including a season-high three rejections against Little Rock (Nov. 19) and UCF (Jan. 19).
• Jeffries was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 10 after helping TU to wins over Oklahoma State (Dec. 5) and then-No. 16/15 Kansas State (Dec. 8).

Trending
• Darien Jackson has scored 24 points over his last five games, which surpassed his point total through the first 28 games of his career at TU (22 points).
• The number 70 has been important for TU this season as the team is 10-1 when it scores at least 70 points in a game, while its record is 7-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points.
• TU has improved its 3-point shooting since the start of conference play. The Hurricane shot 32.5-percent behind the arc and averaged 6.3 treys per game in its 13 non-conference games, while it has shot 38.5-percent (2nd in AAC) and is averaging 7.5 3-pointers made during league contests.

Tulsa's Success in The American
• Since joining the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2014-15 season, the Golden Hurricane has posted 48 league wins, which ranks fourth in the circuit during that time.
• Only Cincinnati (64), SMU (55 wins) and Houston (49) have earned more victories than Tulsa's 48.
• TU has finished better than its preseason prediction in each of Haith's four seasons. Tulsa is the first program in The American history to finish better than its preseason prediction in four consecutive seasons. The Golden Hurricane was picked to finish ninth in the conference prior to the 2018-19 season.

Free Fallin'
• The Hurricane rank second in the league in free throw attempts (510) and third in free throws made (351). Those marks rank 12th and 23rd in the nation, respectively.
• The squad is averaging 24.3 attempts per game with a season high of 40 in the win over California Baptist (Nov. 16). TU has shot more than 20 free throws in a game 13 times this season. The Hurricane has shot more than 30 free throws in a game seven times.
• Martins Igbanu leads the team at 5.6 free-throw attempts per game, while Chris Barnes (.783/18-of-23) leads the team in free-throw percentage.

Home Cookin'
• After hosting the first TU men's basketball game on Dec. 29, 1998, the Golden Hurricane is in its 21st season in the Donald W. Reynolds Center this year.
• Tulsa has posted an overall record of 249-74 (.771) in its 20+ seasons, including a 10-2 mark this season.
• The building has seen 42 sellouts and 1,905,684 fans have witnessed Tulsa basketball at the Reynolds Center.
• The Hurricane has won 25 of its last 29 games in the Reynolds Center.
• Tulsa's recent 15-game home winning streak was the second-longest streak since the Reynolds Center opened in 1998. The longest home winning streak in the building is 23 games, from Jan. 17, 2009 to Feb. 13, 2010.

Earning Degrees
• Frank Haith has made achievement in the classroom as much of a priority as success on the basketball court over his nearly 15 years as a head coach.
• During head coaching tenures at Miami, Missouri and Tulsa, 54 of the 58 (93.1-percent) seniors that have come through his programs have earned a degree.
• Since arriving at Tulsa, 14 of the program's 15 seniors (93.3-percent) have graduated, including Corey Haith, Corey Henderson Jr., Jaleel Wheeler and Junior Etou from last year's team.
• Additionally, Tulsa has had at least two student-athletes recognized on the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team in each of Haith's four seasons. Last year, both Alex Foree and Curran Scott made the team, which honors student-athletes with at least a 3.0 GPA.

Look Who's Back
• Tulsa returns eight letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team, which went 19-12 and finished fourth in The American with a 12-6 league mark.
• Returning starters include senior point guard Sterling Taplin (30 starts), junior forward Martins Igbanu (23) and junior guard Lawson Korita (17).
• Other returners include senior guard/forward DaQuan Jeffries, senior forward Alex Foree, junior guard Curran Scott and sophomore guards Elijah Joiner and Darien Jackson.
• In all, Tulsa returns 56.3-percent of its scoring, 56.7-percent of its minutes, 48.9-percent of its rebounding, 69.5-percent of its assists and 59.7-percent of its steals.

In Memory of Bob Patterson
• Tulsa will wear a "30" patch on its home uniforms this season to honor Bob Patterson (1951-55), who passed away in November. Patterson was Tulsa's first All-American and was the first TU player to be selected in the NBA Draft.
• A member of the TU Athletic Hall of Fame, Patterson still owns Tulsa single-season records for rebounds (370; 1954-55), free throws made (229; 1954-55) and free throws attempted (297; 1954-55).
• Patterson was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as a senior and led the Hurricane to an MVC title and its first NCAA Tournament appearance. He also was named to the NCAA Western Regional Team that season.

Roster Experience
• Despite having seven newcomers on the roster for 2018-19, Tulsa features 10 players with Division I experience.
• Those 10 players have totaled 17 years of Division I experience, led by three years from senior Sterling Taplin.
• Even with the influx of newcomers, Tulsa is one of just seven Division I programs without a scholarship freshman on the roster. TU's only freshman is walk-on George Christopolous, who is redshirting this season.
• Counting walk-ons, TU is one of just seven Division I programs to have one or fewer total freshmen on its roster.

New Faces
• Along with the eight returning letterwinners, Tulsa has seven newcomers in addition to Jeriah Horne, who sat out the 2017-18 season after transferring from Nebraska.
• The newcomers eligible to make their debut for the Hurricane this season are Chris Barnes, Peter Hewitt, Jeriah Horne, Simon Falokun and walk-on Lindsay Deline Jr. Reggie Jones will sit out the 2018-19 campaign after transferring from Western Michigan and walk-on George Christopoulos will redshirt, as well.
• Of the five eligible to make their debut for TU, two student-athletes have Division I experience (Chris Barnes/UTEP and Jeriah Horne/Nebraska), while Peter Hewitt redshirted at UC Davis in 2016-17.
• TU newcomers have totaled 305 points (15.3 ppg) so far this season, led by 172 points (8.6 ppg) from Jeriah Horne.

Exhibition Excellence
• Tulsa improved to 67-2 all-time in exhibition games with a 95-60 win over Division II Northeastern State on Nov. 2 in the Reynolds Center. It also marked the 38th straight exhibition victory for the Golden Hurricane.
• Curran Scott scored 16 points off the bench to lead a balanced scoring effort that saw nine Tulsa players tally at least eight points.
• Newcomer Simon Falokun was the only other player in double-figures with 14 points on 4-of-4 shooting and a 6-for-6 effort from the free-throw line. Falokun also had six rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Tulsa Signs Isaiah Hill to NLI
• Isaiah Hill, a 6-foot point guard from Bakersfield, Calif. (Liberty HS), signed a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 14, the first day of the early signing period, to join The University of Tulsa men's basketball program for the 2019-20 season.
• Hill is the highest-rated high school recruit in TU history, according to 247sports.com, which lists Hill as a three-star prospect and the No. 25 point guard recruit in the nation.
• He averaged 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game as a junior en route to first-team All-Area honors from the Bakersfield Californian.
• Hill played AAU ball for the Compton Magic, which is the same program that current TU guard Chris Barnes came out of.
• In addition, Hill was the starting quarterback for the Liberty HS football team as a sophomore and junior. He did not play as a senior to focus on his basketball career.

Up Next
• Tulsa will take to the road for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Wichita State in the first Havoc in the Heartland matchup this season.
• The contest will be the first in a stretch that will see the Hurricane play three of its next four games on the road.

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