Hurricane Start 2021 at Cincinnati Saturday

Saturday, January 2

Cincinnati OH

2:00 PM

Tulsa

Cincinnati

Photo by: Bill Powell

Hurricane Start 2021 at Cincinnati Saturday

1/1/2021 1:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME #9: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (5-3, 2-1) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (2-5, 0-2)
Date/Time:	Saturday • Jan. 2, 2021 • 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Fifth Third Arena (12,012) • Cincinnati, Ohio
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 7th year Cincinnati – John Brannen (Marshall '97), 2nd year
TV:	ESPN+ \| Matt Noonan (pxp) & Kevin Johnson (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	42nd Meeting (Cincinnati leads the series 29-12)
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Cincinnati \| AAC Notes
Game Program:	Game Day Program

The Game
• Tulsa will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in a conference road matchup at the Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio Saturday night on ESPN+.
• The game is the ninth contest for Tulsa (5-3) this season ... the Bearcats are 2-5 on the season losing their last contest 70-75 in a road conference game against UCF on Dec. 22.

Scouting the Bearcats
• Cincinnati was picked to finish 4th in the preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches Poll ... the Bearcats return 3 starters and two of their top 4 scorers from last season, when the team went 20-10 and 13-5 in conference play .... splitting the AAC conference regular season championship with Tulsa and Houston.
• Cincinnati added two key pieces in Michigan transfer David DeJulius and true freshman, Seattle, Wash. native, Tari Eason.
• The Bearcats return Keith Williams who averaged 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists last season ... Cincinnati also returns 7'1" senior center Chris Vogt who averaged 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season.
• The Bearcats opened their season with a 67-55 victory over Lipscomb at home ... they have lost five of their last six contests including conference games to USF at home 71-74 and UCF on the road 70-75.
• Cincinnati is led in scoring by Keith Williams who is averaging 15.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game ... David DeJulius is averaging 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game for the Bearcats.
• Cincinnati is led by Head Coach John Brannen, who was been at the helm of the Bearcats for the last 2 seasons and holds a 22-15 record.

The Series
• This is the 42nd meeting against Cincinnati ... the Bearcats hold a 29-12 series lead over the Hurricane.
• Tulsa is 8-10 at home against the Bearcats and 2-17 on the road.
• The Bearcats have won the last 7 meetings against the Hurricane including the only meeting last season.
• Tulsa's last win in Cincinnati came on Jan. 5, 1967 as the Hurricane won 65-64 ... the teams have only played 9 times in Cincinnati since then.
• The last meeting between the two teams came on Jan. 8, 2020 as the Hurricane lost to the Bearcats, 75-44.
• The first game between the two teams came in the 1946-47 season as Tulsa lost to Cincinnati on the road with a final of 43-42.

A Tulsa Win Would
• Give the Hurricane its sixth win of the season, moving Tulsa to 6-3 on the year and 3-1 in conference play.
• Move Tulsa's all-time record against Cincinnati to 13-29.
• End the Bearcats' 7 game winning streak over the Hurricane.
• Give TU its first win at Cincinnati since the Hurricane defeated the Bearcats 65-64 on Jan. 5, 1967 ... Tulsa has only two all-time wins in Cincinnati.

Last Win Against the Bearcats
• The Hurricane took on the Bearcats at home on Feb. 18, 2016, as Tulsa won 70-68.
• Tulsa had 4 players in double-figures led by James Woodard with 19 points ... Pat Birt (13), Rashad Smith (12) and Shaquille Harrison (11) also scored in double-figures.
• The Hurricane used overtime to capture the victory with Birt sinking two free throws with 7 seconds left to seal the win.
• In the second half and overtime period, the Hurricane outscored the Bearcats 26-12 in the paint … Tulsa improved their field goal percentage from 32.3 percent in the first half to 48.4 percent in the final 25 minutes.
• Tulsa closed out the game making 11-11 free throws in the second half and in overtime ... the Hurricane shot 15-20 (75%) from the charity strike during the game.

Tulsa's Big Day Over No. 5 Cougars
• Brandon Rachal knocked down two free throws with 0.1 seconds left in the game to defeat the No. 5-ranked Houston Cougars 65-64 on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020 in the Reynolds Center.
• The win was the first victory against a top 5-ranked opponent in the Reynolds Center since TU started playing in the arena in 1999.
• It was the first top-5 victory since the Hurricane defeated the No. 5 ranked UCLA Bruins 77-76 in overtime on Nov. 20, 1996 in Los Angeles, Calif.
• TU's only other top-5 victory at home was a 84-77 win against the No. 3-ranked Louisville Cardinals at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion on Feb. 8, 1975.

Rachal Dominating for the Hurricane
• Senior Brandon Rachal has started the season on fire for Tulsa averaging 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game through the first 8 contests.
• Rachal led the Hurricane against Houston with 20 points and 7 rebounds ... he went 8-8 from the free throw line including the go-ahead free throws with 0.1 seconds left in the game.
• In each of the first four games, he led the team in points, three times in blocks and twice in rebounds.
• Against Wichita State, Rachal captured his fifth career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds ... it was the first double-double for the Hurricane this season.
• Against UTA, he scored 9 of his 19 points in the 5:45 of the 1st half leading a 15-5 run to give TU the lead.
• He was named to the American Athletic Conference week one honor roll after averaging 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.5 blocks in games against TCU and South Carolina.
• Rachal is the only Hurricane to have recorded a double-double this season ... he put in 17 points and 11 rebounds against Wichita State and 14 points and 10 rebounds against Southwestern Christian.

Richie Breaks Out
• Junior Austin Richie is in his first season with the Golden Hurricane after spending his first two seasons with Triton College ... Richie was a NJCAA Third-Team All-American in 2019-20.
• In the first four games, Richie averaged 2.0 and 1.3 rebounds on 3-12 (25-percent) from the field and 2-11 (18-percent) from behind the arc.
• For the second game in a row, Richie led the Hurricane in scoring with 14 points against Memphis ... the forward scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half.
• Richie shot 50-percent (4-8) from the field and 57-percent (4-7) from 3-point range ... he made his first two free throw attempts of the season against Memphis.
• Against the Northwestern State Demons, Richie caught fire leading the Hurricane in points with 19 ... the guard went 7-14 (50-percent) from the field and 5-10 (50-percent) from three.
• Richie played his season-high 23 minutes against Northwestern State, while grabbing 3 rebounds during the contest ... he now is averaging 6.8 points and 2.0 rebounds a game.
• Richie was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after wins against Memphis and Southwestern Christian.

#LoyalAlwaysTrue