Tulsa Plays Host to Little Rock in Post-Thanksgiving Matchup

GAME #3: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (3-2, 0-0) vs. Little Rock (4-2, 0-0)
Date/Time:	Friday • Nov. 26, 2021 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 8th Season Little Rock - Darrell Walker (Arkansas '12) 4th Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Josh Haley (pxp) & Bryndon Manzer (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	12th Meeting (Tulsa Leads Series 6-5)
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Little Rock (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

Tulsa, Okla. –– After hitting the road for the first time this season, the University of Tulsa men's basketball returns home to face Little Rock on Friday evening in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tipoff for Tulsa's first game after Thanksgiving is set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Josh Haley will have the call alongside Bryndon Manzer. Fans can also catch the game on the radio at Big Country 95.5 FM with Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo.

Tulsa (3-2) enters the matchup after splitting a pair of games at the Sunshine Slam Tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla. over the weekend. The Hurricane defeated Rhode Island 77-71 to reach the championship game, where TU came up short 72-58 against Utah. Little Rock (4-2) also split its weekend tournament games, dropping the opener 59-77 to Sam Houston before bouncing back with a 67-60 win over Northern Illinois.

Tulsa and Little Rock have met 11 other times, with the Hurricane holding a narrow 6-5 advantage after winning 88-78 at the Reynolds Center on Nov. 19, 2018. Tulsa has emerged victorious in five of the seven matchups played at the Reynolds Center.

Sam Griffin was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for his performances over the past week. He had games of 13, 21 and 18 points against Oregon State and then the two Sunshine Slam games. Griffin enters as the team's leading scorer, averaging 18.0 points per game. He was also named to the Sunshine Slam All-Tournament team as one of the top players in the event.

Griffin is no stranger to the Little Rock Trojans. The sophomore played them six times over two seasons with UT Arlington. He scored 17.5 points per game against the Trojans, including games of 25 and 20.

Little Rock are led by guard Isaiah Palermo, who averages 13.2 points per game. Joining him in double-figures scoring is forward Nikola Maric (12.8) and guard Jovan Stulic (10.7). In every game this season, the Trojans have had at least one run of 12 unanswered points, including an 18-0 run in the season opener against Southern Illinois in a 69-66 win. The Hurricane will face Southern Illinois in the coming weeks on Dec. 11.

After Friday's game, it's a quick turnaround for the first true road game of the season when Tulsa heads to the Mabee Center to face rival ORU for the Mayor's Cup. Last season's matchup was canceled due to the pandemic, the first season since 2011-12 the two teams hadn't played each other.

Tulsa Plays Host to Little Rock in Post-Thanksgiving Matchup

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Players Mentioned

Sam Griffin