Tulsa Basketball Opens Conference Play Against SMU

GAME #12: TULSA (6-5) vs. SMU (9-3)
Date/Time:	Wednesday • Dec. 29, 2021 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 8th Season SMU - Tim Jankovich (Kansas State '82), 6th 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:	56th Meeting (Tulsa Leads Series 33-22
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| SMU (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball team is set to host SMU for its first conference game of the season on Wednesday evening in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. (CT) on ESPN+. Josh Haley will provide the play-by-play, and Bryndon Manzer will serve as the analyst for the matchup. Fans can also catch Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo on Big Country 99.5 FM.

Tulsa is beginning its eighth season in the American Athletic Conference and hold a 5-2 record in conference openers. As a member of The American, Tulsa has the third most conference wins among league members with 74, trailing only Cincinnati (90) and Houston (88). SMU has 73 wins as a league member.

It's been 13 days since the last game for the Golden Hurricane (6-5) after its final two nonconference games against Colorado State and North Texas were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The Mustangs (9-3) also had their final nonconference game canceled for similar reasons.

The Hurricane closed the nonconference slate with an 83-62 win over Alcorn State. Jeriah Horne scored 15 and grabbed 10 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season, while Curtis Haywood II earned the first of his career with a 12-point, 11-rebound performance. Tim Dalger came close to making it three Hurricane as he put up 13 points and pulled down seven boards. Sam Griffin led the team with 19 points and a team-high four steals.

Tulsa's defense stifled the Braves, holding Alcorn State to 39 percent shooting, the lowest by a TU opponent this season. Horne was busy on defense, swatting a career-high four shots. The Hurricane also scored 16 points off turnovers and had 15 fastbreak points. Alcorn did shoot above its average from beyond the arc, knocking down eight of its 22 three pointers (36.4 percent).

For the second time this season, the Hurricane knocked down more than half of its shots, as Tulsa finished 28-54 (51.9 percent) for the evening and shot 9-19 (47.4 percent) from three-point range.

The Mustangs are riding a six-game winning streak into the conference season. SMU last played on Dec. 19, beating New Mexico on the road 90-72. Senior Kendric Davis set a season high and led all scorers with 33 points, including 23 in the second half. Marcus Weathers added 13 points and seven rebounds. As a team, SMU shot 50 percent, the third game four attempts in which SMU had made at least half of its shots.

Wednesday will mark the 56th meeting between the Mustangs and Hurricane, and third straight at the Reynolds Center. Tulsa leads the all-time series 33-22, but SMU has held the advantage since both teams joined the American, winning eight of the 11 matchups. SMU won last year's contest 65-63. Haywood II's 18 points paced the Hurricane in the narrow loss.

Horne and Griffin continue to lead the Hurricane in scoring and one of the two have led the team in each game. Horne scores 17.2 points per game, while Griffin averages 16.5. Horne leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 7.5 per game. He also leads the conference in defensive rebounds (5.9), which places him 75th nationally. In his last two games, Griffin has shot 60 percent from the field (12-20) and 62.5 percent on threes (5-8). He led the Hurricane in scoring in both games.

As a team, Tulsa is 20th in the nation and third in the conference for fewest fouls. The Hurricane also handle the ball well while forcing turnovers on the other end. TU ranks 42nd in the country for fewest turnovers (126), 26th for turnover margin (4.5) 59th for turnovers forced (15.9) and 55th for turnovers per game (11.5).

Preseason all-conference selection Kendric Davis choosing to withdraw from the NBA draft pool and return to SMU has been a huge boost for the Mustangs. He led the AAC in scoring and assists last season and currently is seventh in the nation, first in The American, in scoring this season (21.3) while sitting in second in the conference in assists per game (5.3).

Marcus Weathers (10.4) and Emmanuel Bandoumel (10.3) are the other two Mustangs to average double-figures in scoring. Weathers leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 6.5 assists per game.

SMU was picked to finish third in the conference and lead The American in three-pointers made (92) and three-point percentage (38.3), while sitting in second in the league for scoring 79.2 points per game. The Mustangs are also third in field goal percentage (46.8) and free throw percentage (74.5)

After Wednesday, Tulsa doesn't play again until the new year when the Hurricane travels to Memphis, Tenn. to take on the Memphis Tigers on Jan. 4, 2022. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. and the game will air on ESPNU.

Tulsa Basketball Opens Conference Play Against SMU

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Players Mentioned

Tim Dalger

Sam Griffin

Curtis Haywood II

Jeriah Horne