Tulsa Hosts Cincinnati for Senior Night

GAME #20: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (10-9, 7-7) vs CINCINNATI BEARCATS (7-8, 5-5)
Date/Time:	Wednesday • Feb. 24, 2021 • 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 7th year Cincinnati – John Brannen (Marshall '97), 2nd year
TV:	ESPNU \| Kevin Brown (pxp) & Dan Dakich (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	43rd Meeting (Cincinnati leads the series 29-13)
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Cincinnati
Game Program:	Game Day Program

The Game
• Tulsa takes on the Cincinnati Bearcats in a conference home matchup at the Reynolds Center on Wednesday evening, airing on ESPNU.
• The game is the 20th contest for Tulsa (10-9) this season ... the Bearcats are 7-8 on the season, losing their last contest 90-52 in a road conference game against Houston on Feb. 21.

Scouting the Bearcats
• Cincinnati was picked to finish 4th in the preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches Poll ... the Bearcats
returned 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 returned Keith Williams who averaged 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists last season ... Cincinnati returned 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 lost five of their first
seven 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 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game
... David DeJulius is averaging 10.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 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 27-18 record.

The Series
• This is the 43rd meeting against Cincinnati ... the Bearcats hold a 29-13 series lead over the Hurricane.
• Tulsa is 8-10 at home against the Bearcats and 3-17 on the road.
• The Bearcats have won the last 7 of the last 8 meetings ... the Hurricane won the first meeting this season.
• 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.
• The win earlier this season was the first at Cincinnati since 1967

A Tulsa Win Would
• Give the Hurricane its 11th win of the season, moving Tulsa to 11-9 on the year and 8-7 in conference play.
• Move Tulsa's all-time record against Cincinnati to 14-29.
• Give Tulsa its second victory against Cincinnati this season ... TU defeated the Bearcats 70-66 at the Fifth Third Arena.
• Give TU its first win at home against the Bearcats since a 70-68 overtime victory on Jan. 1, 2016.

Last Game Against the Bearcats
• Brandon Rachal scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Golden Hurricane to a 70-66 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats at the Fifth Third Arena.
• Rachal knocked down two free throws in the last seconds of the game to beat the Bearcats on the road for the first time since 1967.
• Rey Idowu tied his career-high in points with 16, shooting 7-8 (88%) from the field while grabbing 4 rebounds.
• The Bearcats tied the game at 63-63 with 1:30 left in the second half, before Rachal made a basket falling down while being fouled ... the three-point play gave the Hurricane a lead it did not let up the final 1:14 of play.
• Idowu led TU in the second half, scoring 11 points on 5-5 shooting from the field. Idowu and Rachal combined for 8-9 (89%) from the field with 20 of the Hurricane 29 points in the half.
• In the game TU shot 57-percent (25-44) from the field, 28-percent (5-18) from three and 79-percent (15-19) from the free throw line, while Cincinnati shot 34-percent (21-61) from the field, 32-percent (6-19) from three and 67-percent (18-27) from the line.

The Importance of Strong Starts
• After 19 games the Golden Hurricane holds a record of 10-9 and 7-7 in American Athletic Conference play ... the first half has been vital for TU in victories and loses.
• Tulsa has used fast starts to win games ... in 8 of their 10 wins the Hurricane has led at halftime ... the Hurricane is 8-0 when leading at the break.
• When trailing at the half, Tulsa is 2-9 with both come-from-behind victories coming against Memphis ... Tulsa came back from down 8 at Memphis to win 56-49 and from down 6 to defeat the Tigers in the Reynolds Center 58-57.
• In the seven seasons under head coach Frank Haith, the Hurricane hold an 90-10 record when leading at the break.

#LoyalAlwaysTrue

Tulsa Hosts Cincinnati for Senior Night

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Players Mentioned

Rey Idowu

Brandon Rachal