Tulsa Men’s Hoops Welcomes #11 Houston

Saturday, January 15

Reynolds Center

7:00 PM

Tulsa

Houston

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Tulsa Men’s Hoops Welcomes #11 Houston

1/14/2022 4:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME #15: TULSA (6-8, 0-3 AAC) vs Houston (14-2, 3-0 AAC)
Date/Time:	Saturday • Jan. 15, 2022 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 8th Season Houston - Kelvin Sampson (UNC Pembroke '78) 8th Season
TV:	ESPN2 \| Mike Corey (pxp) & Robbie Hummel (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	59th Meeting (Series Tied 29-29)
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Houston (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will take on the 11th-ranked Houston Cougars in the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Saturday evening.

Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2. Mike Corey will provide the play-by-play, and Robbie Hummel will serve as the analyst for the matchup. Fans can also catch Bruce Howard and J.R. Rollo on Big Country 99.5 FM.

In addition, the Armed Forces Network will distribute the game. The AFN broadcasts to approximately 500,000 active duty, uniformed armed forces personnel from all service branches stationed around the globe at U.S. military installations, U.S. embassies and consulates in 170+ territories and sailors aboard 140+ ships-at-sea operating outside of U.S. waters.

The Golden Hurricane (6-8, 0-3 The American) enters Saturday's matchup having lost the past three games, all in conference. Tulsa lost another close game to Temple on Wednesday, 69-64, dropping to 1-6 in games decided by five or fewer points.

The Hurricane trailed by two late in the game but had the ball after Anthony Pritchard drew an offensive foul on Temple. Out of a timeout, Jeriah Horne received the ball in the far corner and beat his defender to the baseline. He got near the rim, but his shot didn't go down and Temple hit the needed free throws to escape with its first victory in the Reynolds Center.

Horne led Tulsa with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Sam Griffin finished with eight points, only the second time this season he hasn't reached double figures. LaDavius Draine had a breakout game, showcasing his range with a 4-for-4 evening from beyond the arc, cashing in for 12 points. Rey Idowu had his third double-figure scoring night, putting in 14 on 6-of-8 shooting (75.0 percent).

Houston (14-2, 3-0 The American) has won its first three conference games and last six games overall dating back to a close loss to Alabama on Dec. 11. The Cougars have been ranked in the Associated Press poll for 36 consecutive weeks, setting a school record. Houston hasn't played in a week when the Cougars took down Wichita State 76-66 at home.

The two programs enter having each won 29 of the 58 matchups of a series that dates back to 1951. The teams have met at least once every season since 2006-06 except for the 2013-14 season, and the teams are tied 13-13 in that stretch as well. Tulsa holds a 17-9 advantage as the home team and have won 9 of the 12 games played in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

The most recent game in Tulsa was a memorable one. Tulsa upset No. 5 Houston 65-64 with two free throws from Brandon Rachal with one second remaining. It was Tulsa's third win against a top-5 ranked opponent in school history, and the first since a 77-76 overtime win against UCLA on Nov. 20, 1996.

Houston would get its revenge later in the season, beating Tulsa in the most recent matchup 86-59 in Houston, Texas.

Horne is back as the leading scorer for the Hurricane. He averages 16.7 points per game to go alongside a team-leading 7.5 rebounds. Horne also leads the conference in rebounds and defensive rebounds (5.8), while ranking 119th and 85th in the nation respectively in the two categories.

Griffin is right behind Horne, scoring 16.3 points per game. He and Horne have combined for 60 3-pointers and one of the two has led Tulsa in scoring in each game.

As a team, Tulsa ranks 67th in the country for fewest turnovers (168), 19th for turnover margin (4.4), 33rd for turnovers forced (16.4) and 81st for turnovers per game (12.0).

Despite losing two of its top players to injury, Houston has continued its winning ways. Leading scorer Marcus Sasser (17.7 points per game) and Tramon Mark (10.1) both were shut down around Christmas. In the past three games since Sasser's absence, Houston has wins against at Temple, at South Florida and against Wichita State by an average of 10.7 points.

Kyle Edwards is the active leading scorer, averaging 12.1 points per game. Josh Carlton (11.8) and Fabian White Jr. (11.1) also score in double figures. Carlton has stepped up in Sasser's absence, averaging 20.0 points per game since the guard went down with his injury.

Houston is one of only eight schools to feature in KenPom.com's Top-20 for both offensive and defensive efficiency. The Cougars are sixth in offense (119.2) and 14th in defense (92.1), and Houston averages 78.6 points per game while holding opponents to 57.6.

After Saturday's game, a trip to Cincinnati waits in the wings. The Golden Hurricane take on the Bearcats on Thursday, Jan. 20 at 7:00 p.m. ESPNU will carry the broadcast for that American Athletic Conference matchup.