Tulsa Basketball Opens 2022 at Memphis on Tuesday

GAME #13: TULSA (6-6, 0-1 AAC) at Memphis (7-5, 1-1 AAC)
Date/Time:	Tuesday • Jan. 4, 2022 • 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	FedExForum (18,400) • Memphis, Tenn.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 8th Season Memphis - Penny Hardaway (Memphis '03), 4th Season
TV:	ESPNU \| Anish Shroff (pxp) & Tim Welsh (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	51st Meeting (Memphis Leads Series 29-21)
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Memphis (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball team is set for its first conference road game when it travels to face the Memphis Tigers on Tuesday night in FedExForum.

Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. (CT) and the game will air on ESPNU. Anish Shroff will provide the play-by-play, and Tim Welsh 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 (6-6, 0-1 AAC) enters the first game of 2022 after dropping its American Athletic Conference home opener 74-69 to SMU on Wednesday. The Hurricane fought back from a 19-point early second half deficit to get within three, 72-69 with 2:47 to play.

On the ensuing possession, Sam Griffin stole the ball near midcourt but was unable to convert the contested lefthanded layup on the other end. Tulsa would have multiple opportunities to get within one or tie but couldn't find a way to score. A pair of Mustang free throws with 10 seconds remaining made it a two-possession game, 74-69, ending the evening.

Griffin led the Hurricane with 14 points, his seventh time to lead Tulsa in scoring. Anthony Pritchard set a new career high with 12 points, his first time reaching double figures. Darien Jackson finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and Jeriah Horne picked up his third double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and pulling down a career-high tying 12 rebounds.

Tulsa outshot the Mustangs 45.5 percent to 45.1 percent and hit seven more shots than the Mustangs (30-23). However, SMU knocked down 11 3-pointers to Tulsa's five. SMU also held a large advantage at the free throw line, where the Mustangs converted 17-of-24. Tulsa only had five attempts, despite the Hurricane holding a 42-22 advantage in points scored in the paint.

Memphis (7-5, 1-1 AAC) hosts Tulsa in its conference home opener after playing twice on the road. The Tigers fell to Tulane but bounced back to give Wichita State its largest home loss since 2003, 82-64. Josh Minott led four Tigers in double figures with 15 points. He also added six rebounds. Freshman Jalen Duren and DeAndre Williams both scored 14 points in the win. Memphis shot more than 50 percent from the field, including a red-hot 58.8 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Tigers are 5-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better.

Tulsa trails 21-29 in the all-time series as the teams meet for the 51st time on Tuesday. The Hurricane have struggled against Memphis on the road, winning only seven of the 23 matchups. However, Tulsa has won three straight and are 4-1 against Penny Hardaway's teams. Tulsa swept the season series in 2020-21, winning 56-49 in the first meeting in Memphis, and then coming back to beat the Tigers 58-57 in the most recent matchup on Jan. 17, 2021.

Horne and Griffin continue to lead the Hurricane in scoring with Horne pacing Tulsa in five of its 12 games. Horne leads the team, averaging 16.6 points per game, while Griffin averages 16.3. Horne averages 7.8 rebounds per game, which tops the conference and places him 94th in the nation. His 6.2 defensive rebounds per game is 57th nationally and leads The American.

As a team, Tulsa is 32nd in the nation and leads in the conference for fewest fouls, committing only 173 this season. The Hurricane also handles the ball well while forcing turnovers on the other end. TU ranks 42nd in the country for fewest turnovers (136), 27th for turnover margin (4.3), 63rd for turnovers forced (15.7) and 50th for turnovers per game (11.3).

Williams and Duren lead the Tigers in scoring this season, averaging 11.5 and 11.1 respectively. Emoni Bates is the other Tiger to average double figures in scoring (10.8). Duren also pulls down 7.5 rebounds per game, trailing Horne for the conference lead. Memphis is great at rim protection. The Tigers lead the conference and rank seventh in the nation for blocked shots per game, averaging 6.4. The Tigers were picked to finish second in The American preseason coaches poll behind Houston. Memphis also had five preseason award selections, including Duren as The American Preseason Rookie of the Year.

After Tuesday's game, Tulsa will continue its road trip with a game at UCF on Saturday, Jan. 8. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. and will air on ESPNU.

Tulsa Basketball Opens 2022 at Memphis on Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Sam Griffin

Jeriah Horne

Darien Jackson

Anthony Pritchard