Tulsa Men’s Basketball Hosts Jackson State in Home Opener

GAME #2: TULSA (0-1, 0-0 AAC) vs Jackson State (0-1 0-0 SWAC)
Date/Time:	Monday • Nov. 7, 2022 • 11:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire '00), 1st Season Jackson State - Mo Williams (Montana, '05), 1st Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Josh Haley (pxp) & Pooh Williamson (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Seventh Meeting (Tulsa Leads 6-0)
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Jackson State (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. –– After eight months, the University of Tulsa men's basketball team will play in the Donald W. Reynolds Center once again as the Hurricane host Jackson State for the season's home opener on Saturday afternoon.

The first home game in head coach Eric Konkol's tenure will tip at 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+ with Josh Haley handling play-by-play duties and Pooh Williamson providing color commentary. Bruce Howard and JR Rollo will broadcast the radio call on Big Country 99.5 FM.

This will be the first opportunity for home fans to see the Hurricane this season. Tulsa enters the matchup 0-1 after letting a sizable first half advantage slip away late in a 73-70 loss at Oregon State in the season opener on Monday. Sam Griffin dropped a career-high 29 points on 10-21 shooting (47.6 percent). Newcomers Bryant Selebangue and Brandon Betson combined for 28 points in their first games with Tulsa, and Selebangue also pulled down a team-high nine boards.

The Hurricane are 17-6 in home openers in the Reynolds Center and have won four-straight after topping Northwestern State 82-75 in last season's curtain raiser.

Tulsa is 6-0 against Jackson State and 5-0 in home matchups, holding a 33.5 average margin of victory in the six wins. The two schools have not met since Tulsa defeated the Tigers 86-66 on Nov. 21, 2012.

The Tigers enter Saturday's game with a similar 0-1 record after dropping a tough contest 65-56 to Abilene Christian. Returning starter Ken Evans, Jr. led the Tigers with 19 points and added four rebounds, an assist and a steal while knocking down 50 percent of his 16 shots. The redshirt sophomore started in 24 games a season ago, averaging 7.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

Returning senior Gabe Watson was the other Tiger in double figures in the loss, putting up 16 points to go with seven rebounds. Romelle Mansel was a force on the boards, leading all players with 14.

Former NBA star Mo Williams is in his first season as the head coach. Williams enjoyed a 13-year career in the NBA after a couple of seasons at Alabama. He spent four years each at the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers, but also made stops in Utah, Los Angeles with the Clippers, Portland, Minnesota and Charlotte.

This is the only home game in Tulsa's November schedule. The Hurricane will not return to the Reynolds Center until Dec. 3 for the next iteration of the Mayor's Cup against ORU. Next week, Tulsa will head to Conway, S.C. for the Myrtle Beach Invitational. TU will play Loyola Chicago in the opening round on Thursday, Nov. 17. Then Tulsa will face either Boise State or Charlotte the following afternoon before wrapping up the three-game tournament on Sunday.

Tulsa Men’s Basketball Hosts Jackson State in Home Opener

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