Golden Hurricane Opens New Year with Conference Matchup at SMU

GAME #13: TULSA (4-8, 0-1 AAC) at SMU (5-8, 0-0 AAC)
Date/Time:	Sunday • Jan. 1, 2023 • 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Moody Coliseum (7,000) • Dallas, Texas
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 1st Season SMU - Rob Lanier (St. Bonaventure, '90) 1st Season
TV:	ESPNU \| Drew Carter (PxP) and Mike O'Donnell (Analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Tulsa leads 33-25
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| SMU (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

DALLAS, Texas — The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will head to Dallas, Texas for a New Year's Day matchup with longtime conference foe, SMU in Moody Coliseum.

Tipoff for Tulsa's conference road opener is set for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPNU. Drew Carter and Mike O'Donnell will bring fans the action. Bruce Howard and JR Rollo will broadcast the radio call on Big Country 99.5 FM and The Varsity Network app.

The two programs will meet for the 59th on Sunday, with the Golden Hurricane holding a 33-25 advantage in a series which dates all the way back to 1920. As the road team, Tulsa is 19-10. Yet, despite TU's overall command in the series, SMU has 12 of the past 15 games between the two, including all three a season ago.

The Mustangs were victorious in both regular season matchups – the conference opener in the Donald W. Reynolds Center, and then the return game in Dallas. The Mustangs also came away with the win when the teams met in the quarterfinal round of The American Athletic Conference Championship.

The Hurricane (4-8, 0-1 AAC) heads to Dallas after falling to Houston 89-50 in the conference opener. The loss was the largest for Tulsa in the Reynolds Center and biggest final deficit since losing to No. 1 Duke 97-56 on March 14, 1999, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Bryant Selebangue paced Tulsa with 13 points and had nine rebounds, just one shy of a double-double. Anthony Pritchard and Sam Griffin were the team leaders with four assists each.

Griffin leads Tulsa in scoring for the season, averaging 14.4 points per game. He's joined in double figures by Brandon Betson and Selebangue, who average 11.2 and 11.0, respectively. Selebangue's 8.1 rebounds ranks him second in the conference, and he's also one of the more consistent shooters, recording a fourth-best 63.2 field goal percentage.

Betson's 3-point marksmanship has him leading the conference with a 45.9 percent success rate on long balls. He's converted 28 3-pointers, which is second on the team to Griffin, who has 30. Over the past seven games, Betson has made at least two free throws, including three games where he's knocked down three and one with five.

On the other side of the ball, Tulsa's 3-point defense is one of the best in the nation. The Hurricane holds opponents to 29.6 percent on 3-pointers (71-of-264) which is 10th best in the nation. TU has held its opponent under 30 percent in nine of 12 contests this season, with the lone exceptions coming from Oregon State, Oklahoma State and Houston.

The Mustangs (5-8) have not played since Dec. 23 when a Hawaii buzzer beater denied SMU the 2022 Hawaiian Airlines Diamondhead Classic championship. The 58-57 loss capped a week where SMU enjoyed wins against Iona and Utah State.

Sunday will be the conference opener for the Mustangs and first year head coach Rob Lanier, who brings more than 30 years of collegiate coaching experience to SMU. Zhuric Phelps has lit up the scoreboard for SMU, averaging 19.5 points, which is second in the conference and 26th in the nation. He's scored in double figures in every game this season and has finished with at least 19 in each of the previous nine games. Zach Nutall records 14.2 points per game and is lone other Mustang to average double figures.

Following the New Year's Day matchup, Tulsa will continue its roadtrip with a game in New Orleans, La. on Jan. 4 against the Tulane Green Wave. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and ESPN+ will carry the broadcast.

Golden Hurricane Opens New Year with Conference Matchup at SMU

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Players Mentioned

Brandon Betson

Sam Griffin

Anthony Pritchard

Bryant Selebangue