Tulsa and Central Michigan Meet for the First Time on the Hardwood

GAME #9: TULSA (2-6, 0-0 AAC) vs Central Michigan (4-5, 0-0 MAC)
Date/Time:	Saturday • Dec. 10, 2022 • 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 1st Season CMU - Tony Barbee (Massachusetts, '93), 2nd Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Chad McKee (pxp) & Pooh Williamson (analyst) CONFIRM
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	FIRST MEETING
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| CMU (PDF) \| The American (PDF) LINKS

TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa men's basketball team welcomes Central Michigan University for an afternoon game at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Saturday.

Saturday's matchup will mark the first time the two schools have met in men's basketball.

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. Chad McKee and Pooh Williamson 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.

Saturday is Tulsa's Holiday Toy Drive. Fans are encouraged to bring toys to the game to donate. There will be donation boxes at Reynolds Center entrances.

The Golden Hurricane (2-6) enters Saturday's matchup on a five-game losing streak after falling short against Detroit Mercy on Wednesday evening, 76-72. Free throws and rebounding hurt Tulsa, negating Sam Griffin's 20-point, seven rebound performance, and Bryant Selebangue's fourth double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Tulsa only lost the rebounding battle 41-39, but allowed 18 offensive boards, which resulted in 25 second chance points for the Titans. Additionally, Detroit Mercy got to the line 26 times and converted on 19 attempts, while Tulsa finished the game 6-of-12.

Griffin continues to lead Tulsa in scoring as he's upped his average to 16.0 points per contest. He also dishes out 2.9 assists and pulls down 4.0 rebounds. Selebangue and Brandon Betson also average double digits, scoring 11.9 and 11.6 per game, respectively.

Selebangue is among the best in the conference when it comes to rebounding. He leads the team, recording 9.0 a game, which is the best in the conference. He also averages a league-best 3.4 offensive rebounds and is second for defensive rebounds at 5.6.

Betson has proved himself as a 3-point shooter through the first eight games. He leads the conference in accuracy, knocking down 45.9 percent of his triples. His 17 3-pointers is second on the team to Griffin (21), and Griffin is third in the conference for made threes per game (2.63) while Betson places ninth (2.13).

Central Michigan come in with a 4-5 record under second year coach Tony Barbee. The Chippewas dropped its previous game 71-66 at home to Robert Morris on Wednesday night as CMU couldn't overcome a seven-point halftime deficit.

Sophomore guard Kevin Miller leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.5 points to go with 3.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists. However, he's been out since the fourth game of the season, leaving a hole in the CMU offense.

Jesse Zarzuela has stepped up to fill that void, averaging 20.7 points in his last three games. He is the active leader in scoring for the team, putting up 16.6 points per game. Brian Taylor (14.9) and Markus Harding (11.7) also average double figures.

Following Saturday's game, Tulsa will finish its homestand and home nonconference schedule when the Hurricane welcomes Mississippi Valley State for a Friday evening matchup on Dec. 16. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.

Tulsa and Central Michigan Meet for the First Time on the Hardwood

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Players Mentioned

Brandon Betson

Sam Griffin

Bryant Selebangue