Tulsa Basketball Welcomes Jackson State for First Game of Golden Turkey Slam on Thursday

GAME #3: Tulsa (2-0, 0-0 AAC) vs Jackson State (0-4, 0-0 SWAC)
Date/Time:	Thursday • November 16, 2023 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (13,176) • Tulsa, Okla
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 2nd Season Jackson State – Mo Williams (Alabama '03), 2nd Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Chad McKee (PXP) and Pooh Williamson (Analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	8th Meeting \| Tulsa Leads 7-0
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Jackson State (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball team hosts Jackson State on Thursday in the first game of the Golden Turkey Slam, presented by Russ Potts Production in the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Thursday evening.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+. Chad McKee and Pooh Williamson will bring fans the action. Tulsa fans can also catch the game on Big Country 99.5 FM or the Varsity Network app. Bruce Howard and JR Rollo have the call tomorrow.

Tulsa will play two games as part of the Golden Turkey Slam, tomorrow evening's contest with Jackson State and Monday evening against South Carolina State. Missouri is the fourth team in the event and will host Jackson State on Sunday and South Carolina State Wednesday.

Jackson State and the Golden Hurricane meet for the second consecutive season and eighth time overall when the teams take to the court on Thursday evening. Tulsa has won all seven of the previous meetings, including all six at home and five in the Reynolds Center. The teams first met on Nov. 18, 1998, which was a little more than a month before the opening of the Reynolds Center.

The Hurricane pulled out an 85-79 victory in last season's contest. It was a tight game in the end after TU saw a 14-point lead trickle down to two with just over a minute left, but solid free throw shooting down the stretch helped the Tulsa secure the win. Keyshawn Embery-Simpson led Tulsa with 20 points in the win.

Thursday is Tulsa's third straight home game to open the 2023-24 season and the Hurricane is off to a 2-0 start in head coach Eric Konkol's sophomore campaign in charge. In Tulsa's 85-71 win over Incarnate Word on Saturday, Cobe Williams led the charge, tying his career high with 27 points while dishing out six assists. Isaiah Barnes recorded the first double-double of his career, recording 16 points and 10 rebounds, while PJ Haggerty improved on his good game in the season opener, scoring 15 against the Cardinals.

Williams was named to The American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Nov. 13 for his performance in the opening week. The graduate senior averaged 20 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the two wins against Central Arkansas and Incarnate Word.

Jackson State comes in with an 0-4 record with a tough schedule both behind and in front of them. The Tigers have already played the likes of Memphis, San Diego and Loyola Marymount on the road, with road games against Missouri, Georgetown, Houston, Gonzaga and Northwestern ahead. In all, JSU plays 13 consecutive road or neutral site games before finally opening the home schedule against Alcorn State in conference play on Jan. 6.

Redshirt junior guard Ken Evans Jr. has been a bright spot for the Tigers this season, averaging a team-high 22.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. A local product from Jackson, Miss., Evans dropped a career-best 33 points against LMU, which included shooting clips of 57.9 percent (11-19) from the floor and 57.1 (4-7) from long range.

After Thursday's game, Tulsa will prepare to close its initial homestand with a game against South Carolina State on Monday evening as part of the Golden Turkey Slam. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. The Hurricane's first road game is scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving on Nov. 25 at Little Rock.

Tulsa Basketball Welcomes Jackson State for First Game of Golden Turkey Slam on Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Isaiah Barnes

Keyshawn Embery-Simpson

PJ Haggerty

Cobe Williams