Tulsa Men’s Hoops Welcomes Missouri State

GAME #9: Tulsa (5-3, 0-0 AAC) vs Missouri State (7-3, 1-1 MVC)
Date/Time:	Saturday • December 16, 2023 • 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 2nd Season Missouri State – Dana Ford (Illinois '06), 6th Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Josh Haley (PXP) and Pooh Williamson (Analyst) TJ Eckert (Sideline)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	42nd Meeting \| Missouri State leads 21-20
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Missouri State (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will look to protect its perfect home record when the Golden Hurricane faces an old Missouri Valley Conference foe in Missouri State on Saturday afternoon in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+ with Josh Haley and Pooh Williamson bringing fans the action. Tulsa fans can also catch the game on Big Country 99.5 FM and the Varsity Network app. Bruce Howard and JR Rollo have the call.

The Hurricane and Bears have met 41 previous times dating back to the first meeting in 1932. Missouri State holds a 21-20 edge in the series, but Tulsa has had control in the modern era, winning seven of the past 10 and 15 of the past 20 games in the series. The Hurricane is 13-5 in home games against Missouri State and 6-0 in the Reynolds Center. From 1990-96, TU and MSU played in the Missouri Valley Conference together, with Tulsa winning eight of their 14 matchups.

The old foes have not seen each other since Dec. 13, 2015 in Springfield, Mo., when Tulsa held off a late second half charge to beat the Bears 70-61. An 18-point advantage dwindled away to just three with four minutes to play, but the Hurricane closed the game on an 8-2 run to secure the win. James Woodard led Tulsa with 20 points in the win.

The Hurricane enters Saturday with a 5-3 record after falling 72-57 to Oklahoma State in the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Tulsa fell behind early, allowing the Cowboys to take a 21-5 lead, and was unable to claw its way back while having the worst shooting night of the season. The Hurricane did turn OSU over 28 times, recording 19 steals in the process, the most since getting 20 steals against Rice in 2000. However, TU also turned it over 20 times and couldn't capitalize on opportunities to cut into the deficit.

The Reynolds Center has been favorable to TU this season, as Tulsa is 5-0 in home games for the first time since the 2019-20 season. The Hurricane has won each game by double-digits with an average scoring margin of 16.4 points.

PJ Haggerty led Tulsa in the scoring in the game against Oklahoma State on Sunday and paces the Hurricane on the season, averaging 16.0 points. Graduate senior Cobe Williams averages 13.4 points, while three other Tulsa players average at least 9.0 points through the opening eight games.

On the glass, Jared Garcia leads four Hurricane who average at least five rebounds per game, grabbing 6.8 rebounds. Haggerty, Barnes and Matthew Reed are the other three who lead the way cleaning the glass.

Missouri State touts a 7-3 record as the Bears come to Tulsa for the first time since 2014. The visitors opened the season with a road loss at West Virginia, but quickly bounced back to rattle off six straight wins, including its conference opener against Evansville. After consecutive losses at Drake and at Middle Tennessee, the Bears took down Sam Houston last Saturday, 69-60, in its last game before the showdown in Tulsa.

Four Bears have scoring averages in the double figures, led by 17.6 points from Alston Mason. Donovan Clay, whose 20-point performance helped Missouri State get back in the win column, is second on the team, averaging 15.8 points a night. Clay is also second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.8 off the glass, while N.J. Benson pulls down a team-high 7.6 rebounds.

Tulsa has a quick turnaround following Saturday's game. The Hurricane will continue its homestand as TU hosts Mississippi Valley State in a Tuesday evening matchup in the Reynolds Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.

Tulsa Men’s Hoops Welcomes Missouri State

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Players Mentioned

Jared Garcia

PJ Haggerty

Cobe Williams