Tulsa Men’s Basketball Hosts Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday

GAME #9: Tulsa (6-3, 0-0 AAC) vs Mississippi Valley State (0-10, 0-0 SWAC)
Date/Time:	Tuesday • December 19, 2023 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 2nd Season Mississippi Valley State – George Ivory (Mississippi Valley State '88), 2nd Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Chad McKee (PXP) and Pooh Williamson (Analyst) Michelle Montaine (Sideline)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	Fourth Meeting \| Tulsa leads 3-0
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men's hoops team will host Mississippi Valley State in a Tuesday night showdown in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+ with Chad McKee and Pooh Williamson bringing fans the action. Michelle Montaine will serve as the sideline analyst. 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.

Tulsa will look to continue its strong start to the home season. The Hurricane has won its first six home games and brings a 6-3 record into Tuesday's action. The home record was tested in the matchup with Missouri State on Saturday, as TU erased a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes to escape with a 73-72 win.

Freshman PJ Haggerty knocked down a free throw with three seconds remaining to complete the old-fashioned 3-point play and lift Tulsa to victory. Defensive stops and a heads-up play got Tulsa in position for the win. After the Bears missed the front end of a one-and-one with seven seconds remaining, Carlous Williams pulled down the rebound and quickly found Cobe Williams for the outlet. Williams took one dribble and threw it ahead to Haggerty down the court. Haggerty drove to the lane and got fouled as he connected on a circus shot.

Haggerty ended the game with 24 points, three assists and two steals while going 8-of-8 from the line. He was chosen as The American Freshman of the Week for his efforts, his third time to receive the award this season. Haggerty now averages 16.9 points per game, which ranks him second nationally for scoring among the freshmen. A big part of his game is getting to the charity stripe, where he's made 65 free throws this season, which is best in the conference and eighth nationally.

Cobe Williams and Haggerty rank among the best in getting steals. Williams leads the Tulsa team in steals, recording 2.67 per game. His average places him second in The American and 13th in the NCAA. Meanwhile, Haggerty gets 2.44 steals a contest, which is third best in the conference and 25th nationally. Not to be outdone, true freshman Tyshawn Archie has the knack for getting steals that turn into highlight plays. He averages 1.56 steals in 14.5 minutes of action.

The steals play a part in Tulsa's ability to get out in transition. Archie, Haggerty and Williams are all hard to catch when they get in the open court. As a team, the Golden Hurricane ranks 23rd nationally in fastbreak points, recording 16.11 a game. It's second behind only UAB at 17.0 in The American.

The Delta Devils are on their 11th stop in a 13-game road trip to start the season. Mississippi Valley State has lost all 10 of its games and been outscored 825-487 this season, scoring less than 40 in three of its losses. MVS hasn't played in eight days after losing to Gonzaga on Dec. 11.

Rayquan Brown is one of two Delta Devils to average double figures in scoring, putting up 15.7 points to pace MVS. He is also the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 5.0 per game. Donovan Sanders is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.1 points. After Arecko Gipson's 9.1 points per contest, no other Delta Devil averages more than 3.6 points.

Tuesday is only the fourth meeting between the two teams in a series Tulsa leads 3-0. The teams have played all three games in Tulsa and two in the Reynolds Center, including last year's 66-51 win on Dec. 16, 2022. Brandon Betson was the team's high scorer with 15 points as Tulsa used a 12-0 run starting with a little more than 13 minutes remaining to pull away.

Following the game with the Delta Devils, the Hurricane will return to action on Friday at home against New Mexico State in the Reynolds Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.

Tulsa Men’s Basketball Hosts Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Tyshawn Archie

Brandon Betson

PJ Haggerty

Carlous Williams

Cobe Williams