Golden Hurricane to Take on Shockers Thursday in Opening Round of AAC Championship

The American Championship First Round GAME #30: Tulsa (5-24, 1-17 AAC) vs Wichita State (16-14, 9-9 AAC)
Date/Time:	Thursday • March 9, 2023 • 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Dickies Arena (13,550) • Fort Worth, Texas
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 1st Season Wichita State – Isaac Brown (Louisiana-Monroe, '95), 3rd Season
Tournament Central:	The American
TV:	ESPNU \| Kevin Brown (PXP) and Perry Clark (Analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	140th Meeting \| Wichita State Leads 76-63
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Wichita State (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

FORT WORTH, Texas —The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will meet its oldest rival for the third time this season as the Golden Hurricane and Wichita State Shockers face off in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Championship Thursday evening in Dickies Arena.

Tipoff for the final game of the opening day of The American Championship is set for 6 p.m. (CT) and will air on ESPNU. Kevin Brown and Perry Clark 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 Golden Hurricane finished the regular season with a 5-24 record, 1-17 in The American and will serve as the 11th seed in the conference tournament. Wichita State earned the six seed with a 16-14 record, 9-9 in conference play. The winner of Thursday night's matchup will move on to face the third seed, Tulane, on Friday evening.

Thursday's meeting between the Shockers and Hurricane is the 140th in a series Wichita State leads 76-63. Despite Tulsa playing Wichita State more than any other opponent, this is only the sixth meeting on a neutral court. Tulsa has won four of the other five, which includes last season's 73-67 win over the seventh-seeded Shockers in the first round of The American Championship.

Just like last season, Wichita State took both regular season meetings between the teams. The Shockers erased a 14-point halftime lead at home to defeat Tulsa 73-59 on Jan. 14. A couple of weeks later, Tulsa's comeback bid was too little too late in an 86-75 loss in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. TU will hope to reenact last season's tournament with an upset of WSU in the first round.

Tulsa is prepared to play in its 45th conference tournament all-time and eighth as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Hurricane boasts a 53-38 record in conference tournaments (58.2 percent). In the American, Tulsa is 3-7 in conference games.

Bryant Selebangue will be a key player for the Hurricane on Thursday. The sophomore transfer has been a rebounding machine, leading the conference at a 9.3 boards per game clip, which places him 28th nationally. He also shoots 61.3 percent from the floor, which is third in the conference and sits fourth on Tulsa's single season percentage list.

Tim Dalger's recent play has made him a key player as the junior forward has reached double figures in scoring in 10 of his past 12 games, including a 24-point outburst in the last game against Wichita State. Dalger is averaging 13.4 points and 6.6 rebounds since getting re-inserted back into the starting five.

Wichita State, in a similar fashion to Tulsa, faced the South Florida Bulls in its regular season finale. The Shockers ended its home slate with a 69-49 beat down to clinch the six seed for this weekend. WSU has five players who average double figures in scoring – Jaykown Walton (14.0), Craig Porter Jr. (13.4), Jason Pierre Jr. (10.5) and James Rojas (10.0). Porter Jr. and Rojas lead the team on the glass as well, recording 6.3 and 6.1 rebounds a night, respectively.

The Shockers are a tough nut to crack for opposing offenses this season. Wichita State ranks second in the conference for field goal defense (40.4 percent) and lead the league in defensive boards (26.5). Nationally, WSU is 23rd in field goal defense and 54th in defensive boards.

It's win or go home for both teams on Thursday. For the winner, the season lives on for at least another day and the Tulane Green Wave awaits. Tipoff for the quarterfinal matchup is set for 8 p.m. on Friday at Dickies Arena and will air on ESPNU.

Golden Hurricane to Take on Shockers Thursday in Opening Round of AAC Championship

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Players Mentioned

Tim Dalger

Bryant Selebangue