Golden Hurricane Faces Detroit Mercy, Georgia State at Jacksonville Classic

GAME #7: Tulsa (3-3, 0-0 AAC) vs. Detroit Mercy (3-3, 0-0 Horizon League)
Date/Time:	Tuesday • November 26, 2024 • 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Site:	The Reef (N/A) • Jacksonville, Fla. (Florida State College, South Campus)
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 3rd Season Detroit – Mark Montgomery (Michigan State '92), 1st Season
TV:	BallerTV \| Jordan Bernfield (PxP) and Stephond Robinson (Analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	19th Meeting \| Tulsa Leads Series 11-7
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball team heads to the Sunshine State for a pair of matchups in the Jacksonville Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday leading into Thanksgiving.

The Golden Hurricane faces Detroit Mercy on Tuesday at 11 a.m. (CT), and takes on Georgia State on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Both games will stream on BallerTV, which requires a fee. There will be no announcers for either game. Fans can also catch the contest on Big Country 99.5 FM and the Varsity Network app. The Voice of the Golden Hurricane, Bruce Howard, and JR Rollo will call the action.

Tulsa is on a three-game skid and brings a 3-3 record into the Jacksonville Classic. TU is coming off a loss at Loyola Chicago over the weekend where the Hurricane shot under 30 percent from the field and just nine percent on 3-pointers.

Dwon Odom now has the team lead in scoring, averaging 13 points a game. He was the lone Hurricane to reach double figures in Saturday's loss. Keaston Willis and Tyshawn Archie each average 12.5 points, Isaiah Barnes puts up 11.8 and Braeden Carrington scores 11.3. Carrington also leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 per contest.

Freshman Ian Smikle had his first double digit rebounding game, pulling down 11 against the Ramblers. He now averages 5.5 boards a game this season, good for second on the team.

Wednesday's opponent Georgia State is no stranger to Odom. The Tulsa graduate guard transferred from Georgia State, where he spent the past two years. In 60 games with 51 starts, Odom averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor. He reached double digits 41 times in scoring.

Detroit Mercy carries a 3-3 record into Tuesday's matchup. The Titans are under the direction of first year head coach Mark Montgomery. He took over a program that finished 1-31 last season and already has them trending in the right direction. The Titans have collected wins over Cleary, Niagra and at Ball State with a 10-point loss at Wake Forest in their last outing. Detroit also faced Loyola Chicago earlier in the season, falling by 22.

Georgia State is 3-2 this season with losses at Mississippi State and Jacksonville State sandwiched between wins over Ball State, Toccoa Falls and N.C. Central. Toneari Lane leads five Panthers who average double figures in scoring. He puts up 17.8 points per contest. Nick McMullen leads the conference and is 10^th in the nation in rebounding, grabbing 10.4 boards a night.

TU holds an 11-7 advantage over the Titans in 18 matchups all-time. However, almost all came in the 1950s or earlier. Detroit Mercy has won the past three, which came in 2022, 1961 and 1957.

The Hurricane and Panthers have only met twice, and each team has won one of the meetings. Tulsa took the first meeting 100-73 in the Reynold Center in 1999. Georgia State returned the favor a few years later in 2003, taking down Tulsa 72-67 in Atlanta.

Following Wednesday's matchup, Tulsa will have a week off for the Thanksgiving break before returning to action next Wednesday, Dec. 4, in the Donald W. Reynolds Center as the Golden Hurricane welcomes Oklahoma State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.

Golden Hurricane Faces Detroit Mercy, Georgia State at Jacksonville Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tyshawn Archie

Isaiah Barnes

Braeden Carrington

Dwon Odom

Ian Smikle

Keaston Willis