Tulsa Welcomes Southern U to the Reynolds Center

GAME #10: Tulsa (4-5, 0-0 AAC) vs. Southern University (3-4, 0-0 SWAC)
Date/Time:	Saturday • December 7, 2024 • 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 3rd Season SU – Kevin Johnson (UT Rio Grande Valley '88), 2nd Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Don King (PxP) and Pooh Williamson (Analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	3rd Meeting \| Tulsa Leads Series 2-0
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Notes:	Tulsa Notes \| Southern Notes \| The American Notes

TULSA, Okla. –– The Golden Hurricane looks to get back on track at home when it hosts SWAC school Southern University at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Saturday afternoon.

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+ with Don King and former star Tulsa point guard Pooh Williamson on the call. Fans can also catch the contest on Big Country 99.5 FM and the Varsity Network app. Bruce Howard and JR Rollo will bring fans the action.

Both teams sit a game under .500 heading into the contest, but are heading in different directions as Tulsa (4-5) has dropped its past two games while Southern (3-4) has won its past two, including a 73-70 win at Louisiana Tech. The Jaguars opened the season with four losses in five games, but the streak included losses at South Dakota, Iowa and Texas A&M.

The teams have met just twice, on New Year's Eve in 1983 and again in 2005. The Hurricane won both matchups and will attempt to continue that streak on Saturday.

Following losses vs. Georgia State at the Jacksonville Classic and against Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Tulsa will try to get back to .500 against the Jaguars. It's the first time since the 2022-23 season the Golden Hurricane has been under .500.

The Hurricane held a 17-15 lead over in-state rival Oklahoma State on Wednesday with a little more than seven minutes to play in the first half. But then, the Cowboys outscored the Hurricane 24-9 the remainder of the half to take control. Dwon Odom finished with a team-high 12 points, his eighth time to score in double figures this season and 53^rd time in his career.

Odom leads five Golden Hurricane who average double-figure scoring, putting up 13.0 points per game. Keaston Willis (12.8), Isaiah Barnes (11.2), Tyshawn Archie (11.2) and Braeden Carrington (10.1) are the others. Odom also leads the team on the glass, grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game, and his 3.7 assists per contest is a team high.

Southern has balanced scoring with only one player averaging double figures despite the team putting up 85.7 points per game. Jordan Johnson, who is averaging 10.9 points per game, is the one player to make the mark. Eight players average more than six points per contest and 10 score at least five or more. The team also spreads out its rebounds, with no player pulling down more than 5.0 rebounds a game. DeMariee Jones has the team lead with 4.4 rebounds, followed by AJ Barnes and Derrick Tezeno with 4.3 each.

The bench of the Jaguars is one of the best in the nation, averaging 44.14 points per game, which is second in the nation to Missouri's 49.13. Southern also plays an aggressive defense, ranking third in the nation for steals per contest (11.4) and 12th for turnovers forced per game (17). Jordan and Tidjiane Dioumassi do most of the work in the steals department, combining for 25 of the team's 80 steals.

Following Saturday's contest, the Golden Hurricane has a week off leading into the Orange Bowl Classic against the Big 12's UCF on December 14. Tipoff against the Knights is set for 1 p.m. (CT).

Tulsa Welcomes Southern U to the Reynolds Center

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Players Mentioned

Tyshawn Archie

Isaiah Barnes

Braeden Carrington

Dwon Odom

Keaston Willis