Tulsa Takes on South Florida Saturday Afternoon

GAME #18: Tulsa (8-9, 2-2 AAC) at South Florida (9-8, 2-2 AAC)
Date/Time:	Saturday • January 18, 2025 • 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Yuengling Center (10,500) • Tampa, Fla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 3rd Season South Florida – Ben Fletcher (Troy '03), 1st Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Jim Louk (PxP), Sean Harrington (Analyst) and Caylee Cottrell (Reporter)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & Tony Heard)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	17th Meeting \| Tulsa Leads Series 13-3
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Notes:	Tulsa Notes \| South Florida Notes \| The American Notes

TAMPA, Fla. –– The Golden Hurricane makes its third trip to the Sunshine State as the University of Tulsa men's basketball team faces South Florida in a conference matchup in the Yuengling Center on Saturday afternoon.

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) and will air on ESPN+ with Jim Louk and Sean Harrington on the call, and Caylee Cottrell as the reporter. Fans can also catch the contest on Big Country 99.5 FM and the Varsity Network app. Bruce Howard will bring fans the action alongside analyst Tony Heard.

Tulsa (8-9, 2-2 The American) and South Florida (9-8, 2-2 The American) share similar conference records, but took different paths. The Golden Hurricane opened with a loss to Rice and at UAB before defeating UTSA on the road and most recently knocking off Charlotte in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. South Florida opened conference play with a pair of wins against East Carolina and Wichita State but has dropped back-to-back games with Tulane and UAB.

Saturday will be the lone regular season meeting between the two teams and the 17^th all-time. Tulsa leads the series 13-3 and is 6-2 in Tampa against the Bulls. The Hurricane won the most recent matchup in the Reynolds Center, snapping South Florida's three-game winning streak, the only three wins in the series for tomorrow's hosts.

The Golden Hurricane received a boost to its lineup this week with the return of senior forward Jared Garcia. Garcia played 13 minutes of TU's win against Charlotte, scoring 11 points and grabbing three rebounds. It was his first appearance of the season after returning from an offseason knee procedure.

Dwon Odom and Ian Smikle both picked up conference accolades for their performances over the past week. Smikle was selected as the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time this season, while Odom was named to the honor roll. Smikle had back-to-back games with 10 rebounds and averaged seven points for the week. Odom picked up an 11-point, 10-assist double-double at UTSA, and then scored 22 points with six rebounds and five assists against the Niners.

Odom and Keaston Willis lead Tulsa in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game. Tyshawn Archie (11.9) and Isaiah Barnes (10.3) also average double figures in scoring. Over his past seven games, Odom is averaging 14.7 points on 58.2 percent shooting, including 23-of-25 (92 percent) at the charity stripe. He's also averaging 3.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

South Florida is under the direction of first year interim head coach Ben Fletcher, who took over the role after head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim tragically passed away. The Bulls enter Saturday on a two-game skid, however, dropping a narrow 73-70 contest at Tulane and then coming up short 92-83 in its most recent game against UAB, who currently tops the league. After a solid freshman campaign, Jayden Reid has stepped up as one of the stars on this Bulls team. Reid is averaging 13.0 points in his sophomore year to lead the team. He also leads the team with 68 assists and 28 steals. Jamille Reynolds (12.1) and Kobe Knox (10.9) are the other two Bulls to score in double figures. Apart from being second on the team in scoring, Reynolds is the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 7.4 boards per contest.

Following Saturday's contest, the Golden Hurricane returns to the friendly confines of the Reynolds Center on a quick turnaround. Tulsa hosts East Carolina on Tuesday to start a three-game homestand. Tipoff against the Pirates is set for 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.

Tulsa Takes on South Florida Saturday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Tyshawn Archie

Isaiah Barnes

Jared Garcia

Dwon Odom

Ian Smikle

Keaston Willis