Golden Hurricane Hosts East Carolina Tuesday

GAME #19: Tulsa (8-10, 2-3 AAC) vs. East Carolina (10-9, 2-4 AAC)
Date/Time:	Tuesday • January 21, 2025 • 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 3rd Season East Carolina – Michael Schwartz (Texas '99), 3rd Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Chad McKee (PxP) and Pooh Williamson (Analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	33rd Meeting \| Tulsa Leads Series 23-9
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Notes:	Tulsa Notes \| ECU Notes \| The American Notes

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball team looks to rebound from Saturday with a game against East Carolina Tuesday evening in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT) and will air on ESPN+ with Chad McKee and Pooh Williamson on the call. 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 JR Rollo.

Tuesday's contest starts a three-game homestand for Tulsa (8-10, 2-3 The American), the longest conference home stretch of the season. This will also be the lone meeting between the Golden Hurricane and East Carolina (10-9, 2-4 The American) this season.

The Hurricane leads the all-time series 23-9 as the teams meet for the 33^rd time. But the recent games have belonged to the Pirates, who are on a six-game winning streak against Tulsa dating back to the 2021-22 season. Two thirds of ECU's wins against Tulsa have come in that stretch, which includes ending Tulsa's season in the conference tournament last season.

Tulsa saw its 10-point lead evaporate in the final five minutes of Saturday's loss at South Florida, ending a two-game conference winning streak. The Hurricane held South Florida to a season low in scoring, but could not hang on for the win, getting outscored 19-2 down the stretch.

A positive for the Hurricane was the return of junior guard Isaiah Branes, who had missed the previous seven games with a hand injury. Barnes minutes were limited but pulled down four rebounds and had a basket. Senior forward Jared Garcia continued his trek to full health, putting in 21 minutes in his second game of the season alongside six points and five rebounds. When Braeden Carrington returns from his ankle injury, Tulsa should have its full roster available for the first time this season.

Keaston Willis took back the team lead in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game. He knocked down four 3-pointers on Saturday, giving him 53 for the season. He is the 32^nd different Golden Hurricane to make 50 3-pointers in a season, and it's the 51^st time it's happened at Tulsa. Willis is four shy of Cobe Williams' team-leading 57 triples last season.

Dwon Odom is second in scoring at 13.2 points per game. The graduate guard dished out 10 assists on Saturday, his second time to reach double digit assists in three games. He's averaging 4.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists this campaign while knocking down 53.4 percent of his efforts.

After opening the season 7-1, ECU had a difficult December, losing five of its six games heading into conference. The Pirates stopped a two-game skid in league play with a 75-72 win at Wichita State. Senior guard RJ Felton knocked down a 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Pirates to the win, which came on the heels of losses at home to North Texas and at Memphis.

An All-AAC Preseason First Team selection, Felton is ECU's leading scorer at 17.8 points per game. The senior also pulls down 6.8 rebounds per game. The Pirates' second leading scorer, C.J. Walker (17.5 ppg) is also the team's leading rebounder at 6.9 per contest, and Jordan Riley (13.6) rounds out the double-digit scorers.

Following Tuesday's contest, the Golden Hurricane continues its homestand with its longest standing rivalry against Wichita State. Tulsa hosts the Shockers on Sunday in the Blue Out game as the Hurricane encourages fans to wear blue. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will air on ESPNU.

Golden Hurricane Hosts East Carolina Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Braeden Carrington

Jared Garcia

Dwon Odom

Cobe Williams

Keaston Willis