Tulsa Ends Road Trip at UTSA

GAME #16: Tulsa (6-9, 0-2 AAC) at UTSA (6-7, 0-1 AAC)
Date/Time:	Tuesday • January 7, 2025 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Convocation Center (2,650) • San Antonio, Texas
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 3rd Season UTSA – Austin Claunch (Emory '12), 1st Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Karl Schoening (PxP), Devin Brown (Analyst), Taylor Guajardo (Reporter)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	9th Meeting \| Tulsa Leads Series 7-1
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Notes:	Tulsa Notes \| UTSA Notes \| The American Notes

SAN ANTONIO, Texas –– Tulsa men's hoops is set for the second of two road games as the Golden Hurricane takes on UTSA on Tuesday evening in the Convocation Center.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT) and will air on ESPN+ with Karl Schoening and Devin Brown on the call, and Taylor Guajardo as the sideline 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 JR Rollo.

Tulsa (6-9, 0-2 The American) and UTSA (6-7, 0-1 The American) are both coming off losses on Saturday. The Hurricane dropped its second conference game and first conference road game at UAB, while the Roadrunners fell in its conference opener 92-63 at UTSA.

The Hurricane struggled from the field in Saturday's loss to the Blazers, shooting just 33.3 percent from the field, which was the second lowest of the season, while knocking down just four 3-pointers at a 21.1 percent rate.

Freshman forward Ian Smikle was the lone Hurricane in double figures, leading the team with 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals while shooting 8-of-10 from the field. Over his past four games, Smikle is averaging 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 69.2 percent from the floor. He's improved to 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for his first year at TU.

Keaston Willis still leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per contest, but snapped his eight-game streak with multiple 3-pointers. Dwon Odom, who fell short of double figures in scoring for just the second game since entering the starting lineup, averages 13.0 points.

Under the direction of first year head coach Austin Claunch, the Roadrunners prepare for their conference home opener. Claunch comes to UTSA after a season as an assistant coach at Alabama. He has five years of head coaching experience at Nicholls from 2018-23, where he led the Colonel's to a 90-61 record and one NIT appearance.

Primo Spears leads UTSA in scoring and is second in The American, averaging 21 points per game. The senior guard also leads the team with 45 assists and is tied for the team lead with 23 steals. Marcus Millender and Damari Monsanto (10.7) join Raekwon Horton (10.5) as the others to average double figures in scoring. Tai'Reon Joseph has put up 13.6 points per game, but has only played in five contests with starts, starting in December.

The Roadrunners live up to their name, sitting eighth nationally and second in the conference for fastbreak points, averaging 17.4 per game. Part of the reason for the success in transition is UTSA's ability to get steals and force turnovers. UTSA forces 16.2 turnovers per game, which ranks 21st nationally, and records 10.3 steals a game, which is 10th in the NCAA. The Roadrunners lead the conference in both categories.

Following Tuesday's contest, the Golden Hurricane will head home to host Charlotte on Saturday afternoon in a nationally televised contest in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. and will air on ESPNU.

Tulsa Ends Road Trip at UTSA

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Players Mentioned

Dwon Odom

Ian Smikle

Keaston Willis