Tulsa Takes on Oral Roberts in Battle for the Mayors Cup

Wednesday, November 12

Tulsa, Okla.

7 p.m.

Tulsa

Oral Roberts

Tylen Riley scans the defense against Rhode Island in the Veterans Classic

Tulsa Takes on Oral Roberts in Battle for the Mayors Cup

11/11/2025 2:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

TULSA, Okla. — After back-to-back wins to start the 2025-26 season, the Tulsa men's basketball team looks to continue that momentum as they take on Oral Roberts for the Mayors Cup on Wednesday in the Mabee Center.

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 12, 2025 / 7 PM
Site: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Arena: Mabee Center (8,781)
Radio: 99.5 FM Big Country, Learfield Network affiliates, and Varsity Network App
Talent: Bruce Howard (pxp) & J.R. Rollo (analyst)
Video: KGEB
Talent: Connor Clark (pxp)
Social Updates: @TUMBasketball | #ReignCane
History: Tulsa leads, 37-22

STORY LINES
• The Golden Hurricane are coming off an 82-65 victory over Rhode Island as part of the Veterans Classic on Friday. Taking place in Alumni Hall on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Golden Hurricane used a 16-0 run in the first half to grab a lead and never looked back in the win.
• Tulsa's 37 wins over Oral Roberts are the 7th most in program history against a single opponent and 1 of 13 opponent's the Golden Hurricane have 30 or more wins against all-time.
• In both games this season, David Green has led Tulsa in scoring. On the season the graduate transfer leads the team at 14.5 points per game while also adding 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
• Tulsa is tied with Rice for the lead in the American Conference in assists per game with 18.0.
• The Golden Hurricane are also second in the league in field goal percentage (.513), trailing only Temple (.544).
• The team is second in the league in rebounds per game (46.5), scoring offense (91.0), and scoring margin (30.0).
• Ade Popoola had 5 steals in the win over Rhode Island, the most by a Golden Hurricane in a non-overtime game since Tyshawn Archie on Dec. 10, 2023, against Oklahoma State.
• Tulsa leads the all-time series 37-22 over Oral Roberts.
• The Golden Hurricane look to start 3-0 for the third consecutive season.
• On Friday, head coach Eric Konkol successfully challenged an out of bounds play, the first coach's challenge initiated in school history.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• The Golden Hurricane face Oral Roberts for the Mayor's Cup between the 2 schools in Tulsa.
• ORU is 1-1 under first-year head coach Kory Barnett. Barnett earned his first career win as a head coach on Saturday over John Brown, 84-50.
• The Golden Eagles lost their season opener, 95-71, at Oklahoma State.
• ORU put the clamps on John Brown defensively in the second half on Saturday. After leading 40-33 at the half, the Golden Eagles held JBU to just 17 points in the second half, going 7-for-27 (.259) from the floor and 0-for-11 from three. John Brown was held to just 3-of-26 (.115) shooting from deep for the game.
• Barnett was most recently an assistant coach under Darian DeVries at West Virginia, while also working for Steve Alford at Nevada and UCLA for 11 seasons.

STREAKY SERIES
• Last season Tulsa snapped ORU's 3-game winning streak in the series with an 85-76 win in the Reynolds Center.
• Since 2008, the series has been streaky back-and-forth on both sides. Starting in 08, Tulsa went on a 4-game winning streak, before Oral Roberts won 3 in a row, then 4 straight by Tulsa, then 3 for ORU.
• From 1980-86, the Golden Hurricane won 13 in a row in the series and from 1980-2002 won 24 of 27 overall.
• The Golden Hurricane are 2-0 in the series in overtime games, Dec. 10, 2000 (89-81 in the Reynolds Center) and Dec. 1, 2001 (73-66 in the Mabee Center). Both games were back-to-back in the series.

SPREADING THE LOVE
• Tulsa has had at least 4 players in double figures in each of the first 2 games of the season, with no player scoring more than 15 points in either contest.
• Tulsa's 36 assists through 2 games are tied with Rice for the most in the American Conference.
• The Golden Hurricane have 18 assists in each of their first 2 games, a mark they reached just 6 times all last season.
• Tulsa has assisted on .633 percent of made field goals this season, including .643 on Friday against Rhode Island.

LONGEVITY IN THE LEAGUE
• Head coach Eric Konkol enters his fourth season with the Golden Hurricane.
• Konkol enters the year tied for the fourth-longest tenured coach in the American Conference.
• Only Penny Hardaway (Memphis, 8th season), Ron Hunter (Tulane, 7th season), and Andy Kennedy (UAB, 6th season) have been in the league longer.
• East Carolina head coach, and former Tulsa assistant, Michael Scwartz, is also entering his fourth season leading his program.

FIRST TIMERS
• Three opponents on the schedule are new to the Golden Hurricane men's basketball program.
• Tulsa plays Oklahoma Christian, Manhattan Christian, and Denver for the first time ever this season, all at the Reynolds Center.

NEW LOOK ROSTER
• The Golden Hurricane roster features 11 newcomers in 2025-26, 8 transfers and 3 freshmen.
• David Green headlines the group after two stellar seasons at Rhode Island, where he averaged 14.2 points per game the last two seasons. Green previously played for Eric Konkol back in 2021-22 at Louisiana Tech where he averaged 7.2 points and 3.0 rebounds off the bench in Konkol's final season in Ruston.
• Miles Barnstable is a scoring threat anywhere on the floor. After starting his collegiate career at DIII Wisconsin-Whitewater, Barnstable has scored 1,449 points entering his senior season. Last season he was the Summit League Newcomer of the Year and All-Conference First Team at St. Thomas.
• Myles Rigsby and Terrance Ford Jr. bring a championship pedigree to the roster after transferring from the Sun Belt Conference. Rigsby's Troy Trojans defeated Ford's Arkansas State Red Wolves in the SBC Championships last season to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after the two sides were part of a four-way tie for the regular season crown.
• Romad Dean is a veteran presence after spending 3 seasons at Fordham. The senior started 32 games last season, averaging 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds and shooting .342 from deep.
• From the JUCO level, Ade Popoola is a scoring threat after averaging 18.6 points a year ago. He was ranked the No. 7 JUCO transfer by Rivals and the No. 11 JUCO transfer by JUCOrecruiting.com.
• Doryan Onwuchekwa brings depth to the post after grabbing 4.9 boards in just 18.2 minutes of action last year at Georgia Tech while local product Carter Benton transfers from Pacific, appearing in 19 games for the Tigers last season.
• TU's roster will also feature 3 true freshmen. KJ Martin Jr. joined the team last spring after graduating high school early but did not appear in a game. Jaylen Lawal joins the team as a 3-star recruit out of high school while Leon Sifferlin joins the roster with international experience from France.

BACK ON THE BENCH
• Three players who saw game action last season return to the Golden Hurricane.
• Ian Smikle headlines the returners for the Golden Hurricane. Last season the West Palm Beach, Florida native earned American Conference All-Freshman Team honors after averaging 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. Last season he pulled down 183 rebounds, the third most by a freshman in program history.
• Tyler Behrend and Cal Conroy also saw action last season for the Golden Hurricane. Behrend appeared in 16 games, averaging 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds while Conroy saw time in 2 contests.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Golden Hurricane handled Rhode Island, 82-65, in the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Maryland.
• Tulsa trailed early but a 16-0 run in the first half put them ahead for good.
• Five players finished in double figures with David Green leading the way with 14. Tylen Riley, Miles Barnstable, and Romad Dean all finished with 13 points while freshman Jaylen Lawal added 11.
• Green, Barnstable, and Riley each had 3 plus assists in the win while Ade Popoola was a force defensively with 5 steals.

UP NEXT
• Tulsa heads north to face Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas on Monday, November 17 with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.

Single Game Tickets on Sale
Single game tickets are on sale now, with prices starting at $15 a game. Season tickets are still on sale starting at $99 per seat. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the ticket office at tuticketoffice@utulsa.edu or 918-631-4688 or visit HERE.

Visit www.TulsaHurricane.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans can also follow the team on X, Facebook and Instagram.