Tulsa Heads East to Face Rhode Island in Veterans Classic

Friday, November 7

Annapolis, Md.

5 p.m.

Tulsa

Rhode Island

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Tylen Riley drives to the basket against Oklahoma Christian 11.3

Tulsa Heads East to Face Rhode Island in Veterans Classic

11/6/2025 12:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Coming off a dominant performance in the team's season opener on Monday, the Tulsa men's basketball team heads east to take on Rhode Island as part of the Veterans Classic in Alumni Hall on the campus of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 7, 2025 / 5 PM
Site: Annapolis, Maryland
Arena: Alumni Hall (5,710)
Radio: 1170AM News on Six NOW, Learfield Network affiliates, and Varsity Network App
Talent: Bruce Howard (pxp) & J.R. Rollo (analyst)
Video: CBSSN
Talent: John Sadak (pxp), Steve Lappas (analyst), Gary Parrish (sideline)
History: Tulsa leads, 3-0

STORY LINES
• The Golden Hurricane opened the 2025-26 season with a convincing 100-57 win over Oklahoma Christian in the first ever meeting between the programs.
• Tulsa improved to 3-1 in season openers under head coach Eric Konkol, winning each of the last three. Tulsa has also now won its last eight home openers dating back to the 2017-18 season.
• The Golden Hurricane dominated down low in their season opener. They grabbed 61 rebounds, tying for the ninth most in a game in program history and their first with 60+ boards since pulling down 60 in a win over Prairie View A&M on Dec. 12, 2004.
•Per Stathead (04-05), Tulsa's 23 offensive rebounds against Oklahoma Christian was the team's second-most in a game, just behind the team's 24 offensive boards against Lamar on Dec. 1, 2006.
• Tulsa scored 100 points but only shot .250 percent from three-point range. According to Stathead it was just the third time in school history for the Golden Hurricane to achieve that and it happened just 12 times all of last season.
• David Green faces his former school after spending the last two seasons at Rhode Island. Last season Green was second on the team in scoring (14.2 points) last season after leading the team in scoring as a junior at 14.3 points per game.
• Tulsa competes in the Veterans Classic on the campus of the Naval Academy. Forward Tyler Behrend is a 5-year veteran of the US Navy and was stationed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Behrend played a year of junior college basketball at Olympic Community College while the ship underwent retrofitting in Bremerton, Washington.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• The Golden Hurricane face Rhode Island for the fourth time in program history and the first time 2021.
• Last season the Rams went 18-13 in Archie Miller's third season. Each season under Miller the Rams have increased their win total.
• The Rams opened the season with a 93-62 victory over Stetson in their season opener on Monday.

FAMILIAR WITH THE FOE
• Graduate transfer David Green spent the last two seasons at Rhode Island.
• Green appeared in 47 games, making 44 starts for the Rams.
• The Florida native averaged 14.2 points per game and 5.2 rebounds as a Ram. He totalled 668 points at Rhode Island and reached 1,000 points for his collegiate career last season while at Rhode Island.
• Fordham transfer, Romad Dean, is no stranger to Rhode Island, playing the Rams 7 times in his career.
• At Fordham, Dean went 4-3 as a player, averaging 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in those games.
• In an 88-71 win over Rhode Island in last year's A-10 Conference Tournament, Dean score3d 14 points with 6 rebounds.

VETERAN PRESENCE
• Tulsa forward Tyler Behrend is a 5-year veteran of the US Navy.
• Behrend played a season at Olympic Community College in Bremerton, Washington while his ship, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, was undergoing retrofitting.
• The junior played in 28 games, averaging 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds at Olympic College during the 2021-22 season.
• Joined the Golden Hurricane as a sophomore before the 2024-25 campaign after completing his service.
• Assistant coach, Duffy Conroy, has multiple veterans in his family, including his father (Army) and his Uncle (Don).
• Cousin (Pat Conroy) is the author of the 1976 novel The Great Santini, based on the life experiences of him and his father, Don. Novel was made into a movie in 1979 of the same name starring Robert Duvall.
•Conroy's brother, Ed Conroy, currently serves as the head men's basketball coach at The Citadel.

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 freshman.
• 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 transfering 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 return who saw game action last season 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 officially opened the 2025-26 season with a resounding 100-57 victory over Oklahoma Christian on Monday in the Reynolds Center.
• Tulsa grabbed 61 rebounds and scored 50 points in the paint in the win.
• Four played finished in double figures with David Green and Tylen Riley leading the way with 15 each. 11 Golden Hurricane players had a basket in the win.

UP NEXT
• Tulsa takes on Oral Roberts in the Mayor's Cup on Wednesday, November 12 with tip-off scheduled for 7 PM in the Mabee Center.

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.