Friday, March 14
Fort Worth, Texas
6:00 p.m.
Tulsa
13-20,6-12AAC
59
vs
77
North Texas
24-7,14-4AAC
1
2
F
Tulsa
31
28
59
North Texas
26
51
77
Photo by: American Athletic Conference/Cos Lymperopoulos
Golden Hurricane Falls in The American Quarterfinals
3/14/2025 10:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FORT WORTH, Texas – The University of Tulsa men's basketball season came to a close on Friday night with a 77-59 loss to the No.2 North Texas Mean Green in the quarterfinals of the 2025 American Athletic Conference Championship inside Dickies Arena.
Tulsa finishes the season with a 13-20 record, while North Texas moves on to Saturday's semifinal. The Mean Green will face the winner of UAB and East Carolina.
Keaston Willis paced Tulsa with 20 points in his final collegiate game. The graduate guard finished a perfect 11-of-11 from the foul line, tying Ben Uzoh (Jan. 9, 2010 vs. Houston) for sixth-most free throw makes in a game without missing. With three 3-pointers tonight, Willis finishes his career with 93 made triples, tying Gary Collier's 1993-94 campaign for the most in single season at TU.
Braeden Carrington added 18 points, scoring 12 in the first half to help the Hurricane take a 31-26 lead to the break. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Dwon Odom finished with seven points in his final collegiate game. He also dished out five assists and added four steals, the second most of his season. He finishes with 177 assists this season, the third-best total at Tulsa in one year.
Tulsa had a strong first half that saw the Hurricane take a five-point lead into the lockers, but the second half was a different story. The Hurricane was held to 29.2 percent in the second half from the floor and 34.1 percent for the game. Willis and Carrington combined for all seven of Tulsa's 3-point makes, but Tulsa shot just 28 percent from long range.
Meanwhile, the Mean Green could not be slowed down in the second stanza, shooting at a 63 percent clip in the half, including 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from downtown. For the game, UNT was 47.2 percent from the floor. Atin Wright did a lot of the damage with a game-high 24 points.
It was another good night from the charity stripe, where TU hit 22-of-26 at an 84.6 percent rate.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF …
After a slow start to the half for both teams, Tulsa used a 13-0 lead to take a 17-9 lead with 9:19 to play in the first period. Carrington was the chief engineer of the run. He knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to open the spree and, then Carrington splashed his third to bookend the run and force a North Texas timeout.
As the half drew near to a close, the Mean Green cut the TU lead back down to one, 25-24 with 1:23 remaining after a pullup jumper from Wright, who had 12 in the period.
The Hurricane responded with six straight points to push the lead back to seven, 31-24. Odom and Willis each knocked down a pair of free throws, and Justin Amadi connected on a layup off a nice feed from Odom.
North Texas closed the half with a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining. The teams headed to the lockers with TU leading 31-26.
Carrington's three 3-pointers and three free throws gave him 12 points at the break to pace Tulsa. Willis added seven. Tulsa shot 40 percent from the field and 3-point range in the half, making four triples.
IN THE SECOND HALF …
North Texas chipped into the Tulsa lead early in the second. The Mean Green retook the lead 42-40 to force a TU timeout with a 3-pointer from Jonathan Massie with 14:29 on the clock. Tulsa had made just one of its first six field goals in the second half, scoring seven of its nine points on free throws.
The lead change came in the midst of a 12-0 run and a larger 16-2 run that spanned five minutes. The Mean Green made 6-of-7 shots to power the run and take a 49-40 lead with 11:57 remaining. Tyshawn Archie made a driving layup while getting fouled to end the run and cut the deficit to 49-43 at the 11:40 mark.
The Mean Green did not slow down, going on another 11-0 over the following three minutes. Ian Smikle ended the run with a layup off an Odom feed but UNT had gone ahead 60-45 with 7:14 to play.
The lead grew as large as 22, 72-50, with 4:57 to play. A 6-0 run got the lead down to 16, but it wasn't sustainable as the Mean Green led 77-59 at the final horn.
GAME NOTES
• Tulsa finishes the 2024-25 season with a 13-20 record.
• TU falls to 54-41 in conference tournaments and 4-10 as members of The American.
• The Hurricane is now 40-15 against North Texas all-time.
• Keaston Willis scored in double figures for the 23rd time this season and 109th in his career.
• Willis finishes his career 2,065 career points.
• His 93 triples this year tied Gary Collier (1993-94) for most 3-point makes in a single season in TU History.
• Willis finishes his career with 393 3-pointers, tied with Ja'Monta Black (Ausitn Peay; 2020-24) and Joe Zeglinski (Hartford; 2007-11) for 32nd-most in an NCAA D1 Career.
• Braeden Carrington finished in double figures for the eighth time this season.
• Carrington's four 3-pointers was the second most this season for the guard.
• Odom ends the season with 177 assists, the third-most in a single season in TU History.
• Ian Smikle finishes the season with 183 rebounds, the third-most by a freshman in Tulsa history.
Tulsa finishes the season with a 13-20 record, while North Texas moves on to Saturday's semifinal. The Mean Green will face the winner of UAB and East Carolina.
Keaston Willis paced Tulsa with 20 points in his final collegiate game. The graduate guard finished a perfect 11-of-11 from the foul line, tying Ben Uzoh (Jan. 9, 2010 vs. Houston) for sixth-most free throw makes in a game without missing. With three 3-pointers tonight, Willis finishes his career with 93 made triples, tying Gary Collier's 1993-94 campaign for the most in single season at TU.
Braeden Carrington added 18 points, scoring 12 in the first half to help the Hurricane take a 31-26 lead to the break. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Dwon Odom finished with seven points in his final collegiate game. He also dished out five assists and added four steals, the second most of his season. He finishes with 177 assists this season, the third-best total at Tulsa in one year.
Tulsa had a strong first half that saw the Hurricane take a five-point lead into the lockers, but the second half was a different story. The Hurricane was held to 29.2 percent in the second half from the floor and 34.1 percent for the game. Willis and Carrington combined for all seven of Tulsa's 3-point makes, but Tulsa shot just 28 percent from long range.
Meanwhile, the Mean Green could not be slowed down in the second stanza, shooting at a 63 percent clip in the half, including 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from downtown. For the game, UNT was 47.2 percent from the floor. Atin Wright did a lot of the damage with a game-high 24 points.
It was another good night from the charity stripe, where TU hit 22-of-26 at an 84.6 percent rate.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF …
After a slow start to the half for both teams, Tulsa used a 13-0 lead to take a 17-9 lead with 9:19 to play in the first period. Carrington was the chief engineer of the run. He knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to open the spree and, then Carrington splashed his third to bookend the run and force a North Texas timeout.
As the half drew near to a close, the Mean Green cut the TU lead back down to one, 25-24 with 1:23 remaining after a pullup jumper from Wright, who had 12 in the period.
The Hurricane responded with six straight points to push the lead back to seven, 31-24. Odom and Willis each knocked down a pair of free throws, and Justin Amadi connected on a layup off a nice feed from Odom.
North Texas closed the half with a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining. The teams headed to the lockers with TU leading 31-26.
Carrington's three 3-pointers and three free throws gave him 12 points at the break to pace Tulsa. Willis added seven. Tulsa shot 40 percent from the field and 3-point range in the half, making four triples.
IN THE SECOND HALF …
North Texas chipped into the Tulsa lead early in the second. The Mean Green retook the lead 42-40 to force a TU timeout with a 3-pointer from Jonathan Massie with 14:29 on the clock. Tulsa had made just one of its first six field goals in the second half, scoring seven of its nine points on free throws.
The lead change came in the midst of a 12-0 run and a larger 16-2 run that spanned five minutes. The Mean Green made 6-of-7 shots to power the run and take a 49-40 lead with 11:57 remaining. Tyshawn Archie made a driving layup while getting fouled to end the run and cut the deficit to 49-43 at the 11:40 mark.
The Mean Green did not slow down, going on another 11-0 over the following three minutes. Ian Smikle ended the run with a layup off an Odom feed but UNT had gone ahead 60-45 with 7:14 to play.
The lead grew as large as 22, 72-50, with 4:57 to play. A 6-0 run got the lead down to 16, but it wasn't sustainable as the Mean Green led 77-59 at the final horn.
GAME NOTES
• Tulsa finishes the 2024-25 season with a 13-20 record.
• TU falls to 54-41 in conference tournaments and 4-10 as members of The American.
• The Hurricane is now 40-15 against North Texas all-time.
• Keaston Willis scored in double figures for the 23rd time this season and 109th in his career.
• Willis finishes his career 2,065 career points.
• His 93 triples this year tied Gary Collier (1993-94) for most 3-point makes in a single season in TU History.
• Willis finishes his career with 393 3-pointers, tied with Ja'Monta Black (Ausitn Peay; 2020-24) and Joe Zeglinski (Hartford; 2007-11) for 32nd-most in an NCAA D1 Career.
• Braeden Carrington finished in double figures for the eighth time this season.
• Carrington's four 3-pointers was the second most this season for the guard.
• Odom ends the season with 177 assists, the third-most in a single season in TU History.
• Ian Smikle finishes the season with 183 rebounds, the third-most by a freshman in Tulsa history.
Team Stats
Tulsa
UNT
FG%
.341
.472
3FG%
.280
.333
FT%
.846
.792
RB
27
35
TO
16
8
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
11
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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