There was a lot on the line Saturday night including sole possesion of first place in Conferfence USA. When the smoke cleared, it was the Miners on top of the heap. Jeremy Williams had 15 points and Derrick Caracter added 12 points and 12 rebounds as UTEP beat Tulsa 73-59.

Listen here as head coach Doug Wojcik talks about the game from the locker room.  

Christian Polk and Arnett Moultrie had 10 points each for the Miners (17-5, 8-1 C-USA), who won their seventh straight game.

Jerome Jordan had 20 points and five rebounds for Tulsa (18-5, 7-2).

The score stayed close until UTEP took control midway through the second half. Julyan Stone gave the Miners the lead for good, 38-37, with a jumper, starting a 23-10 run that resulted in a 59-47 advantage with 5:59 remaining.

Moultrie had 11 rebounds.

Here is today's video from UTEP. This is outside the arena and some practice as well.

On Saturday night, UTEP hosts Tulsa for a battle for first place in the C-USA standings. Both teams picked up key home wins on Wednesday, positioning them for the weekend showdown. The Miners came-from-behind to defeat Houston, 65-58, for their sixth-straight win. The Golden Hurricane also fell behind early, but edged visiting Marshall by a score of 73-69. Saturday's game will certainly be played in front of a packed Don Haskins Center and an ESPN2 national television audience. Tip-off is 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. CST/8 p.m. MST.

Complete Men's Basketball Notebook & Stats in PDF Format

ESPN2 will also showcase Memphis, coming off a big 85-75 C-USA win over UAB, as the Tigers step out of conference play to host No. 13 Gonzaga at FedExForum. Start time for that game is 4 p.m. EST/3 p.m. CST .

Saturday gets started early with two matinee games on the schedule. UAB is on the road to face Rice, while Tulane hosts SMU. Both games tip at 2 p.m. CST.

Southern Miss rides a three-game win streak into Houston for a 5 p.m. CST tip in a game that will be regionally-televised on CSS. East Carolina visits Marshall for a 7 p.m. EST start. The game will be televised in both markets and can be found on WSAZ/WTAP in the Huntington-Charleston-Parkersburg, W.Va. area, while WITN will carry the game in North Carolina.

EAST CAROLINA (7-15, 1-7 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 at Marshall - 7 p.m. ET (WITN)
• Junior G/F Jamar Abrams scored a game-high 28 points, but the Pirates lost to UCF, 67-56, Tuesday night.
• Junior point guard Brock Young came just short of a triple-double against the Knights with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Young's career assist total is now a school record 442 to move into 10th place on the C-USA career chart. He became the 19th player in C-USA and second in school history to amass 400 career assists.
• Sophomore F Darrius Morrow notched his seventh career double-double, second of the season, with a game-high 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, but the Pirates dropped a 69-58 decision to Rice on Saturday.

HOUSTON (11-10, 4-4 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 vs. Southern Miss - 5 p.m. CT (CBS C)
• Senior G Aubrey Coleman, who leads the nation in both scoring and steals, tossed in a game-high 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and tallied three steals, but Houston dropped a 65-58 decision at UTEP on Wednesday.
• Classmate Kelvin Lewis added 16 points and eight boards. The UTEP game was Lewis' 84th-consecutive game played as a Cougar and his 57th-straight start.
• Coleman put up a season-high 37 points, and grabbed 13 boards, in the Cougars' 81-66 win over visiting Marshall Jan. 30. It was Coleman's fifth double-double of the season and 19th of his career. He scored 28 points in the second half.
• Head coach Tom Penders has compiled 639 career victories and ranks 26th on the NCAA all-time career win list for coaches.

MARSHALL (15-7, 4-4 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 vs. East Carolina - 7 p.m. ET (WSAZ/WTAP)
• Senior F Tyler Wilkerson scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed seven boards, but the Herd dropped a 73-69 decision Wednesday at Tulsa.
• Freshman Hassan Whiteside added 10 points and five blocked shots, bringing his season blocks total to 118 (a school record). Whiteside, the nation's leading shot blocker, is just 25 shy of the C-USA single-season blocks record, currently held by Tulsa's Jerome Jordan.
• Marshall had a balanced scoring attack, led by senior Chris Lutz with 13 points, but Marshall dropped an 81-66 decision at Houston on Jan. 30. Sophomore G Damier Pitts added 12 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Junior F Antonio Haymon came off the bench to add 12 points and eight rebounds. Whiteside also contributed 12 and eight, as well as four blocks.
• Pitts has been suspended indefinitely from the team due to a violation of team rules. There is no time table in place for Pitts' return to the program.

MEMPHIS (16-6, 6-2 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 vs. (13) Gonzaga - 3 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
• After 31 lead changes and 10 ties, Memphis emerged with an 85-75 win over UAB Wednesday. Sophomore Wesley Witherspoon scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Tigers. Witherspoon scored six unanswered to put Memphis ahead 75-69 with just over a minute left to play.
• Sophomore G Elliot Williams was the other Tiger in double figures, notching 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. Junior F Will Coleman provided a huge spark off the bench for the Tigers, grabbing nine boards and a career-high seven blocks.
• Memphis' 54 second-half points ties the season high for most points scored in a single half (also scored 54 against UALR on Dec. 12).
• Memphis set the all-time NCAA mark for consecutive conference regular-season victories with an 80-68 win over Rice on Jan. 16. The 52 wins passes Kentucky's record of 51 consecutive victories from 1950-54.

RICE (7-14, 1-7 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 vs. UAB - 2 p.m. CT
• Freshman F Arsalan Kazemi registered his sixth double-double with game-highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds, but the Owls dropped a 79-74 overtime decision to Tulane on Wednesday. Kazemi, the first Iranian-born player to play in the NCAA, is averaging 11.1 ppg and a team-leading 8.9 rpg. (third in Conference USA). He was featured on ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday, Jan. 30.
• Junior C Trey Stanton added 16 points, while freshman G Tamir Jackson chipped in 13 points against the Green Wave.
• Jackson and Stanton scored 18 points apiece as the Owls earned their first C-USA win with a 69-58 victory over East Carolina on Jan. 30. Jackson remains the Owls' leading scorer, averaging 11.9 ppg. (18th in C-USA). He also leads the team with 68 assists and 41 steals (sixth in C-USA).

SMU (10-11, 3-4 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 at Tulane - 2 p.m. CT
• Senior G Derek Williams scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds, but SMU dropped a 56-53 decision at Southern Miss Tuesday. Junior F Papa Dia chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds, just one shy of recording his seventh double-double of the season.
• The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Mustangs.
• Williams scored 25 points and Dia added a career-high 23 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Mustangs to a 70-60 victory against Memphis on Jan. 30. Williams hit 14-of-15 from the free-throw line. The game marked the fourth time this year that SMU has had two 20-plus point scorers, accomplishing that three times in the last four games.
• Sophomore F Robert Nyakundi scored a game-high 18 points as he made his third start in a row and the Mustangs earned a 65-43 victory over UCF on Jan. 27. Williams registered his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists. UCF's 43 points allowed are the second-fewest allowed by SMU in a C-USA game.

SOUTHERN MISS (13-8, 3-4 C-USA)
• Next Game: TONIGHT vs. SMU - 7 p.m. CT
• Junior F Gary Flowers scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles to a 56-53 win over SMU Tuesday. It was Southern Miss' third-straight win and snapped the Mustangs' four-game win streak. Flowers currently ranks fourth in C-USA for blocks (2.0 per game), sixth in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and ninth in scoring (14.4 ppg).
• Southern Miss used a big rebounding advantage (44-19) and sophomore G Angelo Johnson scored a career-high 20 points to defeat Tulane, 58-40, on Jan. 30. The victory snapped a 10-game road conference losing streak. Senior F Buchi Awaji came off the bench to add 13 points and four rebounds.
• Horton needs just 22 more points to reach 1,000 for his career.
• Head Coach Larry Eustachy is in his sixth season as the leader of the Southern Miss basketball program and needs just two more victories to record his 350th career win.

TULANE (7-14, 2-6 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 vs. SMU - 2 p.m. CT
• Freshman G Jordan Callahan scored eight of his career-high 18 points in overtime and junior Johnny Mayhane posted a career-best 18 points as the Green Wave came back from 13 points down in the second half to beat Rice, 79-74, Wednesday. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak.
• Callahan and Mayhane were two of four Green Wave players to score in double-figures. Redshirt freshman Kendall Timmons added 14 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots, while junior G Kris Richard scored 10 points. As a team the Green Wave shot 52.0 percent from the floor in the game, including 52.4 percent in the first half.
• Callahan broke the career-high he set Jan. 30, when he scored 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in a 58-40 loss to Southern Miss.
• Tulane is still without starting PG Kevin Sims, who suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right ulna bone in the first half of the UAB game on Jan. 9. Sims, who is averaging 12.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 2.9 apg, will have the fracture re-evaluated before a return to play date is set.

TULSA (18-4, 7-1 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 at UTEP- 9 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
• Senior C Jerome Jordan tallied 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Golden Hurricane to a 73-69 victory over Marshall on Wednesday. It was Jordan's 22nd career double-double and fifth of the season.
• Sophomore F Steven Idlet registered his fourth double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Marshall.
• Tulsa has posted a 14-0 home record this season. Dating back to last year, the Hurricane has now won 22 consecutive home games, which ranks third nationally. The last home loss came against Memphis, a 55-54 last second loss on January 13, 2009.
• Senior G Ben Uzoh scored nine points in the game, which was enough to move him into ninth place on the C-USA career scoring chart. With 1,764 career points, Uzoh passed former Charlotte standout DeMarco Johnson.

UAB (18-4, 6-2 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 at Rice - 2 p.m. CT
• Junior G Elijah Millsap not only leads the conference in rebounding at 9.6 rpg, but he is also the only guard ranked among the nation's top-50 rebounders this season (currently ranked 36th).
• UAB has held five of its last seven opponents to under 62 points in a contest coming into Saturday's matchup against Rice.
• After 31 lead changes and 10 ties, UAB lost an 85-75 road game to Memphis. With 14 points on the strength of four three-pointers from junior G Jamarr Sanders, UAB held a 32-31 lead into the break. All five starters for UAB notched double-figure scoring, led by 18 from Millsap. Sanders finished with 16, Howard Crawford added 13 points and senior G George Drake chipped in 10 points.
• Junior G Aaron Johnson, playing with a broken nose, scored 12 points and dished out eight assists at Memphis. He needs just six assists to move into eighth among the school's all-time assist leaders (359).

UCF (11-11, 3-5 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 10 at Memphis - 7 p.m. ET (CSS)
• Junior G Taylor Young scored a career-high 16 points to lead the Knights to a 67-56 C-USA victory over host East Carolina Tuesday. Young shot 4-of-6 overall and made all three of his 3-point attempts. He also connected on five free throws down the stretch. Sophomore G Isaac Sosa came off the bench to finish with 14 points for the Knights.
• The victory was No. 275 at UCF for head coach Kirk Speraw, making him the winningest coach in school history. Speraw registered his 350th career win earlier this season with a 59-50 victory over Drake on Nov. 22.
• Freshman F Keith Clanton paced the Knights with a game-high 17 points and six rebounds, and classmate Marcus Jordan added 10 points and five assists, but UCF dropped a 55-50 decision to Tulsa on Jan. 30.
• Jordan scored a career-high 23 points to help UCF post a big C-USA road win Jan. 20 as the Knights defeated Houston, 78-71. A total of 9,460 fans, the second-largest crowd in UCF Arena history, were on hand.

UTEP (16-5, 7-1 C-USA)
• Next Game: Feb. 6 vs. Tulsa - 8 p.m. MT (ESPN2)
• Junior F Derrick Caracter, the reigning C-USA Player of the Week, hit 10-of-12 field goals for 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Miners to a 65-58 win over Houston. It was UTEP's sixth straight win, with its last loss to the Cougars on Jan. 13.
• Junior G Christian Polk banked in a three-pointer to start the second overtime, giving UTEP a 66-63 lead that it never relinquished en route to a 74-65 double overtime win at No. 25 UAB on Jan. 30. It was the first time the Miners beat a ranked team since topping No. 20 Fresno State, 80-61, on Feb. 17, 2001 in El Paso.
• Caracter posted his fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 13 rebounds against UAB as the Miners won three-straight conference road games for the first time since Feb. 2005. Caracter is averaging 14.3 ppg and 8.9 rpg for the Miners. He does not appear in the C-USA rankings as he has not yet played in 75 percent of games this season, but would rank 12th in scoring and tie for second in rebounding.

 

Tulsa heads to UTEP for a HUGE game. Here is s little video from the Friday travel day. Saturday's practice and a tour of the Don Haskins Arena is coming up!

First place is on the line tonight, that should be enough to get everyone fired up! Tulsa will be at UTEP. Here is a short video of the Friday travel day with Saturday't shoot around and arena tour upcoming! Enjoy!

 

 

It wasn't easy. Tulsa was down by as many as 15 points but came back to beat Marshall 73-69. Jerome Jordan scored 24 points uncluding the last four of the game in the win. The final minute was FAST AND FURIOUS, in case you missed it, here is video of the last minute of the game.

 

Tulsa trailed by as many as 15 in the first half before scratching their way back to beat Marshall 73-69 Wednesday night at the Reynolds Center. The Hurricane takes their home court winning streak to 22 games, 4th best in the nation.

Listen here as TU head coach Doug Wojcik talks about the game and another big win!

Jerome Jordan scored a season high 24 including 10-13 from the free throw line and grabbed 12 rebounds. Justin Hurtt aded 18 for Tulsa and Steven Idlet scored 11 before he fouled out.

Coming off it's first ever win at UCF, Tulsa finds itself tied for first place in Conference USA as February begins. The Hurricane won't be able to take a breath as dangerous Marshall comes to call on Wednesday.The Herd began as one of C-USA's surprise teams before losing four in a row leading up to this game. Marshall will being the "other" best bigf man in the league in freshman Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside averages five blocks per game to go alonng with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Monday, TU head coach Doug Wojcik held a news conference to discuss his team, this weeks games and what February may bring. The reporters are not near a mic so you won't hear the questionss. But you can listen to the entire Monday news conference right here.

Ask and you shall receive! You wanted podcasts of the Doug Wojcik interviews and such. Here they are, enjoy!

OK fans, here is the video from the news conference. The audio on here is not as good but like I said, still working to learn to mesh the two.

Steven Idlet and Joe Richard will be up tomorrow.

OK TU fans, it was a good win on Saturday at UCF. In a season where the Hurricane has gotten a lot of monkeys off their back, this was one more. TU got another amazing performance from Benn Uzoh in the win.

Take a look below at the video of the last few possesions. The clock in the upper left shows the time.

Enjoy!

 Justin Hurtt had 16 points and Ben Uzoh 15 as the Golden Hurricane held on for a 55-50 victory over the UCF Knights in front of 6,632 fans on Saturday afternoon at the UCF Arena.

Tulsa improved to 17-4 overall and 6-1 in Conference USA action, while UCF dropped to 10-11 and 2-5. The Hurricane captured the season series against the Knights and gained its first win in Orlando in five games.

Listen here as coach Doug Wojcik talks about the game from the locker room.

 

Uzoh knocked down a 15-foot jumper from the right corner with the shot clock running down to put the Hurricane ahead 53-48 with 2:06 left in the game. UCF then cut the Tulsa lead to 53-50 on free throws by Keith Clanton and Marcus Jordan.

After a Tulsa turnover with 0:33 left on the clock, the Hurricane got the ball back when the Knights turned the ball back over to Tulsa. Jerome Jordan, who finished with 10 points, knocked down two free throws at the 0:19 mark giving the Hurricane a 55-50 lead. Three desperation three pointers missed the mark for the Knights to end the game.

 

Tulsa and UCF will meet for the second time this season on Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Hurricane visit the Knights for a 4 pm tip off with pre game at 3:30 on KRMG. Last time out, TU lost to UAB and UCF is coming off of 65-43 loss at SMU. 

 

Tulsa leads the overall series 6-4 after a 90-70 win in Tulsa two weeks ago, but in Orlando, UCF leads the series 4-0. Three of those four meetings have gone down to the wire, as two were decided by one and two points, and a third went to triple overtime, a six-point UCF win.

Watch the video below for a brief tour of the happenings here in Orlando.

In the earlier game, junior Justin Hurtt scored a career-best 22 points, while 7'0" senior Jerome Jordan added a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow senior Ben Uzoh added 16 points.

Uzoh leads the Hurricane in scoring with a 16.4 average and in assists at 4.1 per game, while Jordan averages 14.6 points and is the team-leader in rebounds at 8.3 and blocks with 2.8 per game. Hurtt is next in scoring for Tulsa with a 14.1 average.

UCF's A.J. Rompza tallied 19 points in 21 minutes against the Hurricane in the first meeting. A.J. Tyler and Isaac Sosa lead the Knights in scoring with averages of 10.3 and 10.0 points, respectively.

The Tulsa-UCF game will be televised in Tulsa on Cox-Channel 3 and can be heard on KRMG Radio 740 AM/FM 102.3.

Tulsa returns home to face one of C-USA's most surprising teams and one of the league leaders in the Marshall Thundering Herd on Wednesday night at 7 pm. The Herd has suffered two last second losses against 6-0 UAB and 5-1 Memphis in its' last two contests.

Elijah Millsap had 19 points and 12 rebounds and helped pull No. 25 UAB out of a lengthy offensive funk and lead the Blazers to a 65-55 victory over Tulsa on Tuesday night.

The Blazers (18-2, 6-0 Conference USA) blew a 16-point halftime cushion but rebounded from a 12-minute span without a basket in time to survive a matchup of the only two remaining C-USA teams without a league loss.

Millsap broke that frigid spell with a basket and free throw with 6:16 left to halt a 19-2 run that had given the Golden Hurricane (16-4, 5-1) a 46-44 lead. Then he added a one-handed fastbreak dunk off a bounce pass from Aaron Johnson a minute later and was fouled then, too.

UAB senior George Drake hit eight-straight free throws in the final 5:39 and finished with 17 points. The Blazers made their first 16 attempts from the foul line after halftime to hold on when the jump shots stopped falling. Check here to hear coach Wojcik's postgame interview with Rick Couri.

Jamarr Sanders added 12 points for the Blazers, who went 19-of-20 from the line in the second half.

They shot 55 percent to take a 38-22 halftime lead, but made just 4 of 19 attempts after that (21 percent).

Jerome Jordan led Tulsa with 20 points and eight rebounds. Ben Uzoh added 17 points and made all three of the Golden Hurricane's 3-pointers. No. 2 scorer Justin Hurtt missed all seven field goal attempts and finished with two points, nearly 13 below his season average.

Tulsa shot 38 percent and had 17 turnovers, 14 in the first half.

After briefly taking the lead, the Golden Hurricane didn't manage another basket until UAB had already put the game out of reach with a 16-4 run.

The Blazers have won seven straight games and finished with a more comfortable win after the last three had come by a total of four points in the school's best start. They re-entered the Top 25 this week for the second time this season, having quickly lost to Virginia after that first appearance.

This one didn't come without a scare. Bishop Wheatley scooped up a loose ball under the basket for a layup, his only basket of the game, for a 46-44 lead with 6:31 left.

Millsap's answering drive ended an 11:57 drought without a field goal. UAB scored just six points in the first 13 minutes of the second half and made one of their first 15 shots.

Tulsa was off to its best start since going 29-3 on its way to a run to the round of eight in the NCAA tournament in the 1999-2000 season.

 

Three more mid-week games are scheduled for Wednesday night. Marshall and Memphis, two of three teams currently tied for third place in the C-USA standings, meet in Huntington, W.Va. That game tips at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST and will be televised to a national audience on CBS College Sports.

UTEP, the other team tied with Marshall and Memphis, welcomes Tulane to El Paso for a 7:05 p.m. MST contest. The Miners are on a three-game roll of their own, including two big road wins at Memphis and UCF. The Knights hit the road to play at SMU on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CST.

EAST CAROLINA (7-13, 1-5 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 30 vs. Rice - 7 p.m. ET
• Sophomore F Darrius Morrow scored 17 points to lead East Carolina to a 61-46 win over Tulane Sunday, ending a five-game losing streak and giving the Pirates their first Conference USA win of the season. The win also snapped a 10-game C-USA losing streak dating back to last season, and gave ECU its first win at Fogelman Arena in seven visits.
• Junior PG Brock Young added eight assists for the Pirates. Young holds the East Carolina school record with 430 for his career. He needs just 11 more to move into the C-USA Top 10 list.
• Young became the 19th player in C-USA and second in school history to amass 400 career assists. He also became the second player in ECU history with 400 assists and 100 career steals.

HOUSTON (10-9, 3-3 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 30 vs. Marshall - 7 p.m. CT (CSS)
• Senior G Aubrey Coleman led all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting, but the Cougars were defeated by host Memphis, 92-77, Saturday. Coleman, the nation's leading scorer, has now scored 30 or more in four games this season. Junior F Maurice McNeil registered his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
• Senior G Kelvin Lewis competed in his 82nd-consecutive game and made his 55th-straight start at Memphis. He now has 1,234 career points to rank 23rd on the UH scoring chart.
• Coleman hit the 1,000-point mark for his two-year Cougar career in a 75-65 win over UTEP on Jan. 13. Coleman has now scored 1,107 points in 50 games in a Houston uniform.
• Head coach Tom Penders has compiled 638 career victories and has moved into 26th place on the all-time career win list for coaches.

MARSHALL (15-4, 4-1 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 27 vs. Memphis - 8 p.m. ET (CBS College Sports)
• Senior F Tyler Wilkerson led the offensive charge for the Herd, tallying 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and adding six rebounds and four blocked shots, but Marshall dropped a 61-59 decision to UAB on Saturday.
• Freshman Hassan Whiteside collected his 10th double-double of the season (tying UAB's Elijah Millsap for the most in C-USA) with 11 points and 13 rebounds along with five blocks.
• Whiteside set the Marshall school record for most blocks in a season as he improved his season total to 102, breaking Omar Roland's previous mark of 101 set during the 1989-90 season.
• Whiteside shared Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic MVP honors with WVU's Da'Sean Butler following the annual game, played in front of 12,380 fans in Charleston, W.Va. on Jan. 16.

MEMPHIS (14-5, 4-1 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 27 at - 7 p.m. CT (CBS College Sports)
• Junior G Roburt Sallie and sophomore Wesley Witherspoon scored 20 points apiece and combined for 13 rebounds as the Tigers defeated Houston, 92-77, Saturday night at FedExForum. Witherspoon has now tallied double figures in nine of the last 11 games and Sallie's 20 points tie a season-high. Senior G Doneal Mack, who recently reached the 1,000- point mark, added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with a career-high-tying five assists.
• Memphis dropped a 72-67 decision to UTEP on Jan. 20. The Tigers' last loss to a C-USA opponent was on March 2, 2006 to UAB, going 1,419 days without losing a conference game. Their winning streak ended at 64 games, which ties Kentucky (1945-50) for the NCAA's longest winning streak.
• Memphis set the all-time NCAA mark for consecutive conference regular-season victories with an 80-68 win over Rice on Jan. 16. The 52 wins passes Kentucky's record of 51 consecutive victories from 1950-54.

RICE (6-13, 0-6 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 30 at East Carolina - 6 p.m. CT
• Freshman G Tamir Jackson led Rice with 18 points, all in the second half, but host Tulsa edged the Owls, 62-58, Saturday afternoon. Junior C Trey Stanton added 11 points.
• Freshman F Arsalan Kazemi finished a field goal shy of his fifth career double-double against Tulsa with eight points and 11 rebounds. Kazemi, the first Iranian-born player to play in the NCAA, is averaging 10.4 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds.
• Jackson remains the Owls' leading scorer, averaging 11.5 ppg. He also leads the team with 57 assists and 38 steals.
• Sophomore F Lucas Kuipers scored a season-high 15 points in the Owls' loss to SMU on Jan. 20. He is averaging 7.1 points for the year and is scoring 8.3 ppg in league outings.
• Rice earned its 1,000th all-time win in program history with a 70-57 victory over Santa Clara on Dec. 16.

SMU (8-10, 1-3 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 27 vs. UCF - 7 p.m. CT (TW Texas - tape delay 1/28 at 7 p.m.)
• Senior G Derek Williams scored a game-high 27 points and sophomore F Robert Nyakundi added 20 to lead the Mustangs to an 82-68 victory against Houston Baptist on Saturday. Williams scored at least 20 points for the seventh time in his career and for the third game in a row. He also had five assists. SMU blocked a season-high six shots.
• Williams and junior F Papa Dia combined for 43 points as SMU held off Rice, 73-65, on Jan. 20 for its first conference win. Dia also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
• SMU led 34-20 at intermission against UAB on Jan. 16 as the Mustangs shot 60.9 percent from the floor through the opening 20 minutes. However, the Blazers came back to win 63-62.
• Time Warner Texas announced it will carry seven Mustang games against C-USA opponents this season. Those games bring the Mustangs' total to 10 televised games this season.

SOUTHERN MISS (11-8, 1-4 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 30 at Tulane - 7 p.m.
• Five players scored in double-figures as Southern Miss earned its first conference victory this season, with a 68-53 win against East Carolina on Saturday. The win snapped a nine-game conference losing streak dating back to last year.
• Juniors Gary Flowers, R.L. Horton and Torye Pelham all had 12 points, and Sai'Quon Stone and Buchi Awaji scored 10 apiece. Flowers added a game-high six rebounds. Awaji connected on a three-pointer to catapult Southern Miss on a 13-0 run in the second half.
• Flowers currently ranks fourth in C-USA for blocks (2.0 per game), sixth in rebounding (7.9 rpg), and ninth in scoring (14.7 ppg).
• Horton needs just 27 more points to reach 1,000 for his career.
• Head Coach Larry Eustachy is in his sixth season as the leader of the Southern Miss basketball program and needs just four more victories to record his 350th career win.

TULANE (6-12, 1-4 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 27 at UTEP - 8:05 p.m. CT
• Freshman G Kendall Timmons scored a team-high 15 points, including seven free throws in the final 2:54 of the first half, in a 61-46 loss to visiting East Carolina on Sunday.
• Senior F Asim McQueen led the Green Wave with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds in an 89-79 loss to Marshall on Jan. 16. Junior G Kris Richard also scored 20 points off the bench, while junior F David Booker added 13.
• Tulane played those two games without starting PG Kevin Sims, who suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right ulna bone in the first half of the UAB game on Jan. 9. Sims, who is averaging 12.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 2.9 apg, will have the fracture re-evaluated this week before a return to play date is set. Junior Aaron Holmes, who started 13 games this season, suffered a cartilage tear and tendon subluxation in his right wrist during a Jan. 8 practice.

TULSA (16-3, 5-0 C-USA)
• Next Game: TONIGHT at UAB - 7 p.m. CT
• Tulsa has posted a 13-0 home record this season and has now won 21 consecutive home games dating back to last season. The streak ranks fifth nationally. The last home loss came against Memphis, a 55-54 last second decision on January 13, 2009.
• Tulsa's 16-3 record is the best start for the Golden Hurricane since the 1999-2000 season when TU managed a 29-3 record during its run to the NCAA's "Elite Eight." Tulsa bettered the 2001-02 teams' start of 15-3 with its' 16th win over Rice on Saturday. Tulsa's 5-0 start in Conference USA play is also the best league start for the Hurricane since a 5-0 start in 2001-02 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
• Senior C Jerome Jordan had 17 points and eight rebounds in a 57-52 win at Oral Roberts Jan. 16, including eight points in the final 7:11 with four fouls to overcome a 47-40 deficit and win the Mayor's Cup.
• Jordan has moved to within 10 of the C-USA career blocks record and ranks ninth on the league's rebounders chart with 824 career boards.

UAB (17-2, 5-0 C-USA)
• Next Game: TONIGHT at Tulsa - 7 p.m. CT
• At 17-2 on the campaign, UAB has set a new school record for a start to a season, topping the former mark of 16-2 set on a pair of occasions (1985-86 and 1993-94 seasons). The Blazers have now won six-straight contests and captured wins in 16 of their last 17 games.
• Only five teams in the nation among Division I schools have a better record than UAB (Kentucky, BYU, Kansas, Syracuse and Villanova).
• The last three UAB contests, all wins, have been decided by a total of four points.
• Coach Mike Davis is 4-0 in one-point games this season, and 9-3 in all such contests during his tenure at UAB. Additionally, the Blazers are 6-0 in games decided by five points or fewer this year.
• The Blazers are holding the opposition to 59.4 points a game, which leads C-USA, and have held 15 of their 19 opponents to 64 points or below and 12 of the 19 to below 60 points throughout the season.

UCF (10-9, 2-3 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 27 at SMU - 8 p.m. ET
• Freshman F Keith Clanton scored a career-best 19 points, but the Knights could not withstand a second-half spurt by visiting UTEP as the Miners earned a 96-59 win on Saturday.
• Freshman G Marcus Jordan scored a career-high 23 points to help UCF post a big C-USA road win Jan. 20 as the Knights defeated Houston, 78-71. Jordan's previous career-high was 19 points against Marshall on Jan. 13. A total of 9,460 fans, the second-largest crowd in UCF Arena history, were on hand.
• The Knights led the Cougars by 11 at halftime, and withheld a late rally caused by the hosts' full-court press. UCF shot 50.9 percent overall and finished with a 49-38 edge on the glass.
• Coach Kirk Speraw needs just one more victory to become the winningest coach in program history. In his 17th year at UCF, Speraw has 274 victories. He registered his 350th career win earlier this season with a 59-50 victory over Drake on Nov. 22.

UTEP (12-5, 3-1 C-USA)
• Next Game: Jan. 27 vs. Tulane - 7:05 p.m. MT
• Junior G Randy Culpepper drained nine 3-pointers - tying the C-USA record for treys in a conference game - to lead the Miners with 39 points in a 96-59 win at UCF. UTEP was up by four at the half, then outscored the Knights 52-18 after the intermission. UTEP shot 65.5 percent overall in the second half, and Culpepper scored 25 points after the break. For the game, he made 9-of-15 attempts from 3-point range.
• Junior F Jeremy Williams posted his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Miners defeated Memphis, 72-67, Wednesday to end the Tigers' 64-game conference win streak. Memphis natives Williams, Culpepper and Arnett Moultrie scored 10 of UTEP's points during a 13-3 run midway through the second half to take the lead.
• Junior Derrick Caracter, a mid-season transfer, is averaging 13.2 ppg and 8.2 rpg for the Miners. He does not appear in the conference rankings as he has not yet played in 75 percent of games this season, but would rank 13th in scoring and fifth in rebounding in C-USA.

 

Tulsa and UAB will meet for the only time during the regular season on Tuesday night at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, as this contest will be for the early lead in the Conference USA standings. Both Tulsa and UAB enter the game with 5-0 league records. Game time is slated for 7:00 pm.with a pre game of 6:30 on KRMG.

Rick Couri is with the team and is playing with his video camera, the result and the rest of the preview is below.

 
UAB, who entered the national polls on Monday ranked 25th, has an overall 17-2 mark with impressive home victories over Georgia, Cincinnati and Butler. The Blazers have posted a 9-0 home record this season. Tulsa comes into the game with its' best record since the 1999-2000 season with a 16-3 mark this year. The Hurricane has posted a 3-0 road record with the wins coming in its' last three contests over Houston, SMU and Oral Roberts.
 
UAB comes into the showdown of C-USA's only unbeaten teams after 5'8" junior guard Aaron Johnson's layup in traffic with 5.6 seconds remaining gave the Blazers a 61-59 victory over previous league undefeated Marshall on Saturday night. Tulsa had a hard-fought 62-58 victory over lowly Rice on Saturday afternoon.
 
Junior Elijah Millsap, a transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette, leads the Blazers with a 16.4 scoring average, and if that's not impressive enough the 6'4" guard is also the UAB leading rebounder with a 9.5 average per game. Senior forward Howard Crawford scores t a 12.5 clip an grabs 4.8 rebounds per game, while junior transfer Jamarr Sanders averages 10.7 points.
 
Tulsa's Ben Uzoh leads Tulsa with 16.3 points and 4.2 assists per game. The 6'3" senior guard is coming off of a 17-point, 5-rebound and 4-steal performance against Rice. The Hurricane will need a big performance from 7'0" senior center Jerome Jordan, who's three-footer in last year's meeting gave the Hurricane a 75-74 victory at the Reynolds Center.
 
Jordan averages 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots for the Hurricane, while junior Justin Hurtt scores at a 14.7 clip, but the 6'4" guard is coming off of his lowest scoring game with only four points against Rice.
 
Tulsa leads the overall series 6-5. The Hurricane has won the last three meetings, including once at home and twice in Memphis at the Conference USA Tournament. Tulsa has never won in four meetings in Birmingham. The last time Tulsa visited UAB, the Blazers captured an 84-70 win on March 5, 2008.

The game can be heard locally in Tulsa on KRMG Radio 740 AM/FM 102.3,

 

We're in the middle of conference play in college basketball, this is when conference tournament seedings become huge. With that in mind, here is a run-down of the Conference USA mens basketball weekend. 

 Ben Uzoh scored 17 points, including two emphatic second-half dunks over Rice players, as Tulsa kept the Owls winless in conference play with a 62-58 victory Saturday.

Donte Medder came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points and 7-foot center Jerome Jordan added 11 points and nine rebounds despite constant double-teaming.

Tulsa is 5-0 in Conference USA, 16-3 overall and 13-0 at home this season while extending its home court victory string to 21, the fifth best streak in the country.

 

Aaron Johnson's layup in traffic with 5.6 seconds remaining helped the Blazers edge Marshall, 61-59, to remain undefeated in C-USA play and improve to 17-2 on the season. It was the first conference loss for Marshall and its first loss at home this season. UAB is now tied with Tulsa, who picked up a 62-58 win over Rice this afternoon, atop the C-USA standings at 5-0. Only one team will emerge as the leader as the two teams meet Tuesday night in Birmingham.

Some of Conference USA's sharp shooters were in top form over the weekend. UTEP junior Randy Culpepper drained nine three-pointers to lead the Miners to a 96-59 win at UCF. Culpepper tallied 39 points, with 25 in the second half as UTEP outscored the Knights, 52-18, after the break. Houston senior Aubrey Coleman, the nation's leading scorer, tossed in 32 points but the Cougars dropped a 92-77 decision to Memphis on the road.

Southern Miss picked up its first conference win of the season with a 68-53 win over visiting East Carolina. The Golden Eagles had a balanced offense as five Golden Eagles scored in double-figures. ECU plays at Tulane on Sunday afternoon.

SMU picked up its second win in a row with an 82-68 non-conference victory over Houston Baptist. Senior Derek Williams led the Mustangs with 27 points, while sophomore Robert Nyakundi chipped in 20 points.

Complete C-USA Standings and Results

Updated Conference USA Statistics

Saturdays results
Tulsa 62, Rice 58
Southern Miss 68, East Carolina 53
UTEP 96, UCF 59
UAB 61, Marshall 59
Memphis 92, Houston 77
SMU 82, Houston Baptist 68

C-USA MEN'S BASKETBALL SHOOTING STARS (Saturday, Jan. 23)

UAB junior G Aaron Johnson's (Chicago, Ill.) layup in traffic, with 5.6 seconds remaining, proved to be the game-winning shot as the Blazers edged Marshall, 61-59. Senior F Howard Crawford (Eutaw, Ala.) led the Blazers with 19 points and Johnson finished with 11 - seven of those points coming on free throws. With the win, UAB improves to 5-0 in C-USA and 17-2 overall.

Senior F Tyler Wilkerson (Lexington, Ky.) led the offensive charge for the Herd, tallying 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while adding six rebounds and four block shots. Freshman Hassan Whiteside (Gastonia, N.C.) collected his 10th double-double of the season (tying UAB's Elijah Millsap for the most in C-USA) with 11 points and 13 rebounds along with five blocks. Whiteside set the Marshall school record for most blocks in a season as he improved his season total to 102, breaking Omar Roland's previous mark of 101 set during the 1989-90 season.

 

Freshman G Tamir Jackson (Paterson, N.J.) led Rice with 18 points, all in the second half, followed by junior C Trey Stanton (Friendswood, Texas) with 11. Freshman F Arsalan Kazemi (Esfahan, Iran) finished a field goal shy of his fifth career double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds.

UTEP junior Randy Culpepper (Memphis, Tenn.) drained nine 3-pointers - tying the conference record - to lead the Miners with 39 points in a 96-59 win at UCF. UTEP was up by four at the half, then outscored the Knights 52-18 after the intermission. UTEP shot 65.5 percent overall in the second half, and Culpepper scored 25 points after the break. For the game, he made 9-of-15 attempts from 3-point range.

UCF freshman F Keith Clanton (Orlando, Fla.) scored a career-best 19 points for the Knights.

Memphis junior G Roburt Sallie (Sacramento, Calif.) and sophomore Wesley Witherspoon (Atlanta, Ga.) scored 20 points apiece and combined for 13 rebounds as the Tigers defeated Houston, 92-77. Witherspoon has now tallied double figures in nine of the last 11 games and Sallie's 20 points tie a season-high. Senior G Doneal Mack (Charlotte, N.C.) added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with a career-high-tying five assists. Senior G Willie Kemp (Bolivar, Tenn.) chipped in 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Sophomore G Elliot Williams (Memphis, Tenn.) was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field, scoring 10 points in limited action. Williams was forced to miss most of the second half after picking up his fourth less than five minutes into the half.

Houston senior G Aubrey Coleman (Houston, Texas) led all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting. Coleman, the nation's leading scorer, has now scored 30 or more in four games this season. Junior F Maurice McNeil (New York, N.Y.) registered his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Five players scored in double-figures as Southern Miss earned its first conference victory this season, with a 68-53 win against East Carolina, and snapped a nine-game conference losing streak dating back to last year. Juniors Gary Flowers (Dallas, Texas), R.L. Horton (Jackson, Miss.) and Torye Pelham (Nashville, Tenn.) all had 12 points, and Sai'Quon Stone (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Buchi Awaji (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored 10 apiece. Flowers added a game-high six rebounds, while Pelham pulled down five to go with his season-high in points. Awaji connected on a three-pointer to catapult Southern Miss on a 13-0 run in the second half.

Junior Jamar Abrams (Richmond, Va.) pulled ECU back to within seven points with 4:33 left, but Southern Miss went on an 18-1 run over the next 3:34 for its largest lead of the game at 66-48. Abrams led East Carolina with 18 points and freshman Corvonn Gaines (Madison, Wisc.) added nine points.

SMU senior Derek Williams (Jamaica, N.Y.) scored a game-high 27 points and sophomore F Robert Nyakundi (Arlington, Texas) added 20 to lead the Mustangs to an 82-68 victory against Houston Baptist on Saturday. Williams scored at least 20 points for the seventh time in his career and for the third game in a row. He also had five assists. SMU blocked a season-high six shots.

C-USA UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday, January 24
East Carolina at Tulane - 2:00p

Tuesday, January 26
Tulsa at UAB - 7:00p

Wednesday, January 27
Memphis at Marshall (CBS C) - 7:00p
UCF at SMU (TW Texas) - 7:00p
Tulane at UTEP - 8:05p

All times Central. Conference USA games in bold.

A couple of pictures I thought you would enjoy. UAB sold ad space UNDER the visitors chairs and the trainer guy everyone likes to heckle.

 

Just a minute or so of UAB warming up for Tulsa. Just a quick look, the do appear long and lean.

 

Tulsa never pulled away from Rice and had to withstand a late flurry to beat the Owls 62-58   at the Reynolds Center. Tulsa led the game 58-49 with 1:22 to go but threw away a couple of inbounds passes and had to rely on some luck and a late Jerome Jordan free throw to get the win.

Listen here as Doug Wojcik talks about the game from the locker room. Warning; He isn't happy!

Freshman Dante Medder was outstanding, scoring a career high 13 while Ben Uzoh led TU with 17. The Hurricane was outrebounded by the Owls 35-34.

Next up for TU, a HUGE Tuesday match-up with UAB in Birmingham on Tuesday night. The Blazers are at Marshall Saturday night, both of those teams are unbeaten in C-USA play.

Tulsa battled from a 15-point second-half deficit to defeat Oral Roberts 57-52 in the Mayor's Cup on Wednesday night in front of 9,303 fans at the Mabee Center.

Listen as coach Wojcik talked about the win from the locker room.

 
Jerome Jordan led the Hurricane (15-3, 4-0 C-USA) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Justin Hurtt added 11 points and Steven Idlet chipped in 10 points and three blocks. Joe Richard posted eight points, eight rebounds and two steals.
 
Kevin Ford led ORU (10-10) with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Dominique Morrison and Warren Niles each added 11 points each.
 
Tulsa fell behind 15 points with 17:42 left in the second half, but slowly climbed back into the game throughout the second period.
 
The Hurricane grabbed its first lead since the 17:05 mark in the first half when a pair of Hurtt free throws gave Tulsa a 51-49 lead with 2:38 remaining.
 
Kevin Ford had a chance to tie the game for ORU after a Richard foul put him at the line with 1:56 left in the game. Ford connected on only one-of-two free throws to cut the deficit to 51-50.
 
Richard pushed the lead to 53-50 on a put-back slam off of a Ben Uzoh missed jumper with 37 seconds remaining.
 
ORU scored on the following possession as Dominique Morrison rattled in a fall-away jumper with 29.2 seconds to cut the lead to 53-52. Tulsa broke the ensuing full-court press as Jordan found a wide open Steven Idlet for a slam dunk, giving Tulsa a 55-52 lead with 19 seconds on the clock.
 
Uzoh drilled two free throws with 8.2 seconds on the clock to seal the 57-52 victory.
 
"A lot of the guys contributed, but the fact that we held them to two offensive rebounds in the second half won us the game," Head Coach Doug Wojcik said.  They had 11 in the first half.  We worked on rebounding, rebounding and rebounding to prepare for this game."
 
In the first half, Tulsa and ORU traded baskets early with the Golden Eagles taking an 11-10 lead at the 14:21 mark. ORU then went on a 12-0 run over the next 9:57 to build a 23-10 lead. Jordan ended TU's scoring drought with a jumper at the 4:25 mark.
 
The Golden Hurricane continued on an 11-4 spurt over the next four minutes, cutting the deficit to 27-21 on a Hurtt three-pointer with just 18 seconds remaining in the half. ORU ended the half with a Dominique Morrison three-pointer at the buzzer, extending the lead to 30-21.
 
"It was a hard-fought, ugly game, but we found a way to win," Wojcik said.  "Honestly, give the kids all of the credit in the world. They hung in there and fought for the win.  This was a great win for us, it was a great night and I am very happy for our guys, especially the seniors."
 
Tulsa will return to action on Saturday, as the Golden Hurricane hosts Rice beginning at 2:00 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.  With the purchase of a men's ticket, fans can stay FREE for the women's game against Marshall starting at 5:00 p.m.

It's the Mayors cup as ORU faces cross town rival Tulsa at the Mabee Center. ORU has won four of the last six games in the series, including three straight at home ... Tulsa hasn't won in the Mabee Center since a 73-66 overtime victory on Dec. 1, 2001 ... ORU has played Tulsa more times (45) than any opponent in program history ... Southern Utah is second at 33 games (25-8) ... sophomore forward Dominique Morrison will start his 51st consecutive game tonight.

The Coaches
ORU's Scott Sutton is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles, and his 15th overall with the program. Sutton is 194-135 (.590) as head coach and ranks second in school history in career wins. He is the son of legendary coach Eddie Sutton, and the younger brother of former Oklahoma State head coach Sean Sutton. Scott Sutton is a two-time Summit League Coach of the Year (2002, 2008) and earned NABC District 12 co-Coach of the Year in 2005, sharing the award with his father. In 2007, Sutton was a finalist for the Clair Bee Coaching Excellence Award. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, Sutton has posted a 171-99 (.634) record, including four 20-win seasons, four consecutive Summit League regular-season titles (2005-08) and three straight NCAA Tournament berths (2006-08). 
Tulsa's Doug Wojcik is 95-56 in his fifth season with TU.

Tulsa Category	Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual
Won-Lost Percentage (334 ranked)	28	82.4	Kentucky	100.0
Scoring Offense (334 ranked)	39	78.2	VMI	89.9
Scoring Defense (334 ranked)	72	63.6	Arizona St.	54.7
Scoring Margin (334 ranked)	19	14.6	Kansas	24.5
Field-Goal Percentage (334 ranked)	25	48.5	Syracuse	53.2
Field-Goal Percentage Defense (334 ranked)	12	37.7	Florida St.	35.1
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (334 ranked)	186	6.1	VMI	12.0
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (334 ranked)	24	39.8	Marquette	43.4
Three Pt FG Defense (334 ranked)	93	32.1	UNC Wilmington	24.9
Free-Throw Percentage (334 ranked)	75	71.9	BYU	77.7
Rebound Margin (334 ranked)	3	9.9	Baylor	11.4
Assists Per Game (334 ranked)	167	13.2	Sam Houston St.	20.2
Assist Turnover Ratio (334 ranked)	121	1.01	Notre Dame	1.71
Blocked Shots Per Game (334 ranked)	12	6.6	Connecticut	9.1
Steals Per Game (334 ranked)	300	5.2	Missouri	12.5
Turnovers Per Game (334 ranked)	96	13.1	Houston	9.2
Turnover Margin (334 ranked)	304	-2.7	Houston	9.3
Personal Fouls Per Game (334 ranked)	48	16.6	Mississippi St.	12.7

ORU Category	Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual
Won-Lost Percentage (334 ranked)	175	52.6	Kentucky	100.0
Scoring Offense (334 ranked)	209	68.2	VMI	89.9
Scoring Defense (334 ranked)	145	66.9	Arizona St.	54.7
Scoring Margin (334 ranked)	171	1.2	Kansas	24.5
Field-Goal Percentage (334 ranked)	230	42.3	Syracuse	53.2
Field-Goal Percentage Defense (334 ranked)	153	42.5	Florida St.	35.1
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (334 ranked)	268	5.1	VMI	12.0
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (334 ranked)	252	30.8	Marquette	43.4
Three Pt FG Defense (334 ranked)	148	33.4	UNC Wilmington	24.9
Free-Throw Percentage (334 ranked)	155	69.1	BYU	77.7
Rebound Margin (334 ranked)	65	4.3	Baylor	11.4
Assists Per Game (334 ranked)	234	12.2	Sam Houston St.	20.2
Assist Turnover Ratio (334 ranked)	248	0.81	Notre Dame	1.71
Blocked Shots Per Game (334 ranked)	170	3.4	Connecticut	9.1
Steals Per Game (334 ranked)	264	5.8	Missouri	12.5
Turnovers Per Game (334 ranked)	228	15.0	Houston	9.2
Turnover Margin (334 ranked)	298	-2.5	Houston	9.3
Personal Fouls Per Game (334 ranked)	103	17.6	Mississippi St.	12.7

 

 

We're closing in on tip off time for Wednesday nights Mayors Cup game. Tulsa head coach Doug Wojcik got up early to talk to us and we wanted to share it.

Click here to listen as coach Wojcik talks about the game and the atmosphere that surrounds it!

 Lower level tickets are sold out for the upcoming annual Mayor's Cup men's basketball game between cross-town rivals Oral Roberts University and the University of Tulsa on Wednesday, January 20, at the Mabee Center. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.

The Mabee Center Ticket Office will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  However, fans can buy and print $5 upper level tickets online at www.orugoldeneagles.com.

The ticket office accepts orders by phone by calling (918) 495-6000.  Phone and in-person ticket orders can be made Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The ticket office is located in the north lobby of the Mabee Center located at 8100 S. Lewis Ave. in Tulsa.

A small number of wheelchair, limited mobility and single seat tickets are available in the lower level.

Jerome Jordan was focused and efficent. Jordan scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots as Tulsa blew out Central Florida 90 to 70. Justin Hurtt added 22 while Ben Uzoh added 16.

The Hurricane outrebounded the Knights 37-30 and forced 15 turnovers on their way to a 4-0 record in Conference USA.

Listen as coach Wojcik talks about the game from the locker room.

Tulsa basketball is hosting UCF Saturday night and the Hurricane unveiled a new video board as well. The scorers table video will show pictures, highlights, scores, etc. Take a look below at a short video of the board before the game tipped off.

TU is 3-0 in C-USA play for the first time ever with a chance to make it 4-0 this Saturday. The Central Florida Knights will try to invade the Reynolds Center, take a look at some of the notes for that game below. Remember you can listen to every TU basketball game all year on AM 740/FM 102.3 NewsTalk KRMG. This weekends game tips off at 7:00 with pre game begining at 6:30.

This is the 10th meeting between Tulsa and UCF . . . the Hurricane lead the series 5-4 . . . Tulsa has won all five home games, while UCF has won all four of their home contests . . . Tulsa won the last meeting a year ago at home, 79-70 . . . three of the games in the series have come down to two points or less, while two have also gone into overtime, including a triple OT game on Jan. 12, 2008 at UCF, as the Knights won 97-91 . . . the Hurricane has a 14.0 winning margin in its' five victories, while UCF won its' four games by 4.8 points.

TULSA HAS 11-0 HOME RECORD; RANKS 6th NATIONALLY WITH 19 CONSECUTIVE HOME WINS . . .

√ Tulsa has posted a 11-0 home record this season . . . among the home wins, Tulsa claimed a 21-point home victory, 86-65, against Oklahoma State on Dec. 2 . . . the Cowboys came into the game ranked 26th nationally in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls . . . dating back to last year, the Hurricane has now won 19 consecutive home games, which ranks 6th nationally . . . the last home loss came against Memphis, a 55-54 last second loss on January 13, 2009.

Since Doug Wojcik became the Tulsa head coach before the 2005-06 season, Tulsa has posted an overall 67-12 record at the Donald W. Reynolds Center . . . five of those losses came in his first season as the Hurricane head coach . . . Tulsa is 43-4 in non-conference games for a winning percentage of .915 . . . Tulsa has also posted a 24-8 record in Conference USA action under Wojcik.

Tulsa's Record at the Reynolds Center the Last 5 Years . . .

Year Overall C-USA Non-Conference

2005-06 8-5 5-2 3-3

2006-07 15-3 5-3 10-0

2007-08 18-2 6-2 12-0

2008-09 15-2 7-1 8-1

2009-10 10-0 0-0 10-0

Totals 67-12 24-8 43-4

(.848) (.750) (.915)

 

 

Tulsa jumped out to a 16-2 lead and played outstanding defense to beat SMU 63-56 on Wednesday night in Dallas. The Hurricane held SMU to 22% shooting in the first half before withstanding a run by the Ponies late in the game.

 Justin Hurtt scored 17 for TU while Ben Uzoh added 16. The Hurricane were sharpshooters from outside, hitting 10 of 18 threes for the game.

Click here to hear Doug Wojcik from the locker room after the win.

 

Tulsa now stands at 3-0 in C-USA play and will host Central Florida on Saturday night at 7pm at the Reynolds Center.

University of Tulsa senior guard Ben Uzoh (San Antonio, Texas) was named the Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Week, as announced today by the league office.

In two Conference USA wins last week, senior Ben Uzoh averaged 20.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds, while shooting 63-percent from the field and 89-percent from the free throw line. In a 14-point win over Tulane, Uzoh scored a game-high 20 points and had 6 assists and 3 rebounds and shot 64-percent from the field.

In Tulsa's 86-80 road win at Houston, Uzoh had his eighth 20-point scoring game of the season with 21 points, while adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

On the season, Uzoh has a team-leading 16.9 scoring average and 4.5 assists pre game. He is shooting 51-percent from the field, 41-percent from three-point range and 78-percent from the free throw line, while collecting 4.7 rebounds from his point guard position.

Uzoh has become one of the premier players in Golden Hurricane history. He ranks among the top-10 in five statistical categories, including fourth on the all-time scoring list with 1,671 points, seventh for assists with 329, eighth in steals with 143, and ninth for blocks (79) and three-pointers made (148). Uzoh is also in 19th place on the school's career rebounding chart with 610 boards.

It's the second weekly honor for a Golden Hurricane player this year, as junior Justin Hurtt won the award on Dec. 7th, and is also the first career honor for the senior Uzoh.

Tulsa has posted a 12-3 overall record and a 2-0 C-USA mark. The Hurricane will be in action next on Wednesday night in Dallas against the SMU Mustangs. The game can be seen live in Oklahoma on Cox Cable-Channel 117 in Tulsa and Channel 7 in Oklahoma City.

 Ben Uzoh scored 21 points and Justin Hurtt had 20 as Tulsa held on for an 86-80 victory over the Houston Cougars Saturday night in front of 3,115 fans at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Tulsa (12-3, 2-0 C-USA) shot 67.5 percent from the field on 27-of-40 shooting, while holding the Cougars (8-7, 1-1 C-USA) to 37.5 percent shooting on 72 attempts. Tulsa's seven-foot center Jerome Jordan added 19 points and three blocks for the Hurricane. Click here to listen to Doug Wojcik from the TU locker room after the HUGE win.

 

Tulsa's Bishop Wheatley assigned with guarding the nation's leading scorer Aubrey Coleman, held Coleman to 5-of-21 from the field, despite scoring 25 points with 14-of-15 shooting from the free throw line.

After Tulsa's two-point lead at halftime, Houston tied the score at 46-46, but that was the last time the game would be tied. Tulsa had a double-digit lead three times in the second half, including a high of 11 points with 5:31 remaining in the contest on an Uzoh jump shot to make the score 77-66.

The Cougars kept battling back, cutting the lead to four points, 77-73, with 4:31 on the clock with a Coleman dunk and two free throws and a Nick Haywood three-pointer.

Coleman brought Houston to within one point at 81-80 on a three-pointer with 1:22 left on the clock. Tulsa then made its next five free throws while holding the Cougars scoreless for the 86-80 victory. Jordan and Wheatley hit two each, while Hurtt knocked down one free throw with 0:19 remaining in the game.

It took nearly two minutes for the first score of the game, as Justin Hurtt knocked down a jumper. From there the Hurricane kept the lead until Maurice McNeil's layup tied the score at 14 with 12:13 in the first half.

The game would be tied four more times in the first half, then the Hurricane took the largest first-half lead at 41-31 on a dunk by Joe Richard at the 2:25 mark, but the Cougars scored the next eight points to cut the Tulsa lead to two points with a 41-39 halftime score.

Tulsa's senior tandem of Uzoh and Jordan combined for 18 points, while the Hurricane held the nation's leading scorer Aubrey Coleman to just six first-half points. Tulsa had an 18-13 rebounding edge at the intermission while shooting 65-percent, but was forced into 10 turnovers by the Cougars.

Tulsa will be back on the road Wednesday night against the SMU Mustangs in Dallas, Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm. The game can be seen live in Oklahoma on Cox Cable-Channel 117 in Tulsa and Channel 7 in Oklahoma City.

Tulsa and Houston don't like each other much. That feeling really carries over into sports and today, in Houston, Tulsa would like to strike a blow! It's the Hurriciane and the Cougars in a big Conference USA basketball game and this arena has been a death trap for Tulsa. In Doug Wojcik's first year, Houston led 23-1 early. Two years ago, the Cougars pulled away late. The last time TU has won in this oil town was wait for it......February 9th, 1963.

Some facts about both teams.

Tulsa defense allows only 62.5 points/game and 37.9% shooting this season.

The Cougs allow 78.1 points/game and 47.4% shooting.

Houston is 0-6 after having lost 2 of their last 3 games over the last 2 seasons.

The Cougars are 0-8 versus very good defensive teams, shooting pct defense of under 39% over the last 2 seasons.

During the Friday night shoot around, I made a video of the team and some of the surroundings here in the arena. See it below and remember the pre-game is at 5:30 with the tip off at 6:00 on KRMG.

 

 

 

TU got over a big hump by thrashing Tulane 73-59 Wednesday night at the Reynolds Center. Ben Uzoh had his normal, amazing game with 20 points and six assists. Justin Hurtt added 14 while Jerome Jordan brought down nine rebounds.

The win is the first for the Golden Hurricane over Tulane in the last four games and makes the Hurricane 11-3 overall and 1-0 in C-USA play.

Listen here as coach Doug Wojcik

 talks about the game from the locker room after the win.

Next up for TU, a trip to Houston for a 6:00 tip off with a 5:30 pre game on KRMG.

Conference USA basketball starts this week for Tulsa. After a drubbing of Colorado, the always pesky Tulane Green Wave visit the Reynolds Center on Wednesday followed by a trip to Houston on Sunday. On Monday, TU head coach Doug Wojcik took time to look back a little a forward a lot.

Listen to the audio of coach Wojcik here and remember to tune in Golden Hurricane basketball all year on KRMG.

Tulsa shook off the poor play in the Las Vegas tournament and hammered Colorado 84-59 Saturday afternoon at the Reynolds Center. Justin Hurtt tied a career high with 21 points and Steven Idlet added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Listen as TU head coach Doug Wojcik talks about the game from the locker room.

Nevada handed Tulsa a 99-68 loss in the consolation game of the 2009 HoopTV Las Vegas Classic at the Orleans Arena on Wednesday night.

Tulsa was led by Jerome Jordan's 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Ben Uzoh chipped in 14 points and Bryson Pope had 10 points. Nevada was led by Luke Babbitt's 24-point, 11-rebound performance.

The 31-point deficit was Tulsa's worst loss since a 35-point setback at UTEP in January 2005, and the 99 points was the most allowed in the Doug Wojcik era for the Hurricane.

Tulsa fell to 9-3 on the season, while the Wolf Pack improved to 7-5

Nevada built an 18-point halftime lead, and increased that to 27 points in the first four minutes of the second half as the Wolf Pack had 11-2 run to start the half. Nevada pushed its lead to 39 points, 95-56, with 4:19 left in the game.

Hear TU head coach Doug Wojcik talk about the game from the Hurricane locker room.

In the first half, Tulsa cut a 16-point Nevada lead to 10 points with 1:44 left on the game clock. However, the Wolf Pack closed out the half with an 8-0 run on two three-pointers and a tip-in at the buzzer. Brandon Fields led the way for Nevada in the first half with 13 points.

Tulsa will be in action next on Saturday, January 2nd, against the Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12. Game time is 2:05 pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Obviously it didn't go the way Tulsa would have liked in college basketball on Tuesday. The Hurricane lost to Nebraska 74-70 in a game that was close all the way.

 

Want to know what went wrong? Listen to Doug Wojcik from the locker room after the loss.

Tulsa will take on dangerous Nevada today at 7:00 pm on KRMG.

This is the 13th meeting between Tulsa and Nevada . . . Tulsa leads the series 7-5, but Nevada has won the last two contests, including the last meeting in Tulsa, 89-67, on March 2, 2004 . . . before those two Nevada wins, the Hurricane had won seven consecutive games . . . the last Tulsa win came in the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference on March 15, 2003 as Tulsa captured a 75-64 win at home to claim the WAC title . . . Nevada won the first meeting in the series in March 1921.

TULSA OFF TO 9-2 START, 9-0 HOME RECORD INCLUDES WIN OVER 26th-RANKED OKLAHOMA STATE . . .

√ Tulsa is off to a 9-2 start and has won the nine games all at home this year . . . Tulsa's only losses have come at Missouri State and against Nebraska in a neutral site game . . . among the wins, Tulsa claimed a 21-point home victory, 86-65, against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Dec. 2 . . . the Cowboys came into the game ranked 26th nationally in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls.

It's not every day you get to Vegas. As a matter of fact, I only get here to broadcast games and the last time was 1999. So I thought I would stick my flip video camera out the window of the car and see what had changed. Wow, is this town different.Check below for a video of a drive down Las Vegas blvd.

Ben Uzoh scored a game-high 23 points but it was not enough as Tulsa's comeback fell short as Nebraska held on for a 74-70 victory at the Orleans Arena. Nebraska was led by Eshaunte Jones' 12 points, including three huge three-pointers in the second half.
 
Listen to Doug Wojcik's comments from the locker room after the TU loss.

Tulsa fell to 9-2 on the season, while Nebraska improved to 8-2.
 
After a 31-31 halftime tie, the Cornhuskers went on an 13-4 run in the first four minutes of the second half to take a 44-35 lead with 16:26 in the second half. Nebraska increased its lead to double digits and had its biggest lead of 13 points, 50-37, at the 14:36 mark.
 
The Hurricane cut it to three points, 57-54, on a Justin Hurtt three-pointer with 6:07 left in the game, and an Uzoh three-pointer cut it to two points at 61-59 with 4:27 on the clock. The Huskers increased its lead to four points on a Lance Jeter jumper, while Jones made it a seven-point lead at 66-59 with 3:00 left.
 
NU's Brandon Richardson connected on six-of-six free throws in the final 0:15 to maintain the lead. With 0:02 left on the clock Donte Medder's three-pointer cut the Nebraska lead to two points, 72-70, but Richardson connected on his final two free throws to give the Huskers the final margin of victory.
 
Justin Hurtt added 14 points, Medder 11 and Jerome Jordan 10 points for the Hurricane.
 
Tulsa will play Nevada tomorrow in the consolation game at 7:00 pm (CT). Nevada dropped a 110-104 decision against BYU in the first game of the day.
 
The Tulsa-Nevada game can be seen locally in Tulsa on Cox Digital Cable Channel 117. The game can also be seen on the internet at HoopTV.net.
 

Jerome Jordan had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Ben Uzoh scored 17 as Tulsa's two senior stars paced an 86-49 thumping of Chicago State on Saturday night.

Freshman Bryson Pope scored a career-high 14 points and Justin Hurtt added 11 for the Hurricane (9-1). Damian Windham and Antonio Lofton led the Cougars(3-7) with 12 points each.

Listen here to TU hrad cosch Doug Wojcik from the TU locker room after the win.

All five Tulsa starters scored in the first 2:45 as the Hurricane jumped to a 12-2 lead. Tulsa led 42-23 at halftime.

Jordan, a 7-foot center, dominated inside in the second half. He scored Tulsa's first seven points, and his rebound slam with 6:00 left made it 71-43.

Chicago State shot just 31.8 percent (21 of 66) and made 1 of 17 3-pointers. The Cougars had 11 shots blocked, four by Joe Richard and three by Jordan.

Tulsa shot 53.7 percent (29 of 54) and had a 45-36 rebounding advantage.

Tulsa hit a three to start the game and was never close after that, TU hammered Jackson State 92-39 in the first game off an eleven day break. Bem Uzoh scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds and eight assists in just 27 minutes of action. Justin Hurtt had 14 and Steven Idlet added eleven points and eight rebounds as well.

Tulsa held the Tigers to just 24% from the field and outrebounded Jackson State 52-26. This was game one in the Las Vegas Hardwood series tournament. Tulsa will play Chicago State at the Reynolds Center Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in the second round before moving on to Las Vegas for the final two games in the tournament.

Listen here as TU head coach Doug Wojcik talks about the game from the locker room.

Longtime Missouri Valley Conference rivals, Tulsa and Wichita State, will renew the longest series in Golden Hurricane basketball history when the two teams tip-off a four-game series in the 2010-11 season.
 
The four-year series will begin next season as Tulsa will travel to Wichita to play the Shockers on Dec. 21, 2010. Wichita State will be in Tulsa at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons, while the Hurricane will travel to Wichita in 2012-13.
 
"This is a great series for the fans of both Tulsa and Wichita, and for our basketball programs. The previous history between the two schools and the proximity makes it an intriguing series for both universities," said Tulsa Head Coach Doug Wojcik.
 
Tulsa and Wichita State have met on the hardwood 119 times before as the Hurricane leads the series 60-59. Tulsa, now a member of Conference USA, became a member of the MVC in 1934-35 until leaving the league following the 1995-96 season, while Wichita State is still a Valley member since joining the conference in 1945-46.
 
Tulsa has won 13 of the last 15 meetings. The last contest came in the 2004-05 season with Wichita State winning 71-66.
 

The Tulsa men's basketball team returns to the court on Thursday night following a 10-day layoff to face the Jackson State Tigers. The game tips off on Thursday night at 7:05 pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

It's the first of two preliminary round games of the 2009 Hoop TV Las Vegas Classic for the Hurricane. Tulsa also faces Chicago State on Saturday night before heading off to Las Vegas to play Nebraska on Tuesday, Dec. 21st at 4:30 pm (CT).

Tulsa has posted a 7-1 record and will be looking for its 15th straight home victory dating back to last season. The Hurricane has four double-figure scorers including co-leaders Ben Uzoh and Justin Hurtt, tallying 15.5 points per game. In Tulsa's last two games, Hurtt averaged 21.0 points in victories over Oklahoma State and Ohio, while Uzoh enters the game in sixth-place on the school's career scoring chart.

Jackson State (0-7) is looking for its first win of the season after having lost its top player, Grant Maxey, earlier this season. The Tigers are led by 6'5" guard Garrison Johnson, scoring at a 16.8 clip, and 6'7" forward Tyrone Hanson, averaging 11.0 points per game.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at www.TulsaHurricane.com, by calling the TU athletic ticket office at 918-631-3200, or stopping by the ticket office at the Reynolds Center. Ticket prices start at only $10.

Oklahoma State freshman guard Ray Penn has been nominated for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award, given annually to the nation's top point guard. He is one of just five nominations from the Big 12 Conference.

The Tulsa men's basketball team returns to the court on Thursday night following a 10-day layoff to face the Jackson State Tigers. The game tips off on Thursday night at 7:05 pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
 
It's the first of two preliminary round games of the 2009 Hoop TV Las Vegas Classic for the Hurricane. Tulsa also faces Chicago State on Saturday night before heading off to Las Vegas to play Nebraska on Tuesday, Dec. 21st at 4:30 pm (CT).
 
Tulsa has posted a 7-1 record and will be looking for its 15th straight home victory dating back to last season. The Hurricane has four double-figure scorers including co-leaders Ben Uzoh and Justin Hurtt, tallying 15.5 points pr game. In Tulsa's last two games, Hurtt averaged 21.0 points in victories over Oklahoma State and Ohio, while Uzoh enters the game in sixth-place on the school's career scoring chart.
 
Jackson State (0-7) is looking for its first win of the season after having lost its top player, Grant Maxey, earlier this season. The Tigers are led by 6'5" guard Garrison Johnson, scoring at a 16.8 clip, and 6'7" forward Tyrone Hanson, averaging 11.0 points per game.
 
Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at www.TulsaHurricane.com <http://www.TulsaHurricane.com> , by calling the TU athletic ticket office at 918-631-3200, or stopping by the ticket office at the Reynolds Center. Ticket prices start at only $10.
 
 

University of Tulsa junior Justin Hurtt (Raytown, Mo.) was named the Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Week, as announced today by the league office.
 
In wins over #26-ranked Oklahoma State and Ohio University, junior Justin Hurtt scored a team-high 21 points in each game. He averaged 21.0 points, 2.0 assists and shot 57-percent from the field, 54-percent from three-point range and 86-percent from the free throw line, while hitting the game-winning free throws against Ohio.
 
Hurtt, a 6'4" guard, shot 64-percent from the field (7-11) and 60-percent from three-point range (3-5) in a 21-point victory (86-65) over Oklahoma State and added 2 rebounds in 34 minutes. Hurtt had 11 of his points in the first-half helping Tulsa build a 15-point halftime lead over OSU.
 
In an 81-80 victory over Ohio, Hurtt sealed the win with two free throws with 11 seconds remaining in the game to give Tulsa an 81-77 lead. He converted 8-of-15 field goals for 53-percent and hit 50-percent on his three-pointers (3-6), while adding 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 rebounds with 0 turnovers in 35 minutes
 
It's the first weekly honor for a Golden Hurricane player this year, and the first career award for Hurtt.

Tulsa has posted a 7-1 record and will be in action again on December 17th against Jackson State. The game is slated for 7:05 pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

It wasn't easy. Ohio rained threes in the second half and made it tight but the Hurricane held on for an 81-80 win to move to 7-1 on the year with a break of 11 days coming up for finals.

Justin Hurtt and Steven Idlett saved Tulsa's bacon on an afternoon where Jerome Jordan didn't get off a shot until the second half. Hurtt scored a team high 21, ben Uzoh added 20 and Idlett put in 18 to go with 16 rebounds.

TU survived 18 turnovers but blocked 10 shots to help out their own cause. The Hurricane shot 51% from the field and held the Bobcats to just 36%.

Hear head coach Doug Wojcik from the locker room after the win.

Tulsa came out smoking hot and playing intense defense. The Hurricane led Oklahoma State by 15 at the half and extended that to as many as 21 in the second before finishing out an 86-65 win.

The Tulsa defense held the Pokes to 40% shooting and James Anderson was held to 10 points on 3 of 15 shooting. Tulsa dominated on the boards as well, outrebounding OSU 41-24 on the boards.

Listen here as Doug Wojcik recaps the game from the Tulsa locker room.

OSU and TU looks like a heck of a basketball game. Sometimes numbers can tell a story and sometimes they are misleading. We'll let you make up your mind about that, just look below. The NCAA compiles every stat possible, we've added them for both teams so compute away!

 

TULSA

Scoring Offense (334 ranked)	102	75.0	VMI	93.2
Scoring Defense (334 ranked)	34	58.5	Delaware St.	50.8
Scoring Margin (334 ranked)	39	16.5	Kansas	31.0
Field-Goal Percentage (334 ranked)	134	45.0	St. Bonaventure	55.1
Field-Goal Percentage Defense (334 ranked)	44	37.7	Texas	32.8
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (334 ranked)	286	4.7	VMI	13.4
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (334 ranked)			Iowa St.	49.6
Three Pt FG Defense (334 ranked)	216	35.6	VCU	17.1
Free-Throw Percentage (334 ranked)	78	72.5	Oklahoma	82.9
Rebound Margin (334 ranked)	3	13.2	Southern Miss.	14.0
Assists Per Game (334 ranked)	256	11.7	Syracuse	23.0
Assist Turnover Ratio (334 ranked)	231	0.82	Eastern Ky.	2.24
Blocked Shots Per Game (334 ranked)	12	7.0	Connecticut	9.4
Steals Per Game (334 ranked)	175	6.8	VMI	14.8
Turnovers Per Game (334 ranked)	147	14.2	Eastern Ky.	7.5
Turnover Margin (334 ranked)	245	-1.7	Houston	13.3
Personal Fouls Per Game (334 ranked)	22	15.5	Mississippi St.	12.3

 

OKLAHOMA STATE

Scoring Offense (334 ranked)	33	81.0	VMI	93.2
Scoring Defense (334 ranked)	55	60.5	Delaware St.	50.8
Scoring Margin (334 ranked)	14	20.5	Kansas	31.0
Field-Goal Percentage (334 ranked)	76	46.9	St. Bonaventure	55.1
Field-Goal Percentage Defense (334 ranked)	15	36.1	Texas	32.8
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (334 ranked)	136	6.5	VMI	13.4
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (334 ranked)	228	29.8	Iowa St.	49.6
Three Pt FG Defense (334 ranked)	88	30.1	VCU	17.1
Free-Throw Percentage (334 ranked)	116	70.6	Oklahoma	82.9
Rebound Margin (334 ranked)	60	6.5	Southern Miss.	14.0
Assists Per Game (334 ranked)	236	12.0	Syracuse	23.0
Assist Turnover Ratio (334 ranked)	99	1.06	Eastern Ky.	2.24
Blocked Shots Per Game (334 ranked)	231	2.7	Connecticut	9.4
Steals Per Game (334 ranked)	307	5.0	VMI	14.8
Turnovers Per Game (334 ranked)	25	11.3	Eastern Ky.	7.5
Turnover Margin (334 ranked)	78	2.7	Houston	13.3
Personal Fouls Per Game (334 ranked)	218	19.7	Mississippi St.	12.3

Oklahoma State is 6-0 this season and won the tournament title at the HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational last Saturday with a 77-55 win over Utah in the championship game. The Cowboys have won all six games by double digits and have a +20.5 scoring margin. As a team, OSU is averaging 81 points and 40.3 rebounds per game. The Pokes are also averaging just 11.33 turnovers per contest, nearly a full turnover lower than last year's school record of 12.31 turnovers per game. James Anderson leads the Cowboys with 22.8 points per game. Obi Muonelo and Keiton Page are both chipping in 11.8 points per contest, while Marshall Moses is averaging 10.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Newcomers Ray Penn and Matt Pilgrim are each averaging better than eight points per game.

All notes provided by Oklahoma State athletic media relations. Get more at okstate.com.

About Tulsa
Tulsa is 5-1 this season and coming off an 83-75 loss at Missouri State on Saturday, the Golden Hurricane's first road game of the season. TU is 5-0 at home and led by senior Jerome Jordan who is averaging 16 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. As a team, Tulsa is allowing just 58.5 points per game, having held three opponents under 50 points. The Hurricane is also outrebounding its opponent by an average of 13.2 boards per contest. Tulsa's starting lineup averages six feet, seven inches tall compared to OSU's smaller starting five of six feet, 2-1/2 inches.

Quick Notes
Oklahoma State will play its second former rival from the Missouri Valley Conference after defeating Bradley last Friday ... OSU and TU were both members of the MVC from 1935-43 and 1946-57 ... Cowboy senior Nick Sidorakis and Tulsa freshman Bryson Pope both played at Jenks High School, the only two players on either roster from the Tulsa metro ... Oklahoma State has not played at Tulsa since Nov. 22, 1996, when the TU defeated OSU 72-54 in the second round of the Preseason NIT ... head coach Travis Ford has the second-highest winning percentage by a coach in OSU history. Only Eddie Sutton (70.9 percent) had a higher winning percentage that Coach Ford has (70.7) ... Oklahoma State is 23-0 in the Ford era when shooting better than its opponent.

Up Next
Oklahoma State will host former Cowboy Brooks Thompson and his UTSA Roadrunners (5-1) on Sat., Dec. 5, at 3 p.m. The game will be televised by the Cowboy Sports Network. OSU will take a week off for finals before hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-4) on Sun., Dec. 13 at 3 p.m.

Game Info at Tulsa
Date -- Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009
Tipoff -- 7:05 p.m.
Location -- Tulsa, Okla.
Venue -- Reynolds Center (8,355)
Series History with Tulsa -- OSU leads 69-36
Last Meeting -- Nov. 20, 2008 (OSU won 91-73)
Last Meeting in Tulsa -- Nov. 22, 1996 (TU won 72-54 in the Preseason NIT)

Radio -- Cowboy Radio Network
Play-by-Play • Dave Hunziker
Analyst • John Holcomb
Flagship Station • KSPI (93.7 FM)

 

 

The Tulsa-Oklahoma State basketball game slated for Wednesday, Dec. 2, has also been designated as the Fourth Annual Hurricane Hoops for Hunger game. The contest tips off at 7:05 pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
 
Fans coming to the game are asked to bring canned or non-perishable food items to the games to help benefit the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. Fans can also make a cash donation to the food bank at the game.
 
The game is sold-out. A limited number of standing room only tickets will go on sale at the Donald W. Reynolds Center Ticket Office on Wednesday night at 5:30 pm. Standing room only tickets are $10 and can be purchased in person at the ticket office only.

Tulsa comes into the game with a 5-1 record, while Oklahoma State has posted a 6-0 record and is coming off the tournament championship at the HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational. OSU will be making its first-ever appearance at the Donald W. Reynolds Center and its first appearance in Tulsa against the Golden Hurricane since November 1996, when Tulsa claimed a 72-54 victory in the preseason NIT.

TU/OSU is sold out for Wednesday night. It should be great college basketball and you might want to know more about it. So just click on the link below and listen as TU head coach Doug Wojcik talks about OSU, the loss to Mizzou St and the canned food drive that will come along on Wednesday.

 

Click here to hear coach Wojciks news conference.

Tulsa's comeback bid against Missouri State fell short as the Bears posted an 83-75 victory in front of 7,389 fans at JQH Arena on Saturday night. The loss dropped the Hurricane to 5-1, while MSU improved to 5-0.

It was the first time the Bears won on their home court against the Hurricane in the last six games in Springfield, and broke a five-game Tulsa winning streak in the series.

Hear TU head coach Doug Wojcik from the locker room after the game.

Tulsa's Jerome Jordan finished the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Ben Uzoh totaled 20 points for the Hurricane. MSU's Adam Leonard scored a game-high 24 points, while center Caleb Patterson added 17 points.

The Bears jumped on the Hurricane early and continued it's strong shooting throughout the game and finished at 52-percent from the field and 56-percent from three-point range. After Tulsa scored the first two points of the game, MSU built its first double-digit lead, 14-4, at the 16:05 mark, while the Hurricane took only its second lead of the entire game at 23-21 on a Donte Medder three-pointer at the 8:54 mark.

MSU closed out the half with a 19-9 run to take a 42-30 lead into halftime. For the Hurricane, Medder and Justin Hurtt shared the first-half scoring lead for Tulsa with 8 points. Caleb Patterson led the first-half attack for the Bears with 10 points as the Bears shot 54-percent from the field.

In the second half, the Bears started out strong again, but the Hurricane battled back as the seniors Uzoh and Jordan combined for 35 of Tulsa's 45 second-half points. Tulsa cut the Bears lead which reached 21 points to three points with 2:17 left in the contest. But, MSU connected on 11-of-14 free throws in the final 1:44 to hold onto the victory. Leonard hit 7-of-8 free throws and Will Creekmore, a Tulsa native, hit 4-of-6 freebies.

Tulsa returns home to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a Wednesday night contest at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:05 pm. The game has been billed "Hurricane Hoops for Hunger", in which fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items to the game to help benefit the Community Food bank of Eastern Oklahoma.

ESPN Regional Television, Inc., a subsidiary of ESPN, announced here Friday the field for the fourth annual 76 Classic, to be held on Thanksgiving weekend in 2010 at the Anaheim Convention Center adjacent to Disneyland. Tulsa is one of eight teams included in the eight-team field.

The field includes Tulsa, DePaul, Cal State Northridge, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Stanford, UNLV and Virginia Tech.

The three-game tournament will be played at the Anaheim Convention Center, Nov. 25-28. Games will be played on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Tournament games are televised on the ESPN networks.

The eight schools in the 2010 76 Classic field have compiled a 28-9 mark to start the 2009-10 season, with Oklahoma State, Tulsa and UNLV receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll.

The 2010 76 Classic field combined for a 161-112 record during the 2008-09 season. The field will feature 2009 NCAA Tournament participants Cal State Northridge and Oklahoma State and 2009 NIT Champion Penn State. Joining Penn State in the 2009 NIT field were Tulsa, UNLV and Virginia Tech, with Stanford competing in the Collegiate Basketball Invitational. Five of the eight schools also won more than 20 games each, with Penn State's 27 wins topping the list.

"Once again, an outstanding field will represent conferences from around the country for the 76 Classic," said Clint Overby, senior director of events, ESPN Regional Television. "The 76 Classic showcases quality competition while it also provides an outstanding off-court experience for the student-athletes, coaches and staffs. Fans will have an opportunity to spend the weekend watching college basketball and enjoying all that Anaheim and Southern California have to offer."

The Big West Conference again will serve as the host conference for the 76 Classic at the 7,500-seat Anaheim Convention Center, which has served the conference for the past 10 years as the site of its postseason tournament.

Tulsa is in rare territory. The Hurricane hasn't started 5-0 since their Elite Eight year of 1999-2000. Add 2009-'10 to that list after Tuesdays 79-65 win over the Lions of Loyola-Marymount. Ben Uzoh led Tulsa with a superb overall game that included 22 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists.

Listen here as head coach Doug Wojcik talks about the win from a happy locker room!

Jerome Jordan had 11 points but more importantly blocked six shots to make him the all time shot blocker for TU with 276.

The Hurricane held Loyola to 39% shooting and allowed Lions star Drew Viney only 12 shots from the field.

Tulsa will hit the road for a BIG game on Saturday at Missouri State before coming home to host Oklahoma State next Wednesday night.

Jerome Jordan scored 23 points, Justin Hurtt added a career-high 21 and Steven Idlet had his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds as Tulsa overpowered South Alabama 84-62 Saturday.

Tulsa (4-0) took command late in the first half, breaking a 23-23 tie with a 12-0 run. The Hurricane made 15 of 16 free throws in the final 5:26 of the first half as the smaller Jaguars (3-2) committed 16 first-half fouls.

Tulsa led 42-29 at the break. Twenty of its first-half points came from the free-throw line.

Hurtt hit a trio of 3-pointers and was fouled on a third. He made 2 of 3 free throws to help TU maintain a double-digit lead throughout the second half.

Tim Williams led South Alabama with 17 points and Gary Redus added 11. Tulsa outrebounded the Jags 53-29 as Jordan and Bryson Pope each added nine and limited South Alabama's shooting to 37 percent.

 

FOOTBALL

Southern Miss kept its hopes alive of winning a Conference USA West Division title with a 44-34 victory over Tulsa on Saturday night in front of 28,757 fans at Roberts Stadium. USM improved to 7-4 and 5-2 in league action, while the Hurricane dropped to 4-7 overall, 2-5 in C-USA play and lost any opportunity of making a fifth straight bowl game appearance

Before the end of the game, there was a 50-minute weather delay that began at 9:31 pm (CT) and with 13:50 remaining on the game clock. The game re-started at 10:21 pm.

Following the 50-minute layoff, Tulsa marched to the USM one-yard line, but a G.J. Kinne pass was intercepted after he was chased nearly 15 yards in the backfield. Tulsa forced USM to punt and then took the ball again down the field to the USM 15-yard line, but failed on a fourth down-and-10 pass.

After holding the Eagles again, Tulsa went 75 yards in four plays and 0:56 as Kinne threw the final six yards to Charles Clay for the touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed, making the score 44-34. It was Clay's fourth touchdown of the game, two receiving and two rushing.

For the game, Damaris Johnson had another 200+ all-purpose yard game and his sixth 100+ receiving game of the season with 196 yards on 17 receptions. Clay had 142 receiving yards and two TDs, and 20 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Tulsa had 589 yards of total offense, while USM had 439 yards.

The Golden Eagles were led by quarterback Martevious Young, who completed 12 passes for 276 yards and four TDs, while Damion Fletcher rushed for 88 yards on 22 carries, and DeAndre Brown caught three passes for 135 yards and two TDs.

USM outscored Tulsa in the second half, 10-6, while putting up 217 yards after halftime. Tulsa gained 275 second-half yards.

 

The Tulsa football team will look to snap a five-game losing streak against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Saturday night at Roberts Stadium at 6:30 pm (CT).

Tulsa has a 4-6 overall mark and a 2-4 league record, while Southern Miss is 6-4, 4-2 and needs a win to keep its hopes alive of winning the Conference USA East Division title. USM trails the East-leading East Carolina Pirates, but the two teams face next week in Greenville, NC.

The Hurricane leads the series 3-2-1, and captured a 34-17 victory in the last visit to Hattiesburg in 2005.

Tulsa will face another potent offense as the Golden Eagles ranks second behind Houston for points scored at 33.2 points and also rushes for a league second-best 191 yards per game. USM is led by one of the top running backs in Conference USA history, Damien Fletcher, who averages 87.7 yards rushing this year. Golden Eagles sophomore quarterback Austin Davis has a 150.6 passing efficiency while throwing for 1,165 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The nation's leading all-purpose runner, sophomore Damaris Johnson, will look to give Tulsa a spark against the Golden Eagles. The 5'8" receiver and return specialist has a team-leading 846 receiving yards, 950 kickoff return yards and 256 punt return yards.

The game will be televised on CBS College Sport network. Tulsa fans are invited to attend the official watch party at the Fair Meadows Sports Grill.

Tulsa basketball

The Tulsa men's basketball team hosts South Alabama at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in a Saturday afternoon matinee. Tulsa puts its' 3-0 record on the line against the 3-1 Jaguars in a 3 pm game.

USA is coming off of a Thursday night 82-53 win against Spring Hill College, while the Hurricane has captured double-digit wins over St. Mary's, FIU and UALR.

It's the first meeting between the two teams since Tulsa captured a two-point lead against South Alabama in the 1981 NIT quarterfinals, en route to winning the school's first of two NIT championships.

Tulsa seniors Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan lead the Hurricane attack, as Uzoh averages 15.0 points and Jordan 13.3 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Jordan is nearing some milestones -- 700 rebounds and 266 blocks, which would tie the school's all-time record. Jordan needs seven rebounds to reach 700 and seven blocks to tie Michael Ruffin for the blocks record.

The Jaguars are led by 6'5" freshman forward Brock Martino and junior guard Tim Williams, as the duo are each averaging 13.5 points.

Tickets still remain and can be purchased for as low as $10. The game can be heard on Newstalk AM 740 KRMG Radio.

 

Jerome Jordan scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds as Tulsa ran away from Arkansas Little Rovk 59-45. Freshman Dante Medder added 10 while Ben Uzoh and Joe Richard had 9 each.

The Hurricane held the Trojans to 34% shooting with tough defense in moving to 3-0 for the first time in Doug Wojcik's career at Tulsa.

 

Listen here as head coach Doug Wojcik talks about the game from the locker room.

TU will be off until Saturday when they host South Alabama.

Tulsa got 20 points from Ben Uzoh and 16 from Justin Hurtt as the Hurricane hammered Florida International 81-49. GU outrebounded Isiah Thomas' team 54-31 and held the Golden Panthers to 23% shooting from the field.

Bryson Pope had 8 points and 7 rebounds while Jerome Jordan added 12 points and 7 boards.

TU moves to 2-0 on the year with Arkansas-Little Rovk coming to town for a rare Tuesday afternoon game at 1:00 at the Reynolds Center.

 

Listen here as TU head coach Doug Wojcik talks about the win from the locker room.

We all know this could be a banner year for Tulsa basketball. The Hurricane have been picked to win Conference USA and have the tournament in town at the BOK Center. But its not just the folks around here who are taking notice. Read the article below from NCAA.com to see what some others are saying about the TU program.

 

By Anthony Oliva III
NCAA.com

Overshadowed by Memphis' deep NCAA Tournament runs, gaudy winning streaks and NBA lottery picks sits another Conference USA team that quietly has won 70 games the past three seasons, including 25 in each of the last two.

That's the way things have gone for Tulsa lately - excellence in near silence. But this year, with Tulsa returning almost all of its key contributors, and Memphis perceived to take a hit with the loss of four key starters and its figurehead coach, the 2009-10 season could be the perfect storm for the Golden Hurricane

Tulsa is believed by many to be the favorite to win the C-USA this year, something Memphis has done handily the last four years, winning 61 consecutive conference games and taking all four C-USA Tournaments. During that stretch, only one other C-USA team, UAB in 2005-06, made the NCAA Tournament - something Tulsa has it sights set firmly on this season.

The Golden Hurricane return five of their top six scorers and have two seniors on the preseason all-conference team, in center Jerome Jordan, the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, and guard Ben Uzoh. Throw in the fact that the C-USA Tournament will be played in Tulsa this year - as opposed to Memphis the last two seasons - and you can tell why expectations are high.

"I don't know if we have gotten any more [hype] than what we deserve or don't deserve," Tulsa Head Coach Doug Wojcik said. "I think we're on the radar which I think we do deserve. The expectations are the way the program has been built and to some degree it comes with the territory."

When you look at years past, it's hard to understand how Tulsa hasn't received this level of recognition. In conference play last year, the Golden Hurricane went 12-4. Three of those games were lost by a combined four points, including a one-point heartbreaker to Memphis when Antonio Anderson, now graduated, scored at the buzzer for the Tigers.

"It's hard to be perfect," Wojcik said.

The only other loss came at the hands of - you guessed it - Memphis. Tulsa, and the rest of the C-USA for that matter, hopes that this year will be a different scenario.  

"I think every team in the league is pumped up for Memphis," said Uzoh, who with the rest of this senior class has yet to beat Memphis. "They haven't been beaten. They set the bar of where everyone else wants to get. It's definitely a game that you look forward to."

Tulsa has added motivation - as if it needed any more - when it faces Memphis, since it lost to the Tigers in the last two C-USA Tournament finals. In retrospect, the Golden Hurricane needed to win those games, which were played in Memphis, to make the NCAA Tournament. This year's conference tournament is being played in Tulsa and the Golden Hurricane are aiming for a different result if they can make it that far.

"Hopefully we'll get a few more fans this year," Jordan joked.

The losses in the C-USA finals kept the Golden Hurricane from an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. It got them a bid to the CBI Tournament in 2007-08, which they won, and a bid to the NIT last year. But improving and finally reaching the NCAA tournament this year would be what coach Wojcik called the "natural progression of the program."

If there was ever a year for Tulsa to make the leap, it's this year. Everything appears to be falling into place and the team knows that.

"This year the newcomers and returning guys all came in with a different mindset that this year we're really going to try to do something special," Jordan said. "It has really paid off. We're moving in the right directions right now."

Still, Memphis looms over C-USA like the 7-foot Jordan does over opponents. And, if Tulsa expects to dethrone Memphis, Jordan is going to be a vital asset. Jordan averaged 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds last year. He was first in the conference in blocked shots and shooting percentage, and second in the league in rebounding.

"He's been working hard he's been getting better each and every year," Uzoh said. "It's been like day and night with him. He's just becoming a student of the game. He's picking things up quick. His IQ is really, really strong and he encourages everyone and makes everyone better."

Jordan mentioned that he is working on a more well-rounded offensive game. He is trying to extend his range and improve his moves when facing the basket. He wants to do this to avoid constant double teams in the post. But, if he does get double teamed, he does have another weapon on the wing and that's Uzoh.

For his career, Uzoh has averaged 13.2 points and over five rebounds a game. He was selected to the C-USA second team last year, but his greatest contributions may come as the floor general.

"He's developed so much since he got here his freshman this year just in terms of his leadership skills," Jordan said of Uzoh. "He's always been able to score and do all the little things for us to help us win games, but he's really turned into a point guard for us. He's vocal on the court and he helps all the players around him get better."

Tulsa also returns senior guard Justin Hurtt who averaged 9.6 points a game and shot 39 percent from 3-point range last year. Throw in senior Bishop Wheatley, junior Glenn Andrews and sophomore Steven Idlet and Tulsa has an experienced nucleus to go along with freshman guard Donte Medder and guard-forward Bryson Pope. Wojcik says both freshmen should make an "immediate impact."

And as things fall into place more and more, those goals of winning the C-USA and making the NCAA tournament seem to be in reach. As a result, Tulsa's getting noticed.

"None of us have been there yet so we don't deserve anything more than we've gotten, but there is a better awareness of us than there has been in the past," Wojcik said. "But just like any conference, unfortunately in today's world, that's non BCS, we need to look at ourselves and see if we're getting a second team in the tournament."

If everything goes the Golden Hurricanes' way this year, they won't have to worry about being the second team - and they'll have stepped way, way out of the shadows.

Tulsa jumped out to an 18-2 lead, then allowed St Mary's to roar back to tie the game at 30 each. That was the end of the good news for the Rattlers as Tulsa pulled away to 72-47 win to open the 2008-'09 season.

Listen as Doug Wojcik talks about the game from the Hurricane locker room.

Ben Ozoh and Justin Hurtt had 16 each while Steven Idlet put down a career high 15 in the win. Jerome Jordan scored only nine but it was his presence that allowed Idlet to score some clean up points.

TU outrebounded the Rattlers 36-27 and forced 18 turnovers.

The Hurricane will only have a day to rest before hosting Isiah Thomas' Florida International.

A much anticipated basketball season gets underway tonight at the Donald W. Reynolds Center as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane men host St. Mary's at 7 pm. It's the first of three games in a five-day span for Tulsa.
 
Tulsa also plays Florida International, coached by one of the NBA's top 50 players of all-time, Isiah Thomas, on Sunday Nov. 15, at 2 pm, and then hosts UALR in a 1 pm Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 17) contest as part of ESPN's 24-hours of basketball.
 
The Hurricane has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the Conference USA Championship by numerous preseason publications, and was the choice of the league's media earlier this week.
 
Tickets can be purchased online at www.tulsahurricane.com <http://www.tulsahurricane.com> , by calling 631-GoTU (4688) or in person at the Reynolds Center athletic ticket office
 
The Hurricane returns four starters including the likes of senior stars, center Jerome Jordan and guard Ben Uzoh. Jordan is the preseason pick to garner C-USA Player of the Year accolades as chosen by the league's coaches, while Uzoh comes into this season having started 105 of 106 games for the Hurricane and earned preseason first-team all-conference accolades by the league's coaches as well.

Tulsa's seven-footer from Kinston Jamaica, Jordan ranked first in C-USA for field goal percentage (.598) and blocked shots (2.52), and was second for rebounding with an 8.8 average last year. Jordan led the Hurricane in scoring (14.7), rebounds (8.8), blocks (2.52) and field goal percentage (.598). He scored 20 or more points in eight games this season, and had 22 double-figure scoring games, 13 double-digit rebounding games and 10 double-doubles in Tulsa's 31 contests.
 
Uzoh has earned a league award in each of his three seasons with the Hurricane. In 2006-07, he was named to the all-freshman team and last year garnered C-USA second-team accolades.
 
The 6'3" Uzoh averaged 14.4 points and led the Hurricane in assists with a 3.6 average and steals at 1.5 per game, while grabbing 4.8 rebounds last year. Uzoh became just the fourth player in school history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals for a career, a feat he accomplished this season.

Season tickets are still available by calling 918-631-GoTU (4688). Families can take advantage of the Family Fun Zone Season Ticket Plan, a ticket package that amounts to just $7 per family member for the entire 19-game home schedule.
 
A family of four pays just $28.00 per game. The cost for the entire family fun zone package is $540 and includes 2 adult and 2 youth tickets. Additional youth tickets are available for the season for $90 each.
 
The TU athletic ticket office hours are 8:30-5 pm, Monday-Friday.

A highly touted guard from Denison, Texas, is signing with the Oklahoma Sooners. OU head coach Jeff Capel says T.J. Taylor, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound guard, signed a letter of intent with the Sooners on Wednesday, the first day of an early signing period for college basketball.

Taylor averaged 27 points, 5 assists and 3 steals per game last year as a junior. Capel says he is a strong left-hander who can play both guard positions.

TULSA

Conference USA favorite Tulsa signed three basketball players on Wednesday, including a top Texas high school prospect. Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik signed guards Jordan Clarkson of San Antonio and Tim Peete of Memphis, Tenn., along with forward Blondy Baruti of Mesa, Ariz. Clarkson has led Wagner High School to a 67-12 record the past two seasons and the 6-foot-4 guard is rated by one recruiting service as the fourth-best prospect in Texas. He averaged 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game as a junior. The 6-foot-4 Peete has helped Memphis Central High School to 72 wins the past three seasons. He averaged 14.4 points per game last season. Baruti, a 6-foot-9 native of the Congo, was a high school teammate of current Tulsa guard Donte Medder. Baruit averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds per game in his first season of high school competition.

ORAL ROBERTS

Ghana native Chris Angsomwine has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Oral Roberts next season. Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton says the 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward will have two seasons of eligibility left. Angsomwine is playing this season for Kilgore (Texas) College after spending last season at Harcum (Pa.) College. Sutton says Angsomwine will fill a significant need for the Golden Eagles, who will lose current senior Kevin Ford at the end of this season. Sutton says he wanted to sign an athletic big man to replace Ford and that Angsomwine is a shot blocker who can rebound. Sutton says he hopes Angsomwine will use this season at Kilgore to further develop his offensive game.

OKLAHOMA WOMEN

The Oklahoma women's basketball team signed five players to national letters of intent on Wednesday, including a 6-foot-6 center and top guards from Nevada, Texas and Arkansas. Center Nicole Griffin from Milwaukee will become the tallest player ever to play for Oklahoma's women. She averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocked shots per game as a junior. Aaryn Ellenberg from Las Vegas is considered by recruiting experts to be one of the nation's top guards and averaged 18 points, four rebounds and three assists per game as a junior. Morgan Hook of Lowell, Ark., and Alexann Yancey of Dallas, who also signed Wednesday, are considered among the best guards in their home states. Another signee, Jacqueline Jeffcoat, a 6-foot-3 forward-center from Dallas, is the daughter of former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat. She and Yancey are teammates at Plano West High School.

OKLAHOMA ST WOMEN

The daughter of NFL Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett signed on Wednesday to play basketball at Oklahoma State. Jazmyn Dorsett of Frisco, Texas, was one of five players to sign with the Cowgirls on the first day of the NCAA's early signing period. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 9.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.0 steals last season as Frisco went 33-4. Her father starred for the Dallas Cowboys. Also on Wednesday, the daughter of former Cowboys defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat signed with Oklahoma.

 Jerome Jordan had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds in leading Tulsa to an 82-47 victory over Southern Nazarene in an exhibition contest at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Monday night.

Senior guard Ben Uzoh added 12 points and a team-high seven assists, while sophomore Steven Idlet had 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Junior Justin Hurtt added 11 points as 10 Golden Hurricane players got in the scoring column. No SNU player scored in double digits as Marchello Vealy led the way with nine points.

Tulsa shot 58-percent from the field, while limiting SNU to just 27-percent shooting for the night. Southern Nazarene scored the first basket of the game on a Xavier Alexander layup, but a Justin Hurtt three-point basket on Tulsa's next trip down the floor gave the Hurricane a lead it would never relinquish.

Tulsa went ahead by double digits on a Ben Uzoh layup to make it 15-5 at the 14:41 mark of the first half. SNU cut Tulsa's lead to single digits three times before the Hurricane would take a 20-10 lead with 10:19 to play in the fist half. The Hurricane built that first-half lead to 19 points and ended the half with a 42-25 lead.

After intermission, Tulsa kept its lead between 12 and 19 points for the first eight minutes until a steal by freshman Donte Medder and a jumper by Hurtt put the Hurricane over 20 points, 57-36, with 11:46 remaining in the game. SNU was unable to cut the Hurricane lead to under 20 points the rest of the way.

Jordan tallied 10 points and nine rebounds in the second half as the Hurricane added to its 17-point halftime lead, building its margin to 39 points with 2:26 to play in the game.

The 35-point victory was a tune-up to the regular season that starts on Friday night for the Hurricane against St. Mary's. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm at the Reynolds Center.

Tickets for the season opener can be purchased for as low as $10 by calling the TU athletic ticket office at 631-GoTU (4688) or online at www.TulsaHurricane.com.

A much anticipated basketball season gets underway this week for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's team. Tulsa hosts its' lone exhibition game on Monday night, Nov. 9 against Southern Nazarene at the Donald W. Reynolds Center with tip-off at 7 pm.
 
Tickets for Monday's exhibition game can be purchased on Monday at the TU athletic ticket office at 631-GoTU (4688).
 
The Hurricane returns four starters including the likes of senior stars, center Jerome Jordan and guard Ben Uzoh. Jordan is the preseason pick to garner C-USA Player of the Year accolades as chosen by the league's coaches, while Uzoh comes into this season having started 105 of 106 games for the Hurricane and earned preseason first-team all-conference accolades by the league's coaches as well. Tulsa also returns senior forward Bishop Wheatley and junior guard Justin Hurtt to the starting lineup. Sophomore Steven Idlet is expected to be the fifth starter for the Hurricane in Monday's exhibition contest.
 
Tulsa has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the Conference USA Championship by numerous preseason publications. Among those magazines picking the Golden Hurricane to unseat Memphis as conference champions are The Sporting News, USA Today Sports Weekly, Lindy's College Basketball, Athlon Sports, The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com, Blue Ribbon and Basketball Times.
 
The Hurricane open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 against St. Mary's (Texas). It's the first game of a three-game home-stand in five days that also has Tulsa playing Florida International, coached by NBA legend Isaiah Thomas, on Sunday Nov. 15, at 2 pm, and a 1 pm Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 17) contest against UALR as part of ESPN's 24-hours of basketball.

Tulsa's seven-footer from Kinston Jamaica, Jordan ranked first in C-USA for field goal percentage (.598) and blocked shots (2.52), and was second for rebounding with an 8.8 average last year. Jordan led the Hurricane in scoring (14.7), rebounds (8.8), blocks (2.52) and field goal percentage (.598). He scored 20 or more points in eight games this season, and had 22 double-figure scoring games, 13 double-digit rebounding games and 10 double-doubles in Tulsa's 31 contests.
 
Uzoh has earned a league award in each of his three seasons with the Hurricane. In 2006-07, he was named to the all-freshman team and last year garnered C-USA second-team accolades.
 
The 6'3" Uzoh averaged 14.4 points and led the Hurricane in assists with a 3.6 average and steals at 1.5 per game, while grabbing 4.8 rebounds last year. Uzoh became just the fourth player in school history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals for a career, a feat he accomplished this season.

Season tickets are still available by calling 918-631-GoTU (4688). Families can take advantage of the Family Fun Zone Season Ticket Plan, a ticket package that amounts to just $7 per family member for the entire 19-game home schedule.
 
A family of four pays just $28.00 per game. The cost for the entire family fun zone package is $540 and includes 2 adult and 2 youth tickets. Additional youth tickets are available for the season for $90 each.
 
The TU athletic ticket office hours are 8:30-5 pm, Monday-Friday.

The University of Tulsa men's basketball team is scheduled to play eight games on national television this season, it was announced today. The Hurricane will play four games on the ESPN Networks, including two on ESPN and two on ESPN2. Tulsa will also play four contests on the CBS College Sports Network.
 
Tulsa will help open ESPN's coverage of the college basketball season as a part of networks' 24-hours of college basketball, as the Hurricane will host the UALR Trojans in a 1:00 pm contest on Tuesday, November 17th on ESPN.
 
On back-to-back Saturdays in January the Hurricane will play on the CBS College Sports Network, as Tulsa travels to face the Houston Cougars on Jan. 9th at 6 pm (CT), and will host UCF a week later on Jan. 16th for a 7 pm game time.
 
Tulsa plays on national television on three consecutive Saturday's in the month of February. Tulsa and UTEP will square off in an ESPN2 contest in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 6th for a 9 pm (CT) game, while the Memphis Tigers visit Tulsa for another ESPN2 televised contest the next week on Feb. 16th for a 6 pm (CT) tip-off.

Four days later, Tulsa hosts UTEP in a 3 pm (CT) televised contest on the CBS College Sports Network.
 
ESPN will broadcast Tulsa's first-ever visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the Hurricane faces the Duke Blue Devils on Feb. 25th in a 6 pm (CT) game. The Hurricane will close out the regular season at Memphis on Saturday, March 6th, in Memphis' FedEx Forum for a 12 noon (CT) tip-off.
 
Tulsa's National TV Games
Date (Day)      Opponent   Network   Time   
Nov.    17 (Tues.)   UALR   ESPN   1 pm
Jan.   9 (Sat.)      @ Houston*   CBS C   6 pm
Jan.    16 (Sat.)   UCF*   CBC C   7 pm
Feb.    6 (Sat.)      @ UTEP*   ESPN2   9 pm
Feb.   13 (Sat.)   MEMPHIS*   ESPN2   6 pm
Feb.    20 (Sat.)   UTEP*   CBS C   3 pm
Feb.   25 (Sat.)   @ Duke   ESPN   6 pm
Mar.   6 (Sat.)      @ Memphis   CBS C   12 noon
 

 University of Tulsa senior center Jerome Jordan was named the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year, as it was announced by the C-USA office today. Jordan, along with fellow senior Ben Uzoh, was named to the league's preseason all-conference squad.

Joining the two Tulsa players on the preseason all-conference team are Houston's Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis and Arnett Moultrie of UTEP. Jordan, a 7'0" center from Kingston, Jamaica, averaged 13.8 points, and a team-leading 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks last year, while earning first-team all-conference honors and all-defensive team accolades as well. He was named the C-USA Player of the Week four times a year ago.

He averaged 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 16 C-USA regular season games, while shooting 59-percent from the field and 77-percent from the free throw line. Jordan scored over 20 points in eight games. He had 10 double-doubles last year and tallied 24 games with two or more blocks and 20 contests with three or more blocked shots. Jordan had 25 double-figure scoring games and 14 double-digit rebounding games. Jordan's 91 blocked shots gave him the No. 1 and 2 positions on the school's single-season blocked shots chart

In his career, Jordan has averages of 9.9 points (968), 6.8 rebounds (666) and 2.6 blocks (251). His 251 career blocks ranks second on the school's all-time blocked shots list, and he enters his senior season needing 15 more blocks to tie Michael Ruffin (1995-99) for the school record. Jordan ranks sixth on the Conference USA career blocked shots list, and needs 63 more blocks to tie the C-USA record. He has blocked two or more shots in 63 career games and three or more shots in 51 career games.

Uzoh, a 6'3" guard from San Antonio, Texas, has played in 106 career games with 105 starts for the Hurricane. He became just the fourth player in school history and the second fastest to reach plateaus of 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals in a career. Uzoh has career averages of 13.4 points (1,417), 5.1 rebounds (542) and 2.5 assists (262). He has led Tulsa in scoring in 35 career games, 40 times in steals, 41 times in assists and 18 times in rebounding. Uzoh ranks 10th on the school's career scoring chart and enters his senior season needing 17 more points to move into ninth place.
 
Last year, Uzoh led Tulsa in scoring with a 14.0 average and in assists and steals with averages of 3.6 and 1.5, while also averaging 4.9 rebounds. He was named to the C-USA second-team all-conference team for the past two seasons.
 
College basketball teams can begin practice on Friday. Tulsa opens the regular season with three straight home games in a five-day period, from Nov. 13-17. Tulsa opens the season against St. Mary's of Texas on Friday, Nov. 13, hosts Florida International on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 2 pm and plays UALR on ESPN at 1 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 17 as part of ESPN's first 24-hours of college basketball.
 
 
 

University of Tulsa Head Basketball Coach Doug Wojcik was selected to the Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball Silver Anniversary team, it was announced today. The team includes 16 former CAA Players of the Year, nine All-America selections and seven NBA draft picks.
As part of its 25th Anniversary celebration in 2009-10, the CAA is recognizing Silver Anniversary teams in 21 championship sports.  The teams are selected by a panel of current and former head coaches in the conference.
 
Wojcik teamed with fellow Silver Anniversary team selections David Robinson and Vernon Butler to lead Navy to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1986 with victories over Tulsa, Syracuse and Cleveland State.
 
Wojcik started every game at point guard for three seasons, helping Navy post a three-year record of 82-17. He helped lead Navy to three conference championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
The native of Wheeling, West Virginia, earned second-team All-CAA honors and received Navy's Calvert Award in 1986-87. He still holds the CAA records for assists in a season (251) and a career (714).
 
Wojcik enters his fifth season as the Tulsa head coach. He has compiled a four-year mark of 81-53, and has led the Golden Hurricane to three straight 20-win seasons, two back-to-back 25+ campaigns, appearances in the 2008 and 2009 Conference USA Championship Game, the inaugural postseason College Basketball Invitational title in 2008 and the school's ninth appearance in the NIT in 2009.

With his 81 victories, Wojcik ranks sixth on the school's career coaching wins list, passing the likes of former Tulsa coaches Tubby Smith and Bill Self.

The University of Tulsa men's basketball team will play a 31-game schedule in 2009-10, including 18 regular season home games at the Donald W. Reynolds Center, as it was announced today by Tulsa Head Basketball Coach Doug Wojcik.
 
The schedule features 10 games against post-season tournament teams from a year ago, and the possibility of an 11th. Tulsa will face NCAA Tournament teams Oklahoma State, Duke and Memphis, and could face BYU in a holiday tournament.
 
The Hurricane gets off to an early start to the season and will play six games in the month of November, including the first five games at the Reynolds Center.
 
Tulsa opens the regular season with three games in a five-day stretch in November, as the Hurricane begin the season on November 13th against St. Mary's (Texas) at 7 pm. Florida International, under first-year head coach and NBA legend Isiah Thomas, visits the Hurricane on Sunday, Nov. 15th, with a 2 pm start time. Tulsa will participate in ESPN's 24-hours of basketball on Tuesday, Nov. 17th, as Tulsa will host Arkansas-Little Rock in a 1 pm tip-off from the Reynolds Center.
 
Tulsa will host South Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 21st at 1 pm, and will close out its' five-game home-stand against Loyola-Marymount on Tuesday, Nov. 24th.
 
The first of three non-conference road games for the Hurricane takes place on Nov. 28th as Tulsa travels up the turnpike to face former Missouri Valley Conference rival Missouri State in a 7 pm tip-off in Springfield, Mo.
 
Tulsa begins the month of December with another long home-stand, playing four straight home games in a three-week span.  Tulsa begins the month with a contest against the Big 12's Oklahoma State Cowboys on Dec. 2nd. The Cowboys were a 2009 NCAA participant and posted a 23-12 record last season.
 
Games against Ohio University (Dec. 6), Jackson State (Dec. 17) and Chicago State (Dec. 19) round out the December home schedule for the Hurricane. Tulsa will play in the Las Vegas Classic before the Christmas Holiday, as Tulsa, Nebraska, BYU and Nevada will compete at the New Orleans Coliseum in Las Vegas. Nebraska, as well as Tulsa played in the NIT, Nevada in the CBI and BYU in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Tulsa plays Nebraska in the first round, while Nevada and BYU play in the other first round game on Dec. 22nd.  The consolation game and championship contest will take place a day later on Dec. 23rd.
 
The Hurricane has a 2-0 series advantage against Nebraska and a 7-5 edge against Nevada, while BYU leads the series 8-3.
 
 
"We have a great non-conference schedule in the fact that we have two Big 12 teams coming to the Reynolds Center with Oklahoma State and Colorado. On top of that, it's great to have an early game against Isaiah Thomas, an NBA Hall of Famer, and his Florida International team. Then to be picked for the 24 hours of basketball on ESPN and get a home game against Arkansas-Little Rock on national television, two days after our football team is on national television with East Carolina is really exciting," said Wojcik.
 
"The tournament on a neutral floor with Nebraska, Nevada and BYU in Las Vegas, are great opportunities for us, especially opening up with Nebraska." said Wojcik.
 
Tulsa will face its' third Big 12 opponent as the Colorado Buffaloes visit the Reynolds Center to kickoff the new year on Jan. 2. The two teams met in Boulder, Colorado, two years ago, as Tulsa grabbed a 13-point victory, 81-68.
 
Tulsa opens the Conference USA season at home on Jan. 6th against the Tulane Green Wave. The series is tied 4-4, as the last four games have been decided by one, two, two and one point.
 
Wojcik likes how the Golden Hurricane conference schedule sets up this season.
 
"Our conference schedule sets up pretty well. It's the first time in three years that we've opened up at home with Tulane, and then it's pretty balanced throughout. We don't play Memphis until late in the season, first in February at home and then end the regular season at Memphis, which is really exciting. We have the tough week where we're at UAB and Central Florida, which won't be easy, and certainly the second league game at Houston is a big game on our schedule early in the conference schedule."
 
The Hurricane will go on the road for two games at Houston (Jan. 9) and SMU (Jan. 13). Tulsa will look to even the series against the Cougars, as Houston has a 19-18 record against the Hurricane. The Hurricane has a 25-11 edge in the SMU series, having won the last eight games.
 
Tulsa defeated Houston last year at home 77-68, while capturing two wins over the Mustangs, 64-55 at home and 74-64 in Dallas.
 
Tulsa returns home for one C-USA game, against the UCF Knights on Jan. 16th, before playing a non-conference game at city rival Oral Roberts on Jan. 20th. Tulsa and UCF split the season series last year, as the Knights won at home 74-72 and Tulsa captured a home victory by a 79-70 score.
 
The Hurricane defeated ORU by a 50-43 score a year ago and leads the Mayor's Cup series by a 29-16 advantage. Tulsa will stay in the city limits with a home game against the Rice Owls (Jan. 23) three days later. Tulsa captured a 10-point victory in Houston and a 22-point win in the C-USA Tournament a year ago, to increase its' lead in the series 18-6.
 
Tulsa closes out the month of January on the road against UAB (Jan. 26) and UCF (Jan. 30). The road has been difficult for the Hurricane in Birmingham and Orlando. Tulsa lost a 14-point decision in the 2008 meeting at UAB, while two of the four games at UCF saw the Knights garner one and two-point victories, as well as a seven-point triple overtime win.
 
Three of Tulsa's first four games in the month of February will be played at the Reynolds Center, as Marshall opens the month on Feb. 3rd. A road contest at UTEP (Feb. 6) will be followed by home contests against Southern Miss (Feb. 10) and defending C-USA Champion Memphis (Feb. 13).
 
 
 
Memphis needed a shot at the buzzer to defeat the Hurricane at the Reynolds Center last year, 55-54.
 
Tulsa returns the trip to Huntington, West Virginia, with a game against the Marshall Thundering Herd on Feb. 17th. Tulsa claimed a 73-57 road victory last year to take a 5-2 series lead.
 
Tulsa's non-conference schedule doesn't end until the month of February. "Late in the year, we have a game at Oral Roberts on our Conference USA bye week, then a big one for national exposure at Duke on ESPN on February 25th. That game is a great opportunity for us, it's preparation for the conference tournament, and an RPI game," said Wojcik.
 
UTEP comes to Tulsa on Feb. 20th, before the Hurricane travels to the East Coast to play a non-conference game at Duke (Feb. 25) in Tulsa's first-ever visit to Durham and a league game against East Carolina (Feb. 27). Duke and Tulsa have played twice before, first in the 1996 Preseason NIT Semifinals and later in the 1999 NCAA Second Round, as the Blue Devils won those contests.
 
A year ago, Duke posted a 30-7 overall record and had a 16-1 mark at home. The Blue Devils advanced to the East Regional semifinals before being ousted by Final Four team Villanova.
 
Tulsa and East Carolina will play it's only game of the season two days later, as Tulsa will be looking to improve on its 6-1 series advantage.
 
A home game against SMU (Mar. 3) and the final road game at Memphis (Mar. 6) close out the regular season for the Hurricane. Tulsa will host the Conference USA Championship Tournament at the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa, March 10-13.
 
The Hurricane will play one exhibition game this year on November 9th against Southern Nazarene.
 
 
                                                                                             - 30 -
 



2009-10 Tulsa Men's Basketball Schedule
TENTATIVE
Date    Day    Opponent    Time
NOVEMBER
9      Mon.    SOUTHERN NAZARENE (EXHIBITION)    7 pm
13      Fri.        ST. MARY'S (TEXAS)    7 pm
15      Sun.    FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL    2 pm
17      Tues.    UALR    1 pm
21      Sat.    SOUTH ALABAMA    1 pm
24      Tues.    LOYOLA-MARYMOUNT    7 pm
28      Sat.       at Missouri State    7 pm
     
DECEMBER
2      Wed.     OKLAHOMA STATE    7 pm
6      Sun.    OHIO    2 pm
17      Thurs.    JACKSON STATE    7 pm
19      Sat.    CHICAGO STATE    2 pm
22      Tues.    Nebraska @ Las Vegas Classic    7 pm
23      Wed.    Nevada or BYU  @ Las Vegas Classic    7/9:30 pm     
 
JANUARY
2    Sat.    COLORADO    2 pm
6    Wed.    TULANE*    7 pm
9    Sat.    at Houston*    4 pm
13    Wed.    at SMU*    7 pm
16    Sat.    UCF*    2 pm
20    Wed.    at Oral Roberts    7 pm
23    Sat.    RICE*    2 pm
27    Wed.    at UAB*    7 pm
30    Sat.    at UCF*    6 pm
    
FEBRUARY
3    Wed.    MARSHALL*    7 pm
6    Sat.    at UTEP*    8 pm
10    Wed.    SOUTHERN MISS*    7 pm
13    Sat.    MEMPHIS*    7 pm
17    Wed.    at Marshall*    6 pm
20    Sat.    UTEP*    7 pm
25    Thurs.    at Duke    6 pm
27    Sat.    at East Carolina*    7 pm
 
MARCH
3    Wed.    SMU*    7 pm
6    Sat.    at Memphis*    12 noon
10-13    Wed-Sat.    C-USA Tournament @ BOK Center (Tulsa, Okla.)    TBA            
 
 
BOLD Indicates Home Games
*Conference USA Games
Times are Central Time Zone

University of Tulsa Head Basketball Coach Doug Wojcik has agreed to a new six-year contract, announced today by Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. The new contract has added a two-year extension from his previous contract and runs through the 2014-15 season.
 
Wojcik begins his fifth season in 2009-10 as the Golden Hurricane head coach. He was named the 28th head basketball coach in school history on March 14, 2005.
 
"Naturally, we're excited. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity, as a coach, to be as involved as we are at The University of Tulsa and within the city of Tulsa," said Wojcik. "Tulsa is a great job and a wonderful place to raise a family."
 
"We feel very much a part of the community, both from the campus and community end. It brings stability to my family, and our basketball program."
 
"Doug has done a tremendous job with our basketball program," said Cunningham. "He is an outstanding coach and has posted over 20 wins in each of the last three seasons, but what is just as important is that the Tulsa basketball team is comprised of outstanding students who have committed themselves to academic, athletic and personal growth development.
 
"To hear former and current players talk about how important Coach Wojcik has been in shaping their future is a tribute to his leadership and commitment to our student-athletes," added Cunningham.
 
Wojcik has posted an overall 81-53 record in four seasons and his last three teams have each won 20 or more games. He ranks in sixth-place on the school's all-time coaching wins list, surpassing Tubby Smith's (1991-95) and Bill Self's (1997-00) 74 victories. With his last three teams winning 20+ games, Wojcik became the first coach in school history to accomplish that feat. He is also the only coach in school history to post back-to-back 25-win seasons.
 
His last two teams won 25 games and made consecutive appearances in the Conference USA Championship Game (2008, 2009). In 2008, Tulsa registered a 25-14 record and won the inaugural postseason College Basketball Invitational title.
 
This past year, the Hurricane compiled a 25-11 mark and finished in second-place in the C-USA regular season with a 12-4 record. Wojcik led the 2009 Hurricane team to the school's ninth appearance in the NIT, advancing to the second round.
 
Wojcik's excitement is exudes when discussing the Hurricane roster.

"We have our most experienced team returning, we have some depth and potentially we have a favorable schedule that gives us some national exposure," said Wojcik. "Then, with the additions of D.J. Magley and Scottie Haralson and our returning underclassmen will lead to continued success and stability in the future."
 

The 2009 Las Vegas Invitational highlights the 2009-10 Oklahoma State men's basketball non-conference schedule, released today by head coach Travis Ford.

The Cowboys open the 2009-10 regular season on Saturday, November 14, as OSU hosts Seattle as part of the Las Vegas Invitational. Game time for that contest will be announced once the kickoff for the OSU vs. Texas Tech football game is determined.

Oklahoma State will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to play Bradley and either Utah or Illinois at the Orleans Arena during Thanksgiving weekend. Ticket packages for the tournament can be purchased through International Tours of Stillwater (405-372-1647) or directly through the Orleans Arena box office (702-284-7777 or www.orleansarena.com).

The Cowboys will play their first game inside the Tulsa city limits since 2003 when they face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at the Reynolds Center on Dec. 2. The Pokes will play at Stanford on Dec. 16 as part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series with the Cardinal making a return trip to Stillwater next season.

Oklahoma State will once again participate in the All-College Basketball Classic, sponsored by the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association, in the Ford Center on Dec. 21. The opponent has not yet been determined. The Cowboys make a return trip to New England on Jan. 2 and will play the Rhode Island Rams at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Oklahoma State will host a total of 16 games during the 2009-10 season, including eight non-league contests. The Cowboys will face first-time opponents Seattle, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Pacific and Coppin State inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

"This schedule is an extremely well-balanced schedule," Ford said. "We play in the Las Vegas Invitational, which will be very challenging early. It also includes some tough road games -- at Stanford, Tulsa and Rhode Island -- that will be challenging to a team that is relatively very young."

Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
2009-10 Non-Conference Schedule
N14    SEATTLE
N18    SOUTHERN
N21    NORTH TEXAS
N24    PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
N27    vs Bradley ^
N28    vs Utah/Illinois ^
D2      at Tulsa
D5      UTSA
D13    ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
D16    at Stanford  +
D21    vs TBA (All-College Classic)
D29    PACIFIC
J2      vs Rhode Island ~
J5      COPPIN STATE
home games in ALL CAPS
^ Las Vegas Invitational • Las Vegas, Nev.
+ Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series
~ Uncasville, Conn.

.

Scottie Haralson, a 6-4, 220-pound guard at the University of Connecticut, is transferring to the University of Tulsa. Golden Hurricane head basketball coach Doug Wojcik made the annoucement today after Haralson signed scholarship papers to attend Tulsa. Haralson will sit out the 2009-10 season and have three years of eligibility remaining when he becomes eligible for the 2010-11 campaign. He joins D.J. Magley of Western Kentucky as the second four-year  transfer for the Hurricane this year. Haralson spent the 2008-09 season as a true freshman at UConn. He appeared in 17 games off the bench and averaged 1.4 points in 4.1 minutes of action for the Huskies. Seven of his eight field goals made on the season were from three-point range.

University of Tulsa Head Basketball Coach Doug Wojcik announced today that D.J. Magley will transfer to the Golden Hurricane basketball program from Western Kentucky University. The announcement was made official today after Magley signed scholarship papers with the Hurricane.
 
Magley, a 6'9", 255-pound forward, will sit out the 2009-10 season and have two years of eligibility remaining when he becomes eligible for the 2010-11 campaign.
 
He spent the past two seasons at Western Kentucky University, where he played in 70 games and started 34 contests, as the Hilltoppers made the NCAA Tournament both years. Magley had career averages of 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds, while shooting 52-percent from the field.
 
"D.J. has a huge body and great skills. He has an excellent pedigree with his father and mother's background athletically. He brings a great IQ to the game as well as the ability to score and pass in the low post," said Wojcik. "He has experience of playing in the NCAA Tournament. He started as a true freshman at Western Kentucky, scored 18 points against Michigan at Thanksgiving and went on to play in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. He'll make us better immediately just by his presence in practice."
 
Magley started 33 of 36 games his freshman season as the Hilltoppers reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. He scored 4.8 points and grabbed 3.3 rebounds per game in 15.7 minutes of playing time. Magley had career-highs of 18 points against Michigan and eight rebounds against North Texas in his rookie season.
 
Last year, Magley played in all 34 games and averaged 11.0 minutes per game. He averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds, while shooting 53-percent from the field and 69-percent from the free throw line. He had a season-high of eight points twice and seven rebounds one time. In his two seasons, Magley led Western Kentucky 13 times in blocked shots, six times in steals and four times in rebounds.
 
In WKU's NCAA first round win over Illinois, Magley had four points, six rebounds and two steals in 13 minutes.
 
Magley played his prep basketball at Bradenton (Fla.) Christian School where he lettered and started all four years, helping his school compile a four-year mark of 94-28. He left as the school's all-time leader in points (1,815), rebounds (1,269), assists (416) and blocked shots.
 
As a senior, Magley averaged 24.9 points, 14.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists, while earning All-America and all-state honors. He was named the Florida Gulf Coast Player of the Year and the Manatee County Player of the Year. In his junior season, Magley averaged 16.4 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists while earning county player of the year accolades and all-conference honors.
 
"D.J. is a very positive individual who comes from a very strong Christian family. When I talk about character, he really fits the mold of the rest of our team as far as having high character. He also has a great gift of communication. He'll be a great ambassador for TU basketball," added Wojcik.
 
Wojcik discussed a letter that he received from a Western Kentucky University professor, extolling the tremendous characteristics of Magley.
 
"For a professor from the school that he's leaving, to take the time to track my email down and feel compelled to write me a note about this young man's character, his presence and his work ethic, says a lot about D.J. and about how he was raised by his parents," said Wojcik.
 
"During the whole recruiting process, trust is a big thing. With D.J.'s dad, Dave, playing his collegiate basketball for Coach Ted Owens at Kansas, being a grandfather-like figure and living here, I think that had something to do with D.J. feeling comfortable about his decision to come to Tulsa," said Wojcik. "Beside ourselves, he knows that he would have people around him that care about him. I think that had a lot to do with his decision."
 
Magley's father, Dave, was Indiana Mr. Basketball, played four years at the University of Kansas and was the 28th pick in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. 
 
            

A 6-foot-10, 250-pound center who started on Western Kentucky's Sweet 16 team two years ago is transferring to the University of Tulsa. TU coach Doug Wojcik announced yesterday that D.J. Magley will be joining the Golden Hurricane. Magley started for the Hilltoppers as a freshman two seasons ago, but his minutes were cut as a sophomore after the team underwent a coaching change. Magley will have to sit out the upcoming season, and then will
have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
    
     Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com

Tulsa basketball coach Doug Wojcik has confirmed that seldom-used freshman Bassel Bawji has left the Golden Hurricane squad. Wojick told the Tulsa World in a text message yesterday that the decision was mutual but had no further comment. Instead of redshirting, the 6-foot-8 forward from Lebanon decided to play this past season. He played only 33 minutes in 14 games for Tulsa and scored eight points. Bawji attended high school in the Houston area. His departure leaves Wojcik with two available scholarships for next season.
     
     Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com
    

The University of Tulsa basketball coach Doug Wojcik announced today the signing of point guard Donte Medder to a national letter-of-intent.
 
Medder, a 6'1" 190-pound guard, is considered one of the nation's top point guards by both ESPN.com and Rivals.com with a national ranking of No. 14 among prep point guards. He is also ranked by Bob Gibbons All-Star Sports Report as the 140th top senior in the nation.
 
He was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Mesa (Ariz.) High School. As a senior, Medder averaged 22.6 points, 5.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 steals. He shot 47-percent from the field and 35-percent from three-point range in leading his team to a 15-10 record. He also converted 79 percent of his free throws.
 
Medder was a first-team all-state selection by both the Arizona Republic and the East Valley Tribune. He also earned first-team all-East Valley Region honors as a junior and senior. In his junior campaign, Medder averaged 14.0 points and 6.0 assists while teaming up with the Arizona Player of the Year Aaron Fuller, now at the University of Iowa.
 
During his career, Medder totaled 1,032 points in his three seasons.
 
"There is no question that Donte is the best point guard at Mesa High School in my 11 years here, and I've been told that he's probably the best in the history of the school," said Mesa High School Head Coach Shane Burcar.
 
"Donte is a pure scorer who can get to the rim, shoot the three-pointer and gets to the free throw line. He is a flat-out scorer. He's great in transition," added Burcar. "Off the court, Donte is a high character young man. You cannot find a better person."
 
"We're excited to have Donte join our team," said Wojcik. "He's a highly-ranked player at his position. He is in the mold of a true point guard, which we do not have in our program, so it is critical from that standpoint. Donte can run a team. He has been very well-coached. His dad, who is a head women's coach at Scottsdale Community College, and his high school coach have instilled in him great fundamentals and instincts. Donte is a great addition to our program."
 

University of Tulsa junior center Jerome Jordan indicated Friday that he will return for his senior season. 
 
The seven-foot Jordan said the decision to stay and play his final season with the Golden Hurricane was a "fairly easy decision."
 
"It was a fairly easy decision based on where I am as a player. There are some things that I have to work on before turning professional," said Jordan. "As a senior, the great group of guys we have for next season and the coaching staff, I think we can really do something special next year."
 
Jordan was a first-team all-Conference USA selection this past season and for the second straight year was named to the league's all-defensive team. He helped lead the Hurricane to back-to-back 25-win seasons while starting 74 of 75 contests the last two seasons. Jordan averaged 13.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots as a junior. He also shot 58-percent from the field and 74-percent from the free throw line in 36 games this past season.
 
He ranks first and second on the school's single-season blocked shots list with 143 blocks as a sophomore in 2007-08 and 91 blocked shots this past season. Jordan has 251 career blocked shots and will enter the 2009-2010 season needing 15 blocks to become the school's all-time leader and 63 more blocks to move into first-pace on the C-USA chart.
 
With 968 career points and 666 career rebounds, Jordan will need 32 points to reach the 1,000 career scoring plateau and 34 rebounds for 700 career boards.
 
"We're really excited for him to make the decision to finish his career at Tulsa. He has a chance to be one of the all-time great players in Tulsa history. It sets us up for the potential to have a very special year with his running-mate Ben Uzoh returning and the underclassmen we have coming back," said Tulsa Head Coach Doug Wojcik.
 
"This has been a very good process. He has a small circle of people. He's very intelligent. He does his own research on the internet. He doesn't let people get to him. He's very aware of who he is, which makes it that much easier for his mom, dad, myself and anyone else involved in the process. He's very mature," added Wojcik.
 
Jordan is thankful for his coach's guidance and support.
 
"Coach Wojcik has been great through this process, He's been very supportive. He sought and received additional information from different sources in terms of where I'd fall this year in the draft, as well as things that different coaches and scouts think I need to work on to improve my stock for next year's NBA Draft. He's been really helpful and has been there for me the whole time," said Jordan.
 
 
 

Jerome Jordan scored 16 points and Ben Uzoh added 13 to help Tulsa beat Northwestern 68-59 in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday night.

Uzoh hit four free throws in the final 21 seconds as the Golden Hurricane (25-10) survived a late scoring drought to win their first game in the tournament since winning the title in 2001.

Craig Moore and Kevin Coble each scored 17 points to lead Northwestern (17-14), which went 9-for-23 from 3-point range against the nation's second-best 3-point defense.

Justin Hurtt added 13 points for Tulsa and Ray Reese had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Craig Moore, who made five of 11 3-pointers, and Kevin Coble each scored 17 points for Northwestern.

Justin Hurtt scored 13 for Tulsa and Ray Reese had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

After making just two of 13 3-point shots in the first half, Tulsa made its first two of the second half and four consecutive baskets out of the break to turn a 30-28 deficit into a 44-34 lead.

Tulsa led 60-49 on a layup by Glenn Andrews with 7:25 left, but Moore hit two 3-pointers for Northwestern and Michael Thompson scored inside to cut the deficit to 60-57 with 2:02 left as Tulsa went cold.

Tulsa's NIT appearance is its first since 2001, when the Golden Hurricane won the tournament for the second time. Tulsa also won the NIT in 1981.

The Golden Hurricane won the battle and hopefully didn't lose the war.Tulsa breezed by Rice 73-51in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament Thursday in Memphis. But TU lost starting forward Bishop Wheatley to a one game suspension after a hard foul in the second half.

See a TU-Rice slideshow from practice and the game on Thursday. Plus a bonus shot of the broadcast crew and team doctor on the flight to Memphis.

Rice forward Lawrence Ghoram had a clean breakaway when Wheatley caught him from behind and reached for the ball. Wheatley knocked Ghoram to the ground hard and the foul was determined to be flagrant and intentional. Officials ejected Wheatley after studying the game video and then made the decision to suspend the junior forward after the game.

Ray Reese led Tulsa with 22 points, Ben Uzoh added 14 for the Hurricane. Tulsa will face the winner of the UAB-Southern Mississippi game Friday at 5:00 p.m. VISITORS: Rice 10-22 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 43 PERKA, Aleks........ f 0-6 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 0 1 2 1 0 32 15 STANTON, Trey....... c 1-1 0-0 5-5 0 3 3 5 7 0 4 1 1 21 04 FRIZZELLE, Connor... g 5-12 0-2 0-0 0 3 3 1 10 3 1 0 0 28 21 FOSTER, Rodney...... g 1-5 0-0 6-8 0 1 1 1 8 1 2 0 0 27 33 GHORAM, Lawrence.... g 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 4 0 3 0 2 19 01 SCHWARZE, Nate...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 5 05 HERNDON, Emerson.... 3-6 0-0 1-3 2 3 5 2 7 0 0 0 0 9 11 BRAIMOH, Suleiman... 2-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 5 4 0 1 0 1 16 12 BEASLEY, Bryan...... 1-3 0-1 1-2 1 0 1 4 3 0 2 0 1 12 32 PFLIEGER, Cory...... 3-11 2-9 0-0 3 5 8 2 8 3 2 0 1 29 34 BOLTE, P.J.......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 TEAM................ 1 1 Totals.............. 18-50 2-12 13-19 7 22 29 24 51 10 17 2 6 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-19 36.8% 2nd Half: 11-31 35.5% Game: 36.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 0-7 0.0% Game: 16.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 1-3 33.3% 2nd Half: 12-16 75.0% Game: 68.4% 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Tulsa 23-9 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 12 Wheatley, Bishop.... f 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 3 0 1 1 0 0 20 53 Reese, Ray.......... f 8-15 6-8 0-0 0 2 2 1 22 1 0 0 2 26 23 Jordan, Jerome...... c 3-6 0-0 0-1 4 5 9 1 6 2 1 0 2 20 01 Uzoh, Ben........... g 4-7 0-2 6-7 1 1 2 1 14 7 3 0 3 30 15 Hurtt, Justin....... g 4-10 2-4 0-0 0 1 1 2 10 1 1 0 0 26 02 Heirman, Shane...... 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5 03 Bawji, Bassel....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 Idlet, Steven....... 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 2 4 0 3 2 1 19 13 Sanger, Will........ 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 22 Andrews, Glenn...... 2-5 2-4 3-4 0 3 3 1 9 1 2 0 1 18 33 Richard, Joe........ 0-2 0-0 3-6 1 1 2 0 3 1 2 0 0 12 40 Morgan, Colter...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 45 Mitchell, Sam....... 1-2 0-0 2-3 2 2 4 3 4 1 2 1 0 21 TEAM................ 1 3 4 Totals.............. 24-51 10-18 15-25 10 24 34 16 73 15 16 3 9 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-28 57.1% 2nd Half: 8-23 34.8% Game: 47.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-11 54.5% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 55.6% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 12-21 57.1% Game: 60.0% 5,4

The University of Tulsa inside-outside combination of juniors Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh were named to the Conference USA all-league team, it was announced today by the C-USA office.

Jordan earned first-team honors, while Uzoh was a second-team selection for the second consecutive season.
 
The first-team honor for Jordan marks the first time in its four years as a Conference USA member that Tulsa has had a first-team selection. The last time a Tulsa player earned first-team honors came in the 2002-23 campaign when Kevin Johnson was a first-team performer in the Western Athletic Conference.
 
Jordan was joined on the C-USA first-team by Memphis' Tyreke Evans, Houston's Aubrey Coleman, Stefon Jackson of UTEP and UCF's Jermaine Taylor, all guards on their respective teams.
 
Tulsa's seven-footer from Kinston Jamaica, ranks first in C-USA for field goal percentage (.598) and blocked shots (2.52), and is second for rebounding with an 8.8 average. Jordan leads the Hurricane in scoring (14.7), rebounds (8.8), blocks (2.52) and field goal percentage (.598). He has scored 20 or more points in eight games this season, and has 22 double-figure scoring games, 13 double-digit rebounding games and 10 double-doubles in Tulsa's 31 contests.
 
In C-USA games, Jordan is the league's fourth-leading scorer with a 17.1 average. Last year, Jordan earned C-USA all-defensive team honors.
 
Uzoh, a 6'3" guard from San Antonio, Texas, has earned a league award in each of his three seasons with the Hurricane. In 2006-07, he was named to the all-freshman team and last year garnered C-USA second-team accolades.
 
He averages 14.4 points and leads the Hurricane in assists with a 3.6 average and steals at 1.5 per game, while grabbing 4.8 rebounds in Tulsa's 31 games this year. Uzoh has six 20-point scoring games this season, and 16 for his career.
 
Uzoh became just the fourth player in school history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals for a career.
 
A pair of players from Memphis and UAB including Memphis' Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier and UAB's Paul Delaney and Robert Vaden joined Uzoh on the league's second team.
              
 
2008-09 ALL-CONFERENCE USA HONORS
FIRST TEAM
Aubrey Coleman, Houston, G, 6-4, 200, Jr., Houston, Texas
Tyreke Evans, Memphis, G, 6-6, 219, Fr., Chester, Pa.
Stefon Jackson, UTEP, G, 6-5, 185, Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.
Jerome Jordan, Tulsa, C, 7-0, 245, Jr. Kingston, Jamaica
Jermaine Taylor, UCF, G, 6-4, 210, Sr., Tavares, Fla.
 
SECOND TEAM
Antonio Anderson, Memphis, G, 6-6, 214, Sr., Lynn, Mass.
Paul Delaney III, UAB, G, 6-2, 202, Sr., Decatur, Ga.
Robert Dozier, Memphis, F, 6-9, 220, Sr., Lithonia, Ga.
Ben Uzoh, Tulsa, G, 6-3, 200, Jr., San Antonio, Texas
Robert Vaden, UAB, G/F, 6-5, 205, Sr., Indianapolis, Ind.
 
THIRD TEAM
Randy Culpepper, UTEP, G, So., 6-0, 165, So., Memphis, Tenn.
Markel Humphrey, Marshall, F, 6-6, 230, Sr., Atlanta, Ga.
Lawrence Kinnard, UAB, F, 6-8, 208, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.
Kelvin Lewis, Houston, G, 6-4, 190, Jr., Fort Worth, Texas
Jeremy Wise, Southern Miss, G, 6-2, 165, Jr., Jackson, Miss.
 
 
 

Tulsa completed the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 60-50 win over Rice in Houston, Texas. The Hurricane enters this week's Conference USA Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will play on Thursday at 12 noon at Memphis' FedEx Forum.

Tulsa will play the winner of the Marshall-Rice match-up in the quarterfinals. The Marshall-Rice game will be played on Wednesday at 12 noon.

Tulsa finished the regular season with an overall 22-9 record and a 12-4 league mark. Marshall, the No. 7 seed, is 15-16 overall and 7-9 in C-USA, while No. 10 seed Rice has records of 9-21 overall and 4-12 in league play.

The Hurricane won both games against the Marshall Thundering Herd this season. Tulsa captured a 69-50 home victory on January 17th, and won by 16 points, 73-57, in early February in Huntington, WV. Tulsa's game on Saturday at Rice was the only meeting between the two teams this season.

Tulsa leads both series, including a 5-2 edge against Marshall, winning the last three contests. The Hurricane now has a 17-6 advantage in the Rice series.

Last year, Tulsa was the No. 6 seed and advanced to the championship finals after wins against East Carolina (66-49) and overtime wins over UAB (78-68) in the quarterfinals and 64-62 in a semifinal win over UTEP. Tulsa lost in the championship game to No. 1 seed and the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, Memphis.


C-USA Men's Basketball Championship
FedEx Forum • Memphis, Tenn.
Wednesday, March 11
(7) Marshall vs. (10) Rice, 12 noon
(6) UCF vs. (11) Southern Miss, 2:30 pm
(8) Tulane vs. (9) East Carolina, 6 pm
(5) Houston vs. (12) SMU, 8:30 pm

Thursday, March 12
(2) Tulsa vs. Marshall/Rice winner (CSS), 12 noon
(3) UAB vs. UCF/USM winner (CSS), 2:30 pm
(1) Memphis vs. Tulane/ECU winner (CSS), 6 pm
(4) UTEP vs. Houston/SMU winner (CSS), 8:30 pm

Friday, March 13
Semifinal No. 1 (CBS College Sports), 3 pm
Semifinal No. 2 (CBS College Sports), 5:30 pm

Saturday, March 14
Championship Final (CBS), 10:35 am

Two Tulsa players are honored

 

University of Tulsa's Sam Mitchell (Bartlesville, Okla.) and Steven Idlet (Prairie Grove, Ark.) were selected to the 2009 Conference USA Men's Basketball All-Academic Team, it was announced today. In addition to Tulsa's two selections Houston, Marshall and Rice also placed one representative on the five-member academic squad.
 
Mitchell, a 6-9 forward, has been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (3.0 GPA or better) for seven semesters and has been named to the C-USA Commissioners Honor Roll three straight years. He carries a 3.34 GPA as a finance major.
 
On the court, Mitchell has averaged 2.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.9 minutes of action this season. The senior has six games with five or more rebounds with a season-high of eight, and had a season-best of seven points against nationally-ranked Memphis. For his career, Mitchell has played in 124 career games with 32 starting assignments.

Idlet was named to the TU Dean's list one semester (3.5 GPA or better) and twice to the Athletic Directors Honor Roll (3.0 GPA). Additionally, he was named to the Conference USA Commissioners Honor Roll last year and has a 3.32 GPA as a history major.
 
Idlet averages 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.3 minutes this season. The red-shirt freshman is shooting 47-percent from the field and is second on the team with 17 blocked shots. The Arkansas native has two double-digit scoring games this year, including a career-best 11 points against Ohio. He notched career-bests of six rebounds twice this season and added five blocked shots against Texas A&M-CC.
 
The three other selections were Houston's Sean Coleman, Adams Williams of Marshall and Rice's Aleks Perka.
 
The team is voted on by the league's Sports Information Directors.

University of Tulsa juniors Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-district team, it was announced today.  The NABC announced its 24 all-district teams as voted on by member coaches of the NABC. Tulsa is a member of District 11.
 
Jordan, a seven-foot center, earned first-team honors, while Uzoh was a second-team selection. Also earning first-team all-district honors were UCF's Jermaine Taylor, Memphis' Tyreke Evans and Robert Dozier and Houston's Aubrey Coleman.
 
Jordan leads the Hurricane in scoring with a 14.7 average after pouring in a career-high 28 points in a 79-70 victory against UCF on Wednesday night. Jordan leads Conference USA in field goal percentage (.599), rebounds (9.0) and blocked shots (2.6) this season. He has turned in 22 double-figure scoring games and 13 double-digit rebounding games this season as well, while tallying 10 double-doubles. Jordan has scored 20 points in eight contests this year and nine for his career.
 
The 6'3" guard Uzoh averages 14.5 points and leads the Hurricane in assists with 3.6 per game and steals with an average of 1.6 per game. He has also grabbed 4.8 rebounds while playing 36 minutes per game.
 
Uzoh became just the third player in school history to surpass the career plateaus for 1,000 points (1,348), 500 rebounds (510), 200 assists (241) and 100 steals (122). This season Uzoh has led Tulsa in scoring 10 times, assists 21 times and steals 15 times. He has also scored 20+ points in six games this year.
 
The NABC all-district selections are now eligible for the State Farm Coaches' Division I All-America teams.
 

Jerome Jordan scored a career-high 28 points as Tulsa downed Central Florida 79-70 in a Conference USA game. Ray Reese added 16 points in his final regular season home game with the Golden Hurricane (21-9, 11-4 CUSA) last night. Jermaine Taylor poured in 29 points for the Knights (16-13, 6-9), who lost their fourth consecutive game and seventh in their last eight. Central Florida trailed by as many as 12 and tried to rally, but Jordan had an answer each time. After the Knights pulled within 67-63, Jordan tipped in a missed shot, then made a towering slam dunk off an assist from Glenn Andrews to give Tulsa a 71-63 lead with 2:45 to play. He dunked again off a miss by Ben Uzoh to make it 73-63 with 1:15 left, giving Tulsa enough of a cushion to survive some shaky free throw shooting.

Tulsa seniors Sam Mitchell (Bartlesville, Okla.) and Ray Reese (Los Angeles, Calif.) will play in their final regular season home game at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Wednesday night.  
 
Tulsa hosts the UCF Knights at 7:05 pm. The Golden Hurricane looks to avenge a 74-72 loss at the buzzer nearly three weeks ago in Orlando, Fla. Tulsa enters the final week of the regular season with an overall 20-9 record and a 10-4 league mark, tied with UAB for second-place in Conference USA standings.
 
Tulsa will then close out the regular season at Rice on Saturday afternoon, while UAB finishes the regular season at UTEP on Wednesday and home against Marshall on Saturday.
 
UCF has posted 16-12 and 6-8 records this season. The Tulsa-UCF series is tied 4-4 as each team has won on their own home court.
 
The Knights are led by C-USA's leading scorer Jermaine Taylor, who averages 26.1 points and also ranks third nationally. Taylor scored a game-high 35 points in the last outing against the Hurricane. UCF freshman guard A.J. Rompza scored the game-winning basket in the earlier meeting this year.
 
The Hurricane seniors, Mitchell and Reese, will be making their last appearance in the Reynolds Center. Reese is coming off of a career-high 24-point performance at SMU on Saturday night, while on the season averages 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds. Mitchell, from nearby Bartlesville, averages 2.3 points and 2.9 rebounds for Tulsa.
 
Tulsa is led, however, by the inside-outside combination of juniors Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh. The seven-foot Jordan leads Conference USA in rebounding (9.1), blocked shots (2.6) and field goal percentage (.591), while scoring at a 14.2 clip. Uzoh has led Tulsa in scoring for the second consecutive season with a 14.7 average, while shooting 45-percent from the field, 34-percent from three-point range and 79-percent from the free throw line.
 
Uzoh also leads the Hurricane in assists (3.5) and steals (1.6), while ranking second in rebounds at 4.7 caroms per game. In the last three games, Uzoh has averaged 18.3 points and 7.3 assists, while scoring 20 points in Tulsa's last outing at SMU.
 
Tickets for the Tulsa-UCF game are available online at www.tulsahurricane.com <http://www.tulsahurricane.com> , by phone at 918-631-GoTU (4688) or in person at the Reynolds Center Ticket Office. Tickets can be purchased for as low as $10.00. Special halftime entertainment will be provided by Team Acrodunk, a highflying acrobatic and trampoline dunking team. 
 

Ray Reese scored 24 points to lead Tulsa to a 74-64 comeback win over SMU on Saturday night. The victory, along with other losses in C-USA on Saturday, assured the Hurricane a top four seed and a first round bye in the upcoming C-USA tournament.

 

Ben Uzoh added 20 points for the Golden Hurricane (20-9, 10-4 Conference USA), and Justin Hurtt had 15. Jerome Jordan scored seven points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Paul McCoy scored 16 points to lead SMU (8-19, 2-12). Mouhammad Faye and Bamba Fall scored 12 apiece, and Derek Williams had 10.

SMU led 38-29 at halftime before being outscored 45-26 in the second half.

Tulsa dominated the boards, outrebounding SMU 44-29.

The Golden Hurricane won the game despite shooting 37 percent from the field. SMU shot 44 percent.

Jerome Jordan scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help lead Tulsa past Houston 77-68. The Golden Hurricane (19-9, 9-4 Conference USA) made 20 of 27 free throws in the final 6:45 as Houston fouled relentlessly, usually before Tulsa had crossed midcourt last night. Jordan made 10 of 13 free throws and blocked four shots. Kelvin Lewis paced Houston (17-9, 8-5 CUSA) with 24 points. Houston was trailing 55-50 with 6:55 to play when a series of fouls sent Tulsa players to the free-throw line. The Golden Hurricane made 30 of 38 second-half free throws after hitting one of two in the first half. Ray Reese had 13 points for Tulsa and Justin Hurtt and Ben Uzoh each had 12. The Golden Hurricane outrebounded the Cougars 39-30.

TU plays another big C-USA game Wednesday night as the Houston Cougars visit the Reynolds Center. Both teams are 8-4 in conference play and just obe game behind UAB who hosts Memphis tomorrow night.

This is the 37th meeting between Tulsa and Houston . . . the Cougars lead the overall series 19-17 . . . Tulsa won the last meeting a year ago, 73-69, at home in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational post-season tournament . . . before that win, Houston had won five straight contests . . . Tulsa has a 9-8 record on its home court against the Cougars, while Houston is 2-1 against Tulsa at the Donald W. Reynolds Center . . . Houston has won eight of the last 10 games played in Tulsa, including a 1982 NCAA Tournament game at the ORU Mabee Center.

 

TULSA PROBABLE STARTERS

F 53 RAY REESE, 6-5, 220, Sr-3L, 9.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, Los Angeles, Calif.

F 12 BISHOP WHEATLEY, 6-6, 220, Jr-2L, 5.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, Cedar Hill, Texas

C 23 JEROME JORDAN, 7-0, 245, Jr-2L, 14.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.5 bpg, Kingston, Jamaica

G 15 JUSTIN HURTT, 6-4, 195, So-1L, 9.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, Raytown, Mo.

G 1 BEN UZOH, 6-3, 200, Jr-2L, 14.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, San Antonio, Texas

OFF THE BENCH

F 11 STEVEN IDLET, 6-10, 240, Fr-RS, 3.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, Prairie Grove, Ark.

G 22 GLENN ANDREWS, 6-2, 195, So-1L, 7.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, Alexandria, Va.

C 45 SAM MITCHELL, 6-9, 245, Sr-3L, 2.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, Bartlesville, Okla.

F 33 JOE RICHARD, 6-7, 235, Fr-HS, 1.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, San Bernardino, Calif.

THE SERIES . . 

GAME CAPSULE

• The Records: Tulsa Golden

Hurricane (18-9, 8-4 C-USA) vs. Houston Cougars (17-8, 8-4 C-USA)

• The Series: Houston leads 19-17

• The Coaches: Tulsa's Doug Wojcik

(74-51, 4th year); Houston's Tom Penders (98-57, 5th year)

• Radio: KRMG 740 AM (Bruce

Howard and Rick Couri)

• TV: none

• Internet: www.tulsahurricane.com

 

Ben Uzoh scored 23 points to lead Tulsa to a 72-62 victory over East Carolina, snapping a two-game losing streak and putting Tulsa back in the race for second place behind Memphis in Conference USA.

The Hurricane, 8-4 and 18-9 overall, erased a 10-point first-half deficit by holding the Pirates to just four free throws in the first 10:12 of the second half, in the process turning a 39-33 halftime deficit into a 51-43 lead. Uzoh scored seven points in that span, but the most impressive play as by reserve guard Glenn Andrews, who blocked a layup by Pirate guard Brock Young, grabbed the ball before it went out of bounds and rifled a pass downcourt to Justin Hurtt who slammed it home.

Hurtt had 17 points for Tulsa, including two 3-pointers in the first half to stem a 12-0 Pirate run that had given East Carolina a 27-17 lead. Jerome Jordan had 12 points and six rebounds.

Sam Hinnant led East Carolina, 5-8 and 13-13, with 21 points, 16 of those in the first half when he made all four of his 3-point attempts. The Pirates shot a torrid 53.8 percent in the first half but made just 7-of-33 field goals in the second and finished the game at 36 percent. They did finish at 43.5 percent on 3-pointers against the nation's third-ranked defense against treys at 27.4 percent.

"In the second half we settled down and really played well," said Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik. "About the only thing we changed was the way we defended the ball screens. We really tried to stay with their wings and not help out because they were shooting the ball so well."

Tulsa built a 60-48 lead with 7:10 to play on a conventional three-point play by Bishop Wheatley and kept the Pirates at bay by making 10 of 11 free throws in the final 4:10.

Darrius Morrow had 10 points and nine rebounds for East Carolina. Young had seven assists but made just 1-of-11 shots. Tulsa had a season-low five turnovers and had nine blocks.

Tulsa returns to the Reynolds Center for a Wednesday night clash against the Houston Cougars, 77-72 winners tonight over UCF. The Hurricane and Cougars come into the contest with identical 8-4 C-USA marks.

Tulsa hosts East Carolina in a very important Conference USA game for the Hurricane. It's not only a big game but a big night as well. Two former TU greats, Jerry Ostroskie and Ken Hayes will be inducted into the TU Hall of Fame as will the 1945 football team. But wait, there's more! It's also.....

    Jamaica Night
 Tulsa vs. East Carolina
 Golden Hurricane Men's Basketball
 February 21, 2009  7 pm
     
 Entertainment:
 - The "Steel Around" Band ~ Emerson Entertainment: Tulsa, OK

 Band will perform on the concourse level as fans enter the area until tip-off.

 -  Jamaican inspired music will be played at halftime.


 Concessions:
 - Will be selling a couple of cool "Jamaican Theme" items at select concession stands. "Jerk Chicken Skewers, Cool Tropical Drinks"


 Giveaway:
 - "Jamaican Jordan" hand held face fans. The first 2,500 fans will receive a fan with the photo of Tulsa's own Jamaican center Jerome Jordan.

It was a good weekend for most of the locals in NCAA hoops. Blake Griffin set the Big 12 on it's ear while Oklahoma State bounced back for a big win over Iowa State.

Oral Roberts struggled a little but held on to win at home and Tulsa lost a 17 point lead in the second half and dropped a heartbreaker at Central Florida. Read all the recaps below as we head down the stretch toward the conference tournaments!

 

Oklahoma

After seeing a performance by Blake Griffin that will go down in Oklahoma history, Texas Tech coach Pat Knight was reminded of another being so methodical and determined.

"Have you guys ever seen the movie, 'The Terminator?' That's what that kid is like," Knight said. "That kid has no facial expressions. He just plays and it's like every kid out there on him is like Sarah Connor, and he's just going to take his time and kill him. 

"That kid is good."

Griffin set career highs with 40 points and 23 rebounds to break a school record with his 22nd double-double of the season, and No. 2 Oklahoma throttled Texas Tech 95-74 Saturday for its 13th straight win.

Griffin became only the third Oklahoma player to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game, joining Wayman Tisdale and Alvan Adams. Those two have their jersey numbers hanging in the rafters at the Lloyd Noble Center. It is also the first 40-point, 20-rebound game in Big 12 history.

 

Oklahoma State

Robert Dozier scored a career-high 23 points, Tyreke Evans added 13 and No. 8 Memphis routed Tulsa 63-37 for its 15th straight victory. The Tigers (21-3, 9-0 Conference USA) won their 51st consecutive game in league play last night. Jerome Jordan, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds against Memphis earlier this season, was held to a team-high eight points and three rebounds for Tulsa (17-8, 7-3). Ben Uzoh, Tulsa's leading scorer at 14.9 points per game, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with three points. Memphis limited Tulsa to 36 percent shooting, including 25 percent in the first half.

Tulsa has won 13 of its last 16 games, including five of six road games with the three losses in that time span coming against BYU, by six points, and against Memphis, by one point, on a last-second shot, and one-point at Tulane in overtime . . . the Hurricane has averaged 13.2 points (171) more than the opposition over those 13 wins, and have lost the three games by an average of 2.7 points. The road wins have come at Loyola-Marymount, Southern Miss, Charlotte, UTEP and Marshall, as Tulsa won those five road games by a 16.4 average (82) . . . in all games over that time span, the largest win was a 34-point win at Loyola Marymount, and the closest was a one-point win against UAB . . . the Hurricane has also won nine of the last 11 games, including its last five games.

This is the 29th meeting between Tulsa and Memphis . . . the Tigers lead the series 16-12 and have won the last eight meetings . . . Tulsa's last win in the series came in the NIT semifinals on March 27, 2001 with a 72-64 victory at Madison Square Gardens . . . Memphis has won 15 of the last 16 meetings . . . the Tigers lead the series at home 8-6 . . . the Hurricane won the first six games played in Memphis, while the Tigers have won the last eight games in its home town . . . last year, Memphis claimed three wins, both in the regular season, and in the championship game of the C-USA Tournament . . . Memphis has a 14.1 margin of victory in its eight home wins, while Tulsa has won its six road games by a 9.7 average.

THE LAST TIME . . .

√ The earlier meeting this year between Tulsa and Memphis came down to a buzzer-beating basket by Memphis' Antonio Anderson, as Memphis claimed a 55-54 win in Tulsa . . . Tulsa trailed 30-26 at halftime, and in the second-half Memphis built its' largest lead to seven points at the 6:50 mark and with 5:43 left on the game clock . . . trailing 49-42, Tulsa closed the gap to two points, 52-50, at the 2:48 mark . . . Bishop Wheatley's layup with 1:20 remaining tied the score at 52 . . . Tyreke Evans connected on 1-of-2 free throws with 0:43 left to put the Tigers ahead 53-52 . . . after two missed jumpers by Evans, Tulsa took the ball with 0:11 on the clock . . . Robert Dozier's fifth foul put Tulsa's Ben Uzoh at the line with 0:04 remaining, and Uzoh hit both freebies to give Tulsa its' first lead of the game, 54-53 . . . Memphis' Antonio Anderson took the inbounds pass near mid-court and went the distance throwing up a long layup for the victory as time elapsed.

TULSA PROBABLE STARTERS

F 53 RAY REESE, 6-5, 220, Sr-3L, 9.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, Los Angeles, Calif.

F 12 BISHOP WHEATLEY, 6-6, 220, Jr-2L, 5.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, Cedar Hill, Texas

C 23 JEROME JORDAN, 7-0, 245, Jr-2L, 14.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg, Kingston, Jamaica

G 15 JUSTIN HURTT, 6-4, 195, So-1L, 9.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, Raytown, Mo.

G 1 BEN UZOH, 6-3, 200, Jr-2L, 14.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, San Antonio, Texas

OFF THE BENCH

F 11 STEVEN IDLET, 6-10, 240, Fr-RS, 3.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, Prairie Grove, Ark.

G 22 GLENN ANDREWS, 6-2, 195, So-1L, 7.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, Alexandria, Va.

C 45 SAM MITCHELL, 6-9, 245, Sr-3L, 2.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, Bartlesville, Okla.

F 33 JOE RICHARD, 6-7, 235, Fr-HS, 1.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, San Bernardino, Calif.

 

 

Justin Hurtt scored 19 points as Tulsa defeated Marshall 73-57 on Wednesday night.

Ray Reese added 17 points for the Golden Hurricane (16-7, 6-2 Conference USA), who have now won four straight. Ben Uzoh finished with 12 points and six rebounds, and Glenn Andrews chipped in with 10 points.

Reese's 3-pointer with 13:03 remaining in the first half capped a 12-2 Tulsa run, giving it an early 20-7 lead. But Marshall (9-13, 2-6) responded with a 9-0 run, and trailed 34-30 at the half.

An 11-2 run by Tulsa in the second half gave it a 45-35 lead with 13:58 left on the clock. The Golden Hurricane later used a 10-1 run to go up 65-43 with 5:46 remaining.

The Thundering Herd were led by Tirrell Baines, who had 10 points and five rebounds.

This is the sixth meeting between Tulsa and Marshall . . . Tulsa leads the series 3-2 after winning the first game this year at home, 69-50 . . . each team has won on their own home court . . . Marshall has a 9.5 winning margin in its home wins over the Hurricane, while Tulsa has a 17.7 win margin in its three victories . . . last year's game in Huntington went into overtime as the Thundering Herd captured a seven-point victory, 72-65.

UZOH RANKS 17th ON TULSA'S CAREER SCORING CHART . . .

√ Junior guard Ben Uzoh is in 17th place on the school's career scoring chart . . . Uzoh now has totaled 1,249 career points in 92 contests for a 13.6 scoring average . . . he needs 39 more points to tie Rob Washington (1966-69) for 16th place . . . Uzoh surpassed the 1,000 career scoring plateau against Texas A&M as he totaled 16 points, after needing 14 points heading into the game to reach the 1,000-point mark . . . he became just the 32nd player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points when he hit a 3-pointer with 15:37 left against Texas A&M . . . this season, Uzoh averages 15.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals . . . Uzoh had 20 points against both Oral Roberts and Oklahoma State in the first two games, and added a season-high of 25 points vs. Texas-Arlington and Tulane . . . he now has 14 career 20+ scoring games.

TULSA GETS LAST SECOND WIN ON JORDAN BASKET . . .

√ Trailing 74-73 with 3.4 seconds remaining on the clock against UAB on January 28, the Hurricane went inside to Jerome Jordan who scored the game-winner on a six-footer from the key . . . the ball left Jordan's hand at 1.7 on the clock and took a bounce off the rim before going through the net for the 75-74 victory with no time remaining . . . Tulsa trailed by as many as 11 points with 15:18 left in the game . . . the Hurricane cut it to one-point four times in the second half, but the fiinal score was Tulsa's first lead since the 14-minute mark of the first half.

Justin Hurtt scored 15 points, including a rally-stifling 3-pointer with 2:03 to play, as Tulsa held off Southern Methodist 64-55 Saturday. Tulsa, 5-2 in Conference USA and 15-7 overall, held SMU without a field goal for more than eight minutes early in the second half, expanding a 31-29 lead to 48-32. But the Mustangs, 1-6 and 6-13, clawed back to within 56-51 on a 19-8 run, led by Derek Williams, who led SMU with 15 points. Hurtt's trey gave Tulsa breathing room at 59-51. Ben Uzoh, who had 13 points, made three of four free throws in the final 1:15 to help Tulsa close it out.

Ray Reese had 14 points, Jerome Jordan had 11 and Glenn Andrews added nine for the balanced Hurricane offense. Robert Nyakundi scored 11 and Paul McCoy had 10 for SMU.

"It was a very workmanlike win," said Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik. "I'm a little concerned because we got outrebounded (36-32) for the second game in a row (Tulsa leads C-USA in rebounding margin.) But we only had seven turnovers and played solid defense for 40 minutes.

SMU shot just 34.5 percent (19 of 55). The Ponies were hurt by a 10-0 Tulsa run late in the first half that broke a 17-17 tie and by their offensive futility to start the second half.

The battle of 7-foot centers was a stalemate, as both teams collapsed on the interior. Jordan took just seven shots, making three, and had five rebounds and four blocks, while SMU's Bamba Fall had seven points and eight rebounds and three blocks.