Tulsa begins regular season against Lamar on Friday
The day has finally arrived! Tulsa men's basketball opens the regular season at home against Lamar on Friday at noon.
The Cardinals have a veteran squad under fourth-year head coach Tic Price and were picked to finish second in the Southland Conference. Lamar returns four starters from last season's 19-15 team, including first-team All-SLC selection Colton Weisbrod. The Cards also return 73 percent of their scoring and 63 percent of their rebounds.
Tulsa has been impressive in scrimmages and exhibition games, boosted by a strong group of newcomers. Below is a look back at our preseason coverage to help fans catch up on all the latest news prior to the Hurricane's match-up with Lamar.
TULSA'S FIRST PRESEASON SCRIMMAGE
Die-hard Golden Hurricane fans got a glimpse of their new Mr. Clutch in Curran Scott. Scott hit the game-winning shot with 12.3 seconds remaining as the Black squad won a 69-68 thriller over the Blue squad at the the Reynolds Center on October 14.
LINK: FULL RECAP AND ANALYSIS
TULSA'S SECOND PRESEASON SCRIMMAGE
The Hurricane's Blue-Gold scrimmage was a showcase for freshmen guards Elijah Joiner and Darien Jackson, and if what they showed carries over into their careers, there are going to be some happy Tulsa basketball fans. Joiner led all scorers with 15 points, and Jackson added 8 points in front of enthusiastic TU fans on October 21 at the Reynolds Center.
LINK: FULL RECAP AND ANALYSIS
EXHIBITION #1 - TULSA BLOWS BY NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
Tulsa coach Frank Haith kept talking before the season about how Junior Etou needs to be an “Alpha Male” and step up his game from last year. It seems like Etou took the talk to heart, scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to lead Tulsa to a 96-65 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State.
LINK: FULL GAME RECAP
EXHIBITION #2 - HURRICANE BLASTS MISSOURI S&T
Tulsa showered visiting Missouri S&T with three-pointers, fast breaks and jumpers on the way to doubling their opponent’s scoring output in a 113-56 victory in front of approximately 1,000 fans in the exhibition season finale.
LINK: FULL GAME RECAP
FRESHMAN ELIJAH JOINER COULD MAKE BIG IMPACT THIS SEASON
It has been a while since a freshman has shown as much promise coming into a Tulsa men's basketball season as Elijah Joiner. Starting with his head coach, expectations are high for the 6-foot-3 guard from Chicago.
LINK: FULL STORY
MARTINS IGBANU IS A KEY PIECE TO TULSA FRONTCOURT
After witnessing Martins Igbanu's freshman season at Tulsa, it is hard to believe he has only been playing basketball for five years, or that he was mostly a perimeter player in high school. With limited frontcourt depth, Tulsa needs a strong sophomore season from the 6-foot-8 forward.
LINK: FULL STORY
JEFFRIES & SCOTT REUNITE AT TULSA AND CRACK THE STARTING LINEUP
After beginning their college careers elsewhere, former high school teammates DaQuan Jeffries and Curran Scott are reunited at Tulsa and making a big impact for the Golden Hurricane.
LINK: FULL STORY