Games during Final Exams week often tend to be a little weird, but Tulsa was poised to put away an outmanned New Orleans with ease until it developed a combination of the yips and shanks.
As in golf, where a sometimes previously smooth putting stroke or golf swing goes temporarily awry, Tulsa was not only missing free throws, but missing them badly. Not even close on many of the attempts.
Tulsa’s 13 of 33 (39.4 percent) free throw shooting caused the final score to look respectable from the visitor’s standpoint, although the game was never close.
“It’s like making a three-foot putt. Mentally, you start missing putts, it wears on you a little bit,” TU coach Frank Haith said of TU’s free throw shooting, especially in the second half where Tulsa only hit seven of 21 (33.3 percent) from the line.
DaQuan Jeffries was one player who didn’t do the equivalent of shanking a shot or yipping a putt, as he had 20 points, 13 rebounds, and three steals, along with making both of his free throws, to lead Tulsa to a 70-60 victory over New Orleans on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 3,570 at the Reynolds Center.
Tulsa (8-3) led by as many as 28 points early in the second half, more than doubling the Privateers at 54-26 with under 16 minutes left, But New Orleans kept it from being a blowout, pulling to within 11 points at 59-48 with 7:30 remaining.
With Golden Hurricane fans getting a little edgy, Tulsa pulled back to an 18-point lead at 68-50 with under three minutes remaining before New Orleans whittled it down to its lowest point at a 10-point lead just before the clock ran out.
“I thought everything in the game was good other than missing free throws, which we can fix, because we’re a good free throw shooting team,” said Haith of his team that came into the game making 71.9 percent, including 18 of 21 in its 47-46 win over No. 15 Kansas State Saturday afternoon. “But I thought we came out with the right focus that we needed to have coming off of last week.”
There was no let down in energy after home wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma State, except from the free throw line. Playing with energy is never easy after big wins, and especially so during Final Exams week at a demanding school like the University of Tulsa.
“It was important for us to come out with the same energy we had in the last two games,” Jeffries said.
Besides doing his normal outstanding defensive work, Jeffries, the reigning AAC Player of the Week, was seven of 12 from the field, including four of eight on three-pointers to lead a TU squad that finished 24 of 46 from the field (52.2 percent) and nine of 21 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
“It was pretty tough. A lot of guys stayed up late studying for finals and then getting up the next day to work out,” said Jeffries, who had a final exam on Thursday morning. “We pushed through it and got the W.”
Zeke Moore was another player who played well, having his best game as a Golden Hurricane. The Saint Louis transfer scored 11 points in 14 minutes, including eight points in 10 minutes in the first half. He was a perfect three of three - all three-pointers, and two of two from the line, to go with two rebounds and a steal.
“I had an exam too, so I was just trying to stay focused and locked in,” said Moore. “Coach (Haith) was just trying to make sure we stayed locked in on the books, because if we are locked in on the books, it will carry over to the court., so I was pretty well prepared.”
The 6-foot-7 sophomore connected on his first three-pointer of the year after coming into the game zero for nine on threes. Moore had fallen out of the rotation the last few games before Thursday night. Averaging just 2.0 points per game this season through the first nine games, Moore had averaged 5.3 points and shot 39.1 percent on three-pointers at SLU as a freshman before transferring.
“It was a relief for me, finally,” Moore said of making his first three of the season. “My coaches and Coach Haith, they’ve all been working me out, making sure I stay sharp, stay confident in myself. They’ve been confident in me, so it’s just one of the nights where it was finally falling through, so hopefully that can keep up the energy.”
“I think I was more excited than him,” Haith said of Moore‘s performance. “I know every time when I talk to the media I say he’s a really good shooter, you probably go yeah, alright coach, but he is. If you come watch us in practice, he’s a really, really good shooter. And he’s got size, so he can shoot over people.
“It’s about his confidence and being ready and getting comfortable. It was just so good to see him have the ability to get some open shots and see them go in.”
One player who struggled with his confidence, particulary on free throws, was Martins Igbanu, who was four of 12 from the line - all in the second half, including missing his first six. Igbanu did play a strong game otherwise recording a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I think they started to do the hack-a-Shaq on him a couple of times,” Haith said of New Orleans intentionally fouling Igbanu in a strategy that NBA teams used to do against Hall-of-Fame giant Shaquille O’Neal. “They foul right away, and I think that messes with you, mentally.
“I feel very confident he will get that worked out. He’s had games where he’s gone nine-of-nine on free throws. So he’s very capable. It’s just a matter of getting back in the gym and getting his confidence and repetitions so you get back on track.”
Normally a strong free throw shooter (72.9 percent before the game), Igbanu hit the two key free throws with 3.3 second left against OSU last Wednesday that put Tulsa up by three points in its 74-71 victory over the Pokes.
Igbanu was so determined after the game to put the free throw shooting behind him that he was still shooting free throws in the Reynolds Center main court for a long time after the game was over.
The large lead for most of the game gave Tulsa the opportunity to give some reserves more playing time than normal, with nine players getting in at least 12 minutes of action. Elijah Joiner, normally in the rotation, had to play the last 8:19 of the game in place of point guard Sterling Taplin, who left the game after slightly tweaking his ankle.
“I wanted to give them all an opportunity to get out there and get their feet wet because we’re going to need them,” Haith said of the extra playing time for the reserves. “There’s going to be times when each one of those guys are going to play some very important minutes.”
Troy Green led the Privateers with 19 points. New Orleans (4-4) of the Southland Conference is coming off a 16-17 season in 2018. The Privateers last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2017.
Up next is Dayton (5-4) at 2:30 pm on Sunday afternoon in the second game of a triple-header as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase presented by Citi at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
The Flyers, playing out of the Atlantic 10 conference, finished 14-17 last season after four consecutive NCAA bids, including an Elite Eight trip in 2014. They have played a tough schedule, losing three times to ranked teams, and another time to 8-1 Oklahoma.
“They’re very athletic. They have good experience,” Haith said of Dayton. “They probably look at this game like we look at it. It is a big game for both of us.
“Having an opportunity on a neutral court to play a team that is probably going to do well in their league. So we have to be ready. We need to win one away from home. I’d like to see us do that.”
