Things are looking up for TU and ORU

Originally Published: Mar 4, 2011 2:58 PM CDTFor ORU and Tulsa, things are looking up. Tulsa fans have constantly begged for postseason production

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 1:34 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Mar 4, 2011 2:58 PM CDT

For ORU and Tulsa, things are looking up. Tulsa fans have constantly begged for postseason production from their team. The Golden Hurricane will get a bye in the first round of the Conference USA tournament and will have a lot of say in who wins league. It might even be them. Oral Roberts has a better than average shot at winning the Summit League. They’re ON FIRE. And, they are feared in the league. Need evidence? Oakland’s Athletic Department tweeted this today, two days before the start of the tournament:“Signs that ORUs future is bright: first-teamer, two honorable mentions, and newcomer of the year all back for more next year.” Thats pretty telling.ORU has won eight in a row heading into the tournament and, if they win the opener against North Dakota State on Saturday night, will have bye in the second round. They’re just three wins away from going to back to the NCAA tournament after missing out the past two seasons. Tulsa’s road is tougher, mostly because of the parity involved with Conference USA this year. Seven teams had a shot at winning the league heading into the final week of regular season action! That’s unheard of!Tulsa’s chances are not as great as their counterparts from across town, mathematically. ORU is a front-runner in a weaker league, and only has one real threat in their way. If ORU does its job, the Oakland-ORU matchup that everyone expects will surface in the title game. TU will potentially have to deal with UTEP in their house, an outstanding UAB team and perennial favorite Memphis. That’s not even taking into account SMU, Central Florida or Houston all LOWER seeds in the tournament that the Golden Hurricane lost to in heartbreaking fashion.But, Tulsa is playing very well right now. They’re distributing the ball and getting better interior play something they didn’t have a month ago. I like both teams’ chances to make the NCAA tournament. That has never happened in the same season.Tulsa has made 14 trips to the big dance all-time. Oral Roberts, 5. Both could add to their tournament resumes in the next two weeks. Because things are looking up.