TU Prepares For Road Game Against No. 16 SMU

The Tulsa men's basketball team travels to Dallas to take on 16th-ranked and league-leading SMU in a key American Athletic Conference contest at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Moody Coliseum.
 
The Golden Hurricane (15-8, 7-4 American) and Mustangs (20-2, 9-2 American) met in the conference opener on Dec. 29 in Tulsa, which SMU won, 81-69. The Hurricane has won seven of its 10 games since that meeting, including a 77-63 win over Houston on Sunday. SMU's two losses have been in the last four games, and the Mustangs defeated USF, 92-58, Sunday. Tulsa is tied for fourth place in the league at 7-4 and two games behind SMU, along with Cincinnati.
 
The game will be broadcast on Big Country 99.5 FM and the Golden Hurricane Radio Network, and televised on CBS Sports Network.

The Series
This will be the 48th meeting between Tulsa and SMU. Tulsa leads the series, 30-17. The Mustangs have won four in row in the series, including an 81-69 win in Tulsa in the first league game of the season on Dec. 29. SMU won both meetings last season – 68-57 in Tulsa, and 67-62 in Dallas. The teams split six meetings between 2011-13, with each team winning its three road matchups in that span. The Golden Hurricane held a 10-game winning streak in the series from 2006-10. Prior to that run, SMU won five in a row from 2004-06. The Hurricane is 18-7 all-time against the Mustangs in Dallas, and have won eight of the last nine on the road in the series.
 
About SMU
SMU averages 80.0 points and 39.9 rebounds per game, as well as a .506 field goal and .420 3-point percentage, while allowing 63.6 ppg, 29.5 rpg, a .398 field goal and a .338 3-point percentage. Nic Moore leads the Mustangs with 15.8 points and 5.0 assists per game. Ben Moore averages 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while Jordan Tolbert puts up 12.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. Shake Milton scored 11.3 points and Sterling Brown adds 10.0 points per outing
 
Tulsa Statistical Leaders
James Woodard leads the Golden Hurricane with 16.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, whileShaquille Harrison averages 15.1 points and 5.4 rebounds, along with 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. Pat Birt adds 11.0 points, Rashad Smith scores 7.2 points, and Brandon Swanneganputs up 6.2 points. Tulsa averages 73.3 ppg, 35.3 rpg, a .439 field goal percentage, .327 3-point pct. and a .669 free throw pct. The Hurricane allows opponents 68.0 ppg, 36.8 rpg, a .410 field goal pct. and a .350 3-point pct.
 
Quick Hits
• Tulsa has won seven of its last nine games.
• Tulsa defeated Houston, 77-73, Sunday at the Reynolds Center. Pat Birt scored 27 points and knocked down five 3-pointers to lead the Golden Hurricane. James Woodard tallied 15 points,Rashad Smith had 12 points, and Shaquille Harrison added 10 points.
• James Woodard, Shaquille Harrison and Pat Birt combine to average 42.3 points per game.
• Tulsa is 1-2 vs. ranked opponents this season, with a win over No. 9 Wichita State (77-67), and losses to No. 18 SMU (69-81) and No. 22 Cincinnati (57-76).
• Through 23 games this season, Tulsa has a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio. TU has totaled 315 assists to 253 turnovers. In 2014-15 through 23 games, the Hurricane had 245 assists-266 turnovers–0.9 ratio.
• Two Tulsa players have scored 20 points in the same game five times this season – the most since the 1993-94 team had at least two players score at least 20 points in the same game eight times.
• James Woodard and Shaquille Harrison make up the top scoring duo in the American Athletic Conference, averaging a combined 31.3 points per game and 42 percent of the team's total points.
•  Tulsa is 4-3 on the road this season.
•  Rashad Ray has a 3.5 assist-turnover ratio this season (48 assists to 14 turnovers). For his career, Ray has a 1.9 assist-turnover ratio, including a 2.5 ratio over his last three years (232 assists to 94 turnovers).
•  Harrison ranks 36th in the nation in steals (2.0 spg).
•  The Hurricane has scored 90 points in four games so far this season. It is the most 90-point games since 2013-14, when Tulsa scored 90 points five times, and is the second-most since 2000-01.
•  Harrison is on the 2016 Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Early Season Watch List, from the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
•  Harrison has been nominated for the Allstate NABC Good Works Team, which recognizes players at all levels of college basketball who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of volunteerism and civic involvement.
•  TU nabbed the first two American Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards of the season. Woodard won the award on Nov. 16, and Harrison received the honor on Nov. 23.
•  Tulsa is playing this season with nine seniors – the most seniors on one roster in the country.
•  Tulsa is in its second year season under the direction of head coach Frank Haith. In his first season, the Hurricane posted a 23-11 overall record and a 14-4 conference record. TU finished second in the American Athletic Conference regular season, played in the semifinals of the conference tournament, and reached the second round of the postseason NIT.
 
Tulsa Career Top-10 Rankings
     James Woodard ranks fifth in TU career scoring with 1,761 points, and fourth with 242 career 3-pointers, and with six threes, he can match Scottie Haralson (2010-13) for third place (248).
     Harrison ranks third at TU with 229 career steals, and fourth with 420 career assists. He needs 42 steals to match Steve Harris (1981-85) for second place (271), and five assists to match Ben Uzoh (2006-10) for third place (425).
     Brandon Swannegan has 141 career blocks, ranking fourth in TU history. He needs 110 blocks to match Kevin Johnson (1999-03) for third place.