Preview: TU Looks For 13th Straight Win Against SMU

The Golden Hurricane will host SMU Saturday night in one of its biggest games of the season.

TU improved to 17-5 overall and 10-0 in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) after its 57-44 win over Houston Friday night. In the game, D'Andre Wright led Tulsa in scoring with 13 points, and Rashad Smith had a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds.

The win put Tulsa a game and a half ahead of SMU in the conference race.

In the matchup vs. Houston, the Golden Hurricane held the Cougars to only ten points in the second half, and hopes its defensive momentum rolls over into the upcoming game. “Our defense in the first half was not very good, but I thought any time you do what we did in the second half to hold a team to ten points, we were really on point defensively,” said TU head coach Frank Haith. “We rebounded the ball well, [and] we only gave them one shot. We were there on the catch. I'm really proud of how hard we played on that end.”

TU says 6,700 tickets have already been sold for the 7:00 p.m. tip off in the Reynolds Center.

Quick Notes

-TU has won 21 consecutive games against conference rivals, dating back to last season, noting the longest streak in program history. 

-The Golden Hurricane also seized victory in 17 straight regular season conference games, matching the best streak in TU history (1918-1921).

-In January, the Golden Hurricane went 8-0. For TU, the streak was the most wins in an unbeaten month since it went 10-0 in January of 1985.

Quick Hits on SMU

- SMU is second in the league, while TU is first.

- The Mustangs have won 16 of its last 18 games, but had its eight-game win streak snapped after a 62-54 loss to Cincinnati.

- SMU is currently 5-3 on the road this season, including four straight wins.

-Nic Moore leads SMU in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game.

- The Mustangs won its last meeting with TU on March 6, 2013, dishing Tulsa a 71-65 home loss.