2010 Preview: Bottom Three Games From 2009

Originally Published: Oct 27, 2010 8:28 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Reporter

TULSA, Oklahoma – The 2009-10 men’s basketball season had its fair share of lows for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The team made plenty of big plays in every game, but didn’t make quite enough of those big plays in three crucial games.

Here are the bottom three games from a year ago:

February 13th – 93-86 L vs. Memphis
This was the third-most points Tulsa scored all season, but it came in a losing effort. The Golden Hurricane didn’t have an answer for the Tigers in the first half, spotting the defending league champions a 46-32 halftime advantage.

Ben Uzoh had arguably the best game of his collegiate career that night, with 20 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, a pair of blocks and a steal. But, it wasn’t enough.
The loss snapped Tulsa’s 23-game home winning streak and was the beginning of a 2-5 finish to the regular season.


February 20th – 78-70 L vs. UTEP
A week after the loss to Memphis, the Golden Hurricane stumbled again at home, this time to UTEP. This game stung because of what it represented. With just three league games remaining, Tulsa had to beat the Miners to have even a slight outside shot at winning Conference USA. Their hopes evaporated on their home floor against UTEP.

Randy Culpepper torched Tulsa with 29 points and three steals. The point guard outplayed Uzoh, who finished with 22 points and four assists. UTEP held the Golden Hurricane to just 25 percent shooting in the first half. That loss was the third straight for TU.


March 13th – 75-74 L. vs. Kent State, NIT 1st Round
Postseason losses sting the most. This one was especially painful because of how it happened and what came to an end.

TU trailed the Golden Flashes for most of the night but never gave up. They got double-digit efforts from their stars, but still came up short. The loss ended Uzoh and Jerome Jordan’s careers. The seniors made it to postseason tournaments three straight seasons and ended their Tulsa tenures with a not-quite-enough comeback effort.

The Golden Hurricane begins its season at home on November 1st.

For more on Tulsa’s 2010 outlook:
2010 Team Preview
Tulsa’s Ready for C-USA Title run

Tulsa’s Best Player
Justin Hurtt

TU’s Biggest Departures:
Replacing Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh

TU’s Biggest Additions:
Freshmen and Transfers Ready to Play

Top Three Games from 2009:
A Blowout, a Comeback and a Nail-biter

Three games to look forward to in 2010:
Coming 10/29