Tulsa Golden Hurricane
American (20-11, 12-6)
Tulsa was in a pretty tough situation last year, but they brought in Coach Frank Haith to settle the situation and the Golden Hurricane reached the NIT and won a game once there. There was the sense that Tulsa snuck up on the AAC during their debut season in the conference and that this group would not do as well despite returning everybody off of the 2015 NIT team. And the conference record was not as good, but Tulsa rebounded nicely after a pretty slow start to the season.
Big Wins: 11/17 Wichita State (77-67), 1/14 Connecticut (60-51), 2/10 at SMU (82-77)
Bad Losses: 11/28 Arkansas-Little Rock (60-64), 12/5 Oral Roberts (68-70), 2/28 at Memphis (82-92)
Coach: Frank Haith
Why They Can Surprise:
Tulsa relies heavily on their backcourt to not only score, but also win the turnover battle. Shaquille Harrison has started every game during his Tulsa career and he saved his best for his senior season, averaging 14.8 points, 4.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He is the guy who makes things happen on both ends of the floor. There are other scorers on this team though, most notably James Woodard. The 6-3 senior is a very dangerous scorer from everywhere on the floor. Tulsa wants Harrison to create, but they want Woodard taking that clutch shot. Marquel Curtis and Rashad Ray are also senior guards. Curtis is a versatile player and has the toughness to help on the glass even though he is not much of a shooter. Ray will take a few more three-pointers and can spark the offense off of the bench. For a while it was junior college transfer and the lone non-senior in the regular rotation, Pat Birt, who was providing that spark off of the bench. But he worked his way into the starting lineup and is averaging 12.4 points per game and knocking down 37.0 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The backcourt must win the turnover battle since the frontcourt is going to lose out on the glass. Harrison and Woodard are the top rebounders on the team, while forwards Rashad Smith and Brandon Swannegan average just 4.2 and 3.9, respectively. Smith is a decent interior scorer, but enough of a threat for the opposition to worry about anybody scoring other than Woodard, Harrison and Birt. For Smith, Swannegan and reserve forward D’Andre Wright, they just have to play tough. They need to be tougher on the glass and not let the opposition get easy buckets in the paint. Unfortunately, that may involve committing some fouls and Coach Haith does not have much frontcourt depth to work with.
Probable Starters:
Shaquille Harrison, Senior, Guard, 14.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.9 spg
James Woodard, Senior, Guard, 15.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.4 apg
Pat Birt, Junior, Guard, 12.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Rashad Smith, Senior, Forward, 7.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg,
Brandon Swannegan, Senior, Forward, 6.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Marquel Curtis, Senior, Guard, 6.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.1 apg
Rashad Ray, Senior, Guard, 4.2 ppg, 1.9 apg
D’Andre Wright, Senior, Forward, 5.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.2 (147th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 69.0 (107, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.4 (162, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.6 (87, 8)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.1 (163, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.1 (250, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.9 (246, 9)
Rebound Margin: -1.8 (247, 10)
Assists Per Game: 13.8 (141, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.7 (28, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2015 NIT First Round win over William & Mary
2015 NIT Second Round loss to Murray State
2014 NCAA Second Round loss to UCLA
2013 CBI First Round loss to Wright State
2010 NIT First Round loss to Kent State
2009 NIT First Round win over Northwestern
2009 NIT Second Round loss to Alabama
2009 NIT First Round win over Northwestern
2009 NIT Second Round loss Auburn
2008 CBI First Round win over Miami (OH)
2008 CBI Second Round win over Utah
2008 CBI Semifinals win over Houston
2008 CBI Finals win over Bradley
2003 NCAA Round of 64 win over Dayton
2003 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Wisconsin
2002 NCAA Round of 64 win over Marquette
2002 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Kentucky
*all team stats through 3/6
