2019–20 Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team represented the University of Tulsa during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Hurricane, led by sixth-year head coach Frank Haith, played their home games at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma as members of the American Athletic Conference.[1] They finished the season 21–10, 13–5 in AAC play to finish in a three-way tie for first place. Frank Haith was named AAC Coach of the Year for the season. Due to tiebreaking rules, they received the No. 3 seed in the AAC tournament, which was canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.[2] Shortly thereafter, the NCAA Tournament and all postseason tournaments were canceled, effectively ending Tulsa's season.[3]

2019–20 Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball
AAC regular season co-champions
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record21–10 (13–5 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaReynolds Center
Seasons
2019–20 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Cincinnati 13 5   .722 20 10   .667
No. 22 Houston 13 5   .722 23 8   .742
Tulsa 13 5   .722 21 10   .677
Wichita State 11 7   .611 23 8   .742
UConn 10 8   .556 19 12   .613
Memphis 10 8   .556 21 10   .677
SMU 9 9   .500 19 11   .633
UCF 7 11   .389 16 14   .533
South Florida 7 11   .389 14 17   .452
Temple 6 12   .333 14 17   .452
East Carolina 5 13   .278 11 20   .355
Tulane 4 14   .222 12 18   .400
Note: The 2020 AAC tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The Golden Hurricane finished the 2018–19 season 18–14, 8–10 in AAC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the first round of the AAC tournament to SMU.[4]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Chris Barnes 0 G 6'4" 200 RS sophomore Compton, CA Transferred to Eastern Michigan
DaQuan Jeffries 2 G/F 6'5" 230 Senior Edmond, OK Graduated
Sterling Taplin 4 G 6'1" 195 Senior Williamsville, NY Graduated
Curran Scott 10 G 6'4' 208 RS junior Edmond, OK Graduate transferred to Clemson
Lindsay Deline Jr. 14 G 5'11" 189 Senior Midwest City, OK Walk-on; graduated
Zeke Moore 23 G 6'7" 210 RS sophomore St. Louis, MO Mid-season transferred to SIU Edwardsville
Pete Hewitt 32 F 6'10" 225 RS sophomore Mountain View, CA Transferred to Point Loma Nazarene
Alex Foree 34 F 6'5" 214 Senior Fort Smith, AR Walk-on; graduated
Simon Falokun 44 F 6'8" 240 Sophomore Houston, TX Left team

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Brandon Rachal 0 G 6'6" 220 Junior Natchitoches, LA Junior college transferred from Pearl River CC
Keyshawn Embery 2 G 6'3" 202 Sophomore Midwest City, OK Transferred from Arkansas. Under NCAA transfer rules, Embery will have to sit out the 2019–20 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Emmanuel Ugboh 24 C 6'11" 242 Junior Lagos, Nigeria Junior college transferred from Iowa Western CC
Curtis Haywood 33 G 6'5" 202 Junior Oklahoma City, OK Transferred from Georgia Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Haywood will have to sit out the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2019 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Isaiah Hill
PG
Bakersfield, CA Liberty High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Aug 27, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
Josh Earley
PF
Shawnee Mission, KS Bishop Miege High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Apr 28, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Tulsa 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2020 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Keshawn Williams
PG
Chicago Heights, Illinois Bloom High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Oct 22, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
Peyton Urbancic
SG
Naples, Florida First Baptist Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Feb 27, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2019–20 Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Brandon Rachal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Natchitoches Central HS
LSU
Pearl River CC
Natchitoches, LA
F 1 Martins Igbanu 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Covenant Christian Ministries Academy Lagos, Nigeria
G 2 Keyshawn Embery-Simpson   6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Midwest City HS
Arkansas
Midwest City, OK
G 3 Elijah Joiner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Curie Metropolitan HS Chicago, IL
G 4 Isaiah Hill 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Liberty HS Bakersfield, CA
G 5 Lawson Korita 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Pulaski Academy Little Rock, AR
G 11 Darien Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Jr Blue Valley Northwest HS Overland Park, KS
C 12 Emmanuel Ugboh 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Quality Education Academy
Iowa Western CC
Lagos, Nigeria
G 13 George Christopoulos (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 167 lb (76 kg) RS Fr Warner Christian Academy Nea Smyrni, Greece
F 15 Josh Earley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Bishop Miege HS Shawnee Mission, KS
G 22 Reggie Jones 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Marion HS
Western Michigan
Marion, IN
G 23 Ryan Gendron (W)   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Bishop Kelley HS
Oklahoma State
Tulsa, OK
G 33 Curtis Haywood   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Brewster Academy
Georgia Tech
Oklahoma City, OK
F 41 Jeriah Horne 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) RS Jr The Barstow School
Nebraska
Overland Park, KS
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • (T) Transferred
  •   Injured
  •   Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 31, 2019*
7:00 pm
Rockurst W 76–56 
Reynolds Center 
Tulsa, OK
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019*
12:00 pm, ESPN3
Houston Baptist W 80–72  1–0
Reynolds Center (3,577)
Tulsa, OK
November 9, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at UT Arlington L 59–73  1–1
College Park Center (3,722)
Arlington, TX
November 12, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Oral Roberts
PSO Mayor's Cup
W 74–67  2–1
Reynolds Center (3,705)
Tulsa, OK
November 16, 2019*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Austin Peay
Vanderbilt Invitational
W 72–65  3–1
Reynolds Center (3,105)
Tulsa, OK
November 20, 2019*
7:00 pm
Southeastern Louisiana
Vanderbilt Invitational
W 73–66  4–1
Reynolds Center (3,036)
Tulsa, OK
November 27, 2019*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
South Carolina State
Vanderbilt Invitational
W 78–47  5–1
Reynolds Center (2,870)
Tulsa, OK
November 30, 2019*
7:00 pm, SECN+
at Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Invitational
W 67–58  6–1
Memorial Gymnasium (8,648)
Nashville, TN
December 4, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 72–39  7–1
Reynolds Center (2,781)
Tulsa, OK
December 7, 2019*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Arkansas State L 63–66  7–2
Reynolds Center (3,074)
Tulsa, OK
December 11, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Boise State W 69–56  8–2
Reynolds Center (3,367)
Tulsa, OK
December 14, 2019*
12:30 pm, ESPNU
at Arkansas L 79–98  8–3
Bud Walton Arena (15,589)
Fayetteville, AR
December 21, 2019*
1:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. Colorado State
BOK Center Basketball Showdown
L 104–111 3OT 8–4
BOK Center (2,422)
Tulsa, OK
December 29, 2019*
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Kansas State L 67–69  8–5
Bramlage Coliseum (8,370)
Manhattan, KS
AAC regular season
January 3, 2020
8:00 pm, ESPNU
Temple W 70–44  9–5
(1–0)
Reynolds Center (3,405)
Tulsa, OK
January 8, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPNU
at Cincinnati L 44–75  9–6
(1–1)
Fifth Third Arena (10,138)
Cincinnati, OH
January 11, 2020
3:00 pm, ESPN2
Houston W 63–61  10–6
(2–1)
Reynolds Center (3,725)
Tulsa, OK
January 15, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at East Carolina W 65–49  11–6
(3–1)
Williams Arena (5,332)
Greenville, NC
January 18, 2020
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Tulane W 67–54  12–6
(4–1)
Devlin Fieldhouse (2,189)
New Orleans, LA
January 22, 2020
8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 20 Memphis W 80–40  13–6
(5–1)
Reynolds Center (4,668)
Tulsa, OK
January 26, 2020
11:00 am, CBSSN
at UConn W 79–75 OT 14–6
(6–1)
XL Center (10,509)
Hartford, CT
February 1, 2020
5:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 23 Wichita State
Rivalry
W 54–51  15–6
(7–1)
Reynolds Center (8,089)
Tulsa, OK
February 6, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN2
UConn L 56–72  15–7
(7–2)
Reynolds Center (4,630)
Tulsa, OK
February 9, 2020
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at UCF L 75–83  15–8
(7–3)
Addition Financial Arena (5,349)
Orlando, FL
February 12, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3
East Carolina W 70–56  16–8
(8–3)
Reynolds Center (3,232)
Tulsa, OK
February 15, 2020
11:00 am, ESPNU
at South Florida W 56–48  17–8
(9–3)
Yuengling Center (3,095)
Tampa, FL
February 19, 2020
8:00 pm, ESPNU
at No. 22 Houston L 43–76  17–9
(9–4)
Fertitta Center (6,732)
Houston, TX
February 22, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPNews
SMU W 79–57  18–9
(10–4)
Reynolds Center (4,690)
Tulsa, OK
February 25, 2020
8:00 pm, ESPNU
Tulane W 62–57  19–9
(11–4)
Reynolds Center (3,443)
Tulsa, OK
February 29, 2020
5:00 pm, ESPNU
UCF W 65–54  20–9
(12–4)
Reynolds Center (5,304)
Tulsa, OK
March 4, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Temple W 61–51  21–9
(13–4)
Liacouras Center (5,068)
Philadelphia, PA
March 8, 2020
3:00 pm, CBSSN
at Wichita State
Rivalry
L 57–79  21–10
(13–5)
Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
Wichita, KS
AAC tournament
March 13, 2020
8:30 pm, ESPNU
(3) vs. (6) Memphis / (11) East Carolina
Quarterfinals
Cancelled[1] Dickies Arena 
Fort Worth, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[5]

1.^ Cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Awards and honors

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American Athletic Conference honors

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All-AAC First Team

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  • Martins Igbanu

All-AAC Third Team

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  • Brandon Rachal

Player of the Week

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  • Week 2: Brandon Rachal
  • Week 11: Brandon Rachal
  • Week 12: Martins Igbanu
  • Week 13: Elijah Joiner

Source[6][7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "#105 Tulsa Men's Basketball 2019–2020 Preview". www.collegesportsmadness.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "2020 AAC Tournament canceled Thursday amid coronavirus pandemic concerns". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  3. ^ "NCAA tournaments canceled over coronavirus". ESPN.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "McMurray Scores 27 to Lead SMU Past Tulsa in First Round". theamerican.org. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Men's Basketball – Schedule". University of Tulsa – Official Athletic Site.
  6. ^ "American Men's Basketball Release" (PDF). American Athletic Conference. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "American Athletic Conference Announces All-Conference, All-Freshman Teams". theamerican.org. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Individual Awards". theamerican.org. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.