SAN ANTONIO – UTSA men's basketball travels to Tulsa for its seventh game of the season on Tuesday. Tipoff from the Golden Hurricane's Reynolds Center is set for 7 p.m.
Game overview
• UTSA plays its seventh game of the 2017-18 season with a Tuesday evening contest at Tulsa. The game will tip at 7 p.m. CT at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa. UTSA (4-2), which went 14-19 last season (8-10 C-USA; ninth place), is in its second season under head coach Steve Henson. Tulsa (3-3) is coming off of a 15-17 season under Frank Haith (fourth year). Tuesday's contest will air on the Roadrunners Sports Network (Ticket 760 in San Antonio) with Andy Everett providing play-by-play. The game will be also stream live on WatchESPN with Chad McKee (play-by-play) and Bryndon Manzer (analyst) on the call.
Series history vs. Tulsa
• Tulsa leads the all-time series by a 4-0 count with each meeting occurring in Tulsa. The series started in 1998 with an 81-68 Golden Hurricane win. The squads last met on March 2, 2014 -- a 72-70 Tulsa win in overtime -- when both programs were members of Conference USA.
Hello from the outside
• After ranking third from the bottom in the NCAA in 3-point shooting last season, the 2017-18 edition of the Roadrunners seem to have no problem knocking down the outside shot.
• In the season's first six contests, UTSA has connected on 56 3-point attempts. Freshmen guards Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson lead the way with 16 and 14 triples, respectively.
• Both the Roadrunners' 56 made 3-pointers and 163 attempts rank second in Conference USA as do their 9.3 made triples per contest.
This offense is different
• Through the first six regular season games, UTSA has deployed an up-tempo offensive style that vastly contrasts last season's offense. In the six games the Roadrunners have combined to shoot 45.5 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from 3-point range en route to a 78.5 points per game average. Comparatively, the 2016-17 team shot 39.3 percent overall and a mere 28.3 percent from deep, while averaging 66.0 point per outing. Moreover, the 2016-17 team did not reach 90 points in 31 games, while this season's squad has already broken the barrier twice.
The helping hand
• UTSA ranks third in Conference USA with 93 total assists on 162 makes -- a 57.4 percent assist rate. The Roadrunners average 15.3 helpers per game and totaled a season-high 23 on 28 makes against James Madison (11/19/17).
• Giovanni De Nicolao lead the way with 23 dimes. Byron Frohnen has 15 helpers, while Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace each have 13.
Getting to the line
• UTSA has shot 130 free throws through six games, making 91. The Roadrunners are averaging 21.7 attempts from the free-throw line per game.
• The Birds attempted a season-high 31 against James Madison (11/19/17), making a season-high 25.
• Jhivvan Jackson (28 of 36) has been to the line the most, followed by Giovanni De Nicolao (12 of 17).
Welcome to the season ... five games in eight days
• UTSA opened the 2017-18 campaign playing five games in the season's first eight days. After the season opener against East Central on Nov. 12, the Roadrunners played at Texas State on Nov. 15. The Birds left campus at 4:45 a.m. on Nov. 16 on their journey to The Bahamas for three games in the inaugural Island of the Bahamas Showcase Nov. 17-19. UTSA fell in its opener to Coastal Carolina, then were best by Bradley in the final second before closing the event with a 13-point win over James Madison.
Here we go again ... four games in seven days
• UTSA plays its second stretch of three-plus games in a week's time. The Roadrunners, who opened the season playing five games in eight days, will play its next four games -- three of which are on the road -- in seven days. UTSA starts the stretch Tuesday (Nov. 28) at Tulsa before coming home to play Ottawa on Thursday (Nov. 30). The Birds then return to the road for a two-game road swing at Utah Valley (Saturday, Dec. 2) and at Oklahoma (Monday, Dec. 4).
Up Next
• UTSA returns home for its third game in the Convocation Center on Thurs., Nov. 30 against Ottawa. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be carried live on CUSA.tv and Ticket 760.
Tweet #RunWithUs
