Saturday, December 11
Tulsa, Okla.
1 PM
Southern Illinois University
at
Tulsa
Men's Basketball takes on Tulsa on Saturday
12/10/2021 | 10:55:00 | Men's Basketball
TULSA, Okla. — Southern Illinois plays at Tulsa on Saturday in a 1 p.m. tip versus the Golden Hurricane of the American Athletic Conference.
The Salukis (5-3) have won three-straight games and are looking for consecutive road wins for the first time since beating SEMO and Butler on the road last season.
In SIU's last game, a 66-41 win over Southern Miss, the Salukis held Southern Miss to 41 points, the fewest points SIU has allowed since Jan. 29, 2008 (SIU beat Evansville that day, 59-39. Bryan Mullins was a junior guard on that SIU team and had 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists.)
The Golden Hurricane (4-5) were members of the Missouri Valley Conference until 1996 and own a 32-22 advantage in the all-time series between the schools, but Southern has won five of the last six meetings.
The schools last met in 2018 at the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational — a 79-69 Saluki win — behind a 14-point outing by Eric McGill. The last time the teams met on a campus site was Jan. 2, 1999 — a 70-56 SIU win in Carbondale. Tulsa was 12-2 entering that game, and Bruce Weber was in his first year as Southern's coach. Abel Schrader (15 points) and Monte Jenkins (14) led the Dawgs in scoring.
Head Coach Bryan Mullins' Press Conference – 12/9/21
Opening Statement:
"We're looking forward to our match up against Tulsa on Saturday. They're a championship program, they won the [AAC] league, Coach [Frank] Haith is an outstanding coach. They've played a really tough non-conference schedule so far – the last three games they were winning with about a minute left in all three games, with making it a one-possession game. They are an experienced team, they are an old team, they have guys that have been in the program a couple of years. Tulsa has two high-level scorers, Jeriah Horne and Sam Griffin. Defensively, they are as physical and as active as any team we've played this year. We're going to have our hands full, it's going to be a great test for our guys. We have to continue to get better – that's been our goal throughout this non-conference, is to improve from game to game and continue to grow as a team. We're making steps in that direction and we need to continue to go that way.
On Southern Miss game:
"Defensively, we didn't have too many big breakdowns. We had a couple where we gave up some threes, a couple times on some post defense. But we didn't give them consecutive break downs with easy lay ups or wide-open threes. For the most part I think we did a good job of contesting them. Offensively, we got pretty good shots. We got a few quick ones in the first half that I wish we would have gotten a couple more ball-reversals on, and we didn't shoot that great from three, but the ball movement was better watching film than right after the game."
On three-game winning streak:
"We've gotten a lot better since Paradise Jam. Starting with Alcorn, then going on the road against Evansville, then playing against Southern Miss. I think throughout the last week and a half, we've improved and that's our next step: can we continue to go in that direction? Obviously, we have some tough games coming up with Tulsa, SEMO, then at San Francisco, so it's going to be a big challenge for our guys. The consistency factor is the one thing I've talked to these guys about since the fall is; can we be a possession-by-possession team?"
On Tulsa's success:
"I think in terms of their physicality and their activeness defensively, they have always been at a high level. They can guard a lot of different ways, switch up their defenses, disrupt the rhythm of the game. Offensively, they do a lot of different actions where they get down the hill, they constantly play north-south instead of east-west, I think that puts you on your heels a little bit."
The Salukis (5-3) have won three-straight games and are looking for consecutive road wins for the first time since beating SEMO and Butler on the road last season.
In SIU's last game, a 66-41 win over Southern Miss, the Salukis held Southern Miss to 41 points, the fewest points SIU has allowed since Jan. 29, 2008 (SIU beat Evansville that day, 59-39. Bryan Mullins was a junior guard on that SIU team and had 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists.)
The Golden Hurricane (4-5) were members of the Missouri Valley Conference until 1996 and own a 32-22 advantage in the all-time series between the schools, but Southern has won five of the last six meetings.
The schools last met in 2018 at the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational — a 79-69 Saluki win — behind a 14-point outing by Eric McGill. The last time the teams met on a campus site was Jan. 2, 1999 — a 70-56 SIU win in Carbondale. Tulsa was 12-2 entering that game, and Bruce Weber was in his first year as Southern's coach. Abel Schrader (15 points) and Monte Jenkins (14) led the Dawgs in scoring.
Head Coach Bryan Mullins' Press Conference – 12/9/21
Opening Statement:
"We're looking forward to our match up against Tulsa on Saturday. They're a championship program, they won the [AAC] league, Coach [Frank] Haith is an outstanding coach. They've played a really tough non-conference schedule so far – the last three games they were winning with about a minute left in all three games, with making it a one-possession game. They are an experienced team, they are an old team, they have guys that have been in the program a couple of years. Tulsa has two high-level scorers, Jeriah Horne and Sam Griffin. Defensively, they are as physical and as active as any team we've played this year. We're going to have our hands full, it's going to be a great test for our guys. We have to continue to get better – that's been our goal throughout this non-conference, is to improve from game to game and continue to grow as a team. We're making steps in that direction and we need to continue to go that way.
On Southern Miss game:
"Defensively, we didn't have too many big breakdowns. We had a couple where we gave up some threes, a couple times on some post defense. But we didn't give them consecutive break downs with easy lay ups or wide-open threes. For the most part I think we did a good job of contesting them. Offensively, we got pretty good shots. We got a few quick ones in the first half that I wish we would have gotten a couple more ball-reversals on, and we didn't shoot that great from three, but the ball movement was better watching film than right after the game."
On three-game winning streak:
"We've gotten a lot better since Paradise Jam. Starting with Alcorn, then going on the road against Evansville, then playing against Southern Miss. I think throughout the last week and a half, we've improved and that's our next step: can we continue to go in that direction? Obviously, we have some tough games coming up with Tulsa, SEMO, then at San Francisco, so it's going to be a big challenge for our guys. The consistency factor is the one thing I've talked to these guys about since the fall is; can we be a possession-by-possession team?"
On Tulsa's success:
"I think in terms of their physicality and their activeness defensively, they have always been at a high level. They can guard a lot of different ways, switch up their defenses, disrupt the rhythm of the game. Offensively, they do a lot of different actions where they get down the hill, they constantly play north-south instead of east-west, I think that puts you on your heels a little bit."
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