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With their win last night, Tulsa has now won ten straight, but who was their last loss? The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
After a wild, vacuum sealed race for the top four seeds of a regular season, Saturday morning's tournament final will cap off a solid season, and underrated of Conference USA Basketball.
James Woodard scored 19 points in the semi-final win against Middle Tennessee, making it 25 straight games he has scored in double figures. Woodard is averaging 20 points in his last four games.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane improved to 20-12 on the season, after a 1-6 start, marking their first 20 win season since the 2009-10 campaign, and the 19th time since the 1980-81 season.
The last time Tulsa won a conference tournament was in the WAC in 2003, today marks the third appearance in C-USA tournament final, first since losing in back-to-back season in 2008, and 2009 to Memphis.
Kenneth Smith was huge against Southern Miss., recording a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists, making 15 out of his last 15 games he has had at least 8 assists.
Alex Hamilton continues to fill the hole missing by the rehabbing Raheem Appleby, canning a career high four three pointers and leading La. Tech in scoring once again, making nine wins in their last games.
La. Tech has scored 50 second half points for the second straight night, and are 24-0 when leading after halftime.
Defense has been the forte for most of the year, everybody has great hands 1-5, and are 22-0 when they force 15 turnovers or more.
The Bulldogs can also shoot the three, though take very smart tries, and have hit 10 three pointers seven times this season.
People in Ruston are rooting for their first conference tournament title since 1991, last time the Bulldogs were in a tournament final, NMSU knocked them off 82-57 in Michael White's first year at Tech.
La Tech's stats just jump right at you with production, but so does Tulsa's defense.
Hot meets, hottest, should be an epic battle.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Current Record: 20-12, 13-3
Projected Starters:
James Woodard,So, G, 15.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg
Shaquille Harrison, So, G, 10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Tim Peete, Sr, G., 6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg
D'Andre Wright, So, F, 7.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg
Rashad Smith, So, F, 11.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Team Stats
| Points Per Game | 73.2 |
| Opponents | 67.6 |
| FG% | .442 |
| Opponents% | .405 |
| 3-point% | .322 |
| Opponents% | .349 |
| Free Throw% | .674 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 36.2 |
| Rebounding Margin | +1.5 |
| Assists Per Game | 13.4 |
| Steals Per Game |
7.4 |
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Current Record: 27-6, 13-3
Projected Starters:
Kenneth Smith G, Jr, 7.2 ppg, 7.7 apg
Alex Hamilton, G, So, 14.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Jaron Johnson G, Sr, 9.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
Chris Anderson, F, Sr, 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Michale Kyser, F, Jr, 7.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg
| Points Per Game | 81.7 |
| Opponents | 65.3 |
| FG% | .459 |
| Opponents% | .409 |
| 3-point% | .326 |
| Opponents% | .295 |
| Free Throw% | .675 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 39.5 |
| Rebounding Margin | +3.3 |
| Assists Per Game | 16.2 |
| Steals Per Game |
9.3 |
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