Southern Methodist @ Tulsa preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Southern Methodist 74, Tulsa 65

SMU has been sensational on its home court this season with a 14-1 mark – the only American Athletic Conference team with a single home loss – but have managed just a single victory in six opportunities on the road during league play. The Mustangs will look to flip the script on Saturday when they visit Tulsa in the only regular-season meeting between the teams.

SMU had a prime opportunity to end its road woes Wednesday against a Tulane squad that entered on a nine-game losing streak, but the Mustangs fouled too much (season-high 26), couldn’t make enough stops (Green Wave shot 72 percent from the floor in the second half), and fell short in an 80-72 setback. The Mustangs attempted a season-high 36 triples but knocked down just six while there was a 43-28 discrepancy at the foul line in Tulane’s favor that caused SMU to finish with one more made field goal despite 23 more shots taken (Tulane went 21-for-37 from the floor, SMU 22-for-60). Tulsa dropped a 76-43 decision to No. 22 Houston Wednesday as the team faced a six-point halftime deficit but were outscored 50-23 after the break. Forward Martin Igbanu continued his strong play off the bench with a team-best 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting as the senior leads the team with 16.2 points per game on 63.1 percent shooting since being removed from the starting lineup to begin conference play.

TIME: 3 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNEWS

ABOUT SMU (18-7, 8-5 AAC): Junior Isiaha Mike poured in a team-high 18 points against Tulane but has been struggling from long range as he’s third in the conference in 3-pointers made (54) but is 2-for-12 in his last two games. Sophomore Kendric Davis managed just nine points Wednesday but still leads the squad in scoring (15.3) and enters the weekend ranked first in the AAC in assists per game (7.0) – seventh nationally. Sophomore Emmanuel Bandoumel knocked down 7-of-8 from the free throw line en route to tallying a season-best 15 points – the seventh time the guard has hit double-figures this season.

ABOUT TULSA (17-9, 9-4): Forward Jeriah Horne hit a pair of triples on his way to 12 points against the Cougars while also pulling down a team-best seven rebounds. The Golden Hurricane had a dismal offensive performance Wednesday as they finished 4-of-20 from behind the arc and 7-of-18 at the foul line – one game after knocking down 23-of-28 free throws in a win over South Florida. Tulsa has combined to register 13 assists and 29 turnovers over its last two games with freshman Isaiah Hill turning the ball over a team-high 53 times this season – one more than Igbanu.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Mustangs managed nine assists against Tulane Wednesday – the second time this season they failed to register at least 10 and first time since Nov. 18 against Evansville.

2. SMU leads the AAC in 3-pointers made (208), while Tulsa has connected on the fewest (143).

3. Tulsa will be retiring the jersey of Bobby “Bingo” Smith (1965-69) at halftime Saturday. Smith averaged 17.8 points and 9.5 rebounds during 77 career games with the Golden Hurricane.

PREDICTION: Tulsa 67, SMU 58