GAME NOTES: The surging Tulsa Golden Hurricane of Conference USA invade Boulder for a clash with the Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12 Conference. Five consecutive victories have enabled Tulsa to improve to 7-4 overall, but none of those win came over quality opposition. The Golden Hurricane has been idle since December 30th when it crushed Mississippi Valley State by a 71-46 final. While Tulsa does own a perfect 6-0 home record this season, the club has lost all three of its true road games. As for Colorado, it has won three straight games to move to 8-5 overall, and the most recent victory came on Friday by a 63-52 final. The non-conference schedule has been rather soft for the Buffaloes, who have yet to knock off a standout opponent. Colorado has won four of its five previous series meetings with Tulsa.

Strong defense was a key to Tulsa's most recent victory over Mississippi Valley State, as the Golden Hurricane limited the Delta Devils to 32.1 percent shooting from the floor. Tulsa also earned a 48-26 rebounding advantage in the clash and outscored its overmatched opponent by a 22-8 margin from the foul line. Ben Uzoh scored 16 points to lead the way in the win, while Glenn Andrews pitched in 14 points off the bench. Both Calvin Walls and Jerome Jordan netted 12 points apiece for Tulsa, which got 15 rebounds from Calvin Walls. Uzoh is the only double-digit scorer on the roster for the Golden Hurricane, as he is netting 16.1 ppg on 50 percent shooting from the floor, including 44.7 percent from three-point range. Also an 83 percent shooter from the foul line, Uzoh often has the ball in his hands down the stretch in close games. The Golden Hurricane is scoring 70.8 ppg, while allowing 63.4 ppg to the opposition.

Colorado is only scoring 64.1 ppg this season but the team has been able to limit its opponents to 58.6 ppg. Richard Roby has started all 13 games for the Buffaloes, and he is netting 15.8 ppg to go along with 6.2 rpg. Marcus Hall is contributing 13.5 ppg for the Buffaloes, and Xavier Silas adds 10.5 ppg to the mix. In the most recent victory for Colorado over SMU, Silas and Roby both scored 15 points. Hall led the team with 16 points to go along with his assists, and Levi Knutson added balance to the lineup with 10 points. Strong defense was key to that win, as the Mustangs were only able to connect on 35.8 percent of their field goal attempts.

Go with the home team today, as Colorado should be able to knock off Tulsa. Both teams enter with winning streaks, so expect the Buffaloes and Golden Hurricane to play with confidence.