Cal State Fullerton (5-8) at Tulsa (4-9)
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2013 | 10:00 AM PT
Reynolds Center • Tulsa, Okla.
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Video | CSF Release 
SERIES RECORDS
Tulsa leads 3-1
in Tulsa: Tulsa leads 3-0
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Television: None
Streaming Video: Hurricane Vision (account required)
Streaming Audio: NA
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at www.fullertontitans.com
ON TAP: Cal State Fullerton ends non-conference play on the road, traveling to Tulsa (4-9) on Saturday for the Titans' first game of 2014. Fullerton returns to Titan Gym on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. to host UC Riverside in the Big West Conference opener.
PROMOTIONS - YOUTH NIGHT: Cal State Fullerton returns to Titan Gym on Thursday Jan. 9, hosting UC Riverside in the first Big West Conference game of the season. The game will also serve as Youth Night at Titan Gym as all youth ages 12 and under will receive free admission to Titan Gym.
TICKETS: Single-game tickets for all home games can be purchased online at www.FullertonTitans.com as well as in person or by calling the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Ticket Office at (657) 278-2783 from the hours of 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. On gamedays, tickets can be purchased one hour prior to tip-off at the Titan Gym ticket box office.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @FullertonHoops for updates during the 2013-14 season.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE: Tulsa enters Saturday's contest on a two-game losing streak, dropping road games at TCU, 70-58, on Dec. 21, and at Maryland, 85-74, on Dec. 29. The Hurricane opened the season on a four-game losing streak before picking up a 63-62 win over Indiana State on Nov. 27 at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Tulsa's last victory was a 66-65 win over Grand Canyon on Dec. 18 at home. James Woodard leads Tulsa averaging 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Hurricane and Titans have played one like opponent this season, with Tulsa also defeating Texas Southern, 98-71, at home on Dec. 4.
HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. TULSA: Cal State Fullerton trails the all-time series against Tulsa, 1-3, including an 0-3 mark on the road. The Titans only win over the Hurricane was recorded on Dec. 9, 1989 in Fullerton by the score of 84-58. The programs last played one another in Tulsa, Okla., on Nov. 28, 1990 with the Hurricane recording an 89-63 win.
HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. CONFERENCE USA: Tulsa is the only opponent from Conference USA that Cal State Fullerton is scheduled to play this season. The Titans hold a 10-9 record against current Conference USA opponents with their last win recorded on Nov. 30, 2008 in a 92-84 win over Charlotte at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif.
ROSTER STATUS: Cal State Fullerton currently has 16 student-athletes listed on its roster, with 12 players having seen game action thus far in 2013-14. Corey Walker and Moses Morgan must redshirt the season due to NCAA transfer rules. Freshman guard Hidde Vos and junior guard James Douglas are expected to redshirt the season.
EARLY SEASON NOTES: Head coach Dedrique Taylor earned his first win as a head coach after the Titans defeated Montana State, 84-55, in Bozeman, Mont., on Nov. 9…Taylor is the fifth Titan head coach to win his first game at Cal State Fullerton…Cal State Fullerton won its season opener against a Division I opponent for the first time since a 75-67 win at BYU on Nov. 22, 1996 (the 2007-08 season opener was played against CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners as the program was in transition to Div. I status)…Cal State Fullerton's 29-point victory at Montana State was its largest margin of victory on the road since an 81-50 win at Utah on Dec. 7, 2011.
CURRENT NOTES: Cal State Fullerton has utilized five different starting lineups during the season...the Titans finished the month of December with a record of 3-3...Fullerton overcame a 10-point deficit against Sacramento State on Dec. 21 – the largest deficit the Titans have overcome this year...Fullerton's 59-point total against Sacramento State marked its lowest in a win this year…the Titans are 4-0 when scoring over 78 points and shooting over 50 percent from the floor, and in the win over Sacramento State, for the first time Fullerton won a game this year scoring less than 60 points, shooting less than 50.0 percent from the floor and having less than three scorers reach double figures...Fullerton has also come back twice this season from halftime deficits to win: at Pepperdine (Dec. 4) and vs. Sacramento State (Dec. 21)...the Titans have not held a lead in a game five times this season...Cal State Fullerton was whistled for a season-high 25 fouls at UNLV on Dec. 28.
INDIVIDUAL MARKERS: Michael Williams has scored in double figures in a team-leading 13 consecutive games. He has led the Titans in scoring in seven of Fullerton's last nine games...Williams scored a game-high 24 points against Texas Southern (Dec. 15), which also marked a Titan season high. In addition, Williams' 18 second-half points were the most a Titan has scored in a single half this year, and his four made three-pointers also set a Titan season high in that game...Alex Harris scored a season-high 21 points against the Tigers on Dec. 15 as the Titans had two players scoring 20 points or more in a game for the first time since March 9, 2013 vs. Cal Poly. Harris' nine made free throws were also a Titan season best as well as career high...Steve McClellan's 12-point, 10-rebound performance against Seattle (Dec. 7) marked the first Titan double-double of the season. In addition, McClellan's 12 rebounds are also a Titan season high.
IN THE BIG WEST: Entering the week, Cal State Fullerton's 24.69 defensive rebounds per game rank second in the Big West Conference...Michael Williams' average of 14.8 points per ranks eighth in the league, and his .750 free-throw percentage also rates sixth in the Big West, while his 1.85 three-pointers per game rank eighth...Marquis Horne's thee-point field goal percentage of .389 ties for seventh in the Big West...Steve McClellan's 2.46 offensive rebounds per game rank ninth in the Big West Conference.
WIN-LOSS COMPARISONS: Cal State Fullerton has shot a higher percentage than opponents in each of its five wins, while shooting a percentage lower than opponents in each of its eight losses...in five wins, the Titans have shot 51.4 percent from the floor while averaging 78.8 points per game. Also in those wins, Fullerton holds a 37.2-32.8 rebounding advantage and holds opponents to a shooting percentage of .372 and an average of 64.6 points per game.
In eight losses this season, Fullerton is shooting a field goal percentage of .382 while averaging just 60.1 points per game while opponents average 73.0 ppg and shoot at a clip of .472. In addition, opponents outrebound CSF 37.4-34.0.
MORE COMPARISONS: The Titans have outscored opponents 394-336 in the paint this year as well as holding an advantage in bench points (274-232), but trail opponents in second chance points (130-142). In losses, the Titans have made just 145 trips to the free-throw line, compared to 202 opportunities for opponents.
ROOKIES: On Nov. 29 at the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy, Fullerton suffered a 48-46 heartbreaking loss to Miami, which saw the Titans nearly erase a 17-point deficit. In that game, head coach Dedrique Taylor inserted freshmen Sheldon Blackwell and Joe Boyd into the starting lineup.
Blackwell, a 6-foot-5 guard from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is leading the Titans with 35 assists while averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Blackwell scored a career high 14 points at USC on Nov. 19 and dished a career-best six assists vs. Miami on Nov. 29.
Boyd, a 6-foot-9 forward from Scottsdale, Ariz., is averaging 4.1 ppg while adding 4.1 rpg. Boyd scored a career-high 10 points in Fullerton's 87-80 win over Texas Southern on Dec. 15, and recorded 10 rebounds at USC on Nov. 19.
NEWCOMERS: Cal State Fullerton senior Michael Williams is playing his first year as a Titan after redshirting the 2012-13 season following a transfer from San Francisco.
Williams has experienced immediate success, averaging a team-leading 14.8 points per game, scoring in double figures in 13 straight games and leading the Titans in scoring in seven of their last nine.
Fullerton has won three of its last five, and during that stretch, Williams is averaging 16.0 points per game, shooting 44.6 percent from the floor while knocking down nine three-pointers and averaging 3.2 assists per game.
THE LAST STRETCH: Cal State Fullerton has won three of its last five leading up to Saturday's game at Tulsa.
The Titans are averaging 70.6 points per game during that stretch while shooting 43.9 percent from the floor and outrebounding opponents 37.2-35.6. The Titans are also shooting 69.0 percent from the free-throw line but have struggled from behind the arc at a clip of .244 (21-of-86).
AIR TIME: Currently, Cal State Fullerton has 10 men's basketball games scheduled to be broadcast. Still ahead, Cal State Fullerton's Jan. 16 game at UC Irvine has been scheduled for an ESPN3 broadcast.
Fullerton's contest against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 25 will be aired on Fox Sports Prime Ticket from Titan Gym. In addition, two Titan games are scheduled to be aired on ESPN3 starting on Thursday, Jan. 23 when the Titans host Cal Poly, as well as Fullerton's game against Hawai'i on Saturday, Feb. 15, from Titan Gym.
A NEW ERA BEGINS: Former Arizona State associate head men's basketball coach and long-time college assistant Dedrique Taylor was appointed the 11th men's basketball head coach in Cal State Fullerton history, Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced on April 3, 2013.
A NEW LOOK: Of the 16 players on Cal State Fullerton's roster, 10 had not suited up in a Cal State Fullerton uniform before the 2013-14 season.
REPLACING OFFENSE: Cal State Fullerton lost 60 percent of its scoring from last season with the departure of seniors Sammy Yeager (15.8 ppg), Kwame Vaughn (18.4 ppg) and D.J. Seeley (17.9 ppg).
TITANS IN THE NBA: Former Cal State Fullerton men's basketball player Josh Akognon became the 12th former Titan to appear in the NBA on April 10, 2013 playing four minutes and scoring two points to go with an assist for the Dallas Mavericks in their 102-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center.
Akognon, who played two seasons for Fullerton from 2007-09, became the first Titan to appear in an NBA game since Bobby Brown (2003-07) competed for the New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009-10 season.
2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Attracts Record Crowds: With the attendance for the final four games of the 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy being 6,007 for the competition at Honda Center on Dec. 1, the three-day event over Thanksgiving weekend attracted a record 14,982 fans for the in-season college basketball tournament near Disneyland.
The Dec. 1 total of 6,007 was a single-day record The 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy featured a Marquette vs. San Diego State championship game at Honda Center. Other schools in the event were Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, College of Charleston, Creighton, George Washington and Miami.
With the first four sessions of the 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy being played November 28 and 29 at Titan Gym on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, the final four games were combined into one session at Honda Center. The two days of action at Titan Gym drew 3,831 on Thanksgiving Day and 5,144 on Nov. 29.
The previous tournament attendance record for the three days of competition at the Anaheim Convention was 14,212 set in November 2009.