Houston (12-3, 2-0) vs. Tulsa (9-6, 1-1)
Donald Reynolds Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Houston looks for its sixth straight win in the head-to-head series over Tulsa. Houston has won by an average of 15 points in its last five wins over the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa's last win in the series came on Feb. 7, 2016, a 77-63 win.
TEAM LEADERS: The dynamic Brandon Rachal is averaging 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals to lead the way for the Golden Hurricane. Jeriah Horne is also a key contributor, putting up 11.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. The Cougars are led by Nate Hinton, who is averaging 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds.NATE IS A FORCE: Hinton has connected on 43.1 percent of the 65 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 6 of 15 over his last three games. He's also made 71.4 percent of his free throws this season.
WINNING WHEN: The Golden Hurricane are 5-0 when they block at least three opposing shots and 4-6 when they fall shy of that mark. The Cougars are 9-0 when they score at least 75 points and 3-3 on the year when falling short of 75.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Cougars have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa has an assist on 37 of 70 field goals (52.9 percent) over its past three outings while Houston has assists on 45 of 77 field goals (58.4 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Houston is ranked first among Division I teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 41 percent. The Cougars have averaged 15.4 offensive boards per game and 17.3 per game over their last three games.
