Premium Preview -- TU faces quality New Mexico squad in NIT semifinal

Chris Harmon

Heisman
Staff member
Aug 15, 2002
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For Tulsa Golden Hurricane fans, this NIT journey has been the icing on top of a fantastic turnaround season. After scraping through a dismal 13-20 season just a year ago, head coach Eric Konkol has engineered a remarkable 180-degree turn.

Now sitting at 29-7 — the program’s most wins since 2000 — the No. 1-seeded Hurricane roll into Thursday night’s NIT Semifinal at Hinkle Fieldhouse against a quality opponent with momentum on their side.

Standing across the court will be a New Mexico Lobos squad (26-10) that has bulldozed its way through the bracket with blowout victories by an average of more than 20 points. The early lines have UNM as a modest 3.5-point favorite. But don’t tell that to the Lobos themselves. Even they know Tulsa is far from a layup.