GAME NOTES: Back in the postseason for the third straight year, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane are set to take on the Tribe of William & Mary in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night at the Reynolds Center.

The Golden Hurricane, participants in this event 10 times previously, played in the NCAA Tournament last year and before that in the College Basketball Invitational. The squad managed to defeat Houston during the American Athletic Conference Tournament last week, 59-51, but then on Saturday was taken out by the Connecticut Huskies, 47-42.

As for the Tribe, they earned an automatic bid to the NIT by virtue of winning the regular-season title in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 12-6 record. They had hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament and appeared headed in the right direction with wins over Elon and Hofstra during the CAA Tournament in Baltimore, but then fell to Northeastern, 72-61.

William & Mary is into the NIT for just the third time in history and is looking to log a win for the first time after losing to Virginia Tech and North Carolina in 1983 and 2010, respectively.

Tulsa, which sports a record of 22-10 entering play on Tuesday, has a mark of 11-8 in this tourney over the years, winning it all in both 1981 and 2001.

The only previous meeting between the programs took place at the Convention Center in Tulsa back in 1986 during the First Tulsa Classic, with the hosts taking that contest by a score of 79-60.

The winner of this meeting will make it to the second round and face the survivor of the UTEP/Murray State contest.

Marcus Thornton is the driving force behind the success of the Tribe this season, his 19.9 ppg easily pacing the program as he shot 40.8 percent behind the 3-point line, converting a total of 98 triples in 32 games. Thornton also knocked down 82.7 percent of his tries at the free-throw line and handed out 95 assists in an effort to get teammates involved in the action.

Omar Prewitt, the only other player to have started every game for the Tribe, accounted for 13.4 ppg, while Terry Tarpey pitched in with 11.8 ppg and a team-best 8.5 rpg, not to mention a team-high 97 assists and 57 steals. A 53.3 percent shooter from the floor, Tarpey also blocked a team-high 40 shots as well. Add in Daniel Dixon with his 11.3 ppg, generated mostly by his 72 3- pointers, and it is easy to see how this team produces a solid 73.3 ppg.

Tulsa was one of the hottest teams in the AAC since the middle of December, but the team dropped back-to-back decisions against Cincinnati and SMU to close out the regular season, setting the team up for a poor showing in the conference tournament. A defensive-minded group, the Golden Hurricane held opponents to only 59.8 ppg on the season, with foes shooting only 39.2 percent from the field and 32.8 percent beyond the arc.

James Woodard and Shaquille Harrison were two of the three players who started every game, so it only made sense that they were also the leading scorers for Tulsa with 14.5 and 13.2 ppg, respectively. Woodard was the major perimeter threat with 85 successful triples, while Harrison was the one who hit the glass (5.0 rpg) and also set up teammates with his 117 assists. It also didn't hurt that Harrison was also feared on defense, making 62 steals.

The Tribe may not be used to winning big games on the road against formidable non-conference foes, but given the offensive prowess of William & Mary there's no reason to think the team can't pull it off.