SportsLine.com Report
March 26, 2000

Regional final: Tulsa falls just short against Heels

AUSTIN, Texas -- Tulsa did not easily give up the best season in school history, fighting to the end against one of the most storied programs in college basketball.

The Golden Hurricane, who proved to be much better than their No. 7 seed, were just a couple of plays away from reaching the Final Four for the first time. But a late 3-pointer under duress was off the mark, so North Carolina was able to hold on for a 59-55 victory … and Tulsa's season ended with a school-record 32 victories, pride intact.

"The only thing I can say is that we can walk away with our heads high because we gave 110 percent all the way back from our first day in October," said Eric Coley, a 6-5 senior forward who encountered foul trouble the whole game and managed just six points and four rebounds, far below his tournament averages.

"It's just that you're not going to win every game. It happens sometimes."

It happened Sunday in the South Regional final. The undersized Hurricane were out-rebounded by nine, their shots weren't dropping (37.3 percent), and Coley and leading scorer David Shelton were limited due to foul trouble.

And Tar Heel freshman Joseph Forte was the best player on the court (28 points).

"Every time we thought we had a stop, he would come out and make a play for them," Coley said of Forte. "We were all over him at the end, and he still made shots. He's just a good player."

After a Brendan Haywood dunk 13 seconds into the second half, North Carolina wouldn't trail again. The teams later went through a four-minute stretch when nobody scored and they combined to miss 12 shots, but Tulsa ended the drought and pulled into a 41-41 tie with 9:21 left.

Then came Carolina's game-defining run. The Tar Heels, fueled by Forte, scored the next 10 points to lead 51-41 with 5:26 left.

Creating some turnovers late in the game, Tulsa clawed back to as close as 57-55 with 18 seconds left and had a chance to tie, down by three on its final possession.

But Shelton missed a 3-pointer under pressure with 4 seconds left.

"To be quite honest, we panicked," said Tulsa coach Bill Self. "We shot a guarded shot. But that thing happens. That didn't cost us the game."

Tulsa's five losses came by a combined 11 points.

"The way this year has gone for me and this team and the University of Tulsa," said Coley, "it's really a sweet feeling."

How They Got There

Nationally ranked for most of the season, Tulsa controlled the WAC race most of the way and won the league's regular-season championship.

The Golden Hurricane couldn't, however, get past Fresno State in the WAC Tournament championship game -- the third game against the Bulldogs of the season, and the third loss to Jerry Tarkanian's team. Hence, they certainly lost a couple seeding spots, which, as it has turned out, mostly helped with their motivation.

Starting Lineup

• PG Tony Heard (6-0, 175, Sr.) 9.7 ppg, 3.4 apg
  This is one point guard that teams can't afford to back away from in a half-court defense. He shoots at about a 40-percent clip from 3-point range and scores about 10 points a game. He's had a couple of nice tournament games, totaling 24 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and only 3 turnovers.
• SG Greg Harrington (6-2, 185, So.) 10.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.0 apg
  The youngster of the group, Harrington has adapted well to being the shooting guard. He averages a steady 11 points a game and can hit the outside shot (43 percent). He scored 16 against UNLV, but then just 6 against Cincinnati, settling in at his 11-point average. In the two games, he has 5 steals and just 2 turnovers.
• C Brandon Kurtz (6-10, 245, Sr.) 11.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg
  The big man in the middle hasn't blossomed as many thought he would, but he's still a wide body down low. He averaged 8.1 rebounds in conference games, about 1½ above his season average. He's scored only 4 points in each of the games at the subregional, and had 5 and 6 rebounds.
• PF Eric Coley (6-5, 210, Sr.) 11.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.6 apg, 3.3 steals pg
  His 16 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 assists and 4 steals against Cincinnati was one of the outstanding overall performances of the tournament. Can score and rebound, but mostly he'll steal you blind -- his 117 steals are the most in college basketball this season, breaking the league record held by former UTEP standout Tim Hardaway.
• SF Marcus Hill (6-5, 195, Jr.) 11.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg
  Like his teammates, Hill is a study in steady, cruising along at 11 points and 4 rebounds a game. His ability to play down low and on the perimeter makes him a double threat.

Keys to Success

The fact that reserve David Shelton is the team's leading scorer speaks volumes about Tulsa's approach this season. No individual is bigger than the team.

"I love coming off the bench and giving us a spark," said Shelton (14.0 ppg). "None of us scores a lot of points, but we're all in double figures. That says a lot about us. Our only concern is winning."

The star of the show is Eric Coley, who is among the school's career leaders for steals and blocked shots. Big man Brandon Kurtz is strong down low and Greg Harrington mixes his ability to pass with his knack for knocking down the outside shot.

Put it all together and it's a deadly combination that led to Tulsa's 31 victories this season. They need to continue their balanced, unselfish style of play in the high-stakes NCAA Tournament.

The Coach

Bill Self is in his third season with the Golden Hurricane. Last year, Self guided the Hurricane to a 23-10 record and a share of the WAC Mountain Division title with UNLV. He completed his first year with a 19-12 mark, which was the fifth-best for a first-year coach among the 26 coaches at the school.

He was hired away from crosstown Oral Roberts, where in four years he compiled an overall 56-53 record, with a 40-15 mark in his final two seasons.

The Bench

It's not often that the sixth man is the leading scorer, but that's the case with the David Shelton, who comes off the bench early and is usually around at the end. He leads the team in scoring, averaging 14 points a game despite playing only about 22 minutes.

Offense

This is a team that likes to get into transition, but can play a mean half-court offense when required. Tulsa has a balanced attack that produces 81 points a game, among the national leaders.

As you might expect from a team that produced six players in double figures, Tulsa can score from anywhere on the court. It's a tough team to defend because the it can beat you so many ways.

Defense

The Hurricane has one of the best defenses in the country, holding teams to a meager 62 points a game. Tulsa has talented ballhawkers who create easy baskets off transition. Coley, in particular, is good at working his way into passing lanes and anticipating passes on the wing. This is a solid bunch that produced a winning margin of nearly 20 points a game.