American Athletic Conference, SMU vs Tulsa

Photos by Dominic Ceraldi

Behind 24 points from league player of the year Kendric Davis, No. 2 SMU defeated No. 10 Tulsa, 83-58, in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Friday, March 11 at Dickies Arena.

With the win, SMU (23-7) will face the winner of No. 6 UCF and No. 3 Memphis in the semifinals on Saturday, March 12 at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Davis, who was held scoreless in the first half, hit six 3-pointers in the second half to lead the Mustangs. Marcus Weathers added 18 points and tied the Championship single-game record with seven blocks (Amida Brimah, UConn vs. SMU, March 15, 2015.

Sam Griffin led the Golden Hurricane (11-20) with 16 points.

In the first half, the two teams were tied at 15 when SMU went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for good. The Golden Hurricane came within one at 25-24, but the Mustangs closed the half on a 15-5 run to go into the break with a 40-29 lead.

It was the second time the two schools have met in the Championship, with SMU winning the other meeting, 74-65, in the 2019 first round.