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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In the second-longest game in American Conference Men’s Basketball Championship history, No. 3 Tulsa defeated No. 6 North Texas, 90–84, in triple overtime in the quarterfinals of the 2026 American Men’s Basketball Championship on Friday afternoon at Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama.
The triple-overtime contest ranks second only to the four-overtime quarterfinal game between UConn and Cincinnati in 2016 (UConn 104, Cincinnati 97).
With the win, the Golden Hurricane (26–6) advance to face No. 2 Wichita State in Saturday’s semifinals at 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2. It marks Tulsa’s first appearance in the American Conference Championship semifinals since 2015.
The Mean Green jumped out to an early lead, opening the game on a 17–3 run while connecting on seven of their first eight shots. The Golden Hurricane finished the half strong, closing on a 6–0 run to head into the locker room trailing 36–25. The Golden Hurricane chipped away at the deficit before forcing overtime.
In the third overtime period, Tulsa used a 7–0 run to gain the advantage needed to secure the win over the Mean Green. North Texas shot just 2-for-21 in the overtime periods, while Tulsa shot 3-for-13. The two teams combined to go 24-for-30 from the free-throw line during overtime.
Tylen Riley led the Golden Hurricane with 26 points. He also set an American Conference Championship record by going a perfect 17-for-17 from the free-throw line.
Je’Shawn Stevenson led the Mean Green with 21 points, going a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.