by JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist , Tulsa World

To do so, most believe it will take winning the Conference USA Tournament. That will be no small task. It could include a semifinal game against UAB, a top 50 RPI team, and the finals against Memphis, considered by many as a leading candidate for one of the national top seeds. Still, because of Jordan, Tulsa must be considered a threat in the tournament, regardless of the blowout loss at Memphis last month. Jordan, an athletic 7-footer, has been dominant at times this season in C-USA. "Jerome gets us to another level just like David (Robinson) got us (at Navy) to another level," Wojcik said. Wojcik, who played with a dominant center in college at Navy, knows what a player of that level can do for a team. Certainly, the Golden Hurricane has made the most of its advantage on the interior much of this season. That's why no one should count out Tulsa, despite that 63-37 loss to Memphis. Jordan, if he gets it going, can be a load for just about any team Memphis included. Remember, the Tigers needed a miracle at the buzzer to win in Tulsa. Plus, Tulsa has enough golden moments this season to make one believe a shot at the NCAA Tournament isn't out of the question. The Golden Hurricane has only one victory over a probable NCAA Tournament at-large team Texas A&M. However, TU was within seconds of beating Memphis and Illinois. Either one or both of those games goes the other way and TU is looking good in the hunt for the NCAA , There are others that got away, such as a loss at home to BYU. Still, this team has shown enough to make one believe it has a chance. "That's the mantra we have going in," TU's Ben Uzoh said. "We have not been in this position before. "All we can do is take care of what we can." Jordan said the Hurricane has seen all of the NCAA Tournament talk and debate on television. Needless to say, there hasn't been much talk about Tulsa. "That is not going to affect us," Jordan said. "All we can do is go over there and play hard and hopefully it'll all work out." Jordan is the key. He is Tulsa's first player to be named to the all-conference team in C-USA. The last TU player to be named to an all-conference team was Kevin Johnson in 2003 (in the Western Athletic Conference ). But as anyone who has seen Tulsa play knows, it will come down to guard play. TU has to take much better care of the ball than it has most of this season. "It all goes back to guard play," Wojcik said. "Can we take care of the basketball ?" If so, Tulsa will be in good shape to reach the finals. Then, against Memphis, it would come down to playing with far more confidence and poise than it showed down in Memphis last month. "The lesson learned is the big game," Wojcik said. "You have to be ready to play in a big game."

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