Green Wave Men Picked Second in C-USA Division
Oct 30, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 30, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University men's basketball team has been picked second in the National Division of Conference USA in a poll of the league's coaches. Memphis is picked the choice as the top Natioanl Division team while Cincinnati is the overall favorite to win its eighth C-USA crown. Marquette's Dwyane Wade has been tabbed as the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year.
Tulane finished fifth in the division last season and earned the 12th seed in the Conference USA Tournament. After defeating fifth-seeded Saint Louis in the first round of the tourney, the Wave fell to Charlotte to close the year with a 14-15 mark, a five-game improvement over the 2000-01 campaign.
Following Memphis and Tulane in the National Division are Houston, TCU, South Florida, Southern Miss and UAB. After top-pick Cincinnati in the American Division are Marquette, Louisville, Charlotte, Saint Louis, East Carolina and DePaul.
 | "You want to put your program in a position to have expectations, for people to feel like you have a chance to win every game." Head coach Shawn Finney |
The Conference USA Preseason All-League Team is led by Wade, the star swingman from Marquette. Last year he averaged 17.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game to lead the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Tournament. Joining Wade on the all-league team are guards Reece Gaines (Louisville) and Marque Perry (Saint Louis), forward Jason Maxiell (Cincinnati) and big man Andre Brown (DePaul).
In addition, to releasing the preseason poll results, Conference USA also announced that it will change its current two-division alignment in men's basketball and go to a 14-team division, beginning with the 2003-04 season. The league also announced it will modify its current 16-game conference scheduling format for next season. Each school will play each other for a total of 13 games. Additionally, three mirror games will be added to each team's schedule, based on geography, rivalries, and television, to account for 16 conference games. This season, Conference USA will play in two seven-team divisions.
Tulane opens its exhibition season next Wednesday, Nov. 6, hosting Vasda, a traveling AAU squad made up of former collegiate players, at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. Tickets for that and all Green Wave contests are available by calling 504-861-WAVE.
