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Next Up for Wave Men is Sun Bowl Tournament
Dec 22, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2004
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2004-05 TULANE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Game 9 -- Tulane (4-4, 0-0) at the State Farm Sun Bowl Tournament -- Dec. 27 & 28, 2004
El Paso, Texas -- Don Haskins Center
GREEN WAVE FACTS
2004-05 Record: 4-4
2003-04 Record: 11-17
2003-04 C-USA Record: 4-12/12th
Head Coach: Shawn Finney
Alma Mater/Year: Fairmont State/1985
Record at Tulane/Year: 54-72/5th
Career Record/Years: Same
President: Dr. Scott Cowen
Athletics Director: Rick Dickson
Ticket Office Phone: 504-861-WAVE
Website: www.TulaneGreenWave.com
TULANE 2004-05 SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Official Princeton Athletics Website
PROBABLE STARTERS
11 Marcus Kinzer (Sr., 13.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.8 apg)
Leads team in assists, threes and minutes
10 Taylor Rochestie (Fr., 9.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.0 apg)
11 points and career-best 6 assists against NC A&T
50 Quincy Davis (Jr., 15.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, .693 FG%)
Leads Conference USA and in top 10 in nation in FG%
21 David Gomez (Fr., 4.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.5 bpg)
Started last four games, 32 rebounds in those games
5 Donnie Stith (Fr., 3.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 14.4 mpg)
First career start against NC A&T
TULANE RESERVES
4 Vincent Camper (So., 6.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.4 apg)
Season-best 13 points in Savannah State win
40 Vytas Tatarunas (Jr., 3.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 13.5 mpg
12 points, 11 boards in win over North Carolina A&T
3 Chris Moore (So., 3.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 13.4 mpg)
Career-high 15 points (three 3's) against NSU
22 Kory Castine (So., 2.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .571 FG%)
4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks against Savannah
30 Ben Benfield (Sr., 3.1 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 9.5 mpg)
8 points and a steal against Northwestern State
44 Ivan Pjevcevic (Sr., 2.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 7.9 mpg)
Still battling to return from knee surgery
25 Matt Wheaton (Fr., 1.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg)
2 points and a steal in the Savannah State win
40 Robinson Louisme (Fr., 1.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
3 points, 3 rebounds against Savannah State
NEWS & NOTES
On the Wave
Tulane will be looking for its first victory away from Fogelman Arena at the State Farm Sun Bowl Tournament on Dec. 27 and 28. The Green Wave opens the tourney against Princeton, an NCAA Tournament team last year as the champion of the Ivy League. The other first round game features a pair of NCAA Tournament teams in host UTEP (WAC At-Large) and Alabama State (SWAC Champion). Last Tuesday, the Wave closed its pre-Christmas slate against North Carolina A&T with a 73-54 victory behind double-doubles from Quincy Davis (21-12) and Vytas Tatarunas (12-11). After struggling in the first half, the Wave used 17 unanswered points to break the game open in the second half.
On the Air
All Tulane men's basketball games can be heard live on the ISP Radio Network (WTIX AM 690 in New Orleans) with Sean Kelly handling play-by-play duties for his fourth season, while Steve Barrios is the color commentator.
Tournament Time
The Sun Bowl Tournament will be the second in-season tournament of the year for the Green Wave, following the season-opening Louisiana Classic at LSU. Prior to this year, Tulane had played in just two other in-season tourneys under coach Shawn Finney, the University Hoops Classic (2002-03 at Tulane) and the Big Island Classic (2000-01 in Hawaii). Under Finney, the Wave has a 3-5 record at in-season tournaments. Tulane has not played in multiple in-season tournaments since the 1982-83 season when it competed in the Mid-South Classic (Memphis), the Kentucky Invitational (Lexington, Ky.) and the Sugar Bowl Tournament (New Orleans), posting a 4-2 record in those games.
Quincy on Target
Junior Quincy Davis has been on fire from the field this season and currently leads Conference USA by connecting on 69.3 percent (52-of-75) of his shots. The 6-9 Davis had a breakout sophomore season, leading the team with 10.6 points per game, however, he struggled with consistency, never scoring in double figures for more than a three-game stretch. He currently has a four-game double figure scoring stretch, averaging 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in that time while hitting 70.7 percent (29-of-41) of his shots. For the season, Davis has 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Peaking at Princeton
Princeton, a perennial NCAA Tournament team, comes into the Sun Bowl Tournament with a 5-3 record after a tough two-point loss to Temple on Dec. 20. The Tigers also lost to Syracuse and Wyoming (double overtime). The ball-control offense of the Tigers has limited opponents to just 49.9 points per game. Judson Wallace, a 6-10 senior, leads Princeton with 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while 6-3 senior Will Venable has 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per outing. Forty percent of the Tigers offense comes from the three-point shot.
UTEP Talk
A future member of Conference USA, UTEP comes into the Sun Bowl Tourney with an impressive 8-2 record, with its only losses coming at the hands of Texas Tech and Southern Illinois. Omar Thomas, a 6-5 senior, leads the Miners with 18.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while 6-6 juco transfer Jason Williams and 6-2 guard Filiberto Rivera are also in double figures with 13.3 and 10.6 points per game, respectively.
Alabama State Update
The Hornets from Alabama State are the favorites to win the SWAC for the second year in a row. They improved to 2-5 with a 61-48 victory over Troy on Dec. 21. Leading the way for Alabama State is Kevin Spicer with 9.9 points per game. However Ralfael Golden and Herbert Warren both saw their first action of the season (due to injuries) against Troy, each scoring 12 points.
Numbers Game
Marcus Kinzer is settling into a groove for the Green Wave. In the last three games, the senior has 40 points, 25 assists, nine rebounds, six steals and just eight turnovers. For the season, Kinzer ranks eighth in Conference USA in field-goal percentage (.548), sixth in assists (4.75) and 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.81) and 25th in scoring (13.4).
Coming Up Next...
Following the Sun Bowl tournament, the Green Wave will host its final non-conference game of the year against Virginia Military Institute on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m. The Conference USA slate tips off on Jan. 5 on the road at Saint Louis.
It's Been a While
The last time the Green Wave faced Princeton was on Dec. 10, 1993 when Tulane stopped the Tigers, 56-51, at the Otis Spunkmeyer Classic in Oakland, Calif. However, the series with UTEP and Alabama State have had much longer hiatuses. Tulane has not faced UTEP in 41 years (Dec. 20, 1963) and the last meeting between the Wave and Alabama State was 45 years ago (Dec. 1, 1959).
Get Used To It
Though this is Tulane's first-ever trip to El Paso, the Green Wave will soon be making annual trips 1,000 miles up I-10 (hopefully by air, however). UTEP is one of six schools joining a new-look Conference USA for next season. [See "Changes" note next page for full breakdown of league changes]
More Tigers
Princeton will be the third team of "Tigers" to face the Green Wave this season. Tulane lost its opener to the LSU Tigers and defeated the Savannah State Tigers on Dec. 19. Following this meeting with the Princeton Tigers, the Green Wave still has a Conference USA showdown with the Memphis Tigers on Feb. 12.
Rebound that Basketball
Tulane is 4-1 when out-rebounding its opponents this year and 0-3 when being outdone on the glass. Most damaging has been the Wave's disadvantage in second-chance points in losses (61-37).
Fab Freshmen
Tulane's five-man freshmen class quickly became fan favorites in the exhibition game with their exciting and enthusiastic play. The rookies have now combined for 10 starts, including the North Carolina A&T game when Taylor Rochestie, David Gomez and Donnie Stith all started. It was the first time the Green Wave had three freshmen starters since the 1989-90 "Hoops Are Back" season, when the roster featured eight freshmen among its 11 players. The Wave had multiple games that season with four freshmen starters as well.
Tale of Two Halves
In the last two games, Tulane has outscored its opponents, 66-61 in the first half, and then turned around for an 81-48 advantage in the second half. However, the reasons for the disparities have been quite different. In the first half against Savannah State on Dec. 18, the Wave had zero trips to the free throw line and did not rebound well, matching the Tigers with 19 boards (followed by a second half with a 31-12 rebound advantage and 17 trips to the line). On Dec. 21 against North Carolina A&T, Tulane turned the ball over 15 times and forced only 10 in the first half. In the second half, the Wave had just five turnovers while forcing 12.
Glass-Cleaning Gomez
Since being inserted into the starting lineup four games ago, freshman David Gomez has been a rebounding machine for the Wave, tallying 32 boards, including a career-best 10 on Dec. 18 against Savannah State.
Exam Returns
The Green Wave had an 11-day break for final exams, its longest exam break since the 2000-01 season, Finney's first at the helm of the team. After Saturday's win over Savannah State, the Wave is 3-2 under Finney following the exam break.
Double Digit Assists
Marcus Kinzer matched the Tulane record by dishing out 13 assists in the loss to Northwestern State on Dec. 6. Kinzer's 13 matched the record which was set by Tom Hicks on Jan. 26, 1976 against The Citadel. The last time a Wave player had double figures in assists was Feb. 21, 2001 when Brandon Spann had 11 against Houston. Kinzer's previous career-high was eight against Morris Brown on Jan. 4, 2003.
On the Mark-us
Quincy Davis entered this season with a .537 career field-goal percentage, so it is not overly surprising that he leads Conference USA by hitting 69.3% of his shots this season. However, Marcus Kinzer, a guard who shoots from all over the court, is also among the best in the league, knocking down 54.8 percent (40-of-73) of his shots, including 8-of-22 from three-point range. The senior entered this season with at an even 40.0% from the field. Kinzer is second on the Wave in scoring with 13.4 points per game and leads the team with 38 assists. Last season, he was one of five players in Conference USA to average more than 10.0 points, 3.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Quincy, M.D., the Doctor of Block
Green Wave junior Quincy Davis set a school record for single-season blocks by swatting 67 shots last season. He now has 90 for his career and still needs 102 more to reach the Green Wave's all-time leader, John "Hot Rod" Williams, who had 192 in his career. Davis currently ranks seventh all-time in blocks.
Seventy is Plenty
The Green Wave broke the 70-point barrier for the third straight game last week against North Carolina A&T. That victory lifted Shawn Finney's career record to 45-18 when Tulane scores 70 or more points. Over the last two years, the Wave is 13-2 when breaking 70 with one of the losses coming on Dec. 6 against Northwestern State. Overall under Finney, the Green Wave has won just nine games when not hitting the 70-point marker.
Over 50%
Louisiana Tech connected on 31-of-61 shots (.508) in its victory over the Wave. That snapped a stretch of 32 straight games in which the Wave held opponents to 50 percent or lower from the field. The last time a foe hit more than half of its shots was on March 5, 2003 (a 72-60 loss to USF). In Finney's four-plus years, the Green Wave is 2-27 when opponents shoot over 50 percent from the field. On the flip side, the Wave is 27-7 when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting in that same period.
Return Man
Senior seven-footer Ivan Pjevcevic continues to work towards recovery from last year's knee surgery. His best effort of the year thus far came against UNO when he played 19 second-half minutes and registered nine points with five rebounds. This season, Pjevcevic is averaging 7.9 minutes per game. The Belgrade product redshirted the 2003-04 season after injuring his knee eight minutes into the season-opener.
Shooters' Touch
Tulane came out red-hot against Prairie View, connecting on 12 of its first 15 field-goal attempts, and finished shooting 60.0 percent (33-of-55) from the field. That was the highest field-goal percentage for the Green Wave in a game since Dec. 1, 2002 when it nailed 34-of-53 shots in a win over Southeast Missouri State.
Filling the Box Score
When David Gomez connected on a free throw late in the Prairie View game, he became the 13th Green Wave player to score in the game. The last time Tulane had 13 players score in one game was Jan. 25, 1992 when 13 cracked the scoring column in a 99-75 victory over Temple University.
Finney vs. Louisiana
Shawn Finney and the Green Wave met five Louisiana schools in 2004-05. Last season, Tulane faced off against seven state foes. In his five years at the helm of the Wave, Finney has recorded a 13-10 mark against in-state opponents.
Home Openers
Tulane has not lost a home opener under Shawn Finney and overall, the Green Wave has a 15-year winning streak in home openers. Since World War II, the Green Wave is 51-5 in its first home games while all-time, the Wave is 77-16 in home openers (one year not available and one year all games played on the road).
Ch-ch-ch-Changes
Tulane is one of the six members of Conference USA that will remain with the league next season when the latest round of conference-hopping continues. The league will bid farewell to basketball members Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Saint Louis, South Florida and TCU while adding newcomers Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and UTEP. Next season, Conference USA will consist of 12 schools competing in all sports.
Tough Schedule, Version 03-04
Tulane faced nine 20-win squads (Mississippi State, Louisville, Southeastern La., Memphis, DePaul, Cincinnati, UAB, Rice, Charlotte) and five teams who were ranked at some point during the year in 2003-04. Thirteen of the Green Wave's games were against teams which qualified for postseason play.
Tough Schedule, Version 04-05
After last year's grueling schedule, things don't look any easier for the Wave in 2004-05. Thirteen of the Green Wave's potential opponents (including tournaments) on this year's schedule advanced to the postseason last year. Ten reached the NCAA Tournament (UL-Lafayette, Princeton, Alabama State, UTEP, DePaul, UAB, Louisville, Memphis, Charlotte, Cincinnati) and three advanced to the NIT (LSU, Saint Louis, Marquette).
Weighing In
Tulane has a bulky front line which Green Wave football coach Chris Scelfo may be eyeing for some action on the gridiron. The Green Wave's heaviest five players (Kory Castine, Quincy Davis, Robinson Louisme, pounds, an average of 252.6 per player. That is the heaviest five on any Conference USA team; next closest is Memphis, which has five players who average 251.8 pounds. The Wave's average height of those five players (6-8 1/2) is the fourth-tallest in the league; Marquette has the tallest five (6-9 3/4).
Veteran Coach
Shawn Finney is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Green Wave, which pushes him into a tie for the fourth-longest tenured coach in Conference USA. Cincinnati's Bob Huggins is the dean of C-USA coaches as he is entering his 16th year with the Bearcats. Bobby Lutz is preparing for his seventh year with the Charlotte 49ers and Marquette's Tom Crean is in his sixth year in Milwaukee. Finney is tied with Memphis' John Calipari. Bill Herrion is entering his sixth year guiding East Carolina, but the Pirates have only been in Conference USA for two years.
Lucky Number 13
For the first time in Coach Shawn Finney's tenure, he will have 13 scholarship players to open the season. With the addition of five freshmen this year, Tulane will field a roster which features three seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen. Last season, the Wave opened the year with 12 scholarship players and quickly went down to 11 with Pjevcevic's injury.
The Future
Tulane signed two players during the early signing period. The Green Wave has added 6-2 point guard Ryan Williams of Jonesboro, Ark., and 6-7 forward Daniel Puckett from McEwen, Tenn. Puckett averaged 21 points, 8.7 rebounds and three assists per game and was an all-state selection and the district player of the year while leading his young team to a 21-10 record and second place in the district. Williams averaged 23.4 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. He is a two-time all-state selection and also collected all-conference honors in each of his two years.
Global Games
Vytas Tatarunas picked up some international experience this summer, representing Lithuania at the Global Games which were held in Texas. The 6-6, 250-pounder averaged 15.0 points per game in the tournament. He scored 19 points in a victory over the United States and tallied his best performance with 24 points against Argentina in a losing effort in the silver medal game.
Tulane Globetrotter
Freshman Taylor Rochestie had a challenging introduction to post-high school basketball this summer when he went on a eight-day tour of Chili with other college basketball players from around the United States. The team played six games against teams from Chili and Argentia.
Mirror, Mirror
Once again the Green Wave will play three "mirror" games in 2004-05. Every team in Conference USA plays every other team once, with each team having three teams which it plays twice in order to total 16 league games. Tulane's three mirror opponents will again be TCU, UAB and Southern Miss. The Wave was 2-4 against its mirror opponents last year.
Linton Johnson in the "League"
Former Tulane standout Linton Johnson earned a spot on the Chicago Bulls roster last year in training camp and proceeded to average 17.9 minutes per game while starting 20 games. His performance in Chicago drew attention from around the league, and he signed a free agent deal with the San Antonio Spurs in the offseason and will suit up next to the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Emanuel Ginobli this season.
Graduation Continues
The Green Wave had three players graduate in May as Brandon Brown, Marc Siegel and Wayne Tinsley each earned their Tulane degrees. Of the 11 seniors who have played for Finney, only George Brown has not graduated; he remains in school and is on track to earn his degree in May of 2005.
TulaneGreenWave.com
Comprehensive coverage of Tulane Basketball, including game notes, PDFs of key documents (including these notes), updated statistics, links to newspaper articles and to Tulane game broadcasts, are available on the official athletics site of Green Wave Athletics, www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
