Green Wave Men Prepare for C-USA Tourney
Mar 8, 2004 | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University men's basketball team arrived in the Cincinnati-area on Monday afternoon, ready to open action in the 2004 Kelly Tires Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship. The Green Wave begins play on Wednesday at 12 noon (Central Time), battling Charlotte at the U.S. Bank Arena in the first game of the tournament. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Conference USA Release and Downloadable Bracket
All Green Wave games will be aired by the stations of the Tulane-ISP Radio Network (WTIX 690 AM in New Orleans).
Tulane (11-16, 4-12 C-USA) earned the 12th seed in the tournament and has a rematch of its regular-season finale with fifth-seeded Charlotte. The 49ers upended Tulane on Saturday in Charlotte, 79-65. It is the second time in three years that the Wave has opened tourney play against its opponent from the final game of the regular season. In 2002, also as the 12th seed, the Green Wave won a defensive battle with fifth-seeded Saint Louis, 50-47.
"[Playing the same team again] could be an advantage for either team," Tulane head coach Shawn Finney said. "We will both make adjustments. It will be a chess match to see whose adjustments make the biggest differences in the game."
The Green Wave will be looking for an improved performance from big man Quincy Davis, the team's leading scorer. Davis was limited by foul trouble to just 19 minutes and eight points and six rebounds. Meanwhile, the Charlotte big man combined for 44 points and 20 rebounds to key the Wave's downfall.
"Post-defense was a concern for us on Saturday," Finney said. "We have to do a better job on their post-play while still containing their shooters. On the other end, we need an inside-scoring presence as well."
In addition, junior point guard Marcus Kinzer and freshman Vincent Camper will be counted on to direct the attack against a tough 49er press. The Green Wave turned the ball over 16 times in Saturday's loss, however, all but three came during a critical first-half stretch. Kinzer finished the game with 12 points and five rebounds while Camper scored a career-high 15 points and added six rebounds and four assists.
"We had a tough stretch with ill-advised turnovers," Finney said. "I am sure they will try to scramble their defenses again and keep us off balance. Their press changed the complexion of the game. We need to keep attacking and play with poise while making the easy, simple play."
Charlotte (20-7, 12-4), which tied for the Conference USA regular-season title, but slipped to the No. 5 seed after tiebreaker procedures, has one of the most multi-faceted teams in the country. The 49ers are deadly from long-range as Brendan Plavich (85 threes) Demon Brown (67) are among the national leaders in three-pointers made. In addition, the inside game for Charlotte is very rugged behind the efforts of 6-8 sophomore Curtis Withers (16.6 ppg, 9.5 rpg), who leads the league with 15 double-doubles. Seven-foot freshman Martin Iti (career-high 16 points in first meeting with Tulane) was one of the most highly-recruited players in the country last year; he leads the 49ers in blocks and dunks, while junior Eddie Basden is recognized as one of the top defensive players in the league.
"I think that Charlotte has the most offensive weapons in the league," Finney said. "They have a tough inside game, good mid-range, and excellent three-point shooting. They have six or seven guys who are all capable of having big nights."
With a win on Wednesday, the Green Wave would advance to the tournament quarterfinals, battling fourth-seeded UAB (19-8, 12-4) on Thursday at noon. That game will be televised in the New Orleans area on Cox Sports TV Channel 37.
Other first round games to be played on Wednesday are No. 8 Marquette vs. No. 9 TCU (2:30 p.m.), No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 East Carolina (6 p.m.) and No. 7 Saint Louis vs. No. 10 Southern Miss (8:30 p.m.).
