MBB: Tulane to face Mercer in Challenge in Music City
Nov 25, 2015 | Men's Basketball
| Game 5: Tulane Green Wave (2-2) vs Mercer Bears (3-1) | |
| When | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | 7:00 p.m. CT |
| Where | Nashville, Tenn. | Municipal Auditorium |
| Watch | ASN |
| Listen | Fox Sports 1280 AM - Tim Bickford (PxP) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Printable Notes | Tulane | American | Mercer |
| Social Media | @GreenWaveMBB  | #RollWave | @MercerMBB | @MusicCityBball |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Green Wave continue action in the Challenge in Music City of the holiday weekend, starting the Nashville portion of the tournament with a game against the Mercer Bears. The Green Wave are coming off their biggest win of the young season after they took down Appalachian State 76-48 as part of the Challenge in Music City. Mercer recently fell in its first true road test of the season at Davidson, 77-71.
NOTEWORTHY
-The Green Wave opened the Challenge in Music City with a big win in New Orleans over Appalachian State and will now play the remaining three games in Nashville.
-Dylan Osetkowski tallied a double-double in the first half of the Appalachian State game, marking his third double-double of the season through four games. He is the only player on the roster with a double-double in their career.
-In the opener against Alabama A&M, Louis Dabney became the 35th player in Tulane history to surpass the 1,000 career point mark.
-For the first time in program history Tulane opened a season with an overtime game.
-The Green Wave have added five freshmen to the roster as well as two transfers. All seven newcomers have seen playing time this season.
-The Tulane roster boasts seven New Orleans natives.
-The Green Wave return just two starters and four letterwinners from last year's squad.
-Tulane's 29 televised games this season matches the most ever in a season in program history.
THE OPPONENT
Mercer enters the Challenge in Music City with a 3-1 record. The Bears are coming off their first loss of the season, falling 77-71 at Davidson. Stephon Jelks was named SoCon Player of the Week this week after averaging a double-double through the week of play (14.0p, 13.5r). Jelks leads the Bears so far this season averaging 12.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg.
THE SERIES
This Green Wave and Bears have met six times, with Tulane boasting the 4-2 advantage in the series. The Green Wave have claimed the last four meetings, including the most recent match up when Tualne topped the Bears 85-52 in New Orleans. The two teams first met in 1979 and have never met on a neutral court.
LAST TIME OUT
The Green Wave picked up a lopsided win over Appalachian State in the first game of the Challenge in Music City. Tulane knocked off the Mountaineers 76-48 Sunday afternoon behind Dylan Osetkowksi's third double-double of the season. The sophomore hit double figures in both points and rebounds by halftime of the game. Tulane ran away with the game early, going up 30-4 in the first half and the Mountaineers were never able to get closer than 26 points.
DOUBLE UP
Sophomore Dylan Osetkowski has notched a double-double in three of the first four games this season. He is currently averaging 11.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Most recently, Osetkowski hit double figures in both categories by halftime of the game against Appalachian State. He finished with 10 points and 16 boards after grabbing nine of the team's first 11 opportunities on the glass. He is the only player on the roster with a double-double in his career.
DOMINATING THE GLASS
The Green Wave had out-rebounded their opponent in every game so far this season. On the year, Tulane averages 12 rebounds more than its opponent. Sophomore Dylan Osetkowski has brought down more than double the boards as any of his teammates with 45 so far this year.
1,000 AND COUNTING
Senior Louis Dabney entered his senior season just three points shy of the 1,000 career point mark. He became the 35TH player in Tulane history to surpass that threshold with his second bucket of the game in the season opener against Alabama A&M. He now sits at 30th all-time at Tulane with 1,056 points to date.
