Tulane begins road swing at No. 11 North Carolina
Dec 15, 2015 | Men's Basketball
| Game 11: Tulane Green Wave (6-4) vs No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels (7-2) | |
| When | Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015 | 6:00 p.m. CT |
| Where | Chapel Hill, N.C | Dean E. Smith Center |
| Watch | ESPN2 - LaPhonso Ellis, Bob Picozzi |
| Listen | Fox Sports 1280 AM - Todd Graffagnini (PxP) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Printable Notes | Tulane | American | North Carolina |
| Social Media | @GreenWaveMBB  | #RollWave | @UNC_Basketball |
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane men's basketball will round out the week of play with a pair of road games, beginning in Chapel Hill to take on the No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels. This will be the first time the Green Wave have been on the road since the Challenge in Music City and the first time this season they have faced a ranked opponent. The Tar Heels boast a 7-2 record on the year and are coming off of an 84-82, last-second loss at Texas over the weekend.
NOTEWORTHY
- Assistant coach Shammond Williams, who played for the Tar Heels from 1994-98, returns to North Carolina for the first time as a coach.
- Louis Dabney became the first player this season to score 20-plus points when he scored 24 Monday night.
- The Green Wave finished the Challenge in Music City with a 3-1 record, going 2-1 during games in Nashville.
- Senior Louis Dabney averaged 11.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg through the weekend and earned All-Tournament Team honors as well as a spot on the American Weekly Honor Roll.
- Tulane came back from being down 26 points to edge out Stephen F. Austin in Nashville, marking the biggest comeback in school history.
- Tulane committed just seven turnovers in the game against Mercer, marking the team's lowest game total for the stat all season and the first time this year the number has been kept to single digits.
-Louis Dabney now sits at 26th all-time at Tulane with 1,114 career points.
-In the opener against Alabama A&M, Louis Dabney became the 35th player in Tulane history to surpass the 1,000 career point mark.
THE OPPONENT
North Carolina enters the midweek game at 7-2 on the year and is coming off of a last-second loss at Texas, 84-82. The No. 11/11 Tar Heels have yet to drop a game at home this season, sitting at 4-0 in the Smith Center. They are the first ranked opponent the Green Wave have faced this season. North Carolina's only other loss this season came at Northern Iowa, 71-67. The Tar Heels will be with starting forward Kennedy Meeks, who is out with a knee injury.
THE SERIES
The Green Wave at 1-13 all-time against North Carolina. The series began in 1925 as Tulane fell to the Tar Heels, 36-28 in the Southern Conference Tournament in Atlanta. The Green Wave have never topped the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, through three meetings there. The two teams last met in 1995 when current Tulane assistant coach Shammond Williams was a member of the Tar Heel team. The game was in Charlotte as part of the Diet Pepsi Tournament. Tulane's only win in the series came on Dec. 30, 1927 as the Green Wave won 20-19 in New Orleans.
LAST TIME OUT
The Green Wave returned to action after finals week to knock off Prairie View A&M, 63-49 in New Orleans. The game was the first of three this week for Tulane. Senior Louis Dabney led the squad with 24 points in the game, marking the first time this season any Green Wave player has surpassed the 20-point mark. Both teams got out to a slow start, but the Green Wave kept the distance at two possessions until the half. A three from Dabney midway through the second half sparked an 11-0 run for the Green Wave. Tulane never let the Panthers get closer than nine points and held them to just 28.6-percent from the field.
RETURNING ON THE OTHER SIDE
Tulane assistant coach Shammond Williams returns to Chapel Hill for the first time as a coach. Williams played for the Tar Heels from 1994-1998 and helped the Heels get to three Final Fours during his career. Williams was recently dethroned as North Carolina's all-time leader in three-pointers made (223).
TULANE VS RANKED OPPONENTS
The Green Wave hold an 11-47 record since 1989 against opponents ranked in the AP Rankings. Tulane faced a ranked opponent when it fell to then-No. 17 St. John's 82-57 just before the new year last season.
PERFECT SHOOTING
Malik Morgan didn't miss a shot en-route to a 14-point performance against Georgia Tech. He went 6-for-6 from the field, including a pair of threes, on the day. It was the first time a Tulane player has had a perfect performance from the field since Eric Vianney went 6-for-6 against Rice on Jan. 10, 2009.
