MBB: Tulane begins conference play at Memphis
Dec 28, 2015 | Men's Basketball
| Game 14: Tulane Green Wave (7-6) at Memphis Tigers (8-3) | |
| When | Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 | 12:00 p.m. CT |
| Where | Memphis, Tenn. | FedEx Forum |
| Watch | ESPNU - Alex Faust (pxp), Brooke Weisbrod (a) |
| Listen | Fox Sports 1280 AM - Todd Graffagnini (PxP) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Printable Notes | Tulane | American | Memphis |
| Social Media | @GreenWaveMBB  | #RollWave | @Memphis_MBB |
NEW ORLEANS -- Tulane returns to action Tuesday afternoon to begin conference play at Memphis. The Green Wave are looking to get out to another hot start in league play after opening up 2-0 in The American a season ago, which included a win over the Tigers. Tulane is 7-6 on the season after topping Southern Miss 59-40 at home to close out non-conference action. Memphis sits at 8-3 on the year and is coming off of an 84-48 win over IUPUI last Tuesday.
NOTEWORTHY
- Tulane grabbed 50 rebounds against Southern Miss, its first time hitting the mark since the 2010 season.
- Dylan Osetkowski had a career-high 20 points and Malik Morgan earned his first double-double with 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds at Mississippi State.
- Assistant coach Shammond Williams, who played for the Tar Heels from 1994-98, returned to North Carolina for the first time as a coach on Dec. 16.
- Senior Louis Dabney averaged 11.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg through the weekend in Nashville 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 23rd all-time at Tulane with 1,173 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
Memphis enters the Tuesday game at 8-3 on the year, coming off of an 84-48 win over IUPUI a week prior. This will mark the 11th home game of the year for the Tigers, who have played only one game, on a neutral court, away from home this season. Avery Woodson came off the bench for the first time this year against IUPUI, but still led Memphis with 16 points in the game. Former Tulane player Ricky Tarrant, Jr., will face the Green Wave for the first time since his departure after spending last season at Alabama prior to joining the Tigers. Memphis has gone 6-1 in its last seven games and is outscoring its opponent by 12.7 points on the year.
THE SERIES
The Green Wave and Tigers meet for the 47th time on Tuesday afternoon. The two teams first met in January of 1977, when the Tigers claimed a 78-64 win at home. Memphis leads the all-time series 46-10, and took the most recent meeting, 57-55, in New Orleans last year. Prior to that meeting, Tulane snapped a 22-game losing streak in the first conference meeting as members of The American. The Green Wave topped Memphis 74-66 to stop the skid and open conference play at 2-0.
LAST TIME OUT
The Green Wave bounced back after suffering a pair of road losses with a win at home over Southern Miss. Tulane topped the Golden Eagles, 59-40, before the brief holiday break. Redshirt junior Malik Morgan led the way with 15 points and zero turnovers, and redshirt sophomore Cameron Reynolds added 10 points and six boards off the bench. Both teams traded the lead early, but Tulane closed out the first half on a 22-5 run to hold the 37-19 advantage at the break. Things continued for the Green Wave in the second half, extending the lead to 27 points by the 12:30 mark. Southern Miss got the difference back under 20, but couldn't make a run to get back in it.
BEGINNING LEAGUE PLAY
Tulane begins its second season of league play in The American after joining the conference a season ago. The Green Wave had quite a debut a season ago, opening up with a pair of wins. Tulane topped East Carolina 67-59 on the road in its first game and followed it up with a 74-66 win at Memphis. The Green Wave went 4-2 through their first six games in The American last year.
IN THE RANKINGS
Sophomore Dylan Osetkowski is the only Tulane player among the top 50 in the nation in any statistical category. He ranks 45th in the country averaging 6.62 defensive rebounds per game, putting him at second in the conference behind UConn's Daniel Hamilton (15th, 7.5) and just in front of Memphis' Dedric Lawson (49th, 6.45).
ON THE BOARDS
Tulane has out-rebounded its opponent in nine of the 13 games this year, boasting a 7-2 record when doing so. The Green Wave brought down 50 rebounds as a team in the win over Southern Miss, marking the first time a Tulane team as had 50-plus rebounds in a game since grabbing 51 against Lamar on Dec. 30, 2010.
BACK IN ACTION
Redshirt junior Kajon Mack and redshirt sophomore Cameron Reynolds have returned to action for the Green Wave after both suffering injuries in the preseason. Reynolds fractured his right thumb in a closed scrimmage at Iowa State and made his debut during the Challenge in Music City, scoring 11 points off the bench against Mercer. Mack was sidelined with a meniscus tear in his right knee. He returned at No. 11 North Carolina and had four points and two rebounds in two minutes of action late in the game.
