Tulane University
Houston
Men's Basketball Hosts Houston Wednesday Night
Jan 16, 2018 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 18: TULANE GREEN WAVE (11-6, 2-3 AAC) vs. HOUSTON COUGARSÂ (14-3, 4-1 AAC) |
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| Â When: | Â Wednesday, January 13 | 7 p.m. (CT) |
| Â Where: | Â New Orleans | Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse |
|  Watch: |  ESPNews / WatchESPN app |
| Â Commentators: | Â Mike Corey (Play-by-Play) & Mark Adams (Color) |
| Â Radio: | Â 1280 AM New Orleans | Listen Online |
|  Radio Talent: |  Todd Graffagnini  (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Scoring: | Â Sidearm |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | Houston | American |
| Â Tickets: | Â Purchase Online |
| Â Social Media:Â | Â @GreenWaveMBB | #RollWave |
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane men's basketball team hosts Houston in American Athletic Conference action Wednesday, January 17 at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT), as the game will be televised nationally on ESPNews and available on the WatchESPN app. Mike Corey will handle play-by-play responsibilities, while Mark Adams provides color commentary.
PROMOTIONS
• BLACKOUT GIVEAWAY: Wednesday's game will be a blackout, and fans are encouraged to wear black! Fans can receive a FREE limited edition black Tulane Basketball t-shirt.
• COACHING FOR LITERACY: Tulane coaches and staff will be wearing light green ties to promote literacy awareness.
• BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB HOOPS FOR THE HOLIDAY: Thanks to the generosity of Christian Granzow, Thom Jackson, Leroy Close, Robert Cudd, Robert Holmes, Bruno's Tavern and Raising Canes, each of these people and local business donated 20 tickets or more for the hoops for holidays promotion during November and December. These season ticket holders and donors stepped up big time to help bring members of the Boys and Girls club to Wednesday night's game and we are thankful for their generosity!
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HISTORY LESSON
• Wednesday's meeting between the Green Wave and Cougars will mark the 39th all-time, as Houston leads the series, 21-17, with wins in six of the last seven matchups.Â
• Last season, Houston won both meetings, including a 65-51 home triumph, before earning a 91-62 victory in New Orleans. The Wave's last win over the Cougars came in a 72-69 final in the quarterfinals of the 2016 American Conference Championship in Orlando, Fla.
LAST TIME OUT
• Tulane took the lead late in the first half but could not hold on, suffering its second straight loss, 67-57, to Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.
• Melvin Frazier led three Tulane (11-6, 2-3 AAC) players in double-figures with 16 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go with three rebounds, three assists and as many steals, while Cameron Reynolds added 13 points and six boards. Ray Ona Embo chipped in 12 points and a career-high six rebounds.
• Jalen Adams scored a game-high 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting with six assists for UConn (10-7, 3-2 AAC), while Christian Vital contributed 13 points and Josh Carlton added 10 points and six rebounds.
• The Green Wave outscored the Huskies, 30-28, in the paint, 15-7 off turnovers and 17-4 on the fast break, but were beaten, 12-4, on second chances and 35-26 on the glass.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
• Picked to finish sixth in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, Houston returns six letterwinners and three starters from lasr year's NIT team that finished the season 21-11 overall.
• Junior guard Rob Gray leads the conference in scoring (19.1 ppg) and ranks seventh in assists (3.9), while Corey Davis, Jr. (.463), Armoni Brooks (.444) and Wes Van Beck (.414) are third, fourth and ninth, respectively, in 3-point field goal percentage.
• The Cougars rank second in the league in scoring (80.1), field goal percentage (.477) and offensive rebounding (12.1), while holding the No. 3 spot in a handful of major categories, including scoring margin (+13.4), field goal percentage defense (.394), 3-pointers made (148), 3-point field goal percentage (.408), defending the 3-point line (.325), rebounding (39.6) and rebounding margin (+8.1).
FRAZIER, REYNOLDS AMONG THE AMERICAN'S TOP SCORING TANDEMS
• Melvin Frazier (17.5 PPG) and Cameron Reynolds (16.1 PPG) rank as the No. 2 scoring duo in the American Athletic Conference this season:
Players                                                         School     PPG
1. Jalen Adams & Terry Larrier                      UConn     34.2
2. Melvin Frazier & Cameron Reynolds     Tulane     33.6
3. Jalen Adams & Christian vital          UConn   33.0
4. Shake Milton & Jarrey Foster                     SMU        31.2
5. Rob Gray & Devin Davis              Houston   31.0
AAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
• Tulane has had players named to the American Athletic Conference's weekly honor roll on three occasions this season, including Samir Sehic (Nov. 13), Cameron Reynolds (Jan. 8) and Melvin Frazier (Jan. 13).
MAN OF STEALS
• Melvin Frazier ranks first in the American Athletic Conference in steals (44) and steals per game (2.6), and has at least three heists in nine contests this season.
• As a sophomore, Frazier finished the 2016-17 regular season No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference in steals per game (1.9), while his 55 takeaways ranked second overall.
BRINGING THE RAIN
• The Green Wave have made double-digit 3-pointers in five games this season, including in three straight games against Alcorn State (14) on Nov. 29, at North Carolina (10) on Dec. 3 and vs. Southern (10) on Dec. 6.
• Tulane's 14 treys against Alcorn State and at Memphis on Jan. 9 were not only season highs, but tied for the third most in a single game in program history.
• The Wave have hit at least 14 3-pointers just six times in school history, with the most being 16 in a 2015 matchup against UCF.
ONA EMBO EMERGES
• Known for his defensive prowess as a freshman in 2016-17, sophomore point guard Ray Ona Embo has broken through on the offensive side of the ball in 2017-18.
• Ona Embo played in all 31 games and made 25 starts last season, averaging 6.4 points on 37 percent shooting overall, while making 25 percent (13 of 52) of his 3-pointers. In just 15 games as a sophomore, he's averaging 9.8 points per contest, while making 45 percent of his shots and 42.5 percent (31 of 73) of his attempts from beyond the arc.
