Tulane University
SMU
Men's Basketball Heads to Dallas Seeking Sweep of SMU
Jan 19, 2018 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 19: TULANE GREEN WAVE (12-6, 3-3 AAC) at SMU MUSTANGS (13-6, 3-3 AAC) |
|
| Â When: | Â Jan. 20, 2018 | 5 p.m. (CT) |
|  Where: |  Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum |
|  Watch: |  ESPNews / WatchESPN app |
|  Commentators: |  Ted Emrich (Play-by-Play) and Tim Welsh (Color) |
|  Radio: |  1280 AM New Orleans | Listen Online | TuneIn app |
| Â Radio Talent: | Â Todd Graffagnini (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Stats: | Â Sidearm |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | SMU | American Athletic Conference |
| Â Social Media: | Â Twitter: @GreenWaveMBB | #RollWave |
NEW ORLEANS - Coming off a nine point home win over Houston, the Tulane men's basketball team faces its first American Athletic Conference opponent for a second time around this season when it meets SMU on Saturday evening at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas.
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (CT), as the game will be televised nationally on ESPNews and available on the WatchESPN app. Ted Emrich will handle play-by-play responsibilities, while Tim Welsh provides color commentary.
HISTORY LESSON
• Saturday's meeting between the Green Wave and Mustangs will mark the 35th all-time, as SMU leads the series, 20-14, despite dropping the last matchup in New Orleans just 16 days ago.
• On Jan. 4, Tulane outscored SMU by 10 points in the second half of a 73-70 home victory behind Cameron Reynolds' 20 points and six rebounds. Melvin Frazier compiled 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Caleb Daniels scored 11 points off the bench on 3-for-3 shooting.
• The Green Wave made 18 of 20 free throws on the night (.900), including nine of 10 in the second half, and shot 16-for-27 (.593) overall in the final 20 minutes, including 6-for-12 (.500) beyond the 3-point arc.
• SMU was led by Shake Milton's game-high 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting, while Jarrey Foster contributed 16 points and seven rebounds.
• Tulane finished the night shooting 24-for-49 (.490) overall and 7-for-22 (.318) from outside while owning a 20-9 scoring advantage off the bench and a 9-5 edge on the fast break. SMU concluded the evening shooting 25-for-57 (.439) overall, 5-for-11 (.455) from range and 15-for-22 (.682) at the charity stripe, while outscoring the Wave, 26-20, in the paint and 10-4 on second chances.
LAST TIME OUT
• In a game that featured eight second-half lead changes, Cameron Reynolds led four players in double-figures with a team-high 22 points as Tulane defeated Houston, 81-72, on Wednesday night.
• Reynolds made six of nine 3-pointers to notch his fifth 20-point performance of the season, while Jordan Cornish added 14 points. Samir Sehic fell just shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as Ray Ona Embo compiled 13 points, six boards and led all players with six assists.
• Houston (14-4, 4-2 AAC) also placed four scorers in double digits, led by Rob Gray's game-high 24 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.
• Tulane outrebounded Houston, 26-13, in the second half and surrendered just one offensive board in the final 20 minutes after allowing 15 in the first half. The Wave outscored the Cougars, 26-20, in the paint, 11-4 off turnovers, 11-6 on second chances, 12-7 on the fast break and 23-21 off the bench.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
• SMU (13-6, 3-3 AAC) halted a three-game skid in conference play with an impressive 83-78 road win at No. 7/4 Wichita State on Wednesday night behind a career-high 33 points by American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Shake Milton.
• Milton ranks fourth in the conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game this season while also standing second 3-pointers made (49), third in assists per game (4.5).
• As a team, the Mustangs lead The American in 3-point field goal percentage (.417) and rank second in field goal percentage (.473), 3-pointers per game (8.9), steals (8.0) and third in assists (16.7) as well as scoring defense (61.9).
FAMILIARITY FACTOR
• Kevin Dunleavy joined the Green Wave in August 2017 as the program's video coordinator following a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at SMU. He was also a four-year letterwinner for the Mustangs (2011-15).
FRAZIER, REYNOLDS AMONG THE AMERICAN'S TOP SCORING TANDEMS
• Melvin Frazier (16.9 PPG) and Cameron Reynolds (16.4 PPG) rank as the No. 2 scoring duo in the American Athletic Conference this season:
Players                                                         School     PPG
1. Jalen Adams & Terry Larrier                      UConn     33.8
2. Melvin Frazier & Cameron Reynolds     Tulane     33.3
3. Jalen Adams & Christian vital          UConn   32.4
4. Shake Milton & Jarrey Foster                     SMU        31.5
5. Rob Gray & Devin Davis              Houston   31.4
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 (45) and steals per game (2.5), 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 six 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 18 games as a sophomore, he's averaging 10.0 points per contest, while making 45.5 percent of his shots and 41 percent (32 of 78) of his attempts from beyond the arc.
