Tulane University
USF
Men's Basketball Hosts USF in White Out Game
Jan 24, 2018 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 20: TULANE GREEN WAVE (12-7, 3-4 AAC) vs. USF BULLS (7-13, 0-7 AAC) |
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| Â When: | Â Thursday, January 25 | 8 p.m. (CT) |
| Â Where: | Â New Orleans | Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse |
| Â Watch: | Â ESPNUÂ / WatchESPNÂ app |
| Â Commentators: | Â Jason Benetti (Play-by-Play) & Malcolm Huckaby (Color) |
| Â Radio: | Â 1280 AM New Orleans | Listen Online |
|  Radio Talent: |  Todd Graffagnini  (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Scoring: | Â Sidearm |
| Â Notes: | Â Tulane | USF | American |
| Â Tickets: | Â Purchase Online |
| Â Social Media:Â | Â @GreenWaveMBB | #RollWave |
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane men's basketball team returns to action after five days between contests for its final home game in January and first of two regular-season bouts with South Florida on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. (CT) at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with streaming available on the WatchESPN app. Jason Benetti will call play-by-play action, while Malcolm Huckaby provides color commentary.
HISTORY LESSON
• Thursday's meeting between the Green Wave and Bulls will mark the 34th all-time, as Tulane leads the series, 20-13, including wins in two straight and five of the last six matchups.
• Last season, the Wave swept the regular season series with an 82-67 win in Tampa on Jan. 11, before cruising behind an offensive outburst in a 94-73 home win on Feb. 18.
LAST TIME OUT
• Melvin Frazier scored a game-high 27 points and knocked down a career-high six 3-pointers, but Tulane suffered a 73-62 setback on the road at SMU on Saturday night.
• Frazier shot 9-for-12 from the field, 6-for-8 beyond the arc and made three free throws in his eighth 20-point performance of the season to complement seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks, as the Green Wave made 12 3-pointers - its seventh game with at least 10 conversions from outside this season.
• Shake Milton led four SMU (14-6, 4-3 AAC) players in double-figures, scoring 18 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, while Jimmy Whitt contributed 18 points and five steals. Jahmal McMurray added 13 points and Ben Emelogu put up 11 points and nine rebounds.
• The Wave shot 20-for-48 (.417) overall, 12-for-29 (.414) from 3-point range and 10-for-14 (.714) at the foul line, while SMU finished the night 26-for-56 (.464) from the field, 4-for-15 (.267) from outside and 17-for-20 (.850) at the charity stripe.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
• Picked to finish last in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, South Florida returned just three letterwinners and two starters to begin its first season under new head coach Brian Gregory.
• The Bulls currenty rank last in the conference in scoring (62.8), scoring margin (-8.4), field goal percentage defense (.450), rebounding (33.4), and turnover margin (-3.6), but are second in free throw percentage (.744) and sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.376). Guard Stephon Jiggets is No. 1 in the AAC in free throw percentage (.864)
FRAZIER, REYNOLDS THE AMERICAN'S TOP SCORING TANDEM
• Melvin Frazier (17.5 PPG) and Cameron Reynolds (16.1 PPG) rank as the No. 1 scoring duo in the American Athletic Conference this season:
Players                                                         School     PPG
1. Melvin Frazier & Cameron Reynolds     Tulane     33.6
2. Jalen Adams & Terry Larrier                      UConn     33.3
3. Jalen Adams & Christian vital          UConn   32.4
4. Rob Gray & Devin Davis              Houston   32.0
5. Shake Milton & Jarrey Foster                     SMU        31.6
AAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
• Tulane has had players named to the American Athletic Conference's weekly honor roll on four occasions this season, including Samir Sehic (Nov. 13), Cameron Reynolds (Jan. 8) and Melvin Frazier twice (Jan. 15 and Jan. 22).
MAN OF STEALS
• Melvin Frazier ranks first in the American Athletic Conference in steals (46) and steals per game (2.4), 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 seven 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 percent of his shots and 42 percent (35 of 84) of his attempts from beyond the arc.
