Tulane University
SMU
Men's Basketball Plays Host to SMU on Thursday
Jan 3, 2018 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 15: TULANE GREEN WAVE (10-4, 1-1 AAC) vs. SMU MUSTANGS (12-3, 2-0 AAC) |
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| Â When: | Â Thursday, January 4 | 8 p.m. (CT) |
| Â Where: | Â New Orleans | Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse |
| Â Watch: | Â ESPNU |
| Â Commentators: | Â Todd Graffagnini |
| 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 | SMUÂ | American |
| Â Tickets: | Â Purchase Online |
| Â Social Media:Â | Â @GreenWaveMBB | #RollWave |
NEW ORLEANS - Following its first home setback of the season Sunday afternoon, Tulane begins the New Year at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Thursday, January 4 against SMU for an American Athletic Conference matchup.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT), as the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU and available on the WatchESPN app. Dave Lamont will handle play-by-play responsibilities, while Malcolm Huckaby provides color commentary.
PROMOTIONS
• Fans will receive a LIMITED EDITION 2017-18 team poster FREE
• NEW YEAR, NEW YOU: Fans can visit with representatives of local fitness organizations set up along the arena concourse
HISTORY LESSON
• Thursday's meeting between the Green Wave and Mustangs will mark the 34th all-time with SMU leading the series, 20-13, as winners of each of the last five matchups.
• Last season, SMU swept the regular season series, which included an 80-64 win in New Orleans, before mounting a comeback from down 15 points at halftime to upend the Green Wave, 80-75, in Dallas.
LAST TIME OUT
• Cameron Reynolds scored 15 points and recorded his 500th career rebound, but Tulane dropped its American Athletic Conference home opener, 65-56, to Tulsa on Sunday.
• Melvin Frazier also reached double-figures for the 13th time this season with 11 points, while Blake Paul blocked six shots. Samir Sehic added eight points off the bench
• Tulsa placed four scorers in double digits, led by Martins Igbanu's 15 points and game-high nine rebounds, while Sterling Taplin also poured in 15. Junior Etou contributed 14 points and six boards, while Curran Scott provided 11 points, six rebounds and three assists off the bench.
• The Golden Hurricane owned a 52-30 rebounding advantage while outscoring the Green Wave, 30-20, in the paint and and 10-1 on second chance opportunities.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
• Picked to finish fourth in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, SMU is led by five starters averaging double-digit points per game, including leading scorer and preseason conference player of the year Shake Milton (16.7 PPG).
• Thursday will be just the second true road game of the season for the Mustangs, who lead the conference in scoring defense (58.9), 3-point field goal percentage (.423), assists per game (18.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.5).
• SMU also ranks second in scoring margin (+16.6), steals per game (7.9) and turnover margin (+3.7).
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 (17.0 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     33.9
2. Melvin Frazier & Cameron Reynolds     Tulane     33.4
3. Quinton Rose & Shizz Alston           Temple     31.7
4. Rob Gray & Devin Davis              Houston   30.9
5. Jeremiah Martin & Kyvon Davenport         Memphis  30.2
  Shake Milton & Jarrey Foster                     SMU         30.2
MAN OF STEALS
• Melvin Frazier ranks second in the American Athletic Conference in steals (33) and steals per game (2.4), and has at least three hesists in six 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.
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 14 games as a sophomore, he's averaging 9.4 points per contest, while making 44 percent of his shots and 42 percent (24 of 57) of his attempts from beyond the arc.
REYNOLDS SURPASSES 1,000 POINTS
• Redshirt senior Cameron Reynolds scored his 1,000th career point in the 81-65 win over Alcorn State on Nov. 29 to become the 36th player in program history to reach the milestone.
• While his seventh point of the night gave him 1,000, Reynolds poured in a season-high 28 points in the effort and moved from No. 37 to No. 34 on the school's all-time scoring list in that game alone.
TWENTY DIMES MULTIPLE TIMES
• Tulane has combined for at least 20 assists on five occasions this season and is unbeaten in those contests.
Date       Opponent                 Result        Assists     FGM
Nov. 10    LIU Brooklyn            W, 102-96      20         36
Nov. 17    vs. Colorado State   W, 80-53        21         27
Nov. 29    Alcorn State            W, 81-65         20         25
Dec. 6   Southern                 W, 95-76         20         34
Dec. 28    at Temple                W, 85-75        22         31
