Tulane University
UConn
Men's Basketball Treks to UConn for Conference Clash
Jan 18, 2019 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 17: TULANE Green Wave (4-12, 0-4 AAC) at UCONN Huskies (10-8, 1-4 AAC ) |
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| Â When: | Â Jan. 19, 2019Â |Â 1 p.m. (CT) |
|  Where: |  Storrs, Conn.  | Gampel Pavilion |
| Â Watch: | Â CBSSports.com |
|  Commentators: |  Andrew Catalon (Play-by-Play) & Steve Lappas (Color Analyst) |
|  Radio: |  1280 AM New Orleans | Listen Online |
| Â Radio Talent: | Â Todd Graffagnini (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Stats: | Â Statbroadcast |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | UConn | American Athletic Conference |
| Â Social Media: | Â Twitter: @GreenWaveMBB | #RollWave |
NEW ORLEANS – Following a six-day break, the Tulane men's basketball gets back on the road for a trip to Storrs, Conn., to take on UConn on Saturday, January 19. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (CST) at Gampel Pavilion.
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The game will be streamed online at CBSSports.com with Andrew Catalon (play-by-play) and Steve Lappas (color) calling the action. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network at 6:30 p.m. (CST) on a tape delay.
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STARTING FIVE
- Tulane looks to put an end to a six-game skid and score its first American Athletic Conference victory of the season in its lone regular season meeting with UConn.
- Saturday's matchup will be the seventh all-time between the Green Wave and Huskies, as UConn has won each of the first six meetings. Tulane has faced Connecticut twice in Storrs and once in Hartford at the XL Center.
- In the Green Wave's last game, they dropped an 83-79 home decision to Memphis on Sunday, Jan. 13. Tulane outscored the Tigers by 11 points in the second half behind freshman Kevin Zhang's season-high 25 points. Senior forward Blake Paul had a career day, registering his first career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds – both personal bests – to go with three blocks off the bench.
- The Green Wave have stressed attacking the glass with the start of American Athletic Conference play and have outrebounded the opposition in three of their first four league games. Tulane is +4.2 in rebounding margin grabbing just shy of 40 rebounds per contest.
- Tulane has flaunted what head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. has called his deepest team since his arrival. Ten of the Green Wave's 12 players to see court time this season average at least 11.2 minutes per game.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 3.14 - After winning The American's Team Academic Excellence Award in 2018, the Green Wave posted a 3.14 GPA during the fall 2018 semester, the highest in program history. Nine of 14 players posted at least a 3.0 GPA, including each international player on the team.
• 6 – Redshirt junior forward Samir Sehic has posted six double-doubles this season and two in the last three games. He has eight in his career after compiling two last year.
• 129 - Redshirt senior guard Jordan Cornish has scored 871 points in three plus seasons (two at UNLV, second at Tulane) and needs just 129 more to eclipse 1,000 for his career.
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SCOUTING UCONN
• The Huskies enter Saturday's matchup following consecutive American Athletic Conference road losses at Cincinnati and Tulsa. UConn has won nine of its 10 games this season at home.
• Connecticut shares one common non-conference opponent with Tulane, as both teams suffered respective defeats to Florida State.
• The Huskies are led by first-year head coach Danny Hurley, who previously guided Rhode Island for six seasons after two years at the helm of the Wagner program.
• UConn ranks second in The American in scoring offense (78.3) and 3-point field goal percentage (.352).
• Preseason all-conference choice and junior guard Jalen Adams ranks sixth in the league in scoring (17.4) and 13th in assists (3.2) per game.
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20-POINT PERFORMANCES
• Tulane has had five different players score at least 20 points in a game this season, the most among any American Athletic Conference program:
• Caleb Daniels (4) - vs. Coastal Carolina, South Dakota State, South Alabama, Texas Southern
• Kevin Zhang (3) - vs. Florida State, Georgia State, Memphis
• Samir Sehic (2) - vs. Texas Southern & SMU
• Jordan Cornish (1) - vs. UL Lafayette
• Shakwon Barrett (1) - vs. UT-Martin
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CLEANING UP IN THE CLASSROOM
• The Green Wave compiled a 3.14 team GPA for the 2018 Fall semester, the highest recorded in program history.
• Buay Koka posted a perfect 4.0 GPA
• Nine of 14 players had at least a 3.0 GPA
• 10/14 players have a cumulate GPA of at least 3.0
• All five international players had at least a 3.0
• Tulane was named the recipient of the American Athletic Conference's Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2017-18 season, an honor given annually to one of the conference's 12 institutions sponsoring men's basketball that achieves the highest cumulative grade point average.
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DUNLEAVYS LONE FATHER-SON HEAD-COACHING DUO
 • In his third season as head coach, Mike Dunleavy Sr., is the only head coach with a son who is also a head coach at the NCAA Division I level.
 • His son, Baker Dunleavy, is in his second season at the helm of Quinnipiac's program.
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CONGRATS GRAD!
• Redshirt junior forward Samir Sehic earned his bachelor's degree in finance in May of 2018 with two years of eligibility remaining. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Tulane.
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PAUL CLIMBING ALL-TIME BLOCKS LIST
• Senior forward Blake Paul is on the verge of becoming one of the 10 greatest shot blockers in program history:
1.        John Williams (1981-85)          192
2.        Lawrence Nelson (1994-98)     181
3.        Quincy Davis (2002-06)           165
4.        Jerald Honeycutt (1993-97)      163
5. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â David Gomez (2004-08)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 145
6. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Donnie Stith (2004-08)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 142
7.        Robinson Louisme (2004-09)    117
8.        Linton Johnson (1998-2002)    99
9.        Anthony Reed (1989-93)          95
10.      Paul Thompson (1979-83)        92
11.       Blake Paul (2015-19)           88
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 AAC WEEKLY HONORS
• Sophomore guard Caleb Daniels was selected to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on December 10, while freshman swingman Kevin Zhang was selected to the first listing of the 2018-19 season on November 12.
• Daniels averaged 20 points and nine rebounds per game while shooting 16-for-23 (.696) from the field in two games, as he registered his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds on 7-for-11 shooting in the 87-74 win over UT-Martin, before tallying his third 20-point performance of the season with 23 points and eight boards on 9-for-12 shooting at South Alabama.
• Starting in his college debut against 17th-ranked Florida State, Zhang scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds with two assists and just one turnover in 35 minutes. The Shenyang, China native shot 9-for-13 overall, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, while 17 of his 24 points came in the second half.
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AROUND THE GLOBE
Tulane's 2018-19 roster comprises players born on four continents with Ray Ona Embo, a French guard (Europe), South Sudanese post players Bul Ajang and Buay Koka (Africa), Chinese freshman Kevin Zhang (Asia) and nine from North America (U.S. and Canada).
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Most continents represented on NCAA Division I men's basketball programs:
 1. Maine.................... 5
    Virginia ............... 5
2. Bradley................. 4
   Illinois-Chicago...... 4
   UNLV.................... 4
   Oklahoma.............. 4
   Portland ............... 4
   Sacramento State.. 4
   UT Arlington.......... 4
   Tulane................. 4
   Utah State……………4
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WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
