Tulane University
USF
Men's Basketball Hunts First Conference Win at USF
Jan 8, 2019 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 15: TULANE Green Wave (4-10, 0-2 AAC) at USF Bulls (11-3, 1-1 AAC ) |
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| Â When: | Â Jan. 9, 2019Â |Â 6 p.m. (CT) |
|  Where: |  Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center |
| Â Watch: | Â WatchESPN |
| Â Commentators: | Â Drew Fellios (Play-by-Play) & Mike O'Donnell (Color Analyst) |
|  Radio: |  1280 AM New Orleans | Listen Online |
| Â Radio Talent: | Â Todd Graffagnini (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Stats: | Â SIDEARM |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | USF  | American Athletic Conference |
| Â Social Media: | Â Twitter: @GreenWaveMBB | #RollWave |
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane men's basketball team looks to get back on track in search of its first league win of the season when it heads to Tampa, Fla., for a road tilt at USF. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT) at the Yuengling Center and the game will be broadcast on the WatchESPN app.
STARTING FIVE
  1. Tulane looks to snap a four-game skid in its third true road game of the season and aims for its fifth straight win on USF's home court dating back to 2015.
  2. The Green Wave and Bulls split last season's regular season series, as each side scored a road victory against the opposition. USF held off a furious rally by the Wave to score an 80-75 in New Orleans on Jan. 25, before Tulane returned the favor in Tampa, 79-68, on Feb. 24. Samir Sehic averaged 20 points and seven rebounds in the two contests while shooting over 65 percent from the floor and making five of six 3-pointers.
  3. At least one Green Wave player has scored at least 20 points in nine of the team's 14 games this season. Caleb Daniels is responsible for five of those performances, while Sehic was the last to turn the trick with 20 points over 15 rebounds against SMU on Jan. 4.
  4. Wednesday is Tulane's fourth and final game in the state of Florida this season, as the Green Wave played three games in Estero at the Gulf Coast Showcase Nov. 19-21. The Wave went 1-2 in those contests, recording a win over South Dakota State and a pair of setbacks to UC Irvine and UL Lafayette.
  5. Tulane has flaunted what third-year 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 minutes per game.
BY THE NUMBERS
4 -Â Tulane has left Tampa with a win in each of its first four trips to USF since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2014-15. The Green Wave have won three of those four contests by double digits and are 9-8 all-time inside the Yuengling Center.
138Â -Â Redshirt senior guard Jordan Cornish has scored 862 points in three plus seasons (two at UNLV, second at Tulane) and needs just 138 more to eclipse 1,000 for his career.
157Â -Â Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 155 consecutive games. The last time the Green Wave failed to do so came on Jan. 16, 2014 at home against Louisiana Tech when they went 0-for-14 from outside.
SCOUTING USF
• The Bulls (11-3, 1-1 AAC) were picked to finish last of 12 teams in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, but have surprised early in the season.
• USF defeated UConn at home in its first league game seven days ago, before dropping a three-point game at Tulsa on Saturday.
• Redshirt freshman forward Alexis Yetna leads the conference with seven double-doubles this season and is averaging 11.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game this season.
• Yetna leads the AAC in rebounding, while redshirt junior point guard Laquincy Rideau ranks first in the conference in assists (5.6 apg) and steals (2.9 spg).
• The Bulls average 41.1 rebounds per game which ranks 20th in NCAA Division I.
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.
20-POINT PERFORMANCES
• Tulane has had five different players combine for nine total 20-point scoring games 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 (2 - vs. Florida State & Georgia State)
• Samir Sehic (1 - vs. Texas Southern)
• Jordan Cornish (1 - vs. UL Lafayette)
• Shakwon Barrett (1 - vs. UT-Martin)
KOKA'S PERFECT DAY
• Redshirt freshman center Buay Koka had his best performance to date coming off the bench at South Alabama on Dec. 8, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor for a career-best 11 points to go with a pair of blocks.
• Koka became the first Tulane player to have a perfect day shooting with a minimum of five shot attempts since Malik Morgan went 6-for-6 against Georgia Tech on Dec. 15, 2015.
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.Â
 • His son, Baker Dunleavy, is in his second season at the helm of Quinnipiac's program.
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.
ZHANG'S ARRIVAL MARKS RARE FOREIGN IMPORT
NCAA Division I men's basketball players hailing from China are rare, as freshman swingman Kevin Zhang is one of just five players nationally who can stake that claim along with CS Fullerton sophomore Johnny Wang, CS Northridge freshman Michael Ou, Cal-Berkley freshman James Zhao and UPenn frosh Michael Wang.
STRENGTH WITHIN THE SCHEDULE
• Tulane will play a minimum of 11 regular-season games against nine teams that earned postseason bids in 2018, including seven opponents that played in the NCAA Tournament (Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia State, Houston, South Dakota State, Texas Southern and Wichita State). Temple and Southeastern Louisiana made NIT appearances.
• The Green Wave will host 15 home games and will head out to compete in five neutral-site contests. The Wave will play just one true road tilt in the non-conference slate at South Alabama on Dec. 8.
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).
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
WHAT WAS LOST
• The Green Wave have plenty of production returning from one year ago, but will also have to replace a considerable amount vacated by two starters and six total letterwiners from last season that do not return.
• Melvin Frazier Jr. (15.9 PPG) and Cameron Reynolds (15.1 PPG) comprised the American Athletic Conference's No. 5 scoring duo last season.
• Frazier was an all-conference second team choice in 2017-18, while he and Reynolds won back-to-back Most Improved Player of the Year honors from The American the last two years.
#NBAWAVE
• Melvin Frazier Jr. and Cameron Reynolds have begun their professional careers in 2018-19, as Frazier is currently on the Orlando Magic's G-League team in Lakeland, Florida, and Reynolds begins the season with the Sacramento Kings' G-League affiliate in Stockton.
• Frazier became the 20th player in Tulane history to be chosen in the NBA Draft and the first in 21 years when he was chosen in the second round, 35th overall, by the Magic in June.
• Reynolds received a guaranteed contract from the Kings, including a spot on the club's Summer League team, a training camp invitation and a guaranteed a roster spot with Stockton for the 2018-19 campaign.
