Men's Basketball Hosts Northwestern State Saturday

GAME 3: TULANE Green Wave (2-0) vs. NORTHWESTERN STATE Demons (1-2)
When:	Saturday, November 16, 2019 \| 1 p.m. (CT)
Where:	New Orleans \| Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse
Watch:	ESPN3
Commentators:	Dave Raymond (Play-By-Play) and Rich Zvosec (Color)
Radio:	WRBH 88.3 FM New Orleans
Radio Talent:	Gus Kattengell (Play-By-Play)
Live Scoring:	Statbroadcast
Notes:	Tulane \| Northwestern State
Tickets:	Purchase Online
Social Media:	@GreenWaveMBB \| #RollWave

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane men's basketball team closes out a three-game homestand Saturday, November 16 against Northwestern State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m., at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 as Dave Raymond calls play-by-play action and Rich Zvosec delivers color analysis.

PROMOTIONS
• The first 250 fans will receive a FREE fake beard as part of Tulane "No-Shave November" game.
• The fan with the BEST mustache or beard will receive a $25 gift card to The Company Burger.

STARTING FIVE
1.    Tulane looks to start the season 3-0 for the second time in the last three seasons and build on its +15.0 scoring margin against opponents following its first two wins over Southeastern Louisiana and Jackson State.
2.    The Green Wave defeated Jackson State, 88-79, on Tuesday night behind a career-high 21 points by Teshaun Hightower and a personal-best 19 points by Christion Thompson. Hightower went 10-for-11 at the free throw line to go with six rebounds and three assists, while Thompson shot 7 of 12 overall to go with eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a pair of steals. K.J. Lawson chipped in 14 points, five boards and four helpers, while Kevin Zhang scored 12 points. The Green Wave shot 30 for 54 (.556) overall on the night and made 22 of 30 (.733) free throws.
3. Tulane shot a combined 17 of 28 (.607) in the first half of Tuesday's win over Jackson State, marking the first time in just under two years the Green Wave shot north of 60 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of a game. That lost occurrence was an 18-for-28 (.643) effort at Tulsa on Feb. 8, 2018.
4.    In the Green Wave's first two games this season, 140 of the team's 164 combined points have been scored by newcomers, equaling an impressive 85.4 percent of the squad's scoring offense.
5.    Tulane and Northwestern State meet for an in-state clash for the first time in the post-Katrina era, as the programs last met nearly 15 years ago on Dec. 6, 2004 in Natchitoches, La. The Demons earned an 85-72 home win in that contest behind 10 3-pointers and a 27 of 29 effort at the free throw line in the second half alone.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE
• Tulane leads the all-time series against Northwestern State, 4-3, which dates back the first meeting in 1917.
• The Demons enter Saturday's contest with a 1-2 record following consecutive losses at Texas A&M (77-63) on Nov. 6 and home against Rice (80-74) on Nov. 12.
• Northwestern State is the second and last Southland Conference opponent on Tulane's 2019-20 regular-season schedule, as the Green Wave defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 77-56, in their season opener on Nov. 6.
• The Demons were picked last out of 13 teams in the Southland Conference's preseason poll.
• Sophomore guard Brian White leads Northwestern State with 12.3 points and 4.0 assists per game, while redshirt junior forward Chudier Bile ranks first on the team with 9.7 rebounds per outing.

BY THE NUMBERS
• 4 – Tulane has had four scorers reach double-figures in each of its first two games of the season. Christion Thompson, K.J. Lawson and Teshaun Hightower have accomplished the feat in both contests.
• 11 – Tulane has 11 newcomers on its 2019-20 roster and returns just two scholarship players that saw minutes on last year's team.
• 176 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 176 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.

SEASONED COACHING STAFF
• Head coach Ron Hunter has assembled a veteran coaching staff featuring two former NCAA Division I head coaches - Ray McCallum (Ball State - 1993-2000; Houston 2000-04; Detroit Mercy - 2008-16) and Kevin Johnson (Centenary - 1999-2005), as well as Claude Pardue.
• The Green Wave are one of just nine schools nationally to have three of its four coaches currently or previously holding head-coaching titles, along with Pittsburgh (4), Iowa (4), Creighton (3), Michigan State (3), Minnesota (3), Oklahoma State (3), South Carolina (3) and Washington (3).

2020 PAC-12 CHINA GAME
• In an announcement on November 8, the Tulane University and University of Washington men's basketball programs will meet in Shanghai for the sixth edition of the Pac-12 China Game, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 14, 2020.
• Tulane possesses one of just five Chinese-born players in NCAA Division I for the 2019-20 campaign in Shenyang native Kevin Zhang. He is also the son of 1992 Olympic silver medalist and former China Women's National Team coach Wang Fang.

NEWCOMER RUNDOWN
Following a roster overhaul, Tulane enters the 2019-20 campaign tied for the sixth most newcomers nationally:
1. TCU 15
2. Nebraska 15
3. ECU 13
T4. UT Martin 12
T4. Utah 12
T6. Tulane 11
T6. Cleveland State 11
T6. Long Beach State 11
T6. Memphis 11
T6. MTSU 11
T6. Navy 11
T6. SIU 11
T6. Southern Miss 11
SMALL NUMBERS RETURN
• Tulane returned just three scholarship players for the 2019-20 season in Kevin Zhang, Buay Koka and Ray Ona Embo. Only Zhang and Koka played last season, while Zhang was the only Green Wave player to appear in the last 15 games of the season.
• This season, Tulane is one of just six NCAA Division I teams returning less than 21 percent of their scoring while also bringing back less than 16 points per game. Among those teams, the Green Wave return the fewest in both categories:

1. Tulane (10.8 PPG, 12.2%)
2. Virginia Tech (13.3 PPG, 18.1%)
3. Washington (13.9 PPG, 19.8%)
4. UCF (14.5 PPG, 20.0%)
5. Long Beach State (15.2 PPG, 20.2%)
6. South Dakota State (15.8 PPG, 16.9%)

SEASON TICKETS
Fans can get their hands on season tickets starting at just $75 – a $50 reduction from last year. That means fans can lock up a seat for every home contest for as little as $5 each. Visit TulaneTix.com or call the ticket office at 504-861-9283 to reserve your seats.

All sections are available for purchase so you can customize your viewing experience from your favorite seating location. Discounts are also available for Tulane faculty and staff.

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For behind-the-scenes coverage, follow Tulane men's basketball (@GreenWaveMBB) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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.

Men's Basketball Hosts Northwestern State Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Teshaun Hightower

Buay Koka

K.J. Lawson

Ray Ona Embo

Christion Thompson

Kevin Zhang

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Tulane University Athletics

Men's Basketball Hosts Northwestern State Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Teshaun Hightower

Buay Koka

K.J. Lawson

Ray Ona Embo

Christion Thompson

Kevin Zhang

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