Men's Basketball Meets Mississippi State at Myrtle Beach Invitational

GAME 4: (-/RV) TULANE Green Wave (3-0) vs. (RV/-) MISSISSIPPI STATE Bulldogs (4-0)
When:	Thursday, November 21, 2019 \| 1 p.m. (CT)
Where:	New Orleans \| Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse
Watch:	ESPNU \| WatchESPN
Commentators:	Doug Sherman (Play-By-Play) and Cory Alexander (Color)
Radio:	1280 AM New Orleans
Radio Talent:	Tim Bickford (Play-By-Play)
Live Scoring:	Statbroadcast
Notes:	Tulane \| Mississippi State
Tickets:	Purchase Online
Social Media:	@GreenWaveMBB \| #RollWave

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane men's basketball team takes its show onto the national stage to face Mississippi State in the first round of the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday, November 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT) at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University.

The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU as Doug Sherman calls play-by-play action and Cory Alexander delivers color analysis.

STARTING FIVE
1. Tulane and Mississippi State add another chapter to the storied history of an old rivalry when the teams meet in the first round of the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational. The meeting will be the 95th all-time between the programs all-time and just the sixth on a neutral court, as the Bulldogs lead the series, 55-39.
2. The Green Wave have begun the season with three straight wins for the second time in the last three seasons following a 79-52 home win over Northwestern State last Saturday afternoon. Teshaun Hightower led three scorers in double-figures with a game-high 19 points, while K.J. Lawson added 14 points, while Nic Thomas chipped in 12 points in 18 minutes off the bench. The Green Wave outscored the Demons, 34-6, off turnovers, 21-7 on the fast break, 13-3 on second chances and 24-20 in the paint.
3. In Tulane's first three games this season, 204 of the team's 243 combined points have been scored by newcomers, equaling an impressive 84 percent of the squad's scoring offense.
4. Green Wave head coach Ron Hunter's 3-0 record has him off to one of the best start's by a first-year coach in program history. He is just the fifth to accomplish the feat with Shawn Finney being the last in 2000-01. The two before that were Clifford Wells (1945-46) and Clark Shaughnessy (1915-16).
5. Redshirt sophomore point guard Jordan Walker has been both effective and efficient with shot selection through his first three games this season. The transfer from Seton Hall has made 11 of 19 (.579) from the floor and a ridiculous 9 of 12 (.750) from beyond the 3-point line.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
• The Bulldogs lead the Green Wave in the all-time series, 55-39.
• The programs last met Dec. 19, 2015 in Starkville, as MSU held on for a 69-59 win. One year prior, on Dec. 6, 2014, Tulane protected home court with a 59-54 win over the Bulldogs behind 17 points by Jay Hook.
• Mississippi State owns a 4-0 record this season with consecutive home wins over FIU, Sam Houston State, UL Monroe and the University of New Orleans. MSU is averaging 72.0 points and 15.8 assists per game, while allowing 57.8 points per contest, but commits 17.3 turnovers per game while shooting just 18 of 64 (.281) beyond the 3-point arc.
• Picked seventh in the SEC preseason poll, the Bulldogs are led by 6-10 sophomore forward Reggie Perry, who was selected to the Preseason All-SEC First Team. He is averaging 12.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists through the team's first four contests.

MYRTLE BEACH INVITATIONAL FIELD
• Depending on Tulane's result against Mississippi State on Thursday, the Green Wave will face either the winner or loser of No. 17/15 Villanova and Middle Tennessee on Friday, November 22 at either 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2/ESPNU.
• The tournament's two brackets will merge for the final round on Sunday, November 24 based on the first two days' results. The Green Wave will face one team on the other side of the draw between No. 24/23 Baylor, Coastal Carolina, Ohio and Utah.

BY THE NUMBERS
• 10.3 – Tulane is averaging 10.3 steals per game through its first three contests this season, which ranks 32nd nationally. The Green Wave recorded 10 against Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 6) and 14 vs. Northwestern State (Nov. 16).
• 21 – Tulane has forced 21 turnovers in two of its first three games this season. The Green Wave accomplished the feat against Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 6) and 14 vs. Northwestern State (Nov. 16).
• 177 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 177 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).

TULANE INKS TWO EARLY SIGNEES
•    Head coach Ron Hunter received two NLI's in the NCAA's Early Signing Period from Jadan Coleman (Madison, Ala.) and Sion James (Atlanta, Ga.) as part of his first signing class.
•    A 6'4 wing player, Coleman plays at Bob Jones High School. On the AAU trail, he averaged 9.7 points per game for the Alabama Fusion on the 2019 Nike EYBL circuit. He made 34 3-pointers in 13 games and set the EYBL record with 10 3-pointers made in a 36-point outburst against Team United.
•    A 6'5 guard from Lanier High School, James earned Region 8 Class 6A Player of the Year honors and received 2019 North Atlanta boys' all-state first team honors and all-county recognition after averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game as a junior. He led the Longhorns to the Class 6A title and was a 2019 Gwinnett County All-Metro Second Team pick while being selected to the 2019 North Georgia All-Star Basketball Classic.

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 Meets Mississippi State at Myrtle Beach Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Teshaun Hightower

Buay Koka

K.J. Lawson

Ray Ona Embo

Nic Thomas

Jordan Walker

Kevin Zhang

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Tulane University Athletics

Men's Basketball Meets Mississippi State at Myrtle Beach Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Teshaun Hightower

Buay Koka

K.J. Lawson

Ray Ona Embo

Nic Thomas

Jordan Walker

Kevin Zhang

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