Men's Basketball Hosts Southern in Sunday Matinee

GAME 7: (-/RV) TULANE Green Wave (5-1) vs. SOUTHERN Jaguars (3-4)
When:	Sunday, December 1, 2019 \| 1 p.m. (CT)
Where:	New Orleans \| Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse
Watch:	ESPN3 \| WatchESPN
Commentators:	Lyn Rollins (Play-By-Play) and Vic Howell (Color)
Radio:	1280 AM New Orleans
Radio Talent:	Andrew Allegretta (Play-By-Play)
Live Scoring:	Statbroadcast
Notes:	Tulane \| Southern
Tickets:	Purchase Online
Social Media:	@GreenWaveMBB \| #RollWave

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane men's basketball team looks to build on its 5-1 start and push its winning streak to three against the Southern University Jaguars on Sunday, December 1. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m., at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 as Doug Sherman calls play-by-play action and Cory Alexander delivers color analysis.

STARTING FIVE
1. Tulane returns home for its fourth of five non-conference home games this season to host Southern for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. The Green Wave are in search of their third straight win in the all-time series which they lead, 10-1, dating back to 1991.
2. Tulane has enjoyed a seven-day hiatus between games and is coming off an impressive, 65-61, comeback win over Utah in the fifth-place game at the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational on November 24. The Green Wave scored the last 10 points of the game and held Utah scoreless for the final 4:36, despite trailing by as many as eight points with 6:48 remaining. Teshaun Hightower led four Tulane scorers in double-figures with a game-high 16 points and made three 3-pointers, while K.J. Lawson added 14 points. Jordan Walker scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half to go with a game-high seven assists and four steals, as Nobal Days scored a season-high 10 points.
3. Head coach Ron Hunter recorded his 450th career win against Utah, which stands as the 35th most wins among active NCAA Division I coaches.
4. In Tulane's first six games this season, 381 of the team's 460 combined points have been scored by newcomers, accounting for an impressive 82.8 percent of the squad's scoring offense. The Green Wave's top four leading scorers are all new to the roster this year.
5. Junior Teshaun Hightower ranks eighth nationally in free throws made (39), while redshirt sophomore point guard Jordan Walker ranks 15th in steals per game (2.83).

SCOUTING SOUTHERN
• The Green Wave lead the all-time series against the Jaguars,
• The programs last met

BY THE NUMBERS
• 10.3 – Tulane is averaging 10.3 steals per game through its first six contests this season, which ranks 17th nationally. The Green Wave have recorded 10 or more steals in four games and had a season-high 14 vs. Northwestern State (Nov. 16) and Mississippi State (Nov. 21), respectively
• 60 – In six games this season, Tulane has shot 60 more free throws than its opponents (138-78) for a +10 margin per game. The Green Wave are also converting at a 76.1 percent clip, while opponents are making just 61.5 percent of their attempts.
• 180 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 180 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.

HUNTER WINS NO. 450
•    It took just five wins and six games for first-year head coach Ron Hunter to reach a new milestone, as he earned his 450th career win on November 24 against Utah at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
•    In his 26th season as a head coach, Hunter ranks 35th nationally among active NCAA Division I head coaches and third in the American Athletic Conference behind only Houston's Kelvin Sampson (619) and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall (508).

HISTORICAL WIN OVER PAC-12 FOE
•    In its 110th season sponsoring men's basketball, Tulane's November 24 game against Utah in Conway, S.C., was just its 20th against a Pac-12 Conference program.
•    The Green Wave's 65-61 victory over the Utes was their first over a Pac-12 team since defeating Stanford, 56-53, at home on Dec. 19, 1957.

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 13
T2. Nebraska 12
T2. ECU 12
T2. Utah
T5. Tulane
T5. Austin Peay
T5. Cleveland State
T5. Long Beach State
T5. Navy
T5. Southern Miss

SMALL NUMBERS RETURN
• Tulane returns just two scholarship players for the 2019-20 season in Kevin Zhang and Buay Koka. Zhang was the only Green Wave player to appear in the team's final 15 games of last 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 Southern in Sunday Matinee

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nobal Days

Teshaun Hightower

Buay Koka

K.J. Lawson

Jordan Walker

Kevin Zhang

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Tulane University Athletics

Men's Basketball Hosts Southern in Sunday Matinee

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nobal Days

Teshaun Hightower

Buay Koka

K.J. Lawson

Jordan Walker

Kevin Zhang

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