Tulane University
SMU
Men's Basketball Set for Road Matchup at SMU on ESPNU
Jan 31, 2020 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 21: TULANE Green Wave (10-10, 2-6 AAC) at SMU Mustangs (15-5, 5-3 AAC) |
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| Â When: | Â Saturday, February 1, 2020Â |Â 7 p.m. (CT) |
|  Where: |  Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum |
| Â Watch: | Â ESPNUÂ |Â WatchESPN |
| Â Commentators: | Â Kevin Brown (PxP) & Bryce Drew (Color) |
|  Radio: |  1280 AM New Orleans |
| Â Radio Talent: | Â Andrew Allegretta (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Scoring: | Â Statbroadcast |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | SMU | The American |
| Â Social Media:Â | Â @GreenWaveMBBÂ |
The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU, as Kevin Brown calls play-by-play action and Bryce Drew provides color analysis.
STARTING FIVE
1. Â Â Â Â Tulane is back on the road for its first American Athletic Conference game in February in hopes of ending a winless drought of 10-straight games in Moody Coliseum that dates back to 1991.
2. Â Â Â Â Saturday's game features The American's top two teams in terms of 3-pointers made and fewest fouls committed per game. The Mustangs rank first in 3s per game (8.2), while the Green Wave are second (8.0). Tulane commits the fewest fouls per contest (14.6) and rank 15th nationally in the category, while SMU stands second in the league and 33rd in the country.
3. Â Â Â Â Tulane and SMU share two common non-conference opponents this season in Jackson State and Northwestern State. The Green Wave and Mustangs combined to go 4-0 against those teams.
4. Â Â Â Â Last time out, Tulane suffered a 66-52 home loss in its lone regular-season matchup against USF on Wednesday evening in New Orleans. Christion Thompson finished with a game-high 18 points, four assists and three steals which marked the 15th time this season he has scored in double-figures. He also dished out a team-high four assists. Joining him in double-digit scoring was Nic Thomas, who closed with 11 points and made three 3-pointers. Nobal Days recorded multiple blocks for the fourth time this season, rejecting a career-high five shots on the night.
5. Â Â Â Â Tulane has committed fewer turnovers than its opponent in 19 of its 20 games this season. The Green Wave Wave are forcing teams into 16.7 turnovers per game and own a +4.8 turnover margin which ranks 12th nationally.
SCOUTING SMU
• The Mustangs (15-5, 5-3 AAC) enter Saturday's contest with wins in three of their last four games, but are coming off a 65-43 road loss at Cincinnati on Tuesday night. They own an 11-1 record on their home court this season, including a 3-0 mark in conference games.
• SMU leads The American in several statistical categories, including scoring offense (74.8), field goal percentage (.457), free throw percentage (.764), assists per game (16.4) and 3-pointers made per game (8.2). However, the Mustangs rank last in turnover margin (-1.0) and second to last in steals per game (6.0).
• The Ponies are led by Kendric Davis, who leads the conference in assists per game (6.8) and ranks fifth in scoring (15.2 PPG). They also possess three of the league's top 10 rebounders, as Feron Hunt (7.1), Isaiah Mike (6.9) and Tyson Jolly (6.7) rank seventh, eighth and 10th among all players. Mike (.414) and Jolly (.405) also rank third and sixth, respectively, in 3-point field goal percentage.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 10 – Tulane has recorded 10 or more steals in seven games this season. The Green Wave own a 5-2 record in those contests.
•  33 – Teshaun Hightower scored 33 points against Towson on Dec. 21 in Washington, D.C., the most points scored in a single game by any player in The American this season.
• 194 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 194 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.
MINUTES MONSTERS
•  Playing primarily with a seven-man rotation, Tulane's starters are seeing more court time than any team in The American Athletic Conference this season.
•  K.J. Lawson (36.4), Christion Thompson (33.8) and Teshaun Hightower (33.2) rank first, fourth and sixth respectively among all players in The American in minutes played.​​​​​​
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).
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).
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.Â
•  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:Â
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%)
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.
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For behind-the-scenes coverage, follow Tulane men's basketball (@GreenWaveMBB) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.Â
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.
