Tulane University
Temple
Men's Basketball Seeks Season Sweep of Temple
Feb 11, 2020 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 24: TULANE Green Wave (10-13, 2-9 AAC) vs. TEMPLE Owls (12-11, 4-7 AAC) |
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| Â When: | Â Wednesday, February 12, 2020Â |Â 7 p.m. (CT) |
|  Where: |  New Orleans | Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse |
| Â Watch: | Â WatchESPN |
| Â Commentators: | Â Bob Licht (Play-By-Play) and Victor Howell (Color) |
|  Radio: |  1280 AM New Orleans |
| Â Radio Talent: | Â Andrew Allegretta (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Scoring: | Â Statbroadcast |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | Temple | American Athletic Conference |
| Â Tickets: | Â Purchase Online |
| Â Social Media:Â | Â @GreenWaveMBBÂ |Â #RollWave |
The game will be broadcast on the WatchESPN app, as Bob Licht calls play-by-play action and Victor Howell delivers color analysis.
STARTING FIVE
1. Â Â Â Â Tulane is in search of a regular season series sweep of the Owls, which would mark its first American Athletic Conference sweep since defeating USF twice during the 2016-17 season.
2. Â Â Â Â Wednesday's game features The American's top two teams in steals per game, as the Green Wave rank first (8.3) as the Owls are second (8.2). Individually, Temple's DeVondre Perry ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (.426), while Nic Thomas is third (.425). Nate Pierre Louis is third in steals per game (2.13), and Christion Thompson is fourth (2.08).
3. Â Â Â Â The Green Wave lead the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.349), steals per game (8.3) turnovers per game (14.6), turnover margin (+4.5) and fouls committed per game (14.7). The Green Wave ranks in the top 100 nationally in each of those categories, while their average beyond the arc is the only one that ranks outside the top 50.
4. Â Â Â Â Last time out, Tulane suffered an 81-67 home defeat to East Carolina on Saturday evening. Christion Thompson filled the stat sheet with 23 points, nine rebounds, a career-high six assists and a game-high five steals, while K.J. Lawson scored 20 points and made four 3-pointers in his fifth 20-point effort of the season for Tulane. The Green Wave trailed by just three at halftime and with only five minutes remaining, but ECU shot 29-for-55 (.527) from the floor and 20-for-24 (.833) at the foul stripe on the night to preserve the victory.
5. Â Â Â Â Tulane has committed fewer turnovers than its opponent in 22 of its 23 games this season. The Green Wave Wave are forcing teams into 16.1 turnovers per game and own a +4.5 turnover margin which ranks 11th nationally.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
• The Owls (12-11, 4-7 AAC) enter Wednesday's contest coming off a 97-90 comeback home win in overtime on Saturday against SMU.
• Temple owns a 5-7 record away from its home court this season, including a 3-5 mark in true road games.
• The OwlsÂ
GREEN WAVE-OWLSÂ CONNECTIONS
» Tulane head coach Ron Hunter credits his passion for coaching to watching former Temple head coach (1982-2006) and Naismith Hall of Famer John Chaney.
» Tulane redshirt sophomore Jordan Walker grew up friends with Temple guards Nate and Josh Pierre-Louis, and played with Nate during his childhood.
» Walker played with Temple forward J.P. Moorman at Victor Oladipo's basketball camp.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 10 – Tulane has recorded 10 or more steals in eight games this season. The Green Wave own a 5-3 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.
• 197 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 197 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 an eight-man rotation, Tulane's starters are seeing more court time than any team in The American Athletic Conference this season.
•  K.J. Lawson (36.3), Christion Thompson (33.8) and Teshaun Hightower (33.5) currently and rank first, fifth and sixth 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).
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.
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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.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.
