Tulane University
Wichita State
Men's Basketball Faces Wichita State on CBS Sports Network
Feb 15, 2020 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 25: TULANE Green Wave (10-14, 2-10 AAC) at WICHITA STATE Shockers (18-6, 6-5 AAC) |
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| Â When: | Â Sunday, February 16, 2020Â |Â 1 p.m. (CT) |
|  Where: |  Wichita, Kansas | Koch Arena |
| Â Watch: | Â CBS Sports Network |
| Â Commentators: | Â Carter Blackburn (PxP) & Pete Gillen (Color) |
|  Radio: |  1280 AM New Orleans |
| Â Radio Talent: | Â Andrew Allegretta (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Scoring: | Â Statbroadcast |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | Wichita State | The American |
| Â Social Media:Â | Â @GreenWaveMBBÂ |
The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network, as Carter Blackburn calls play-by-play action and Pete Gillen provides color analysis.
STARTING FIVEÂ Â
1. Â Â Â Â Tulane faces Wichita State in what is the lone regular-season matchup between the squads, as the Shockers are the only team in the American Athletic Conference the Green Wave have not faced yet this season.
2. Â Â Â Â Sunday's game features The American's two best teams in turnover margin this season, as the Green Wave rank first in the league, while the Shockers are second. The teams are also among the top outside shot-makers in the conference, as Tulane's 8.1 3-pointers per game rank second to Wichita's 7.4 which stand third.
3. Â Â Â Â The Green Wave lead the conference in steals per game (8.1) turnovers per game (11.5), turnover margin (+4.3) and fewest fouls committed per game (14.8), while ranking second in 3-point field goal percentage (.348). 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, junior guard Teshaun Hightower scored a team-high 23 points, but Tulane dropped a 72-68 home decision to Temple on Wednesday night in New Orleans. The Green Wave led for nearly the entire game, and by as many as 13 points in the second half, but the Owls closed the game on 19-4 scoring run to escape with the win despite leading for just 51 seconds. Joining Hightower in double-figures were Christion Thompson and Nic Thomas, as they finished with 18 and 10 points, respectively.
5. Â Â Â Â Tulane has committed fewer or an equal number of turnovers to its opponent in 23 of its 24 games this season. The Green Wave Wave are forcing teams into 15.8 turnovers per game and own a +4.3 turnover margin which ranks 13th nationally.
SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
• The Shockers (18-6, 6-5 AAC) enter Sunday's contest coming off a 75-58 road win at UCF on Thursday night, snapping a three-game losing streak.
• Wichita State owns a 13-2 record on its home court this season, including a 3-2 mark in home conference games this season.
• The Shockers rank third in The American in scoring margin (+8.2), rebounding (39.3) and turnovers per game (12.7), but are last in field goal percentage (.406) and 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (.316).
• Sophomore Erik Stevenson leads the team in scoring (12.1 PPG) and steals per game (1.7), while Jaime Echenique is the team's leading rebounder (6.5 RPG).
GREEN WAVE-SHOCKERS CONNECTIONS
»     Tulane head coach Ron Hunter and Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall have coached against one another just once in their careers. Marshall's 2005-06 Winthrop team defeated Hunter's IUPUI squad, 73-50, on Nov. 18, 2005 in Milwaukee.
»     Tulane sophomore forward Kevin Zhang and Wichita State sophomore center Morris Udeze were teammates at Montverde Academy (Fla.) for one season in 2017-18 and won a national championship together.
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.
• 198 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 198 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 (36.1), Christion Thompson (33.8) and Teshaun Hightower (33.5) rank first, fifth 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).
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.
