Tulane University
Tulsa
Men's Basketball Set for Fat Tuesday Matchup at Tulsa on ESPNU
Feb 24, 2020 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 28: TULANE Green Wave (12-15, 4-11 AAC) at TULSA Golden Hurricane (18-9, 10-4 AAC) |
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| Â When: | Â Tuesday, February 25, 2020Â |Â 8 p.m. (CT) |
|  Where: |  Tulsa, Okla. | Reynolds Center |
| Â Watch: | Â ESPNUÂ |Â WatchESPN |
|  Commentators: |  Mike Corey (PxP) & Sean Harrington (Color) |
|  Radio: |  1280 AM New Orleans |
| Â Radio Talent: | Â Andrew Allegretta (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Scoring: | Â Statbroadcast |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | Tulsa | The American |
| Â Social Media:Â | Â @GreenWaveMBBÂ |
The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU, as Mike Corey calls play-by-play action and Sean Harrington provides color analysis.
STARTING FIVEÂ Â
1. Â Â Â Â Tulane plays at Tulsa in search of its third consecutive win and to earn its third American Athletic Conference regular-season series split in as many games after accomplishing the same against SMU and UCF.
2. Â Â Â Â Tuesday's game features The American's top two teams in fewest fouls committed per game, as Tulane ranks first (15.3) and Tulsa stands second (15.6).Â
3. Â Â Â Â The Green Wave lead the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.345) steals per game (8.3) turnovers per game (11.8), turnover margin (+4.0) and fewest fouls committed per game (15.3). The Green Wave rank 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 overcame a 10-point deficit in the final three minutes to storm back and defeat UCF on the road, 75-74, in American Athletic Conference play on Saturday. K.J. Lawson scored a game-high 21 points in his fourth 20-point performance of the season, while Teshaun Hightower added 18 points, five assists and four steals and Christion Thompson chipped in 15 points and nine boards. Jordan Walker notched a career-high six steals, accounting for nearly half of the Wave's 13 on the day. Tulane shot 50 percent from the field and beyond the 3-point line, respectively, in the second half to lead the late surge.
5. Â Â Â Â Tulane has committed fewer or an equal number of turnovers to its opponent in 25 of its 27 games this season. The Green Wave Wave are forcing teams into 15.8 turnovers per game and own a +4.0 turnover margin which ranks 12th nationally.
SCOUTING TULSA
• The Golden Hurricane (18-9, 10-4 AAC) enters Tuesday's game with wins in three of their last four, including a 79-57 home win over SMU on Saturday.
• Tulsa owns an impressive 13-2 record on its home court this season, including a 6-1 mark during conference play.
• The Hurricane ranks fourth in The American in field goal percentage (.445) and turnover margin (+1.3), and stand fifth in free throw percentage (.710), turnovers per game (13.3) and steals per game (.7.6).
• Senior Martins Igbanu leads the team in scoring (13.3 PPG), and ranks third in the conference in field goal percentage (.566). Darien Jackson ranks fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.549).
GREEN WAVE-GOLDEN HURRICANEÂ CONNECTIONS
» Tulane freshman guard R.J. McGee and Tulsa junior guard Elijah Joiner are Chicago natives and trained together before college. Their respective high schools were in the same conference, and the two competed against one another multiple times.
BY THE NUMBERS
•  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.
• 43 – Tulane attempted 43 free throws in its 80-72 home win over SMU on Feb. 19, marking the first time the Green Wave shot over 40 in a game since having exactly 40 against Colgate on Nov. 26, 2013.
• 201 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 201 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 (35.9), Christion Thompson (33.9) and Teshaun Hightower (33.7) 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.
