Tulane University
Houston
Men's Basketball Challenges No. 25 Houston on ESPNU
Feb 5, 2020 | Men's Basketball
| GAME 22: TULANE Green Wave (10-11, 2-7 AAC) at #25/25 HOUSTON Cougars (17-5, 7-2 AAC) |
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| Â When: | Â Thursday, February 6, 2020Â |Â 8 p.m. (CT) |
|  Where: |  Houston, Texas | Fertitta Center |
| Â Watch: | Â ESPNUÂ |Â WatchESPN |
| Â Commentators: | Â Paul Sunderland (PxP) & Lance Blanks (Color) |
|  Radio: |  1280 AM New Orleans |
| Â Radio Talent: | Â Andrew Allegretta (Play-By-Play) |
| Â Live Scoring: | Â SIDEARM |
|  Notes: |  Tulane | Houston | The American |
| Â Social Media:Â | Â @GreenWaveMBBÂ |
The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU, as Paul Sunderland calls play-by-play action and Lance Blanks provides color analysis.
STARTING FIVEÂ Â
1. Â Â Â Â Tulane makes its first trip to Houston since 2018 and its first to the newly renovated Fertitta Center in search of its first win in Houston since 2015.
2. Â Â Â Â Saturday's game features The American's top two teams in turnovers per game this season, as the Green Wave commit 11.8 per game while the Cougars surrender the ball 11.9 times per contest.
3. Â Â Â Â Tulane's Ron Hunter and Houston's Kelvin Sampson combine for 1,088 career wins over a combined 56 years in the head-coaching profession. Sampson's 633 wins rank 12th among active NCAA Division I head coaches, as Hunter's 455 victories rank 35th.
4. Â Â Â Â Last time out, Tulane dropped an American Athletic Conference road game at SMU, 62-57, on Saturday evening in Dallas. Nic Thomas led four Green Wave scorers in double-figures with a season-high 20 points and made six 3-pointers, while K.J. Lawson added 15 points and seven rebounds. Teshaun Hightower added 12 points and four assists, as Christion Thompson chipped in 11 points. Despite leading by three at halftime, SMU scored 54 points in the second half to Tulane's 36. Tyson Jolly led five SMU scorers in double digits with 20 points, while Kendric Davis registered a double-double comprising 18 points and 13 assists. Tulane finished the night shooting 25-for-59 (.424) overall and 12-for-28 (.429) from deep.
5. Â Â Â Â Tulane has committed fewer turnovers than its opponent in 20 of its 21 games this season. The Green Wave Wave are forcing teams into 16.4 turnovers per game and own a +4.6 turnover margin which ranks 13th nationally.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
• The Cougars (17-5, 7-2 AAC) enter Thursday's matchup after having their five-game winning streak snapped in a 64-62 loss at Cincinnati last Saturday.
• Houston owns an 80-19 record in home games under sixth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson, including a 9-2 record this season.
• The Cougars rank second in the nation in rebounding margin (+9.9) and fourth nationally with 14.4 offensive rebounds and 42.2 boards per game.
• Houston is led by redshirt freshman guard Caleb Mills' 12.9 points per game, while sophomore guard Nate Hinton stands fourth in The American in rebounding with 9.3 per contest.
GREEN WAVE-COUGARS CONNECTIONS
» Tulane associate head coach Ray McCallum served as an assistant coach under Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma (2004-06) and Indiana (2006-08).
» Ray McCallum served as Houston's head coach for four seasons from 2000-04, leading the Cougars to the 2002 NIT in his second year at the helm. He owns a 287-281 (.505) career record as a head coach.
» Tulane head coach Ron Hunter and Kelvin Sampson have coached against one another twice before, the first coming in Dec. 2006 in Indianapolis when Hunter coached at IUPUI and Sampson at Indiana. The second came in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Tulsa when Hunter was at Georgia State. Sampson won both matchups, which were played at neutral sites.
» Tulane graduate transfer K.J. Lawson and Houston sophomore Quentin Grimes were teammates at the University of Kansas last season.
» A New Orleans native, Houston assistant coach Quannas White held the same position at Tulane from 2014-16.
» Houston's roster possesses two New Orleans natives, including Brison Gresham and DeJon Jarreau.
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.
• 195 – 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 (33.1) rank first, third 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.
