Tulane Faces Western Kentucky in Final Game of Cayman Islands Classic

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – Tulane Men's basketball faces Western Kentucky in its final game of the Cayman Islands Classic at 12:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday.

The three-day tournament is being broadcast on FloHoops. Fans can also listen to the game live on the radio by tuning into 104.1 The Spot or by CLICKING HERE. Tulane's "Voice of the Green Wave" Corey Gloor will call the action live.

STARTING FIVE
1. The Tulane University men's basketball team plays in its final game of the Cayman Islands Classic on Wednesday morning. The Green Wave will take on Western Kentucky at 12:30 p.m.

2. Tulane is 1-1 in the tournament having dropped the opening game versus Nevada 66-75 and winning the second game over Rhode Island 78-75.

3. Tulane is 24-19 against nonconference opponents since the beginning of the Ron Hunter era. Tulane is 0-5 all-time versus Western Kentucky.

4. Tulane has the highest scoring offense in the tournament at 87.7 points per game and the highest field goal percentage at .515.

5. After two games Tulane ranks second among AAC teams in scoring offense (82.0) behind Cincinnati (84.7). As a team they hold the second-best field goal percentage at 0.500. Kevin Cross holds the third-best field goal percentage at .615 and the third best scoring average at 21.

TULANE BY THE NUMBERS
260 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 260 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.

99 – The Green Wave scored 99 points versus Charleston Southern, the most points scored in the Ron Hunter era.

15 – Ron Hunter is 175wins away from 500 career wins.

9.4 – The Green Wave saw a 9.4 percent increase in average points per game from the 2020-21 season to the 2021-22 season.

4 – Tulane was picked to finish fourth in the American Athletic Conference 2022-23 preseason poll.

3 – Three members earned Preseason All-AAC Honors. Jalen Cook was a unanimous first team selection while Jaylen Forbes and Kevin Cross earned second team honors.

2 - Collin Holloway was one of two transfer players in the NCAA to score 20+ points in their debut with their new teams.

THE OPPONENT - WESTERN KENTUCKY
• WKU is 9-7 since 2017 in regular-season tournaments. The Hilltoppers won two games each in the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis, 2018 Myrtle Beach Invitational, 2019 Paradise Jam and 2020 Crossover Classic.
• With 13 blocks against Indianapolis on Nov. 15, the Hilltoppers broke the program's record for blocks in a single game. More info on pg. 5
• In WKU's 127-61 rout of Kentucky State on Nov. 12, the team broke numerous 3-point shooting records for both the program and in NCAA DI history. More on pg. 5
• Emmanuel Akot became just the second player in college basketball since at least 2010-11 to notch his stat line or better in 23 minutes or less. More info on pg. 6
• Three Hilltoppers were named to the Conference USA Preseason All-Conference team: Dayvion McKnight, Emmanuel Akot & Jamarion Sharp. More on pgs. 2 and 6
• Jamarion Sharp is the tallest player in college basketball for the second season in a row at 7 feet, 5 inches. He's also the tallest player in the history of the Hilltopper program. WKU has seven players who are 6-foot-7 or taller and is the country's tallest team, according to Ken Pom.

LAST TIME OUT - TULANE DEFEATS RHODE ISLAND
• Cross scored 22 points, just one off his career high in the matchup. Cross also had seven assists and four rebounds.
• Four other members of the Wave scored in double figures with Jaylen Forbes scoring 17 points, Collin Holloway had 14 and added on six rebounds, while Sion James had 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
• Cleaning up play defensively, Tulane committed just 13 fouls to Rhode Island's 22.
• The first half was an even battle, Tulane shot 50% from the field and 38.5% from field goal range, while Rhode Island shot 39.3% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. Tulane got down by as much as seven and led by as much as 10. Heading into the locker room the Green Wave was up nine, 38-29.
• Tulane extended the lead to 13 before Rhode Island went on a 12-0 run to bring the score to 56-55. Cross decided to take matters into his own hands, scoring six straight and sparking the Tulane offense. Rhode Islands would nail a few threes to make things interesting, but Tulane would take the game 78-75.

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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 at NolaBuilt.com.

Tulane Faces Western Kentucky in Final Game of Cayman Islands Classic

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Players Mentioned

Jalen Cook

Kevin Cross

Jaylen Forbes

Collin Holloway

Sion James

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