Tulane Men’s Basketball Set for Matchup Versus No. 6 Houston

Gamenotes
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT, as it faces off against Houston for an American Athletic Conference matchup inside the Fertitta Center in Houston.

The Green Wave's matchup with Houston will be aired live on ESPN+. Fans also can 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 returns to action on Wednesday evening as it heads to Houston. The contest will mark the teams' first meeting this year. The game will tipoff at 7 p.m. CT and will be aired live on ESPN+.
2. The Green Wave enters their meeting against Houston in the hopes of continuing their momentum from their 67-66 comeback victory over the Wichita State Shockers on Saturday at home. The Green Wave will look to improve to 7-3 in league play for the first time since joining the American Athletic Conference for the start of the 2014-15 campaign.
3. Since joining the AAC in 2014-15, Tulane has never won seven conference games.
4. This season, head coach Ron Hunter's staff welcomes back six letter winners, six newcomers and three starters, including preseason All-American Athletic Conference honoree Jaylen Forbes. Forbes is one of three players on the team, averaging 10-or-more points per game. Freshman Jalen Cook leads the team with 19.8 points per game - a figure that ranks second in the American Athletic Conference. As a team, Tulane is averaging 73.0 points per game and connecting at a 44.6 percent clip.
5. The Green Wave have won the turnover battle in 15 of their 18 games this season. During the 2020-21 campaign, Tulane won the turnover battle in 19 of its 23 contests last season while also forcing opponents into at least 15 mishaps on 11 occasions. During the 2019-20 campaign, the Green Wave committed equal or fewer turnovers than its opponents in 28 of 30 contests while ranking in the top 20 nationally in turnover margin (+4.2).

THE SERIES
• Tulane's matchup with Houston will mark the 36th all-time meeting between the two teams.
• The two teams met for the first time in program history back on Jan. 8, 2000. In that game, the Green Wave dropped a 75-74 decision to the Cougars.
• Green Wave head coach Ron Hunter is 0-5 all-time against Houston while at Tulane

TULANE BY THE NUMBERS
244 - Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 244 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.

54.0 - Forward Kevin Cross leads the American Athletic Conference in field goal percentage connecting at a 54.0 percent rate from the floor.

35.3 - Jaylen Forbes' 35.3 minutes per game lead the AAC.

19.8 - Jalen Cook is averaging 19.8 points per game entering Tulane's matchup with Houston. The last Tulane player to average more than 19.0 ppg for a full year was Jerald Honeycutt (19.9) in 1996-97. John Williams averaged 19.4 ppg in 1983-84. No one else has averaged 19 or more in the last 40 years.

12 - Tulane has faced 12 opponents this season which came into their meeting with the Green Wave with a record of .500 or better.

6 - The Green Wave picked up their sixth league win of the year on Jan. 29 vs. Wichita State which is more than its conference win total from a year ago.

2 - Tulane ranks second in the American in turnover margin.

1 - For the first time in program history, Tulane has defeated Memphis, Cincinnati and Wichita State all in the same season.

WITH A WIN OVER HOUSTON...
• Tulane would capture its first win against a ranked opponent since their win over No. 25 NC State on Dec. 22, 1999.
• Tulane would improve to 7-3 for the first time ever in American Athletic Conference play.
• Tulane would capture its first win on the road versus Houston since Jan. 17, 2015.
• The Green Wave would earn their first win over Houston since Jan. 17, 2018.
• Head coach Ron Hunter would collect his first win vs. Houston as the Tulane head coach.

THE OPPONENT - HOUSTON
• The Cougars enter their matchup with Tulane after they took a 63-49 decision on the road in Orlando back on Jan. 29.
• This is the first time Houston has won each of its first seven games to open its American Athletic Conference schedule.
• Houston has been ranked in 29 consecutive Associated Press Top 25 rankings, having been on the list since Jan. 20, 2019.
• Kyler Edwards is averaging 19.0 ppg in conference play.
• As a team, Houston is averaging 77.0 points per game and is connecting at a 46.5 percent clip.
• Head coach Kelvin Sampson is in his eighth season at Houston. Since arriving at Houston, Sampson has posted a record of 184-66. Overall, Samson owns a career record of 684-336.
• Houston was picked to finish first in the AAC Preseason Poll.

LAST TIME OUT: TULANE TOPS WICHITA STATE
• Freshman guard Jalen Cook scored a team-high 23 points and sank the game winning free throws as the Tulane University men's basketball team defeated Wichita State on Saturday inside the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
• Cook scored in double figures for the 16th time and more than 20 points for the eighth time this season.
• Kevin Cross has now scored double figures in 11 straight contests and notched his third double-double of the year.
• Tulane is now 3-3 in contest with the starting lineup of Jaylen Forbes, Kevin Cross, Sion James, Jalen Cook, and R.J. McGee.
• Tulane has had 11 games decided by five points or less this season. The Green Wave is now 4-7 in those contests.

Men's Basketball Puts On Offensive Clinic In Historic Win Over Tulsa
• The 34-point margin is the largest win since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2014-15.
• The 34-point victory also marked the largest margin of victory by Tulane in the 33 matchups between the Green Wave and the Golden Hurricane.
• Tulane played a nearly spotless first half. The Green Wave shot 67 percent, including eight-for-twelve from behind the arc, and only turned it over twice while recording seven steals. The hot shooting and +8-turnover margin resulted in a 52-31 halftime lead for the Wave.
• Tulane played a nearly spotless first half. The Green Wave shot 67 percent, including eight-for-twelve from behind the arc, and only turned it over twice while recording seven steals. The hot shooting and +8-turnover margin resulted in a 52-31 halftime lead for the Wave.
• Tonight's starting lineup of Jaylen Forbes, Kevin Cross, Sion James, Jalen Cook, and Devon Baker was the seventh different starting rotation used by the Green Wave this season.
• The 52-point half was the most points scored by Tulane in any half since the second half of a home victory over SMU on February 19, 2020.
• With his 23-point effort, Cook surpassed 300 career points.

THIS GAME IS NO SECRET
• For Wednesday's game, Tulane will help the Cougars in honoring those involved in The Secret Game between Duke University and North Carolina University in 1944.

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TICKETS
Tickets for the 2021-22 season can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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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 Men’s Basketball Set for Matchup Versus No. 6 Houston

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Players Mentioned

Jalen Cook

Kevin Cross

Jaylen Forbes

Sion James

R.J. McGee

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