NEW ORLEANS – Ahead of its first season under head coach Ron Hunter, the Tulane men’s basketball program unveiled the non-conference portion of its 2019-20 schedule Tuesday afternoon.
The 12-game slate features five home games, six neutral-site contests and one true road tilt. Additionally, the Green Wave will host Spring Hill College (Ala.) in a preseason exhibition game on Thursday, October 31 at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Tulane opens the regular season with three consecutive home games against Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 6), Jackson State (Nov. 12) and Northwestern State (Nov. 16), before heading to the Myrtle Beach Invitational (Nov. 21-24) for a trio of games against Mississippi State and two other opponents to be determined.
The Green Wave return home to host Southern (Dec. 1), before making the short trip across the Louisiana border for a road game at Southern Miss (Dec. 4).
Tulane will play its fourth neutral-site game against Saint Louis (Dec. 8) on a trip to Phoenix, Arizona for the first game of a tripleheader at the Basketball Hall of Fame Jerry Colangelo Classic.
Following a week of final exams, the Wave hosts Alcorn State (Dec. 16), before closing out the non-league schedule with two games at the Clash in the Capital (Dec. 20-21) in Washington, D.C. Tulane will take on Akron in the first round, before facing either Liberty or Towson the next day.
Hunter, who was named the program’s new head coach in late March, has led his teams to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last five seasons while his 445 career wins make him the winningest coach to ever lead the Green Wave.
The Green Wave’s roster features the return of letterwinners Ray Ona Embo, Bul Ajang, Buay Koka and Kevin Zhang who lead a crop of 10 newcomers including Ibrahim Ali (Arkansas), Teshaun Hightower (Georgia), K.J. Lawson (Kansas), Nic Thomas (Norfolk State), Christion Thompson (Rhode Island) and Jordan Walker (Seton Hall). Tulane’s freshman core comprises Nobal Days, R.J. McGee, Tylan Pope and Charlie Russell Jr.
Article courtesy of Tulane Sports Information Department.
