NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane men’s basketball team travels to 11th-ranked Houston for an American Athletic Conference road game in search of its first road win of the season on Saturday, January 9. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m., at the Fertitta Center.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU and streamed live on ESPN+ as Robert Ford delivers play-by-play of all the action and Lance Blanks provides color analysis.
STARTING FIVE
1. Tulane is in search of its first road win at Houston since 2015 and its first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since defeating No. 25 NC State in December 1999.
2. Last time out, Jaylen Forbes scored a game-high 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting to complement a career-high five steals as the Green Wave earned their first league win of the year, 60-56, over East Carolina. Joining Forbes in double figures were Gabe Watson and Jordan Walker, as they finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
3. Tulane forced ECU (7-2, 1-2 AAC) into 21 turnovers and held the Pirates to just 37 percent shooting. Despite allowing a season-high 10 3-pointers, the Green Wave forced a season-high 21 turnovers and generated a season-best 13 steals.
3. Tulane has won the turnover battle in seven of its eight contests this season while also forcing opponents into at least 15 mishaps on six occasions. Last season, the Green Wave committed equal or fewer turnovers than its opponents in 28 of 30 contests while ranking in the top 15 nationally in turnover margin (+4.3).
4. Tulane currently ranks first in The American in free throw percentage (.759), second in turnover margin (+4.3) and third in 3-pointers made per game (7.8) and fewest turnovers per game (12.3). On the national scale, the Green Wave rank in the top 100 in turnover margin and turnovers per game as of December 31.
5. Head coach Ron Hunter earned his 460th career win on December 9 against Southern Miss and currently has the 34th most victories among active NCAA Division I head coaches.
TULANE-HOUSTON 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 three total times, 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. The third was last year’s lone regular-season matchup in Houston.
» 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.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
• The Cougars enter Saturday’s game coming off consecutive league wins over at SMU on Sunday and at home against Wichita State on Wednesday. They own a 6-0 record in home games this season and own a 19-1 record at home in conference play dating back to the 2018-19 season.
• Houston is led by junior guard Quentin Grimes who ranks second in The American in scoring (18.1 PPG) and ninth in rebounding (7.2). Redshirt senior forward Justin Gorham ranks first in the league in rebounding (8.9).
• As a team, the Cougars lead the conference scoring margin (+16.3), turnover margin (+4.3) and rebounds per game (41.8). Nationally, they rank in the top 30 in each of those three categories.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 7 – Tulane’s leading scorer Jaylen Forbes (15.9 PPG) has scored in double-figures a team-leading seven times this season and in five consecutive games.
• 212 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 212 consecutive games. The last time the Green Wave failed to do so occurred on January 16, 2014 at home against Louisiana Tech when they shot 0-for-14 from outside.
• 362 – Tulane scored 2,050 total points last season but return just 362 of those from one year ago. That means more than 82.3 percent of the Green Wave’s total offense will be replaced in 2020-21 and that is the seventh most among NCAA Division I programs this season.
LAST TIME THEY MET – FEBRUARY 6, 2020
Tulane suffered a 75-62 road defeat at Houston, as Teshaun Hightower led the Green Wave with 17 points and five rebounds, while K.J. Lawson added 13 points. Nobal Days scored in double-figures for the second time on the season with 10 points and made a pair of 3-pointers. Houston owned a 37-27 rebounding advantage and shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the second half on 15 shots made. Caleb Mills led three Cougars in double-digit scoring with 18 points, as Nate Hinton compiled a double-double with 12 points over 12 rebounds with seven assists.
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For behind-the-scenes coverage, follow Tulane men’s basketball (@GreenWaveMBB) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
{Courtesy: Press Release from Tulane Athletics}
