NEW ORLEANS – After securing two wins to close out the month of November, the Tulane men’s basketball team gets back on the court following an 11-day break to host Southern Miss on Wednesday, December 9. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+ as Daniel Sallerson delivers play-by-play of all the action and David Grubb provides color analysis.
STARTING FIVE
1. The Green Wave hosts the Golden Eagles in the 81st all-time meeting between the programs, as the Wave looks to extend its winning streak in the series to four straight. Wednesday’s matchup will be the first in New Orleans since December, 22, 2015, as Tulane owns a 24-14 record at home in the all-time series.
2. Tulane is off to a 2-0 start to the season for the third time in four years following its 68-66 win over Lipscomb last time out. Jordan Walker led the Green Wave with 16 points and six assists, while Jaylen Forbes added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. R.J. McGee grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and scored a career-high 12 points off the bench and blocked a shot attempt by the Bisons as time expired to preserve the win.
3. Tulane shot 25-of-56 (.446) from the field and finished +2 on the glass, while holding Lipscomb to just 10-for-28 (.357) shooting in the second half. The Green Wave had 16 assists on their 25 baskets made, while outscoring the Bisons, 16-7, off the bench and 14-7 on fast breaks.
4. Tulane is averaging 9.5 made 3-pointers per game after making 10 against Lamar and nine against Lipscomb in its first two contests of the season. The Green Wave made at least nine treys 10 times last season and posted a 5-5 record in those games.
5. Tulane is 7-0 in non-conference home games under second year head coach Ron Hunter. The Green Wave have won nine straight at Fogelman in Devlin in non-league games, while the Golden Eagles’ last non-conference road win came on Dec. 21, 2018 at South Dakota.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISS
• Tulane leads Southern Miss, 43-37, in the all-time series which includes a 24-14 record in games played in New Orleans.
• The Golden Eagles (1-1) enter Wednesday’s contest following an 80-53 home win over crosstown neighbor William Carey seven days prior. Tyler Stevenson matched a career-high 27 points on 11- for-13 shooting to lead the way.
• Southern Miss dropped its season opener at Jacksonville, 66-51, on Nov. 28.
• The Golden Eagles’ head coach Jay Ladner is 1-4 all-time against Tulane, including a 1-3 mark in his five seasons leading the Southeastern Louisiana program (2014-19).
BY THE NUMBERS
• 11 – Tulane is playing its first game in 11 days since defeating Lipscomb on Nov. 29. This marks the longest scheduled hiatus between games that the Green Wave will have between contests this season.
• 206 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 206 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.
GREEN WAVE-GOLDEN EAGLES CONNECTIONS
» Tulane junior guard Gabe Watson played in this game last season as a starter at Southern Miss before transferring to the Green Wave during the offseason after two seasons with the Golden Eagles.
» Two Tulane players hail from Mississippi in junior guard Gabe Watson (Jackson) and sophomore guard Jaylen Forbes (Florence).
» Southern Miss freshman guard Jaron Pierre Jr. is a New Orleans native and graduate of St. Augustine High School.
» Southern Miss junior guard Tae Hardy played at East Carolina as a freshman in 2018-19 where he appeared in both games against Tulane in a reserve role, scoring two points in each game, respectively.
» Former Tulane head coach Roy Danforth (1976-81) was a four-year letterwinner and scored 1,066 career points as a player at Southern Miss (1958-62). He recorded a 45-90 record in five seasons leading the Green Wave.
LAST TIME THEY MET – DECEMBER 4, 2019
The Green Wave held off a late Golden Eagles rally to secure a 61-56 road win at Reed Green Coliseum. Christion Thompson led the way with a game-high 15 points to go with nine rebounds, four blocks and a pair of steals. Tulane finished the night shooting 20-for-45 (.444) overall, 5-for-21 (.238) beyond the arc and 16-for-21 (.762) at the free throw line, while Southern Miss went 23-for-61 (.377) from the floor, 7-for-25 (.280) from the 3-point line and 3-for-4 (.750) at the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles were led by Tyler Stevenson’s 10 points and nine rebounds, as Southern Miss owned a 23-12 scoring advantage off turnovers and 21-12 off the bench.
AAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
• Tulane sophomore Jaylen Forbes earned a spot on the first American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Nov. 30 after averaging15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in a a pair of wins over Lamar and Lipscomb • Additionally, he averaged four made 3-pointers made per game and converted at a 47 percent clip from beyond the arc.
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 five schools nationally to have three of its four coaches currently or previously holding head-coaching titles, along with Pittsburgh (4), Iowa (4), Michigan State (3) and Washington (3).
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}
