NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane men’s basketball team begins a stretch of four straight American Athletic Conference road games at Tulsa on Wednesday, February 10. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m., at the Reynolds Center, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
STARTING FIVE
1. Tulane faces Tulsa for the first time in 2021 in a matchup that was originally scheduled to be played in New Orleans. The game site was adjusted after COVID-related issues at Tulane caused the first scheduled matchup at Tulsa on January 23 to be postponed.
2. On Sunday afternoon, Tulane led by as many as seven points in the second half, but Cincinnati escaped with a 64-61 win. Jaylen Forbes led all Green Wave players with 15 points, while Jordan Walker added 13 points, four assists and three steals. Tylan Pope scored in double-figures for the fourth straight game with 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
3. Tulane committed a season-high 17 turnovers despite forcing the Bearcats in 18 of their own. The Green Wave were outscored, 21-6, off the bench.
4. Tulane has won the turnover battle in 12 of its 14 contests this season while also forcing opponents into at least 15 mishaps on seven 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).
5. Tulane currently ranks first in The American in free throw percentage (.785), turnover margin (+3.9) and fewest turnovers per game (11.3). On the national scale, the Green Wave rank in the top 100 in all three categories as well as fewest fouls per game (16.3).
SCOUTING TULSA
• The Golden Hurricane (9-8, 6-6 AAC) enter Wednesday’s game coming off back-to-back losses to UCF and SMU and have dropped four of their last five games.
• Tulsa is led by Brandon Rachal’s 14.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 1.7 SPG. He ranks ninth in The American in scoring, eighth in rebounding and seventh in steals.
• As a team, the Golden Hurricane rank third in the conference in field goal percentage (.446) and fifth in scoring margin (+4.3), assists per game (13.8) and turnover margin (+1.5).
• Led by seventh-year head coach Frank Haith, Tulsa owns a 24-6 all-time lead over Tulane and has won 10 straight at home in the series.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 48 – Tulane scored 48 second-half points at Wichita State on Feb. 3 which was a season-high. The Green Wave also scored 46 points in the second half of their two prior games against Houston (Jan. 28) and at Temple (Jan. 31).
• 81 – Tulane scored 81 points in its road win at Temple on Jan. 31 – the most the Green Wave have scored in a game this season. The last time the Wave scored more in a game that ended in regulation was Dec. 1, 2019 with 82 against Southern University.
• 218 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 218 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.
LAST TIME THEY MET – FEBRUARY 25, 2020
Tulane led by three at halftime, but couldn’t get shots to fall late in the second half, as Tulsa held on for a 62-57 league win. T. Hightower scored a game-high 19 points, while Jordan Walker and K.J. Lawson chipped in 10 points apiece. Christion Thompson filled the box score with seven points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Martins Igbanu led the Golden Hurricane with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double, as Jeriah Horne added 14 points. Tulane owned a 22-9 scoring advantage off turnovers and 9-1 margin on second chances, while Tulsa held a 22-16 edge in the paint.
AAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
• Tulane redshirt freshman forward Tylan Pope was named American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week by the league office on Monday, Feb. 1. Pope averaged 12.0 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting over 56 percent from the field in a 1-1 week for the Green Wave. He recorded his second double-double of the season by matching his personal best with 12 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and two blocks in Tulane’s 81-64 road win over Temple on Jan. 31. On Jan. 28, the Franklinton, Louisiana native tallied 12 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench against No. 6 Houston.
AAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
• Tulane sophomore Jaylen Forbes earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll three times this season on Nov. 30, Jan. 4 and Feb. 1. The first came after averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in a a pair of wins over Lamar and Lipscomb. The second time came after his 20-point performance that led the Green Wave to a league home win over ECU. He then added his third honor after scoring a career-high 23 points in the win at Temple.
• Redshirt junior Jordan Walker has been named to the Weekly Honor Roll twice this season (Dec. 14 and Feb. 8) and four times in his career.
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}
