NEW ORLEANS — The Tulane men’s basketball team begins March at home for an American Athletic Conference matchup against Wichita State on Wednesday, March 3. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m., at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Jack Benjamin delivers play-by-play of all the action and David Grubb provides color analysis.
STARTING FIVE
1. Tulane hosts Wichita State for just the second time in six meetings since the Shockers joined the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2017-18 season.
2. Wednesday’s matchup features two of the league’s best scorers in Jaylen Forbes and Tyson Etienne. Forbes ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (17.1 PPG) and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.387), while Etienne is fourth in scoring (17.2 PPG) and seventh beyond the arc (.392).
3. Last time out, Tulane suffered a 91-71 road defeat at Cincinnati on Feb. 26 despite Jaylen Forbes’ career-high 37 points on 9-of-15 shooting and seven 3-pointers. The Florence, Mississippi native’s 37 points are the most by any player in The American this season and the most a Green Wave player in a regulation game since Jerald Honeycutt had 38 against Xavier on Jan. 16, 1997. Sion James also reached double-figures with 13 points to complement a career-high four steals. Tied at 62 with 9:26 left in the game, the Bearcats scored eight straight points to ignite a 21-3 scoring run down to the 3:53 mark to pull away.
4. Tulane has won the turnover battle in 16 of its 20 contests this season while also forcing opponents into at least 15 mishaps on 11 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 (.754) and second in turnover margin (+4.0). On the national scale, the Green Wave rank 16th in turnover margin among all NCAA Division I teams and 44th at the free throw stripe.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 3 – Tulane has won three American Athletic Conference road games by double digits under second year head coach Ron Hunter dating back to last season. Wednesday’s 58-48 win at Tulsa was the second this season after the 81-64 win at Temple on Jan. 31.
• 9 – Tulane played its ninth conference road game of the season at Cincinnati on Feb. 26 which is tied with UCF for the most among all teams in The American this season.
• 224 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 224 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.
TULANE-WICHITA STATE CONNECTIONS
» Wichita State assistant coach Billy Kennedy is a New Orleans native and served in the same role at Tulane during the 1989-90 season.
» Kennedy has been a head coach in the state of Louisiana at Centenary (1997-99) and Southeastern Louisiana (1999-2005) in addition to tenures at Murray State (2006-11) and Texas A&M (2011-19). Tulane assistant coach Kevin Johnson succeeded Kennedy as head coach at Centenary where he coached from 1999-2005.
» Shockers junior guards Dexter Dennis and Remy Robert are both Louisiana natives returning to their home state.
» Wichita State head coach Isaac Brown hails from the Gulf Coast region in Mississippi and attended college in Louisiana at UL Monroe (1991-93).
SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
• The Shockers (13-4, 9-2 AAC) enter Wednesday’s contest sitting atop the American Athletic Conference standings under first-year head coach Isaac Brown. They are riding a five-game winning streak but have not played since a 68-63 home win over sixth-ranked Houston on Feb. 18.
• Wichita State is led by Tyson Etienne’s 17.2 points per game, while Alterique Gilbert is seventh in the league in steals per game (1.5) and ninth in assists (3.9).
• As a team, the Shockers rank second in the conference in turnovers per game (11.6) and third in scoring (72.6), 3-pointers made per game (7.8) and rebounding (38.9).
• Wichita State owns a 5-0 lead in the all-time series against Tulane with four of those wins coming on its home court.
LAST TIME THEY MET – FEBRUARY 3, 2021
Jordan Walker scored a game-high 23 points, but Tulane suffered a hard-fought, 75-67 road loss at Wichita State. Walker scored 17 of his season-high 23 points in the second half, as he connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field while dishing out a team-high four assists. Tylan Pope joined Walker in double figures as he finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Tulane scored a season-high 48 points in the second half. Tyson Etienne led the Shockers with 22 points, as Alterique Gilbert contributed 17 points, six rebounds and four assists.
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 has earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll six times this season (Nov. 30, Jan. 4, Feb. 1, Feb. 15, Feb. 22 and March 1). Most recently, Forbes averaged 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 60 percent from 3-point range in two games for the Green Wave. He scored a career-high 37 points and made a personal-best seven 3-pointers at Cincinnati on Feb. 26. His 37 are the most by any player in The American this season, and the most by a Tulane player since Ledaryl Billingsley scored 38 in an overtime game against Charlotte in 2001. Earlier in the week, Forbes registered his first-career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds at Memphis on Feb. 24.
• 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
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{Courtesy: Press Release from Tulane Athletics}
