Ron Hunter to treat Tulane fans to breakfast on Saturday

Breakfast available to all fans while supplies last; tipoff is set for 11 a.m.

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane University men’s basketball head coach Ron Hunter needs you TO BE LOUD this Saturday, as the Green Wave men’s basketball team welcomes Wichita State to Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Beginning at 10:00 a.m., fans that come early to the game will receive FREE beignets and breakfast sandwiches (while supplies last) courtesy of Coach Hunter prior to the Green Wave’s matchup with Wichita State.

“This can be the hardest places to play in the conference if we can get fans to come in here,” Hunter said following the Green Wave’s win over Tulsa Wednesday night. “Our guys feed off that energy.”

Tipoff for the Green Wave’s matchup with Wichita State on Saturday is set for 11 a.m. and will be aired live on ESPNU on Saturday. Fans can purchase tickets to the game by CLICKING HERE, but tickets are going fast.

The Green Wave will look to build off their 97-63 win over Tulsa this past Wednesday. Tulane’s 34-point win over the Golden Hurricane was the Green Wave’s largest victory margin in an AAC game.

Tulane Men’s Basketball Set for Wichita State on Saturday
Tipoff is set for 11 p.m. CT and can be seen live on ESPNU

The Tulane University men’s basketball team returns to action on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT, as it faces off against the Wichita State for an American Athletic Conference matchup.

The Green Wave’s matchup with Tulsa will be aired live on ESPNU. Fans also can listen to the game live on the radio by tuning into 104.1 The Spot or by CLICKING HERE. Tulane’s “Voice of the Green Wave” Corey Gloor will call the action live.

¬STARTING FIVE
1. Tulane’s home contest with Wichita State will mark the two team’s second meeting this year. The game will tipoff at 11 a.m. CT and will be aired live on ESPNU.
2. The Green Wave enters their meeting with Wichita State in the hopes of continuing their momentum from a 34-point win over Tulsa (97-63) this past Wednesday at home. Tulane’s 97 points against Tulsa were a season high. The Green Wave will look to improve to 6-3 in league play for the first time since joining the American Athletic Conference for the start of the 2014-15 campaign.
3. Since joining the AAC in 2014-15, Tulane has only won six conference games on one occasion (2014-15).
4. This season, head coach Ron Hunter’s staff welcomes back six letterwinners, six newcomers and three starters, including preseason All-American Athletic Conference honoree Jaylen Forbes. Forbes is one of three players on the team, averaging 10-or-more points per game. Freshman Jalen Cook leads the team with 19.5 points per game – a figure that ranks second in the American Athletic Conference. As a team, Tulane is averaging 73.4 points per game and connecting at a 44.9 percent clip.
5. The Green Wave have won the turnover battle in 14 of their 17 games this season. During the 2020-21 campaign, Tulane won the turnover battle in 19 of its 23 contests last season while also forcing opponents into at least 15 mishaps on 11 occasions. During the 2019-20 campaign, 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).

THE SERIES
• Tulane’s matchup with Wichita State will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams.
• The two teams met for the first time in program history back on Feb. 21, 2018. In that game, the Green Wave dropped a 93-86 decision to the Shockers.
• Green Wave head coach Ron Hunter is 1-3 all-time against WSU.

TULANE BY THE NUMBERS
243 ¬- Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 243 consecutive games. The last time the Green Wave failed to do so came on Jan. 16, 2014 at home against Louisiana Tech when they went 0-for-14 from outside.

53.8 – Forward Kevin Cross leads the American Athletic Conference in field goal percentage connecting at a 53.8 percent rate from the floor.

35.3 – Jaylen Forbes’ 35.3 minutes per game lead the AAC.

19.0 – Jalen Cook is averaging 19.5 points per game entering Tulane’s matchup with Wichita State. The last Tulane player to average more than 19.0 ppg for a full year was Jerald Honeycutt (19.9) in 1996-97. John Williams averaged 19.4 ppg in 1983-84. No one else has averaged 19 or more in the last 40 years.

12 – Tulane has played 12 games this season where its opponent had a record of .500 or better coming into the game.

5 – The Green Wave picked up their fifth league win of the year on Jan. 26 against Tulsa which surpassed their conference win total from a year ago.

2 – Tulane ranks third in the American in turnover margin.

1 – For the first time in program history, Tulane has defeated Memphis, Cincinnati and Wichita State all in the same season.

WITH A WIN OVER WICHITA STATE…
• Tulane would improve to 6-3 for the first time ever in American Athletic Conference play.
• The Green Wave would improve to 4-1 at home in AAC play for the first time ever.
• Tulane would capture its second straight win over Wichita State. The Green Wave have never won back-to-back games against the Shockers.
• The Green Wave would earn their first ever home win over WSU.
• Head coach Ron Hunter would collect his second career win vs. Wichita State.

THE OPPONENT – WICHITA STATE
• The Shockers enter their matchup with Tulane after they snapped a four-game losing streak this past Wednesday at home against UCF.
• WSU win over UCF was it first victory in 35 days.
• Ricky Council IV scored a career-high 31 points in the win over the Knights.
• Tyson Etienne leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game.
• Etienne, who is in his fourth year at WSU was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year in the AAC.
• The Shockers return four of program’s the top-five scorers from last year’s team that won the league’s 2020-21 regular season title.
• As a team, WSU ranks fourth in the American in scoring defense, holding opponents to 65.1 points per game. Offensively, the Shockers’ 68.6 points per game ranks ninth in the league.
• The Shockers have proven to be able to defend the 3-point shot well throughout the year, as they are holding opponents to 30.1 percent from long range – a figure that ranks fourth in the AAC.
• Head coach Isaac Brown is in his second year on the bench for the Shockers. WSU is the first school in which Brown has served as a head coach. Last season, Brown guided the Shockers to a 16-6 record (11-2 AAC) and a First Four appearance while serving as the program’s interim leader.
• WSU was picked to finish fourth in the AAC Preseason Poll.

LAST TIME OUT: TULANE BLOWS PAST TULSA
• The Tulane University men’s basketball team defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 97-63 on Wednesday night inside the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
• The 34-point margin is the largest win since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2014-15.
• With the win, Tulane snapped its two-game losing streak and moved to 5-3 in league play for the first time since joining the American Athletic Conference for the 2014-15 season and 8-9 overall.
• Sophomore Jaylen Forbes led the way with 24 points and freshman Jalen Cook added 23.
• The 34-point victory also marked the largest margin of victory by Tulane in the 33 matchups between the Green Wave and the Golden Hurricane. The next largest margin was 14 points on December 31, 1996.

16 POINT RALLY HANDS TULANE ITS FIRST EVER WIN AT WICHITA STATE
• Tulane University sophomore guard Jaylen Forbes scored 16 of his team-best 20 points in the second half to guide the Green Wave to a thrilling 68-67 come-from-behind win over Wichita State on Jan. 12 at Charles Koch Arena.
• Tulane’s win over the Shockers was the program’s first ever victory over Wichita State. The win also improved Tulane to 4-1 in American Athletic Conference play and moved Tulane back to .500 on the year (7-7).
• Joining Forbes in double figures were Jalen Cook, Sion James, Kevin Cross and DeVon Baker, as they finished with 18, 10, 10 and 10 points, respectively.
• Trailing by as many as 16 points in the game, the Green Wave showed no quit, as they utilized a 19-6 second half run to take a 60-59 lead with 7:20 remaining in the game.
• Tulane’s one-point advantage was its first lead of the night. From that point, the lead would change hands eight more times for the remainder of the game.
• In the final four minutes of the game, both defenses clamped down, as the two teams combined for just four points. The biggest defensive play came from sophomore Nobal Days, as he took a charge on the Shockers’ final possession to give the Green Wave the ball with less than a second remaining and preserve the win.

TULANE TAKES DOWN CINCINNATI ON THE ROAD
• The Tulane University men’s basketball team opened 2022 on a high note, as it picked up a hard fought 68-60 win over the University of Cincinnati on Jan. 1 inside Fifth Third Arena.
• With the win, Tulane improved to 2-0 to start league play for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. The Green Wave’s win at Cincinnati was Tulane’s first since a 50-49 win over the Bearcats back in 2015.
• The win also served as Tulane’s largest margin of victory at Cincinnati since the Green Wave defeated the Bearcats 70-59 back on Feb. 23, 1991.
• Freshman guard Jalen Cook scored 20-or-more points for the fifth time this season, as he netted a game-high 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting. He also drilled three 3-pointers. Joining Cook in double figures were teammates Jaylen Forbes and Kevin Cross, as they finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
• Tulane finished the night by shooting 38 percent as a team and finished with just 10 turnovers which equaled Cincinnati’s 10 miscues.
• The Green Wave never lost the lead in the second half and led by double digits for 29 of the game’s 40 minutes.

GREEN WAVE SHINE IN AAC OPENER AGAINST MEMPHIS
• The Tulane University men’s basketball team opened American Athletic Conference play in the win column as it defeated Memphis 85-84 on Dec. 29 inside the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
• With the victory, the Green Wave snapped a 12-game losing skid to the Tigers. The Wave’s last win over Memphis was on February 13, 2016.
• The Tulane offense was in rhythm on its home floor as it shot 55 percent from the field and shot a scorching 45 percent from beyond the arc. The Green Wave also dominated the paint outscoring the Tigers 42-32 around the rim.
• Four players finished in double figures for the Green Wave as freshman Jalen Cook led all scorers with 25 points. This marks the fourth time this season Cook has reached the 20-point plateau. Kevin Cross followed with 15 points while Sion James and R.J. McGee rounded out the top scorers for Tulane with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
• On the defensive end, Tulane forced the Tigers into 15 turnovers and 10 steals. The Green Wave converted those Memphis turnovers into 21 points on the other end of the floor.
• The Green Wave had three-or-more players score in double figures for the eighth time this year.
• Six of the opponents the Green Wave have faced this season have had winning records.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Senior DeVon Baker needs eight points to reach 1,200 in his career.
• Sophomore Jaylen Forbes needs 76 points to reach 800 in his career.
• Sophomore Kevin Cross needs 21 points to reach 400 in his career at Tulane.
• Senior Scott Spencer needs 40 points for 500 in his career.
• Freshman Jalen Cook needs 25 points for 400 in his career.

COOK MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT
• Freshman Jalen Cook has been named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll three times this season, earning a spot on Nov. 15, Nov. 22 and Jan. 17. On Jan. 3, he was selected as the AAC Player of the Week and Louisiana Sports Writers Association Player of the Week on Jan. 3.
• Cook currently ranks second in the American Athletic Conference with 19.5 points per game.
• Cook shined at home in the Green Wave’s league opener, as he poured in 25 points against Memphis.
• In his outing against Tulsa, Cook scored 23 points.
• Cook has scored 20 points or more in seven games this season
• Earlier this year, Cook was selected to the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship All-Tournament Team.

FORBES’ THE FLAMETHROWER
• In his two outings from Nov. 29 – Dec. 5, sophomore Jaylen Forbes averaged 22.5 points per game, a figure which ranked second in the American Athletic Conference. Forbes has been selected to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll twice this season.
• Forbes currently leads the American in minutes played, averaging 35.3 per game.
• Most recently against Tulsa, Forbes poured in 24 points.
• Forbes netted 24 points in an overtime loss at ECU. On Jan. 12 at Wichita State, he helped Tulane to its first ever win over the Shockers, as he scored 16 of his team-best 20 points in the second half.
• Earlier this season against Drexel, Forbes scored a season-high 30 points in the Green Wave’s 90-87 win.
• Last season, he poured in a career-high 37 points on 9-of-15 shooting and made his first seven attempts from 3-point range while going 12-of-15 at the free throw line at Cincinnati on Feb. 26, 2021. The Florence, Mississippi, native’s 37 points are the most by a Green Wave player in a regulation game since Jerald Honeycutt had 38 against Xavier on Jan. 16, 1997.
• His seven treys are tied for the second most in a single game in program history with Cameron Reynolds being the last to make seven against Alcorn State in November 2017.

30 YEARS AGO THE GREEN WAVE MADE HISTORY
• The 2021-22 season marks the 30th anniversary of the 1991-92 team. Listed below is snapshot of that team’s historical season which put Tulane Basketball on the map.

The 1991-92 Green Wave Basketball Team…
• Became the first Tulane men’s basketball team to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
• Collected the program’s first-ever victory in the NCAA tournament, as it defeated St. John’s 61-57 to advance to the Round of 32.
• Captured the Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.
• Finished the year with a 22-9 record.
• Opened the year with 13 straight wins.
• Ranked as high as No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 14 in the Associated Press Poll.
• Anthony Reed and Kim Lewis earned NABC All-District and All-Metro Conference team honors.

UP NEXT
• Tulane returns to action on Wednesday (Feb. 2) where it will head to Houston. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and will be aired live on ESPN+.