Tulane hosts Southeastern Louisiana in 2019-20 men’s basketball opener

GAME 1:
TULANE Green Wave (0-0) vs. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA Lions (0-0)

When: Wednesday, November 6, 2019 | 7 p.m. (CT)

Where: New Orleans | Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse

Watch: ESPN3

Commentators: Bob Licht (PxP) & Victor Howell (Color)

Radio: 1280 AM New Orleans | Listen Online

Radio Talent: Andrew Allegretta (Play-By-Play)

Live Scoring: Statbroadcast

GAME NOTES: Tulane  |  Southeastern Louisiana

Social Media: @GreenWaveMBB | #RollWave

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane men’s basketball team opens the book on the Ron Hunter era when it tips off its regular season against Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday, November 6. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

The game will be broadcast on the WatchESPN app, as Bob Licht delivers play-by-play commentary and Victor Howell provides color analysis.

PROMOTIONS
The first 250 fans in the doors will receive a FREE “There Will Be No Walking on Lake Pontchartrain” t-shirt!

STARTING FIVE
1. Tulane tips off the 2019-20 regular season with the first of three straight home games when Southeastern Louisiana visits Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse for the fourth straight season and eighth time in as many meetings dating back to 1994.
2. The Green Wave begin year one of the Ron Hunter era Wednesday night, as he has led his teams to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last five seasons. Hunter’s 445 career wins make him the winningest coach to ever lead the Green Wave.
3. Tulane’s roster features the return of letterwinners Ray Ona Embo, Buay Koka and Kevin Zhang who lead a crop of 10 newcomers including Ibrahim Ali (Arkansas), Teshaun Hightower (Georgia), K.J. Lawson (Kansas), Nic Thomas (Norfolk State), Christion Thompson (Rhode Island) and Jordan Walker (Seton Hall). Tulane’s freshman core comprises Nobal Days, R.J. McGee, Tylan Pope and Charlie Russell Jr. Among the Green Wave’s three scholarship returnees, Zhang is the only one who saw minutes in the Green Wave’s final 15 games last season.

4. In regular season home openers, Tulane owns a 12-6 record dating back to the 1999-2000 season, while Hunter led his teams to wins in six consecutive home openers.

5. The Green Wave go up against a familiar face Wednesday night, as Southeastern Louisiana’s starting point guard, Von Julien, lettered two years with the Green Wave in 2016 and 2017, drawing 16 starts as a freshman in 2015-16.

BY THE NUMBERS
• 11 – Tulane welcomes 11 newcomers for the 2019-20 season and returns just two scholarship players that saw minutes on last year’s team.
• 174 – Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 174 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.
• 181 – Despite 11 newcomers, players on Tulane’s 2019-20 roster have combined to make 181 career starts over the last four seasons.

SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN LA.
• Tulane leads the all-time series against SLU, 10-3, dating back to the first meeting in 1949.
• The Lions play their first 2019-20 regular season game Wednesday night after defeating William Carey, 75-49, in an exhibition on October 26.
• Southeastern is also tipping off a new era in its program’s history, playing its first game under first-year head coach David Kiefer, who takes over after serving as team’s recruiting coordinator and assistant coach for the last four seasons.
• Picked to finish 10th out of 13 teams in the Southland Conference preseason poll, the Lions return two starters from a year ago including Julien and junior Brandon Gonzalez.
• SLU will be looking to replace their top two scorers from last year in first team All-Southland selections Marlain Veal (15.9 ppg, 4.4 apg) and Moses Greenwood (17.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg).
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 nine schools nationally to have three of its four coaches currently or previously holding head-coaching titles, along with Pittsburgh (4), Iowa (4), Creighton (3), Michigan State (3), Minnesota (3), Oklahoma State (3), South Carolina (3) and Washington (3).

NEWCOMER RUNDOWN
Following a roster overhaul, Tulane enters the 2019-20 campaign tied for the sixth most newcomers nationally:
1. TCU 15
2. Nebraska 15
3. ECU 13
T4. UT Martin 12
T4. Utah 12
T6. Tulane 11
T6. Cleveland State 11
T6. Long Beach State 11
T6. Memphis 11
T6. MTSU 11
T6. Navy 11
T6. SIU 11
T6. Southern Miss 11

SEASON TICKETS
Fans can get their hands on season tickets starting at just $75 – a $50 reduction from last year. That means fans can lock up a seat for every home contest for as little as $5 each. Visit TulaneTix.com or call the ticket office at 504-861-9283 to reserve your seats.

All sections are available for purchase so you can customize your viewing experience from your favorite seating location. Discounts are also available for Tulane faculty and staff.

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For behind-the-scenes coverage, follow Tulane men’s basketball (@GreenWaveMBB) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.