Jan. 31, 2003

NEW ORLEANS, La. - A crucial game is on tap for the Tulane men's basketball team as it hosts East Carolina at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Fogelman Arena. Tulane will be looking for its second straight win while the Pirates are hoping to rebound from a 32-point loss at Marquette on Wednesday.

Official Game Notes

Tickets for the game are available by visiting the Tulane Box Office or by calling 504-861-WAVE or through Ticketmaster. The game will be broadcast live on the Tulane-ISP Radio Network: WTIX 690 AM and WTIX 94.3 FM in the New Orleans area.

Tulane (8-10 overall) is looking to improve its standing in the ultra-competitive National Division of Conference USA. The Green Wave's 1-4 mark places it in fifth place, however its lone win came against first-place UAB, which has a 4-2 mark. Four other division teams (Houston, South Florida, Southern Miss and Memphis) are bunched just ahead of the Wave, while TCU's 1-5 record places it in sixth place.

"This is a big game for us," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "We have our backs against the wall. And East Carolina is in the same situation. Both of us need a win on Saturday."

The Pirates (11-7 overall), members of C-USA's American Division, come into Saturday's game with a 2-5 league record. After upsetting Marquette in its league opener, ECU dropped four straight conference games before winning a thrilling double-overtime affair with South Florida last weekend. However, on Wednesday, nationally-ranked Marquette gained revenge, rolling to an 80-48 win over East Carolina.

"East Carolina is a very tough defensive team," Finney said. "They will really come out and guard and fight with intensity. We will need to execute to the best of our ability and not let them take us out of our game plan."

Tulane is being led by Waitari Marsh's 14.7 points per game, while 6-8 Brandon Brown averages 14.6 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the field.

"Brandon is going to have to work tomorrow," Finney said. "ECU has an outstanding shot blocker in Moussa Badiane. Brandon will have to use shot fakes and play smart to be effective against him."

Badiane leads Conference USA with 48 blocked shots this year, however, he is not the only weapon for the Pirates. Guard Derrick Wiley leads the Pirates in scoring with 13.2 points per game, while point guard Travis Holcomb-Frye, the school's all-time assist leader, has 10.7 points per game. Gabriel Mikulas, a 6-8 forward, has 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. The team's leading rebounder is Erroyl Bing with 8.7 per game. He had 24 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, in the double OT victory against South Florida.

Following Saturday's East Carolina game, the Green Wave hits the road for a pair of contests, playing at Houston on Tuesday (Feb. 4) and at UAB next Saturday (Feb. 8).