Feb. 7, 2003

Tulane (10-10, 3-4 C-USA)
vs.
UAB (12-6, 4-3 C-USA)

Saturday, February 8, 2003 ~ 7 p.m. (Central)
Birmingham, Ala. ~ Bartow Arena

Game Notes as PDF

Tulane Schedule

Official UAB Athletics Website

Green Wave Facts
2002-03 Record: 10-10
2001-02 Record: 14-15
2001-02 C-USA Record: 5-11
Head Coach: Shawn Finney
Alma Mater/Year: Fairmont St/1985
Record at Tulane/Year: 33-46/3rd
Overall Record/Years: Same
President: Scott Cowen
Athletic Director: Rick Dickson
Basketball SID: John Sudsbury
Direct Phone: 504-314-7271
SID Fax: 504-865-5512
SID E-Mail: jsudsbu@tulane.edu
Ticket Office Phone: 504-861-WAVE

RADIO:
New Orleans, WTIX-AM, 690
New Orleans, WTIX-FM, 94.3
Northshore, WJSH-FM, 104.7
Baton Rouge, WSKR-AM, 1210
Lafayette, KROF-AM, 960

TELEVISION: None.

CATCH THE WAVE
Tulane is currently on a three-game Conference USA winning streak, its longest since a four-game stretch during the 1999-2000 season. The Green Wave opened the streak with a win over UAB on Jan. 25, and now it looks to continue with a rematch with the Blazers, this time on the road. Following Saturday's contest, the Wave returns to New Orleans for a three-game homestand which opens with Memphis on Thursday, Feb. 13 in a game televised by ESPN2.

DIVISIONAL DISARRAY
Arguably the most "up for grabs" division in college basketball, the National Division of Conference USA is nearly impossible to decipher. On Tuesday, both first-place teams (UAB and Houston) lost, yet remained in first. Memphis' win improved it to 4-3, tying the Tigers for first as well. South Florida's 4-4 record puts it in fourth with Tulane just behind at 3-4. Southern Miss (3-5) and TCU (1-7) currently bring up the rear of the division.

UAB
UAB had a hot start under first-year coach Mike Anderson, winning 10 of their first 13 games, however, the Blazers have dropped three of their last five now, following a double-overtime loss at South Florida on Tuesday. That game followed an overtime victory against TCU last Wednesday. Morris Finley continues to lead the team with 18.1 points per game and 45 three-pointers, while Demario Eddins and Gabe Kennedy both average double figures with 10.2 per game.

LAST TIME VS. UAB
The Green Wave had a key victory on Jan. 25, cracking the victory column in Conference USA play with a 75-72 triumph over UAB. Tulane's defense proved to be the difference as the Wave held UAB to 36.5 percent shooting in a game in which it never trailed. UAB managed to tie the game with 4:24 to go and then again with 3:35 remaining, but each time, the Green Wave responded. Brandon Brown tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, while Ivan Pjevcevic, making his first career start, had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Wayne Tinsley notched a season-high 15 points on perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the floor.

UAB Story and Stats

WIN STREAK
With its victory on Tuesday at Houston, Tulane has its first three-game winning streak this year, as well as its first three-game C-USA win streak under head coach Shawn Finney. The last three-game winning streak in league play for the Wave came early in the 1999-2000 season when it defeated four straight league foes.

DEFENSIVE DEMONS
Tulane has put together its current winning streak with impressive defensive efforts. The Green Wave has held its last three opponents to a combined 38.4 percent shooting. It held both UAB and East Carolina below 40 percent, and Houston shot just 41.7 percent from the field. Tulane has also either out-rebounded or matched the rebounds of each of its last three foes.

1,000 MORE
Senior guard Waitari Marsh became the third player this year to score his 1,000th career point for the Green Wave. The Chicago native, who is among Tulane's all-time best in steals and assists, needed 18 points to become the 27th 1,000-point scorer in school history and he scored exactly that on Tuesday against Houston. It is the first time in school history that three Wave players have hit 1,000 during the same season. It is just the third time in school history that three 1,000-point scorers played together at Tulane: 1994-95 (Jerald Honeycutt, LeVeldro Simmons, Kim Lewis) and 1995-96 (Jerald Honeycutt, LeVeldro Simmons and Rayshard Allen).

EXECUTING THE GAME PLAN
Tulane entered its game with Houston on Tuesday night, hoping to slow down the two Cogar stars, Louis Truscott and Andrew Owens. And the Wave achieved its goal perfectly, holding the duo to just 12 points combined. Truscott had come in averaging 16.6 points, while Owens had 14.9; they finished with eight and four, respectively. Meanwhile, Tulane managed enough offense against the tough Houston defense to escape with its first road victory of the year. The Wave shot just 44.9 percent from the field and missed 14-of-17 three-pointers, but it connected on 75 percent of its free throws, including 9-of-10 in the final 1:38 to wrap up the victory. Waitari Marsh led the Wave with 18 points, while sophomore Marcus Kinzer scored a season high 12 points (on perfect 4-for-4 shooting). Wayne Tinsley chipped in with 10 points.

Houston Story and Stats

GETTING OUT OF THE GATE
In the three games before Houston, Tulane used fast starts to get the jump on its foes. Twice it translated to victory, with TCU the only team coming back to stop the Wave.

Game: Fast Start
TCU: 9-0 (18:35) and 18-7 (14:43)
UAB: 8-0 (16:35) and 22-12 (10:11)
ECU: 9-2 (17:16) and 18-9 (10:22)

WAYNE'S WORLD
Wayne Tinsley had a very difficult start to his season, battling a knee injury (and arthroscopic surgery) and rehabilitation, but he is currently playing the best basketball of his career. The junior has scored in double figures in four straight games and five of his last six. In league play, Tinsley is shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor while averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

SHOOTING SPANN
Brandon Spann, who ranks second all-time at Tulane in three-pointers, had his best performance of the year last Saturday against East Carolina. The senior drilled a career-best six three-pointers (one off the school record) and scored 20 points to lead Tulane to its second league victory. Spann now has 1,188 career points (15th all-time), 320 assists (eighth all-time) and 151 three-pointers.

FRIENDLY FOGELMAN
Tulane has now won back-to-back games in Fogelman Arena, improving to 9-2 in its home gym this year. In 65 years of basketball at Fogelman, Tulane has posted a 510-248 (.673) record, while in two-plus years under Shawn Finney, the Wave is 21-10 in the building.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Last Saturday's meeting between Tulane and East Carolina was the first in the history of the two schools. The Pirates joined C-USA last year but did not face the Green Wave. The game was Tulane's fifth this year against a first-time opponent, all victories (Maine, Southeast Missouri, Savannah State and Morris Brown). The last time Tulane lost a first-time meeting with a team was on Nov. 19, 1999 when Maryland had a 78-70 win in the preseason NIT. The Wave has now won eight straight games against first-time opponents.

FREE THROWS, PART ONE
Successful free-throw shooting is proving to be critical to Green Wave success this year as the Wave has won all eight of its games when it shoots a better percentage from the line than its opponent. In addition, Tulane is 8-0 when making more free throws than its opponent.

FREE THROWS, PART TWO
Tulane is proving the adage true in two ways this season. In its 10 victories, the Wave has connected on 71.0 percent (157-of-221) of its free throws while in its 10 losses that percentage drops to 60.1 percent (92-of-153). However, the Wave is also playing poor "free-throw defense." While not a true stat, as there is obviously no defense on free throws, Tulane's opponents are connecting on 77.2 percent (169-of-219) of their free throws when beating the Wave, but shooting just 63.2 percent (91-of-144) from the line when losing to Tulane.

MORE GAMES LOST TO INJURY/ILLNESS
After battling injuries for the entire preseason and much of the early season, Tulane was back in relatively good health for seven games (starting Dec. 20). However, on Jan. 18 against Cincinnati, the bug was back - senior Nick Sinville missed the second half of the game due to illness. Sinville went on to miss his first full game on Wednesday against TCU; marking the ninth game lost to injury this year by the Wave. Sinville also missed much of the UAB game, while sophomore Ben Benfield sat out due to illness as well. Last year, Tulane lost just one full game due to injury or illness (Sinville missed the second TCU game due to an ankle injury). Ben Benfield, Waitari Marsh, George Brown, Wayne Tinsley and now Sinville have all missed entire games this year.

THREES ARE FALLING
With a balanced three-point attack thus far this year, the Green Wave is making a run at the Tulane record book. The school record for three-point percentage in a season is 38.0 percent, set in 1990-91. With 118 threes in 322 attempts this season, this Wave is shooting at a 36.6 percent clip from downtown. Eight different players are shooting at 33 percent or better from beyond 19-9. Tulane's three-point percentage currently leads Conference USA (Marquette is second at 37.1 percent).

IT HASN'T BEEN EASY
Tulane's schedule so far has proven to be quite difficult as the teams that the Wave has lost to have produced a combined record of 131-68 (.658). Kentucky (17-3, next game 2/8) has the best record of Tulane foes, while Marquette (16-3, next game 2/9) and Cincinnati (13-6, next game 2/9) have also been rolling. LSU (14-7, next game 2/8) and Rice (13-6, next game 2/8) have also been quite impressive this year. Tulane's other losses have come to: Memphis (13-5, next game 2/8), UCF (16-7, next game 2/8), UNO (12-9, next game 2/8), Vanderbilt (10-9, next game 2/8) and TCU (7-13, next game 2/8), the only team with a losing record to beat Tulane this year.

1,000-500
When senior Brandon Brown scored his 1,000th career point on Jan. 14, he became the 13th player in Tulane history to tally 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career. The Houma, La., native now has 1,073 points (22nd all-time) and 575 rebounds (15th all-time).

PASSES AND STEALS, TOO!
The points and the rebounds from Brandon Brown have been expected, especially this season, but in addition to those stats, he has been impressive with assists and steals as well. The 55 assists this year for Brown are a career-best (48 in 2000-01) and rank second on the team. The senior's 27 steals are also second on the team and are eight more than he recorded ALL of last season.

THE GRAND PLAN
On Jan. 11 against Marquette, senior Brandon Brown became the second player this season to eclipse 1,000 career points. The 6-8 Houma native connected on a three-pointer from the corner with 11:31 to go in the half to become the 26th 1,000-point scorer in Tulane history. He joins teammate Brandon Spann in the exclusive club. Spann entered the season needing 50 points and reached the impressive milestone in the first half of the UCF game (11/29) with a free throw with 6:36 to go.

DON'T NEED 70?
After struggling for victories when struggling to score for much of the season, Tulane has tightened up its defense and won two straight games when scoring less than 70 points. The team's first eight victories all required 70-point efforts. The Green Wave is now 8-3 when scoring 70 points or more and 2-7 when not reaching that mark. Last year, when scoring 70 or more points, the Green Wave posted a 12-4 record. However, in games where points were more scarce, the team record was just 2-11.

80 IS BETTER
Prior to the TCU loss, Tulane had been a perfect 6-0 when scoring 80 or more points this season after posting a 6-2 record last year in 80-point outings. In Coach Finney's first season at the helm of the Wave, Tulane tallied an 8-3 record in 80-point efforts, making him 20-6 all-time when his teams post 80 or more points.

NON-LEAGUE WRAP-UP
Tulane closed its non-league schedule with a 7-6 mark this season. Last year, the Wave had an 8-3 mark in non-conference action, while in Coach Finney's first year, Tulane posted a 7-6 mark as well.

IN THE ARENA
The LSU game was Tulane's 17th game in the New Orleans Arena, and the second of the 2002-03 season. The Kentucky game (Dec. 10) was the first Arena college basketball game since the arrival of the NBA's Hornets. The Green Wave now has an 8-9 record in its downtown home.

BIG EASY CLASSICS
New Orleans fans have the opportunity to catch the Wave 21 times without leaving the city this season. In addition to 18 Fogelman Arena games (including two exhibitions), two games were played at the New Orleans Arena and one was played on the road at Lakefront Arena.

HOME COOKIN'
The Green Wave has four players from the state of Louisiana, including three members of its starting lineup. Brandon Spann is a New Orleans native who attended Jesuit High School, located less than three miles from Fogelman Arena. Spann's older brother, Tookie, played baseball and football at Tulane from 1985-87. Brandon Brown is from Houma, located 60 miles southwest of New Orleans; Nick Sinville's hometown of Shreveport is 340 miles northwest of the Big Easy. The other Bayou State product is Ben Benfield, who is from River Ridge, a New Orleans suburb.

GREAT RATES
In the latest graduation rates figures released by the NCAA, Tulane once again ranks among the national leaders in terms of graduating its student-athletes, and also its men's basketball players. In fact, Tulane's graduation rate of 64% for the four-class average ranks it second among Conference USA programs. The Wave's 100% number for the 1995-96 cohort alone matches two other C-USA schools. The Green Wave's graduation rate of 78% for all student-athletes was 12th nationally and ranked ahead of all other Louisiana and Conference USA schools.

COACHES POLL
Tulane was selected No. 2 in the National Division in a preseason poll of Conference USA Coaches. The Green Wave is behind only Memphis, while Cincinnati was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the American Division and overall.

CONFERENCE USA COACHES PRESEASON POLL
NATIONAL
1. Memphis
2. Tulane
3. Houston
4. TCU
5. South Florida
6. Southern Miss
7. UAB

AMERICAN
1. Cincinnati
2. Marquette
3. Louisville
4. Charlotte
5. Saint Louis
6. East Carolina
7. DePaul

TWO IN A ROW
Tulane played an excellent defensive game and had strong performances from Brandon Spann and Waitari Marsh to pick up its second straight vicyotu, 67-56 over East Carolina on Saturday. The Green Wave shot just 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from the field, but held ECU to 37.7 percent (23-of-61) shooting, while building a 39-34 advantage on the glass. Spann connected for a career-best six three-pointers on route to 20 points, while Marsh had 19 points and eight rebounds. Wayne Tinsley added 15 points, eight borads and five assists.

ECU Story and Stats

RESERVES NOT ENOUGH
After building a 16-point advantage in the first half, an under-manned Tulane squad could not hold on as TCU pulled away for a 93-84 victory on Wednesday. Starting power forward Nick Sinville missed the game due to illness and leading scorer Waitari Marsh sprained his ankle with 13:33 to go (and a game-high 20 points) and missed the remainder of the game. The Wave held a 55-54 lead before Marsh's injury and TCU heated up with 60 percent shooting in the second half to go with 21-of-26 marksmanship from the foul line in the victory. Brandon Brown added 18 points and six rebounds while Wayne Tinsley had a season-high 14 points.

TCU Story and Stats

STOKES THE FIRE
Leonard Stokes erupted for 30 points on Saturday to lead Cincinnati to a 77-54 victory over the Green Wave at the Shoemaker Center. Tulane had 16 points from Waitari Marsh and a double-double from Brandon Brown (13 points, 11 rebounds), but shot just 42.6 percent and turned the ball over 20 times. Tulane pulled within four with 16:21 to go in the game, but the Bearcats fed Stokes, who scored 10 of the next 12 points to take control of the game. Cincinnati shot 51.9 percent from the field.

Cincinnati Story and Stats

MARQUETTE WRAP-UP
Tulane hosted No. 21 Marquette on Tuesday evening at Fogelman Arena, and had to deal with a sterling performance from All-American Dwyane Wade, who matched his career-high with 35 points (on 13-of-16 shooting). Despite a career-best day from its own Waitari Marsh (30 points, 27 in the second half), the Green Wave fell 85-73. Marsh put the team on his back and pulled them within two at 61-59 with 7:11 to go, but six points from Robert Jackson and a Wade layup pushed the margin back to 10. In addition to Marsh's effort, Brandon Brown tallied 16 points (including the 1,000th of his career) and eight rebounds.

Marquette Story and Stats

TOO MUCH OF MEMPHIS' MASSIE
The Green Wave had a rough league opener last Tuesday as Memphis big man Chris Massie was a monster, scoring 34 points with 16 rebounds in an 85-73 win for the Tigers. Tulane held a first-half lead but Memphis closed the stanza with a 29-9 run to put the game away early. The Wave was out-rebounded 52-29 in the game. Nick Sinville led Tulane with 17 points and seven rebounds while Waitari Marsh added 16 points and four assists.

Memphis Story and Stats

DEFENSE SHUTS DOWN MORRIS BROWN
On Jan. 4, Tulane put on a clinic against Morris Brown in an 88-30 victory. The Wave held the Wolverines to 20.7 percent (12-of-58) shooting while shooting 55.0 percent (33-of-60) itself. In addition, Tulane handed out a season-high 27 assists and committed a season-low 10 turnovers (for the third game in a row). Twelve different players scored, while Ivan Pjevcevic came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points, including four three-pointers. Nick Sinville connected on 7-of-8 shots to finish with 15 points while Waitari Marsh collected 11.

Morris Brown Story and Stats

DO IT AGAIN
After losing to the Green Wave last season at home, Georgia Tech came to New Orleans with revenge on its mind. But Tulane had a different idea as five players scored in double figures in an 80-66 Green Wave triumph. The Wave shot 51.7 percent from the field and committed just 10 turnovers while holding the Yellow Jackets to 41.1 percent shooting and forcing 16 turnovers. Nick Sinville had team-bests of 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Brandon Brown and Brandon Spann each added 15 points while Byron Parker came off the bench for a career-high 12 points.

Georgia Tech Story and Stats

RIVALRY RETURNS
Tulane and LSU met on the hardwood for the first time in 20 years on Saturday and the Tigers held on for a 74-62 victory at the New Orleans Arena. The Green Wave and the Tigers played as part of the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic at the New Orleans Arena. Tulane was led by a career-high 27 points from senior Waitari Marsh, who added eight rebounds as well. Brandon Brown tallied 14 points while Nick Sinville added 11. The Wave was torched by LSU's three-point shooting as the Tigers nailed 11-of-21 shots from behind the arc.

LSU Story and Stats

TWO IN A ROW
Tulane had its second straight rout on Monday, cruising to a 94-70 victory over Jackson State at Fogelman Arena. The Wave jumped out to a 30-6 lead and never looked back, shooting 55.9 percent (33-of-59) from the floor while holding the Tigers to just 35.0 percent (28-of-80) shooting. Brandon Brown led the way with 19 points while Brandon Spann (16), Nick Sinville (15) and Wayne Tinsley (11) also hit for double figures. Seven different players had at least five rebounds as Tulane controlled the glass as well, 52-34.

Jackson State Story and Stats

SHUTTING DOWN SAVANNAH
Tulane played its most complete game of the year on Dec. 20, exploding for 103 points while holding Savannah State to just 47 points in a blowout victory in which no player saw more than 20 minutes of action. Tulane shot 51.6 percent from the field while holding the Tigers to 30 percent. Freshman Vytautas Tatarunas led the Wave with 18 points while sophomore Ben Benfield added a career-best 17 points.

Savannah State Story and Stats

WINNING WILDCATS
Tulane had its hands full on Dec. 10 with 12th-ranked Kentucky visiting the New Orleans Arena. The Wildcats topped the Wave 76-60 behind a deadly inside-outside attack. Its mammoth frontline started things and swingman Keith Bogans (21 points, 5-for-5 three-pointers) finished them for UK. The Wave was led by Waitari Marsh, who scored a season-high 19 points, including a career-best five three-pointers.

Kentucky Story and Stats

SHOOTING SLUMP
Tulane went ice cold from the floor against Vanderbilt on Dec. 7, connecting on just 32.8 percent of its shots. Despite playing solid defense (Vandy shot 43.3 percent), the Wave lost by 20 points, 66-46. A second-half rally cut the deficit to six at 48-42, but the Commodores closed the night with an 18-4 run. Brandon Brown was the lone Wave player in double figures with 13 points. He also added nine rebounds.

Vanderbilt Story and Stats

UNO RECAP
UNO jumped out to an 11-point halftime lead on Dec. 5 and the held off numerous Green wave rallies on route to an 80-67 victory. Tulane was victimized by 38.9 percent (7-of-18) shooting from the free throw line and 22 turnovers. Brandon Spann tallied 15 points to lead the Wave, while Brandon Brown logged a 14-point evening. Nick Sinville and Waitari Marsh each had 11 points in the loss.

UNO Story and Stats

UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC
Tulane had a strong showing at the University Hoops Classic over Thanksgiving weekend at Fogelman Arena. The Wave finished third place in an event, which was won by UCF on a last second shot. Brandon Brown and Brandon Spann both earned all-tournament honors as Brown averaged 18.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 69 percent from the field. Spann, meanwhile, had 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. Junior Ivan Pjevcevic also had a strong tourney, twice establishing career-highs and averaging 10.7 points per game, including 6-of-9 three-point shooting in the three games.

THE SEMO GAME - DECEMBER 1
The Green Wave played perhaps its best game of the year on Dec. 1, cruising to an 81-60 victory over Southeast Missouri to claim third place at the University Hoops Classic. Brandon Brown scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting and added nine rebounds in the victory, while Brandon Spann had 14 points and nine assists and junior Ivan Pjevcevic scored a career-high 15 points. The Wave nailed 64.2 percent of its shots, while holding the Indians to 43.6 percent shooting.

SEMO Game Story and Stats

THE UCF GAME - NOVEMBER 29
A lack of offensive rhythm continued to plague the Green Wave, which fell, 66-61, to UCF on Nov. 29 in round two of the University Hoops Classic. Tulane shot just 37.3 percent from the field overall and 31.8 percent in the first half. Tulane used an early second half run to take its first lead of the game at 41-39, but then went over six minutes without a point as the Golden Knights scored just enough to take charge of the contest. Brandon Brown and Brandon Spann each had 17 points and five assists, while Brown added a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Ben Benfield scored a career-high 13 points.

UCF Game Story and Stats

THE MAINE GAME - NOVEMBER 28
Tulane took advantage of its size and power on Thanksgiving Day in its opener at the University Hoops Classic with an 84-65 victory over Maine. The Wave dominated in the paint and out-rebounded the Black Bears, 44-26, to offset 12 three-points by the foe. Maine attempted just 18 shots from inside the arc (37 from downtown). Brandon Brown tallied his first double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Brandon Spann had 18 and Nick Sinville scored 17.

Maine Game Story and Stats

BRAGGING RIGHTS
Tulane and Loyola met for the third straight year to battle for Uptown bragging rights on Nov. 25 at Fogelman Arena. The Green Wave struggled with the tenacious Wolfpack, but still managed to earn a 74-58 victory. Brandon Brown and Nick Sinville each tallied 16 points, while Brandon Spann added 15. The Wave held Loyola to just 35.5 percent shooting.

Loyola Game Story and Stats