Feb. 25, 2004

NEW OIRLEANS, La. - Tulane University returns to Fogelman Arena this week for its final two home men's basketball games of the year. The Green Wave hosts UAB at 7 p.m. tonight; tickets will be available at the door or by calling 504-861-WAVE.

The Green Wave has won three straight home games, all against Conference USA opponents. However, in its last two games, Tulane fell to East Carolina and Marquette on the road. The young Green Wave, which is receiving more minutes from freshmen than any other team in the league, is battling to qualify for the Conference USA Tournament. Two teams do not make it to the league tourney and USF with just one win appears to headed for last place. However, the Wave is tied with East Carolina and Houston in the win column with three.

"These final four games are all very important for us," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "Of course, it is not too often than any league game is not important. We just have to keep taking them one at a time. We have UAB tonight and they are very athletic and play a style which takes you away from your game plan.

UAB (16-7, 9-3 C-USA) has been one of the surprise teams in Conference USA this season, as the Blazers are in a battle for first place in the league. UAB has used a tenacious full court defense to fluster opponents into 19.0 turnovers per game while committing just 12.9 itself. Coach Mike Anderson has 11 players seeing 8.9 minutes or more of action per game with guard Morris Finley leading the team with 12.2 points per game. Big man Gabe Kennedy has 11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Blazers had won seven of their last eight games before first-place Memphis upended them in Memphis, 73-66, on Saturday.

Tulane is 10-13 overall and a solid 10-6 at home. The Green Wave is led by four players averaging near double figures. Sophomore Quincy Davis is currently leading the way with 10.7 points per game, but Wayne Tinsley (10.4) and Vytas Tatarunas (10.1) are just behind. Junior point guard Marcus Kinzer has 9.5 points per game. Six different players on the Tulane roster have connected on 19 or more three-pointers this year giving the Wave a multi-weapon attack which is tough to defend.

"We need to value the basketball, especially against a team like UAB," Finney said. "We need to take good shots and play focused for the whole 40 minutes, on offense and on defense."

Following the UAB game, the Green Wave hosts Saint Louis on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. That will be the final home game of the 2003-04 men's basketball season. Tickets are available by calling 504-861-WAVE.