Nov. 28, 2003
Tulane (1-0, 0-0 C-USA)
vs.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-2, 0-0 SWAC)
Saturday, November 29, 2003 ~ 2 p.m. (Central)
New Orleans, La. ~ Fogelman Arena
Game Notes as PDF
Tulane Schedule
Official Arkansas-Pine Bluff Website
Green Wave Facts
2003-04 Record: 1-0
2002-03 Record: 16-15
2003-04 C-USA Record: 0-0
2002-03 C-USA Record: 8-8
Head Coach: Shawn Finney
Alma Mater/Year: Fairmont St/1985
Record at Tulane/Year: 40-51/4th
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
Baton Rouge, WSKR-AM, 1210
Lafayette, KROF-AM, 960
TELEVISION: None.
CATCH THE WAVE
Tulane University opened its 94th season of men's basketball on Tuesday, defeating Southern, 78-72 at Fogelman Arena. The Green Wave hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday at 2 p.m. and then next-door-neighbor Loyola at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
FOR OPENERS
Following Tuesday's win over Southern, the Wave's all-time record in opening games is 69-26 (.726), including wins in seven of its last eight opening games. Last year, Tulane fell on the road to Rice, 72-58. The Green Wave had a 21-year stretch with opening day wins from 1942-63.
DOUBLEHEADER DAYS
Tulane plays its second of four men's and women's basketball doubleheaders on Saturday. On Tuesday, the Green Wave women topped Oregon State and the men defeated Southern. The remaining twinbills are Saturday, Dec. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 31.
STOPPING SOUTHERN
Ben Benfield scored a career-high 21 points to lead Tulane to a 78-72 victory over Southern on Tuesday. The junior sharp-shooter connected on 5-of-6 three-pointers, including four in the second half as Tulane shot 50 percent from the field while holding Southern to 41.9 percent shooting. The Green Wave also held a commanding 44-28 advantage on the boards. Sophomore Vytas Tatarunas registered his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds while a jumper by freshman Troy Aaron with 28 seconds left made it 75-70 to ice the victory.
Southern Recap and Box Score
STEPPING UP
Tulane had a pair of surprise heroes on Tuesday as Ben Benfield and Vytas Tatarunas both had major impacts on the Wave victory. Benfield entered the game with a career-high of 17 points, finished with 21. His five three-pointers tied for the ninth-most threes in a game at Tulane. Tatarunas, meanwhile, collected 15 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. The sophomore from Lithuania had a total of 14 rebounds all of last season.
FEELING TIRED?
Tulane had eight players log career-bests in minutes played on Tuesday against Southern. Four of those were freshmen with no previous best, but four were returning players. Ben Benfield led the team with 32 minutes, surpassing his previous high of 21. Others to set their minute-records were Quincy Davis (30-20), Vytas Tatarunas (26-16) and Marcus Kinzer (29-25).
FIRST TIME FOE
Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the only first-time opponent for the Green Wave in 2003-04 after having faced five first-time foes last season. Tulane has never defeated a team from Arkansas, posting an 0-8 record against Arkansas and Arkansas State.
FINNEY VS. LOUISIANA
Shawn Finney and the Green Wave will face off against seven New Orleans schools this year. In his first three years at the helm of the Wave, Finney has recorded an 8-3 mark against in-state opponents.
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
The Golden Lions come to New Orleans with an 0-2 record after road losses to Air Force (63-40) and Texas A&M (82-53). Justin Lloyd leads the SWAC school with 24 points and 11 rebounds in two games.
LAST WEEK VS. GLOBAL SPORTS
Tulane closed its exhibition schedule on Nov. 19 with a 69-54 loss to Global Sports. The Green Wave used all of its available players, with nine players seeing 10 minutes of action and scoring points. Projected starters Ivan Pjevcevic (did not play) and Marcus Kinzer (three minutes) were both hampered by injuries. Senior Wayne Tinsley led the Wave with 13 points, while sophomore Quincy Davis had eight points, four rebounds and six blocked shots. Tulane shot just 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the field, while Global nailed 49.1 percent (27-of-55) of its shots, including 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in the second half.
Recap and Box Score
EXHIBITION OPENER VS. VASDA
In its exhibition opener, Tulane posted an 80-66 victory over Vasda. The Wave used 11 players, with 10 seeing double digits in minutes. Senior Ivan Pjevcevic led the squad with 14 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Quincy Davis added 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Seniors Wayne Tinsley and George Brown each chipped in with 10 points. Tulane shot just 43.2 percent (35-of-81) but held Vasda to 36.5 percent (23-of-63) shooting. The Wave also held a 53-39 advantage on the boards.
Recap and Box Score
COMING ON STRONG
Quincy Davis was an impact freshman for the Wave last season. After seeing limited playing time early, he came into his own in February. A tenacious defender, Davis brought shot-blocking and rebounding to the Wave lineup and also tallied an 18-point, eight-rebound performance against Southern Miss. He tallied nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the Southern win.
POINTING AT THE POINT
Junior Marcus Kinzer is poised to take over the Green Wave point guard duties. He had career-highs in nearly every category as a sophomore and is a dazzling ball-handler with under-rated long-range shooting skills. After missing over two weeks of the preseason due to a knee injury, Kinzer saw 29 minutes of action, scoring nine points with a game-high five assists in the Southern win.
PTP-ER
Wayne Tinsley has played 2,723 minutes in his three-year career. He needs less than 400 minutes to crack the top 10 on Tulane's all-time minutes played list. The 6-5 senior has just 313 less minutes played than the other 12 players on the Green Wave roster COMBINED (2,723 minutes).
VETERAN TINSLEY
Wayne Tinsley is the clear veteran on the Green Wave roster. The senior has been a three-year starter and already ranks 11th in career starts. He had career-bests in rebounding, assists, blocks, free-throw percentage and field-goal percentage last season. He is Tulane's top returnee in minutes, scoring, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
THREE-POINT ACE
Senior Ivan Pjevcevic came on strong last season; over the final 15 games, the Belgrade native averaged 7.1 points and 3.7 rebounds with 10 starts as the Green Wave went 9-6 down the stretch. The 7-0 Pjevcevic ranked fifth in the league in three-point percentage at .425. His career three-point percentage of .434 is currently the best in school history.
NEED THE ROOKIE CLASS
With five players lost to graduation, Tulane may rely heavily on a talented five-man recruiting class, which has been ranked as high as No. 29 in the nation. The group includes two guards, two forward and a swingman. Two of the players hail from Louisiana, while the others come from Texas, Minnesota and Mississippi.
BIG EASY CLASSICS
Tulane's schedule features an all-time high of 20 games in New Orleans. The team does not leave the state of Louisiana until a Jan. 10 game at TCU. The lone road game in the 11-game stretch to open the season is a visit to LSU in Baton Rouge. Included on the schedule are seven Louisiana foes, also a school record.
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
With the departure of five seniors from last year's team, the Green Wave must make up for the loss of nearly 70 percent of its scoring and 60 percent of its rebounding. Of a possible 6,250 minutes last year, the quintet of seniors played 3,908 minutes (62.5 percent). And, in league games, the seniors played 63.6 percent of the Wave's minutes.
MORE, MORE, MORE
Shawn Finney's first year at the helm of the Green Wave saw Tulane win just nine games. However, they improved to 14 victories in 2001-02 and then to 16 last season. The Wave is one of three teams in Conference USA to improve its win total in each of the last two years. Tulane's league wins have climbed each year as well, from two to five to eight last season.
DEFENSE IS THE KEY
Tulane was 9-3 last season when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field. When opponents hit more than 50 percent of their shots, the Wave was just 1-5. In its victories, Tulane shot 49.6 percent from the field while holding foes to 38.3 percent shooting. In its losses, Tulane shot 43.9 percent while opponents hit 46.7 percent of their attempts from the field.
STAFF INTACT
The Tulane basketball coaching staff remains intact for the 2003-2004 season. Head coach Shawn Finney, in his fourth year at the helm of the Wave, welcomes back Jeff Reynolds and Wade O'Connor for their fourth years as well. Meanwhile, Steve Snell and administrative assistant Mark Dannhoff return for their third seasons.
PRO PLAYERS
The Green Wave has added multiple players to its professional ranks in the last few months. Linton Johnson, who completed his eligibility in 2002 and earned his degree this May, earned a spot on the Chicago Bulls roster as a free agent, while Brandon Spann is starring in Qatar's professional league. Waitari Marsh is also scheduled to play in Europe this season.
THE GRADUATES
Tulane had five seniors on its 2002-03 roster. Perhaps more impressive than their stats for the Green Wave has been their efforts in the classroom. Three of the players graduated in May: Waitari Marsh (media arts), Nick Sinville (organizational information technology) and Brandon Spann (media arts). Byron Parker (media arts), who is currently playing for the Wave football team, is on track to graduate in December, while Brandon Brown (sociology) is slated to earn his degree next May.
AVERAGE HEIGHT GOES UP
With the change of five players from last season to this season, Tulane's average height has jumped. Last year's team average was 6-5, while now the team averages nearly 6-6.
FIRST TIME FOE
Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the only first-time opponent for the Green Wave in 2003-04 after having faced five first-time foes last season. Tulane has never defeated a team from Arkansas, posting an 0-8 record against Arkansas and Arkansas State.
ON YOUR RADIO DIAL
Tulane will again have excellent radio coverage in 2003-2004. ISP Sports, the exclusive multi-media rightsholder for Green Wave Athletics, announced that WTIX-FM (94.3) and WTIX-AM (690) will continue as the flagship stations for all game broadcasts and call-in shows featuring head coach Shawn Finney. In addition, the games will be available in Baton Rouge (WSKR-AM 1210), Lafayette (KROF-AM 960) and in Chattahoochee, Fla. (WTCL-AM 1580).
THE VOICE RETURNS
Sean Kelley, the Voice of the Green Wave, is back for his second season calling Green Wave men's basketball games. Kelley came to Tulane last year after working as a member of the Missouri Tiger Radio Network since 1999. Kelley worked in a variety of areas at Missouri, serving as host of the Tiger Gameday and Scoreboard Show in football, handling both play-by-play and color analyst duties in men's and women's basketball, and doing all play-by-play of Missouri baseball.
