Tulane @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 17, 2019 ) Houston 85, Tulane 50

No. 25 Houston looks to rebound from its first loss in three weeks when the Cougars host struggling Tulane for an American Athletic Conference matchup Thursday night without their assist leader. Houston had won five straight before suffering a 64-62 setback at Cincinnati on Saturday and junior guard DeJon Jarreau was involved in a biting incident that has forced a one-game team suspension.

“I made a poor decision,” Jarreau said in a statement provided by the university. “I apologize to Cincinnati forward Mamoudou Diarra for my actions as well as head coach John Brannen and the Cincinnati program, coach (Kelvin) Sampson and my teammates. I respect coach Sampson’s decision and will do everything I can to learn from this and grow into a better leader and player.” The Cougars will miss Jarreau’s 9.5 points and 3.9 assists per game (5.8 the last five), but they have lost just three of their last 18 contests and beat the Green Wave by a combined 66 points in the past two meetings. Tulane has dropped five straight games - all by double digits - and sits in a tie for last place in the AAC with Central Florida after falling 82-67 at SMU on Saturday when the Green Wave was outscored 54-36 in the second half. Tulane boasts three players averaging at least 12.9 points and leads the AAC in 3-point shooting percentage (35.8), but has not won since knocking off host Temple 65-51 on Jan. 11.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT TULANE (10-11, 2-7 AAC): Senior transfer guard Nic Thomas has raised his level of production, averaging 16.7 points over the last three games after posting a season-high 20 against SMU that boosted his season mark to 9.5 with a team-best 42 made 3-pointers. Junior guard Teshaun Hightower leads the team in scoring (15.5) and senior backcourt mate K.J. Lawson is next at 13.8. Senior guard Christion Thompson, a transfer from Rhode Island, chips in 12.9 points per contest while topping the Green Wave in rebounds (6.1), assists (2.8) and steals (2.0).

ABOUT HOUSTON (17-5, 7-2): Freshman guard Caleb Mills leads the way for the Cougars at 12.9 points per game despite managing just seven against Cincinnati while sharing the team lead with 35 makes from behind the arc. Quentin Grimes (12.0 points) has been bothered by a hip injury and flu-like symptoms of late, but is expected to play Thursday, and fellow sophomore guard Nate Hinton averages 10.7 points along with a team-high 9.3 rebounds - fourth in the AAC. Freshman guard Marcus Sasser (35 3s) averages 6.7 points overall, but poured in 17 against Cincinnati - his most since scoring 18 on Nov. 26.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Green Wave are getting rebounded by 7.2 per game and sit last in the AAC at an average of 30.8 boards, while Houston is first (42.2).

2. Houston’s 6-10 senior C Chris Harris Jr. entered Wednesday second in the AAC in blocks per game (2.1).

3. Tulane sophomore G Jordan Walker is averaging 5.8 points during the losing streak since scoring 17 in the last win against Temple.

PREDICTION: Houston 80, Tulane 66