Tulane @ Utah preview

After getting knocked off by Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Utah has a chance to salvage a fifth-place finish in the event if it can defeat Tulane on Sunday. The Utes had high hopes for their trip to South Carolina as did the Green Wave, who also suffered their first loss of the season in the opening round.

Utah posted wins over Nevada and Minnesota among its first three games this season before Coastal Carolina knocked down 11 3-pointers in Thursday's opening round en route to a 79-57 upset of the Utes. Utah bounced back to defeat Ohio on Friday, riding Timmy Allen's 19 points to a 14-point triumph over the Bobcats. Meanwhile, Tulane absorbed an 80-66 loss to Mississippi State in its Myrtle Beach opener but recovered the following day to edge Middle Tennessee 86-74. Christion Thompson recorded 25 points in the win over the Blue Raiders while leading scorer Teshaun Hightower continued to struggle with his shooting in this event.

TV: 10:30 a.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT TULANE (4-1): The Green Wave need Hightower to get into a rhythm as the junior guard is 6-of-21 in the two games in Myrtle Beach, including 2-of-11 from 3-point range. Thompson is 7-of-9 from 3-point range in this event and is 6-of-6 from the foul line for a Tulane squad that shoots 75.6 percent from foul line - good for 48th nationally entering Saturday. Aside from Hightower (17.2 points) and Thompson (14.8), the Green Wave have two other double-digit scorers on the season: K.J. Lawson (14.2 points) and Jordan Walker (12.6 points), who also leads the team in assists (3.4) and steals (2.6).

ABOUT UTAH (4-1): Rylan Jones set a career high with 17 points against Ohio, draining three 3-pointers and going 6-of-6 from the foul line in a solid all-around effort for the freshman guard. Both Gach added 18 points versus Ohio in a strong response to his game the day before, when he struggled to the tune of 2-of-11 (0-of-5 from long range) against Coastal Carolina. Allen is the team's leading scorer at 20.4 points per game and also paces the team with 8.4 rebounds, while Gach chips in 15.2 points and Riley Battin adds 10.6 points.

TIP-INS

1. The Utes are averaging 86.4 points - 19th nationally - an average that was greatly inflated by a 143-49 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 8.

2. Tulane shot 26-of-30 from the foul line Friday.

3. Utah missed 11 of its final 12 shots against Ohio and did not make a field goal in the final five minutes.

PREDICTION: Utah 87, Tulane 69