Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Tulane preview
Devlin Fieldhouse
Last Meeting ( Dec 22, 2006 ) Arkansas-Pine Bluff 68, Tulane 70
One team will be on the road again and the other will be continuing a long homestand when Arkansas-Pine Bluff visits Tulane on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Lions (1-5) have yet to play at home this season. Following their jaunt south to New Orleans, they will play at North Texas on Tuesday and at Baylor on Dec. 21 before finally hosting Mississippi Valley State on Jan. 2.
The Green Wave (3-0) are halfway through a six-game, season-opening homestand. Their first road game is scheduled for Dec. 22 at East Carolina.
Both teams are coming off Wednesday wins. The Green Wave upped their defensive effort to spank Southern Mississippi 58-38. The Golden Eagles shot only 24.5 percent and committed 18 turnovers, with 10 coming from steals by the Green Wave.
"I've been doing this for a long time, and this group can be really special defensively because we can guard at every position, and we are deep at it," said coach Ron Hunter, who is in his second season at Tulane after a successful eight-year run at Georgia State. "I love how we played defensively, and it's going to give us a chance to win every game."
Green Wave sophomore R.J. McGee recorded his first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, both career-high totals. All of his points came in the second half.
"I think R.J. McGee is playing great basketball right now," Hunter said.
Jordan Walker matched McGee with 15 points and handed out a team-high six assists.
The Golden Lions shook off big losses at Marquette (93-57), Wisconsin (92-58), Iowa State (80-63), Northwestern (92-49), and Saint Louis (107-54) to beat Arkansas State 75-74 on Joshuwan Johnson's free throw with 0.9 seconds left, his 16th point of the night.
Shaun Doss Jr. led the Lions with 20 points to raise his average to a team-high 18.5 per game.
UAPB coach George Ivory praised his players for the way they responded after the earlier beatdowns.
"I take my hat off to these young men for doing what they did and continuing to work and play hard," Ivory said. "You could tell the difference in the last couple of days in practice. The guys had a lot of spirit and a lot of energy."
--Field Level Media