Tulane @ Tulsa preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 14, 2019 ) Tulsa 80, Tulane 57

Tulane continues the quest for its first American Athletic Conference win of the season when it travels to face Tulsa on Thursday. The Green Wave have dropped their first 14 league contests and 16 straight overall after an 85-81 setback against East Carolina Saturday, while the Golden Hurricane is on a two-game losing streak following an 84-73 loss to Temple last weekend.

Sophomore guard Caleb Daniels leads three double-figure scorers for Tulane coach Mike Dunleavy Sr., averaging 15.8 points, while backcourt mate Jordan Cornish contributes 10 points and a team-high four assists per game. Junior forward Samir Sehic provides some inside muscle for the Green Wave, averaging 11.5 points and leading the team with 7.7 rebounds per contest. Tulsa coach Frank Haith goes with a four-guard lineup, led by seniors DaQuan Jeffries (13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds) and Sterling Taplin (10.0, 4.2 assists), with Jeffries expected to return from concussion protocol for this contest. Junior forward Martins Igbanu (12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds) is very efficient around the basket, ranking second in the American in field-goal percentage - hitting 61.5 percent from the field.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT TULANE (4-22, 0-14 American): Tulane's offense has picked up lately, with the Green Wave averaging 78.5 points over the last two games, but the team has had trouble hanging onto the basketball. Tulane held East Carolina to 6-of-20 shooting from 3-point range Saturday, including 1-of-8 in the second half, and scored its most points since early December despite the loss. The Green Wave outshot and outrebounded the Pirates, but the 21 turnovers committed by Tulane - which ranks 11th in the American in turnovers per game (15.3) - proved to be the difference.

ABOUT TULSA (16-12, 6-9): The Golden Hurricane have suffered through some injuries of late, with Jeffries missing the team's last contest after guard Lawson Korita missed the previous game - a loss to Wichita State. But Haith told reporters he is excited about some of the depth the team has shown in playing without those injured starters and is hopeful the healthier Golden Hurricane are ready to push for a better seed in the conference tournament. Junior guard Curran Scott, who averages 7.9 points, scored 15 against Temple to help the team make up for the loss of Jeffries' scoring.

TIP-INS

1. Tulane freshman G Connor Crabtree scored a career-high 23 points in the loss to East Carolina.

2. Taplin became the 38th player in Tulsa history to reach 1,000 career points after scoring 11 in the loss to Temple.

3. Tulsa won the first meeting this season 80-57 behind sophomore F Jeriah Horne's only double-double of the season (20 points, 12 rebounds).

PREDICTION: Tulsa 82, Tulane 74