University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Tulane
December 2, 2017 | Men's Basketball
By Bobby Hundley
Tulane (TulaneGreenWave.com)
Location: New Orleans, La.
Rankings: Tulane - No. 131 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 10 KenPom, No. 13 AP
Records: Tulane - 6-1; UNC - 7-1
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 15-1 (UNC 95, Tulane 75, Nov. 11, 2016, Smoothie King Center)
After a rough 6-26 showing in Mike Dunleavy's first year in charge, Tulane has already matched its 2016-17 win total with a 6-1 start to the 2017-18 slate. The Green Wave beat Colorado State and Fordham in Jamaica but lost its only road game to date, a 70-59 setback at Georgia State last Sunday. At No. 125 prior to the GSU game, Tulane reached its highest KenPom rating since the 2012-13 season, which was also its last 20-win campaign.
Junior Melvin Frazier, a 6-6 wing, leads a balanced offense that prefers to play at a fast pace (77th in KenPom's adjusted tempo), but has also been effective in slower games (1.18 PPP in a 68-possession win over Miami (Ohio)). Frazier is one of three Green Wave shooters making better than 45 percent of his 3s, with French sophomore Ray Ona Embo connecting at a team-best 53 percent (17 of 32).
But as good as Frazier has been from the outside, he's been even better on 2s, converting 40 of 56 (71.4%) of his shots from inside the arc. Incredibly, that's not even the best mark on the team. Vandy transfer Samir Sehic is 26 of 34 on 2s, a tidy 76.5 percent. Sehic has done most of his damage on the offensive glass - the 6-9 sophomore ranks second nationally with rebounds on 19.8 percent of his teammates' misses - and at the line, where he's making almost 83% of his freebies.
Cameron Reynolds, who is in his fifth year in New Orleans, is the only senior on the roster, and he picked up his 1,000th career point in Wednesday's home win over Alcorn State. UNLV transfer Jordan Cornish can be a tricky matchup as a 6-6 point guard and gives Dunleavy a fifth scorer.
Carolina is Tulane's first top-100 opponent and only its third top-200 foe, so time will tell just how much progress this team has made in its second year under Dunleavy. There are wins to be had in the bottom half of the American this year, so a plus-.500 record and a postseason bid are not unreasonable goals for a program that is looking for its first winning season in five years.
Tulane (TulaneGreenWave.com)
Location: New Orleans, La.
Rankings: Tulane - No. 131 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 10 KenPom, No. 13 AP
Records: Tulane - 6-1; UNC - 7-1
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 15-1 (UNC 95, Tulane 75, Nov. 11, 2016, Smoothie King Center)
After a rough 6-26 showing in Mike Dunleavy's first year in charge, Tulane has already matched its 2016-17 win total with a 6-1 start to the 2017-18 slate. The Green Wave beat Colorado State and Fordham in Jamaica but lost its only road game to date, a 70-59 setback at Georgia State last Sunday. At No. 125 prior to the GSU game, Tulane reached its highest KenPom rating since the 2012-13 season, which was also its last 20-win campaign.
Junior Melvin Frazier, a 6-6 wing, leads a balanced offense that prefers to play at a fast pace (77th in KenPom's adjusted tempo), but has also been effective in slower games (1.18 PPP in a 68-possession win over Miami (Ohio)). Frazier is one of three Green Wave shooters making better than 45 percent of his 3s, with French sophomore Ray Ona Embo connecting at a team-best 53 percent (17 of 32).
But as good as Frazier has been from the outside, he's been even better on 2s, converting 40 of 56 (71.4%) of his shots from inside the arc. Incredibly, that's not even the best mark on the team. Vandy transfer Samir Sehic is 26 of 34 on 2s, a tidy 76.5 percent. Sehic has done most of his damage on the offensive glass - the 6-9 sophomore ranks second nationally with rebounds on 19.8 percent of his teammates' misses - and at the line, where he's making almost 83% of his freebies.
Cameron Reynolds, who is in his fifth year in New Orleans, is the only senior on the roster, and he picked up his 1,000th career point in Wednesday's home win over Alcorn State. UNLV transfer Jordan Cornish can be a tricky matchup as a 6-6 point guard and gives Dunleavy a fifth scorer.
Carolina is Tulane's first top-100 opponent and only its third top-200 foe, so time will tell just how much progress this team has made in its second year under Dunleavy. There are wins to be had in the bottom half of the American this year, so a plus-.500 record and a postseason bid are not unreasonable goals for a program that is looking for its first winning season in five years.
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