# 2019–20 Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team represented Tulane University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Green Wave, led by first-year head coach Ron Hunter, played their home games at Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, Louisiana as sixth-year members of the American Athletic Conference.

## Previous season

The Green Wave 4–27, 0–18 in AAC play to finish in 12th place. They lost in the first round of the AAC tournament to Memphis.
On March 16, 2019, the school announced that Mike Dunleavy would not return as head coach. He finished 24–69 in three seasons at Tulane. On March 24, the school named Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter the new head coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jordan Cornish | 0 | G | 6'6" | 225 | RS Senior | New Orleans, LA | Graduated |
| Moses Wood | 4 | F | 6'8" | 190 | Freshman | Reno, NV | Transferred to UNLV |
| Connor Crabtree | 5 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Freshman | Hillsborough, NC | Transferred to Richmond |
| Caleb Daniels | 10 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Sophomore | New Orleans, LA | Transferred to Villanova |
| Bul Ajang | 11 | F | 6'10" | 225 | Sophomore | Jonglei, South Sudan | Medically retired |
| Semir Sehic | 21 | F | 6'9" | 235 | RS Junior | Cypress, TX | Play professionally |
| Blake Paul | 23 | F | 6'9" | 250 | Senior | New Orleans, LA | Graduated |
| Shakwon Barett | 24 | G | 6'5" | 180 | RS Freshman | Toronto, ON | Transferred to Northwest Florida State College |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| K. J. Lawson | 1 | F | 6'8" | 210 | Graduate Student | Memphis, TN | Transferred from Kansas after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |
| TeShaun Hightower | 5 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Junior | Lithonia, GA | Transferred from Georgia. Hightower was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Ibrahim Ali | 11 | G | 6'10" | 245 | RS Freshman | Lagos, Nigeria | Transferred from Arkansas. Ali was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have four years of remaining eligibility. |
| Nic Thomas | 14 | G | 6'2' | 185 | Graduate Student | Arlington, TX | Transferred from Norfolk State after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |
| Christion Thompson | 25 | G | 6'4' | 190 | Graduate Student | Baton Rouge, LA | Transferred from Rhode Island after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |

### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nobal Days PF | Racine, WI | Washington Park High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 15, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Tylan Pope PF | Franklinton, LA | Franklinton High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | May 28, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Charlie Russell SF | New Orleans, LA | Sophie B. Wright High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | May 2, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| R.J. McGee SF | Chicago, IL | Taylormade Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Apr 17, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 30, 2019. ||||||

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2020) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jadan Coleman SG | Madison, AL | Bob Jones High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Nov 15, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Sion James PG | Buford, GA | Lanier High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 131 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019. |||||||

## Roster

* Dec. 1, 2019 - Ray Ona Embo quit the team. He elected to return home to France to pursue a professional career.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 31, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Spring Hill | W 93–55 | | 23 – Thompson | 8 – Tied | 7 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (862) New Orleans, LA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 76–55 | 1–0 | 24 – Walker | 14 – Thompson | 6 – Lawson | Devlin Fieldhouse (2,179) New Orleans, LA |
| November 12, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Jackson State | W 88–79 | 2–0 | 21 – Hightower | 8 – Thompson | 4 – Lawson | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,225) New Orleans, LA |
| November 16, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northwestern State | W 79–52 | 3–0 | 19 – Hightower | 6 – Walker | 4 – Tied | Devlin Fieldhouse (919) New Orleans, LA |
| November 21, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Mississippi State Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinal | L 66–80 | 3–1 | 12 – Tied | 3 – Tied | 6 – Walker | HTC Center Conway, SC |
| November 22, 2019* 11:00 am, ESPNU | | vs. Middle Tennessee Myrtle Beach Invitational consolation 2nd round | W 86–74 | 4–1 | 25 – Thompson | 6 – 4 tied | 5 – Walker | HTC Center Conway, SC |
| November 24, 2019* 9:30 am, ESPNU | | vs. Utah Myrtle Beach Invitational 5th place game | W 65–61 | 5–1 | 16 – Hightower | 5 – Thompson | 7 – Walker | HTC Center Conway, SC |
| December 1, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southern | W 82–65 | 6–1 | 30 – Lawson | 9 – Thompson | 5 – Hightower | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,745) New Orleans, LA |
| December 4, 2019* 7:00 pm | | at Southern Miss | W 61–56 | 7–1 | 15 – Thompson | 10 – Hightower | 4 – Lawson | Reed Green Coliseum (3,668) Hattiesburg, MS |
| December 8, 2019* 12:30 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Saint Louis Jerry Colangelo Classic | L 62–86 | 7–2 | 18 – Lawson | 8 – Lawson | 4 – Thompson | Talking Stick Resort Arena (1,050) Phoenix, AZ |
| December 16, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Alcorn State | W 68–57 | 8–2 | 15 – Hightower | 8 – Days | 4 – Tied | Devlin Fieldhouse (883) New Orleans, LA |
| December 20, 2019* 1:30 pm | | vs. Akron DC Holiday Hoops Fest semifinals | L 61–62 | 8–3 | 18 – Hightower | 9 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Entertainment and Sports Arena Washington, D.C. |
| December 21, 2019* 12:00 pm | | vs. Towson DC Holiday Hoops Fest 3rd place game | L 82–86 $^{OT}$ | 8–4 | 33 – Hightower | 7 – Lawson | 5 – Thompson | Entertainment and Sports Arena Washington, D.C. |
| AAC regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 9 Memphis | L 73–84 | 8–5 (0–1) | 22 – Lawson | 7 – Hightower | 4 – Thompson | FedExForum (15,544) Memphis, TN |
| January 4, 2020 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Cincinnati | W 76–71 | 9–5 (1–1) | 22 – Hightower | 9 – Thompson | 3 – Lawson | Devlin Fieldhouse (2,513) New Orleans, LA |
| January 8, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UConn | L 61–67 | 9–6 (1–2) | 17 – Hightower | 10 – Thompson | 4 – Thompson | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (5,721) Storrs, CT |
| January 11, 2020 11:00 am, ESPNU | | at Temple | W 65–51 | 10–6 (2–2) | 17 – Tied | 10 – Lawson | 6 – Tied | Liacouras Center (6,485) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 14, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UCF | L 55–74 | 10–7 (2–3) | 19 – Thompson | 7 – Days | 3 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,665) New Orleans, LA |
| January 18, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Tulsa | L 54–67 | 10–8 (2–4) | 15 – Lawson | 6 – Lawson | 5 – Thompson | Devlin Fieldhouse (2,189) New Orleans, LA |
| January 25, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at East Carolina | L 62–81 | 10–9 (2–5) | 19 – Thomas | 13 – Thompson | 4 – Lawson | Williams Arena (4,817) Greenville, NC |
| January 29, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Florida | L 52–66 | 10–10 (2–6) | 18 – Thompson | 3 – 3 tied | 3 – Thompson | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,945) New Orleans, LA |
| February 1, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at SMU | L 67–82 | 10–11 (2–7) | 20 – Thomas | 7 – Lawson | 4 – Hightower | Moody Coliseum (4,477) Dallas, TX |
| February 6, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 25 Houston | L 62–75 | 10–12 (2–8) | 17 – Hightower | 5 – Tied | 3 – Thompson | Fertitta Center (6,430) Houston, TX |
| February 8, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | East Carolina | L 67–81 | 10–13 (2–9) | 23 – Thompson | 9 – Thompson | 6 – Thompson | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,742) New Orleans, LA |
| February 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Temple | L 68–72 | 10–14 (2–10) | 23 – Hightower | 9 – Lawson | 4 – Thompson | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,330) New Orleans, LA |
| February 16, 2020 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Wichita State | L 57–82 | 10–15 (2–11) | 16 – Thompson | 7 – Thompson | 4 – Hightower | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| February 19, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | SMU | W 80–72 | 11–15 (3–11) | 26 – Hightower | 9 – Hightower | 6 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,150) New Orleans, LA |
| February 22, 2020 11:00 am, ESPNU | | at UCF | W 75–74 | 12–15 (4–11) | 21 – Lawson | 9 – Thompson | 5 – Hightower | Addition Financial Arena (4,966) Orlando, FL |
| February 25, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tulsa | L 57–62 | 12–16 (4–12) | 19 – Hightower | 6 – Tied | 3 – 3 tied | Reynolds Center (3,443) Tulsa, OK |
| February 29, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Memphis | L 67–74 $^{OT}$ | 12–17 (4–13) | 30 – Thompson | 9 – Lawson | 3 – Thompson | Devlin Fieldhouse (3,023) New Orleans, LA |
| March 8, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | UConn | L 76–80 | 12–18 (4–14) | 21 – Thompson | 5 – Lawson | 3 – Lawson | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,897) New Orleans, LA |
| AAC tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | (12) | vs. (5) UConn First Round | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source
    1.^ Cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

## Awards and honors
### American Athletic Conference honors
#### Player of the Week

* Week 16: Teshaun Hightower
Source