Southeastern (0-0) at Tulane (0-0)
Nov. 6, 2019 | 7 p.m. | New Orleans, La. | Avron B. Fogelman Arena (4,100)
Series History: Tulane leads all-time series 10-3
Last Meeting: Lions 62, Tulane 61 – (Dec. 1, 2018 – New Orleans, La.)
Television: ESPN3 – Bob Licht, Victor Howell
Radio: KSLU - 90.9 FM
Announcer - Chris Salim

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball team opens the 2019-20 season under rookie head coach David Kiefer Wednesday night at Avron B. Fogelman Arena when they face in-state rival Tulane at 7 p.m.
 
The Lions will look to build off the momentum from their exhibition win over William Carey, 75-49, Oct.26 at home. SLU's defense forced WCU into 25 turnovers in picking up the win. Freshman Nick Caldwell, a Geismar, Louisiana native, led Southeastern with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore LaQuan Butler (Benton Harbor, Michigan) added 14 points and three steals.
 
The Green Wave, like the Lions, went through some changes during the offseason. Tulane hired former Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter to take over for Mike Dunleavy after the Green Wave finished 4-27 last year. Hunter guided GSU to the NCAA tournament three times in the last five years. 
 
However, Tulane returns just four lettermen from last year including Kevin Zhang, Buay Koka, Grant Quinn and Cameron Galic. Zhang (6-10, F, Shenyang, China) is the lone returning starter playing 30 games last year with 16 starts. The sophomore averaged 6.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
 
"Tulane does some different things defensively that we can't necessarily simulate in practice," said Kiefer. "They force teams to play in concepts and that can be difficult to prepare for."
 
While the Lions are eager for Wednesday's opener, Kiefer wants the team to have the same mentality as any other game.
 
"I've got a lot of respect for Tulane and the challenge we know that they are going to give us," said Kiefer. "But at the same time, we want to make sure that we approach this game the same way we would any other game. We want to get better every day no matter who the opponent is or when we play them."
 
When the Lions take the floor Wednesday, they will have some positive memories as Fogelman Arena is the site of, arguably, the Lions' most thrilling win last year. Southeastern defeated the Green Wave, 62-61, erasing an 11-point deficit in the final five minutes highlighted by a three-pointer by former Lion Marlain Veal with two seconds left.
 
"It was a great finish," said Kiefer. "It was a big win at the time for us, but we understand that they are nothing like the team we played last year. They have almost a totally different roster, a new coach and a new system. The team we prepared for last year and the team we are preparing for Wednesday couldn't be more different and our guys understand that."
 
Wednesday's game will be broadcast by ESPN3 and is available at WatchESPN.com. The game can be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Game Day Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
HARDWOOD CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the basketball program are encouraged to join the Hardwood Club.  Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letterwinners.  All membership fees and donations to Hardwood Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern basketball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Basketball, follow @LionUpMBB and @DavidKieferSLU on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.