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Live Updates
20:00 - Tulane wins the tip and we are underway in New Orleans!
15:23 - UConn ahead 8-6 after a Sterling Gibbs three-pointer. Steve Enoch is the first player off the bench, coming in for Kentan Facey. Shonn Miller has all five of UConn's other points.
11:39 - Huskies ahead 12-10. UConn shooting 45% from the field at this early juncture of the game while the Green Wave are only hitting 25% of shots from the field.
7:49 - Tulane pulled ahead briefly after a 10-0 run but two nice buckets from Omar Calhoun, a fadeaway jumper and a lay-in off a steal, have the game tied at 16.
3:22 - Tulane hanging in this one, the Huskies are ahead 24-20. Seven points for Hamilton, Miller still at five, Calhoun with four and Purvis and Gibbs have each hit a three.
END 1st Half: UConn pulled ahead in the final stretch of the first half, taking a 38-28 lead into the break. Rodney Purvis scored 12 points since our 3:27 update and has 15 points to lead all scorers. Nine points, five rebounds for Daniel Hamilton. Six turnovers for the Huskies but Tulane has committed eight of its own.
Second Half
20:00 - UConn gets off to a fast start with a Shonn Miller bucket on the first possession.
15:32 - The Huskies have gained control, up 51-32 and having very little difficulty scoring. Tulane is shooting 34.4% from the field, whereas UConn is at 53.1%. Purvis has 18 points after making a three early on. Miller and Hamilton have hit from long range as well in the second half.
11:53 - Tulane answers back with a 12-0 run and the score is now 51-44. The Huskies have a number of players in foul trouble as the Green Wave will be shooting free throws on any foul the rest of the game. Facey has four fouls, Miller, Hamilton and Enoch all have three.
7:48 - Tulane pulled within two, but UConn has been able to keep the Green Wave at bay, leading 55-51. Kentan Facey just fouled out. Tulane has been able to score at will down low with UConn's bigs in foul trouble.
3:08 - UConn ahead 62-60 with Sterling Gibbs shooting foul shots. Shonn Miller has fouled out for the Huskies.
FINAL: UConn wins 75-67.
******
The UConn men's basketball team was dreadful on the road in 2014-15, finishing 4-7 in true road games. Kevin Ollie's team was 3-6 outside Connecticut in the American Athletic Conference.
Coming off a great win at Texas in their first true road game of the season, the Huskies make their 2016 debut at Tulane Saturday night in their opening game in the American Athletic Conference (7:30 p.m., CBS Sports).
This is the third season of the American's existence. UConn has lost its opener in both the previous seasons, losing both years on New Years Eve – at Houston in 2013 and in overtime at home against Temple in 2014.
UConn (9-3) is arguably in decent shape entering conference play, especially after beating the Longhorns in Austin, but the Huskies will need to keep their wits about them down the stretch. The American still does not have much clout nationally, and most losses will likely be looked upon poorly by the selection committee.
That means the Huskies need to avoid faltering on the road. UConn's only three conference road wins last year were Tulane, East Carolina and USF, and none of those were convincing for 40 minutes.
The Tulane game may have been the worst. The Green Wave were up three at halftime and had the Huskies playing from behind with 5:45 to play. UConn survived, however, picking up a 62-53 win in New Orleans.
Tulane (7-7) has played a weak schedule so far. The Green Wave's narrow victory over Stephen F. Austin (No. 144 KenPom) their only win over a team ranked better than 200th in Ken Pomeroy's rankings. The other wins are Drake (204), Appalachian St. (315), Liberty (343), New Orleans (271), Prairie View A&M (346) and Southern Mississippi (322).
The Green Wave opened conference play with a 12-point loss at Memphis.
Our readers have been voting all day on what road games they are most confident in entering conference play. At the time of publication, the only game readers are more confident in than Tulane is the trip to UCF.
There is optimism that past road woes are exactly that: in the past. UConn enters the game with great numbers on both sides of the ball. The Huskies' 56.9 effective field goal percentage ranks 14th in the nation. They are 41st in adjusted offensive efficiency (110.3), 11th in 2-point percentage (57.2) and offensive block percentage (5.6). Defensively, UConn is 25th in adjusted efficiency (94.1), 27th in effective field goal percentage (44.4) and first in block percentage (17.2).
Tonight's game is on CBS Sports, the obscure channel UConn fans love to hate, because to acquire it means to throw a lot more money at the cable provider. Because many fans will not have access to the game, we will be providing updates here as part of our coverage.
Have thoughts on the game as you watch? Share them below in our open thread. And don't forget to vote on which games you are most confident about. Discuss those below, too.