GAME NOTES: The Houston Cougars will try to end a five-game losing streak when they battle the Tulane Green Wave in American Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Tulane enters the contest after playing a combined four overtime periods in its last two games, which included a 103-100 triple-overtime loss to the UCF Knights on Wednesday night. The Green Wave sit at 3-2 in conference, and 12-5 overall.

The Cougars have spoiled a 7-4 start to the season by dropping five straight, including a 66-61 defeat at East Carolina on Wednesday night. The losses have given Houston a conference record of 0-5 and overall record of 7-9.

This bout marks the 31st time these teams will have met on the hardwood, with the series currently tied at 15-15. The teams last played on March 9, 2014 when Houston claimed a 96-94 victory.

Both Tulane and UCF shot an impressive 50 percent from the field in the first two periods, but the Green Wave allowed the Knights to net 58.8 percent of their shot attempts in the three extra sessions. Tulane meanwhile, could only convert 41.7 percent of its field goal tries in the three overtimes, leading to its second conference loss of the season. The top scorers for Tulane in the setback were Louis Dabney (26 points), Jay Hook (25 points, nine rebounds) and Johnathan Stark (18 points, 10 assists).

Dabney is the top scorer for the Green Wave with 13.8 ppg (ninth in the AAC), while Stark is second on the team in scoring with 12.1 ppg. Tulane has the top scoring offense in the AAC (70.4 ppg), and it ranks third in both field goal percentage (.452) and 3-point field goal percentage (.350). The Green Wave is allowing opponents to score 64.5 ppg and convert 43.1 percent of their field goal attempts. Tulane is in the black in rebounding margin (+3.4).

Houston connected on just 33.9 percent of its field goal attempts against East Carolina, including 6-of-21 on 3-point shot attempts. Defensively, the Cougars allowed the Pirates to net 44.4 percent of their tries from the field. Houston was unable to muster a single fast-break point. The leading scorers for the Cougars were Danrad Knowles (16 points, six rebounds), L.J. Rose (15 points) and Cavon Baker (11 points).

Houston's top scorer this season is Jherrod Stiggers, who is averaging 16.1 ppg (second in the AAC). LeRon Barnes leads the Cougars in rebounding with 6.8 rpg (fifth). Houston has averaged 67.7 ppg, but is only connecting on 38.1 percent of its field goal tries (next-to-last in the AAC). At the defensive end, the Cougars are allowing 68.1 ppg, with foes converting 42 percent of their total shots. Houston finds itself in the red in rebounding margin (-1.0).

Tulane enters this contest as one of the top offenses in the AAC while Houston has tallied more than 61 points just once in its last five games. Although the Green Wave may enter this contest fatigued from their last two games, they should have enough in the tank to knock off the Cougars.