Can Tulane Green Wave Bounce Back From Disappointing Memphis Loss?
The Tulane Green Wave had what many people would consider their biggest game of the year last week against the Memphis Tigers.
They were welcoming the No. 19 team in the country into Devlin Fieldhouse with a chance to prove that they are one of the teams to reckon with in the American Athletic Conference.
For three-quarters of the game, that is exactly what they did.
For about thirty minutes, the Green Wave went toe-to-toe with the Tigers, overcoming some cold spells on the offensive side of the ball to keep the game competitive. But, their lack of experience unfortunately shined through down the stretch.
Memphis, with seven of their eight players receiving minutes being seniors, responded in crunch time how you would expect a group of seasoned college basketball veterans to respond.
Trailing by one with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, they put the clamps on Tulane, who looked overmatched. Missed free throws and only one made basket turned a one-point deficit into a double-digit lead, as the Tigers would escape New Orleans with a 68-56 victory.
It was certainly a disappointing outcome for the team, which makes Sunday’s game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes all the more important.
In the opinion of head coach Ron Hunter, that game is the most important one as it will show what his young squad is made of. Can they bounce back from a hard-fought heartbreaker or will this snowball into a brutal losing streak?
“I said yesterday the biggest game of the year was Sunday regardless of what happened this game,” Hunter said, via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “Because if you win the game, you have to get ready to play Sunday, and if you lose, you have to be able to get yourself back.”
The matchup against the Golden Hurricanes is the midway point of AAC play. The Green Wave already has five victories in the conference, matching their total from the 2023-24 campaign.
They would love to get a sixth, which would mean they are, at worst, in a tie for fourth place in the standings once play concludes on Sunday.
That should be the goal for the team, to stay in the top four. Finishing there would give them a double bye in the AAC Tournament right into the quarterfinals, quite an impressive achievement given where the program was at the end of last season.
Tulsa is middle of the pack and lower in virtually every statistic in the AAC this year. If Tulane can bring the same defensive intensity to the court that they have over the last few weeks, they should be able to secure their sixth conference victory of the year.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.