Tulane Green Wave Will Need Strong Defensive Performance To Keep Winning Streak
The Tulane Green Wave has gotten off to a strong 3-0 start in the men’s college basketball season with victories over the Louisiana Christian Wildcats, UL-Monroe Warhawks and Alcorn State Braves.
A common theme throughout all three of those contests has been their dominance on the defensive side of the ball. Their opponents have shot 30.2% from the field that has allowed them to win by an average of 27.7 points per game.
The effort on the defensive end of the court is something that head coach Ron Hunter has been pleased with. His matchup system which uses man and zone principles is not easy to pick up, but the players have been putting in the work and it is paying off.
“They compete and they’ve bought into our system,” he said, via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “Now we’ve really kind of dummied it down knowing it was new, but their effort and how hard they play helps them. We’ll make a mistake, but we play so hard that you can’t see it.”
Having only two holdovers from last season’s team and zero seniors certainly makes learning a complex system a challenge, but the young guys are eager to learn and earn their opportunity on the court.
The easiest and quickest way to earn minutes?
Getting the job done on defense.
One player who has shined on that end of the court is freshman Kam Williams. The highly touted forward is leading the team with six blocks and four steals in 25 minutes per game off the bench.
That includes a highlight block of Alcorn State’s Daniel Braster, who was attempting a dunk but had the ball pinned against the backboard.
“Usually freshmen are all over the place defensively, but we are a better team defensively when he’s on the floor,” Hunter said. “ It’s our length. You’ve got Kam out there at 6-8 blocking shots, and you’ve got Tyler at 6-7. Those guys are blocking shots that you can’t see.”
It will certainly be interesting to see how that defense translates against stronger competition.
The Green Wave will find out Friday night, as they head on the road for the first time this season against a strong Furman Paladins team.
That matchup will be a good measuring stick game for a young team early in the season.
Furman has finished with a winning record in nine consecutive seasons, consistently one of the better teams in the Southern Conference.
This is a major step up in competition from their first three opponents, who all played at Devlin Fieldhouse as well.
If Tulane wants to surpass the lowly expectations placed on them this season, winning on the road Friday is a great place to start.
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.