Tulane Should Be Encouraged by Their Showing Against Furman Despite Losing
Tulane Green Wave head coach Ron Hunter knew that his squad was in for a difficult matchup on Friday night when they went on the road for the first time this season to face off against the Furman Paladins.
The Southern Conference standouts consistently have a good team, finishing with a winning record in nine straight campaigns. They also had revenge on their minds after Tulane got the win against them last year at Devlin Fieldhouse in a wild double-overtime contest.
It was anyone’s guess how the Green Wave would respond to their first game outside of New Orleans.
This is a young roster loaded with players receiving minutes for the first time at the college level, and there are zero seniors on the roster.
After defeating the Louisiana Christian Wildcats, UL-Monroe Warhawks and Alcorn State Braves in blowout fashion, Tulane was handed their first loss Friday night when the Paladins defeated them 75-67 in a wire-to-wire contest where they led by as many as 12 points.
Suffering the first loss of the season is certainly disappointing, but there were a lot of positives to take away from the defeat.
The most important one is that this group looks like they are going to be a nuisance on the defensive end of the court all year.
That side has been an issue at times during Hunter’s tenure with the program. They haven’t had problems scoring the ball in recent seasons, but preventing their opponent from doing the same has been a challenge.
Stifling underwhelming competition, as they did the first three games when they only allowed their opponents to shoot 30.2% from the field, is one thing, but slowing down a team as talented as Furman, on their homecourt, like Tulane did is quite an accomplishment.
They held the Paladins to only 37.9% shooting on the evening, going 22-of-58 from the field overall. From 3-point range, they went 13-of-36, for 36.1%.
Their 3-point volume proved to be the difference in the contest, as the Green Wave shot only 6-of-18 from long range.
Kaleb Banks, who has been on fire out of the gate, didn’t even attempt a 3-pointer as Furman’s game plan to take him out of the mix offensively worked well.
Tulane actually made more shots than the Paladins, 23 to 22, but the seven more 3-pointers and four more free throw makes made up the difference.
Experience could have also played a part.
It was Furman senior guards PJay Smith Jr. and Nick Anderson who gave the Green Wave the most problems. They combined to shoot 11-of-21 from 3-point range and 13-of-27 overall, scoring a combined 48 points to lead their team to victory.
When removing their production, everyone else was shut down by the Tulane matchup defense.
It was a very encouraging performance for a team that is only scratching the surface of their potential.
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.