Tulane Green Wave Basketball Elder Statesmen Step Up When Needed Most

One of the biggest obstacles that the Tulane Green Wave men’s basketball team was going to have to overcome during the 2024-25 season was their lack of experience.

This was the youngest group that head coach Ron Hunter has ever worked with in his career. A roster void of any seniors and featuring several key players who have limited Division I experience would have some growing pains.

Early on, there were several learning experiences.

The Green Wave suffered some meltdowns, losing games they held large leads in or going ice cold for stretches and not being able to recover.

The non-conference schedule had its difficulties as Tulane went 6-7. Two of those victories came against teams who aren’t Division I and there was a five-game losing streak mixed in.

There wasn’t much optimism and excitement surrounding the team heading into American Athletic Conference play, but they have surprised all of their doubters with their level of play.

The Green Wave are currently 8-4 in conference, tied for fourth place with the Florida Atlantic Owls. Courtesy of their head-to-head victory over the Owls on Jan. 15, Tulane holds the tiebreaker.

That could play a huge role down the road, as a double-bye in the AAC tournament is up for grabs for the teams who finish in the top four of the regular season standings.

Their spot in the standings was held onto because their three most experienced players, Rowan Brumbaugh, Gregg Glenn III and Asher Woods, are stepping up when the team needed them most.

“His leadership, his poise and his shot-making have been awesome,” Hunter said of Woods, via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “He’s very confident and always has been. He’s the most likable guy on our team, so the guys love the success he’s having right now.”

In a back-and-forth affair with the Rice Owls, those three combined to score 65 of the team’s 81 points. They also played prominent roles in the waning moments of the game to come away with a three-point lead.

With 33 seconds remaining, Brumbaugh was fouled and went to the foul line for two attempts. He knocked them both down, as he was a perfect 7-for-7 in the game, to tie the game at 78.

On the ensuing Owls possession, Glenn came up big with a block and rebound.

He would look up the court and find Woods on the wing. He hit him with a pass, Woods dribbled into his jumper and knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a thrilling 81-78 win.

“My three oldest players on the team came up and won this game,” Hunter said. “They really did.”

Brumbaugh and Woods had the most playing experience of anyone on the roster coming into the campaign. It likely isn’t a coincidence then that they are leading the way during AAC play, as both were major contributors at previous stops in their college careers with the Georgetown Hoyas and VMI Keydets.

Their uptick in production could not have come at a better time, as the team’s leading scorer throughout the season, Kaleb Banks, is mired in an extended cold streak.

Both have taken their performance to new heights and helped keep the team’s hopes of winning the AAC alive.

If Banks regains his form, coupled with their excellent production, they can hang with anyone in the conference.

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