Tulane Green Wave Face Memphis Tigers in American Tournament Semifinals

The Tulane Green Wave men’s basketball team gets another shot at the conference’s top team in the league tournament semifinals.

Tulane forward Kaleb Banks (1) settles down for a foul shot against New Orleans during the second half of a men's NCAA basketball game at Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. | Mandatory Credit - Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune

If the Tulane Green Wave wants to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament, they’ll have to beat the league’s best team just to advance to the finals.

The Green Wave (19-13) get another shot at the Memphis Tigers (27-5) at 2 p.m. Friday in the AAC semifinals at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Tulane has a significant amount of motivation, and not just because a win would get them one step closer to securing a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Tulane would love a little revenge. To end January, the Green Wave hosted the now-No. 16 Tigers, who beat them, 68-56.

The Green Wave had its shot. They were only down three points in the first half, 29-26. Memphis pulled away in the second half, avoiding an upset led by 19 points from Dain Dainja.

The Tigers are probably heading to the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens this weekend.  The Green Wave, meanwhile, have no other avenue to March Madness but to upset the Tigers and then win the championship game on Sunday, which would secure the AAC’s automatic berth.

Tulane and the NCAA Tournament are basically strangers at this point. The Green Wave’s last NCAA Tournament bid game in 1995, when they were a No. 9 seed and won a first-round game before falling short of the Sweet 16.

Their head coach, Ron Hunter, as NCAA Tournament experience of more recent vintage, leading Georgia State to back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids in 2018 and 2019.

In defeating FAU, 83-76, in the quarterfinals, the Green Wave got a great game from Asher Woods, who scored 20 points. He led five Tulane players in double figures, along with Gregg Glenn III and Kaleb Banks, each with 17 points, along with 15 points from Rowan Brumbaugh and 10 points from Mari Jordan.

When Tulane faced Memphis in January, only Banks and Brumbaugh were in double figures. The Green Wave’s duo will need the kind of help they received against FAU to pull off a victory over the Tigers.

American Athletic Conference 2025 Tournament Bracket

(at Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas)

First Round: Wednesday

Game 1: No. 13 Charlotte 64, No. 12 Rice 61

Second Round: Thursday

Game 2: No. 8 Wichita State 73, No. 9 USF 68

Game 3: No. 5 FAU 64, No. 13 Charlotte 59

Game 4: No. 10 Tulsa 75, No. 7 Temple 71

Game 5: No. 6 East Carolina 70, No. 11 UTSA 65

Quarterfinals | Friday

Game 6: No. 1 Memphis 83, No. 8 Wichita State 80

Game 7: No. 4 Tulane 83, No. 5 FAU 76

Game 8: No. 2 North Texas 77, No. 10 Tulsa 59

Game 9: No. 3 UAB 94, No. 6 East Carolina 77

Semifinals | Saturday

Game 10: No. 1 Menphis vs No. 4 Tulane | 2 p.m. CT | ESPN2 and ESPN+

Game 11: No. 2 North Texas vs No. 3 UAB| 4 p.m. CT | ESPN2 and ESPN+

Final | Sunday

Game 12: Game 10 Winner vs Game 11 Winner | 2:15 p.m. CT | ESPN and ESPN+