Tulane Green Wave Receive Much-Needed Help After Tough Loss to Shockers
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Tulane Green Wave men’s basketball point guard Rowan Brumbaugh made it clear what his team’s goal was at the midway point of their American Athletic Conference schedule — finish in first place.
The team still has an outside chance to achieve that goal, but will need a lot of help as things became a little more difficult on Sunday afternoon.
Tulane headed on the road to face off against the Wichita State Shockers, who entered the contest with a 6-7 AAC record. They were able to get back to the .500 mark, picking up a convincing victory over the Green Wave.
A normally dominant defense was unable to get the job done Sunday afternoon as Tulane allowed Wichita State to shoot 50% overall from the floor.
Their 3-point defense was stellar, as the Shockers made only 6-of-21 attempts (28.6%) but overwhelmed the Green Wave inside the arc, making 22-of-35 shots.
Tulane didn’t get the job done offensively in the 78-67 loss, as their 3-point shooting continued to abandon them. They made only 3-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc. Mari Jordan was 2-of-4 off the bench as no one else got it going.
With the loss, the Green Wave’s record dropped to 15-12 overall and 9-5 in the AAC.
It was certainly disappointing to see their two-game winning streak snapped, as the Green Wave are now three games behind the first-place Memphis Tigers, who own the tiebreaker from their head-to-head win on Jan. 30.
They are also two games behind the North Texas Mean Green and UAB Blazers, who are responsible for two more of Tulane’s conference losses.
Making up that ground while being on the wrong end of tiebreakers will not be easy, as they will have to overcome those deficits with only four games remaining in the regular season.
What they should be focusing on instead is ensuring they remain in, at worst, the fourth spot in the standings because of the advantage it will give them in the AAC tournament.
The top four teams in the regular season receive double-byes into the quarterfinals. Right now they have a one-game lead over the Florida Atlantic Owls despite the loss to Wichita State.
The Green Wave can thank Memphis for holding onto that lead, as they destroyed Florida Atlantic 84-65 on Sunday afternoon.
Owning the tiebreaker against the Owls, Tulane still controls its own destiny when it comes to locking down a top-four seed.
The Green Wave must handle business in their next game against the Charlotte 49ers, who are in last place in the AAC. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane, who are 5-10 in conference, follow that matchup.
Winning those two games would eliminate the East Carolina Pirates, whom Tulane faces off against next weekend, from being able to land a top-four seed.
In an ideal world, the Green Wave will have things locked in before their regular season finale against the Blazers on Mar. 9.
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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.