Sloppy Play by Tulane Men Leads to 82-69 loss to UAB

The students were back on campus including the Tulane pep band. Over 15-hundred fans were in attendance. New football coach Will Hall was introduced to the crowd, which roared in approval. In answer, the Tulane men's basketball team put together perhaps one of its least productive efforts, falling to Alabama-Birmingham, 82-69. The loss drops the Green Wave to 12-5 on the season and 3-1 in American Conference play. UAB improves to 12-6 for the year, 3-2 in league games.

Green Wave Not Handling Success Well

"We just got our butts beat today," Wave coach Ron Hunter said after the game. "It was the first time in a long time we didn't play with the energy and passion that we had been playing with."

The loss comes immediately off a rousing road win of Texas-San Antonio this past weekend.

"I talked after practice yesterday, (asking the team) 'How do you handle success?'" Hunter told the media while rubbing his brow. "We didn't handle success very well today."

The Green Wave hit only 40% of their shots from the field, making a measly 26% of their 27 three-pointers they threw at the basket. Most importantly, Alabama Birmingham owned the boards, swiping 45-rebounds to Tulane's 27.

UAB Outplayed the Wave

"I thought UAB came out and just physically dominated," Hunter lamented. "Give them all the credit. They came out and really took it to us, and we didn't respond."

Junior Rowan Brumbaugh echoed his coach's sentiment.

"We just did not play smart basketball," the junior guard shared. "It's a four-point game (with six-and-a-half minutes to go in the second half), and we come down and take some awful shots....That's when we need to be a mature basketball team and say, 'Slow down. Let's get the best shot possible.' That's the moment (that can break a team) in a really close game."

A trio of Greenies hit double-digits for the night. Guards Brumbaugh and Asher Woods each had 16, while forward Tyler Ringgold accounted for a dozen before fouling out with just over five minutes to go in the game. Ringgold got into early foul trouble, picking up his first and second fouls with not even a minute and a half expired in the first half.

Ringgold Fouls and Daniels Injury Make a Difference

"Tyler picking up those early fouls hurt us," Hunter continued. "(Then) he's worried about the fouls, and he's not playing as physical as he wants, afraid he's going to foul again. From top-to-bottom, I thought this is the worst our starters have played in a long time."

Amongst those not starting Wednesday night, the team's physical presence in the paint, Percy Daniels who has been battling an undisclosed injury for the past week and a half.

"Percy was questionable," Hunter told the media afterwards. "He didn't practice at all and hadn't done anything in about a week-and-a-half, since the injury." Daniels, who leads the team in blocked shots, played just under 14-minutes. "I don't know if that would have made a difference (Daniels playing), but he brings a physicality to our game.

Success May Have Gone to the Wave's Collective Heads

"We played like we've been reading our press clippings, and that's just really disappointing," Hunter said, honestly assessing his team's efforts Wednesday night. "Like I told them, no one's going to go undefeated in this league, but our effort has got to be better than that. No body cares about (who is in) first place. You've got to come out ready to play. I thought we had a hangover from what we did the other day (beating UTSA on the road), and all we did was win a game.

"We'll bounce back," Hunter wrapped up, looking ahead to Sunday's game. "They're mad, and I'm mad. We've just got to come back, give ourselves 24-hours, and get ready for North Texas."

Tulane wraps up its two-game homestand against the Mean Green this Sunday. The game has been moved to a 4:00 p.m. tipoff in Fogelman Arena.