Tulane Men Open the American Tourney with a Familiar Opponent
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Nine seed Tulane University men's basketball opens the 2026 American Conference Championship against eight seed Memphis in the first round at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday. The Green Wave will look to advance to the second round of the tournament to face five seed Charlotte on Thursday night, March 12.
The game between the Wave and the Tigers is set to tipoff at 6 p.m. on ESPNEWS. Fans can also listen to the action live on the Tulane Sports Network from Learfield on 106.7 The Ticket.
We spoke to coach Ron Hunter and senior guard Asher Woods before they left New Orleans for B'ham.
Two Teams Who Know Each Other Well
This marks the third meeting this season and the 82nd all-time between Tulane and Memphis with the Green Wave trailing the series 16-65. The Wave and the Tigers split the regular season series with each team earning a victory on the road. Tulane defeated the Tigers 78-76 in the first meeting of the year in Memphis on February 1. Memphis returned the favor against the Wave in the regular season finale in New Orleans as Tulane lost 95-96 in overtime on March 8. The Green Wave has never beaten the Tigers in a neutral site contest holding an 0-5 record in those games including a 77-78 loss in the American Championship semifinals last season on March 15 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Wave holds a 6-10 record in the American Conference Championships including a 2-4 mark in the first round of the tournament. The Wave has reached at least the second round of the tournament nine times in 10 total appearances. The last time the Green Wave competed in the first round was 2021 when it earned a 77-70 victory over Tulsa. In the American Championships last season Tulane went 1-1 reaching the semifinals for the fourth time since joining the conference.
These Two Met Just Three Days Ago
In its last time out, Tulane dropped a heartbreaking overtime battle against Memphis 95-96 in the regular season finale on March 8. The Green Wave erased a nine-point deficit in the final 1:49 of regulation to force overtime, but the Tigers got the final say at the free throw line in the extra period. Five players scored in double figures for the Wave led by Rowan Brumbaugh with 31 points and Asher Woods with 21.
American Honors for Tulane Guards
The Green Wave backcourt duo of Brumbaugh and Woods each earned American Conference postseason honors this season. Brumbaugh was named All-Conference Second Team after leading the Green Wave in scoring, rebounds, assists, and steals. Woods earned the Amir Abdur-Rahim Sportsmanship Award for best exemplifying the qualities of sportsmanship, fair play and leadership.
Scouting the Tigers
Memphis enters the game as the nine seed in the tournament with a 13-18 record overall and an 8-10 mark in league play. The Tigers hold a 12-8 record in the American Championship with two tournament titles.
Defensively, the Tigers lead the conference in three-point percentage defense holding opponents to 30.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc and rank second in the league in field goal percentage defense limiting teams to 42.4 percent overall. Meanwhile, on offense Memphis leads the league in bench points averaging 32.06 per game which ranks 16th in the nation.
If the Greenies Win...
With a win over the Tigers, Tulane advance to the second round of the American Championship to face five seed Charlotte on Thursday, March 12. The second-round matchup will tipoff at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.