The Green Wave has won four games in a row as it enters a tough final stretch ahead of the American Conference tournament.
Go back a month ago, and tell yourself that the Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team would be riding a four-game win streak in the most critical stretch of games during the regular season.
You'd probably laugh, right?
Tulane has done the unprecedented in the month of February, winning five of the last six games and four in a row. It's a complete turnaround from the team that took to court many times during the midway point of American Conference play: one that was defeated, lost and utterly outmatched in just about every contest.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what has changed with the Green Wave. There are still glaring issues at times -- rebounding, defense, shooting, closing out games -- but things have improved drastically.
In Tulane's latest win -- a 81-75 victory over the Rice Owls -- the team outplayed its opponent in just about every way. The Green Wave shot at a clip of 47.9-percent from the field and dominated on the boards with 31 rebounds. Additionally, the Olive Green and Sky Blue had 18 assists to 10 turnovers and picked up eight steals on the day. Dominance like that has been rare for the program in conference play.
There's no doubt that there have been some small, technical changes in schemes and playing styles, but the main driving force behind the program's recent success has seemingly been an intense determination to turn things around. Tulane has seen its student-athletes step up big time when needed most, and there's nothing like the momentum of one victory to carry you to other victories. The talent has always been there, and now, the confidence and heart appears to be too.
The Green Wave only has four regular season games left, and they're going to arguably be the toughest of the entire season. Aside from the pressure of maintaining the winning streak and securing a solid position in the league tournament, some of the opponents are just tough.
Tulane will look to make it five in a row against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane -- a team that currently sits in second place in the conference. Of course, things can somehow only get more difficult from there: the Green Wave will hit the road to face the conference-leading South Florida Bulls just four days later.
From there, a pair of rematches against the Temple Owls and the Memphis Tigers will wrap up the regular season. Tulane has already taken down both programs this year, but it won't be easy to get the season sweep over either team.
At this point, the team just has to take it one game at a time. The Green Wave will welcome the Golden Hurricane to Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Wednesday, February 25th, in hopes of keeping momentum on its side. Tip-off for the game is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.