The Green Wave struggled in their last outing against the UAB Blazers. Can the team correct the wrongs and get back on track in the American Conference?
It was a hot start to American Conference play for the Tulane Green Wave men's basketball program, as the team picked up three-straight wins to jump to an early advantage in the league.
That slowed down a bit against the UAB Blazers on January 14th. The Green Wave struggled to maintain momentum throughout the contest, and the Blazers ultimately pulled ahead for the 82-69 victory.
It wasn't a pretty contest by any stretch of the imagination, and it was a complete 180 from all of the success that Tulane had early on. While the loss was frustrating, it's far from the end of the season for the Uptown boys -- after all, the team still sits among the best teams in the American and has a real shot at winning the conference tournament in a few months.
One of the key struggles that defined the Green Wave's loss to UAB was its lack of defensive efficiency. The team had just 19 defensive rebounds throughout the game; while not too far of from its season average of 20.7 defensive rebounds per game, it was a bit of an anomaly compared to its somewhat more effective defensive rebounding in the first three conference games.
Offensively, the team looked a bit sluggish and slow, and the shots just weren't falling. Tulane posted a field goal percentage of 40.0-percent, and shot just 25.9-percent from the three-point line. Throw in a 73.7-percent average from the free throw line, and it was simply a recipe for disaster all night long. Rowan Brumbaugh, Asher Woods and Tyler Ringgold were the only Green Wave players to score in double figures, and the team lacked production from the bench; that's a group that's going to really have to step up in the coming weeks to be able to contribute when their names are called.
Additionally, Tulane lacked effective, productive ball movement. The team had just 14 assists to 10 turnovers against the Blazers. Maybe the shots just weren't falling once getting into players' hands, maybe too many bad shots were taken... either way, the performance wasn't up to the standard that it should have been.
That being said, the Green Wave takes on the North Texas Mean Green on Sunday in a perfect "get right" game. The Mean Green has had its fair share of struggles on the year, as it sits at 10-7 overall with a 1-3 mark in conference play. While the team has talent, those pieces have struggled to come together and make a difference on the court.
Tulane has plenty to prove, and what better way to do it than by righting the ship at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse? It's hard to call a game "season-defining" so early in conference play, but Sunday's matchup could make or break the attitude that the Green Wave approaches the rest of the season with.