I am in Forth Worth (or actually Dallas at the moment) to cover Tulane in the AAC tournament. My rule is I go when the Wave does not play until the quarterfinals, and so far they are 2-0 in that scenario, winning in 2022 and 2023. We will see if they can make it a third time today. FAU is a 3.5-point favorite despite being the lower seed, despite losing to Tulane by 15 at Devlin in January and despite being 0-7 against the top five seeds in the tournament while Tulane is 2-3. I have no idea what is going to happen today because Tulane has been a bad road team, going 4-5 in the league and getting very lucky that UTSA spit the bit in the last two minutes to prevent that record from being 3-6. As I mentioned in a previous post, it's a question of whether Tulane only struggles in opposing team's buildings because of the crowd or whether it needs the comfort factor of playing at home to reach its top level. If it's the former, this team is very capable of beating anyone in the field. All five starters have scored 20 points in one of the last six games, which is very rare in college basketball, and these guys are committed to winning and competing much more than their predecessors.
FAU is a very tall team but hardly dominant inside offensively. If Tulane closes out on the 3-point shooters like it has at home but has not done away from home recently, it will be hard for FAU to win. Oppnents have hit more 3s against Tulane in conference games than anyone else in the league, but are hitting them at the third-lowest percentage, which is literally the concept behind the matchup zone--to force teams to settle for low-percentage shots. The biggest concern is FAU leads the league in blocked shots, and Tulane has three guys who do damage close to the rim-Rowan Brumbaugh on drives, Gregg Glenn off the dribble in the post, and Kaleb Banks when he is feeling confident--and all of them could be affected by the shot blockers.
If Tulane gets past FAU, it likely will play Memphis in the semis, but not definitely. Wichita State, which plays Memphis in less than two hours, was one of two league teams to beat the Tigers and gave them a tough fight in Memphis the first time they met. I don't like Tulane's chances to beat Memphis in the semis because the Tigers have experienced players who know how to win, but if Wichita State did the Wave a solid, I'd very much like the Wave's chances against the Shockers.
I talked to Ron Hunter, Kam Williams and Brumbaugh Wednesday.
HUNTER
On being excited about chances:
"I think since I've been here this is probably the best opportunity in regards to the defense teams we're bringing, and we don't have to play the No. 1 team in the country (Houston). We've been ousted by them a couple of times (in 2021 and 2022), but we know it's still going to be tough. There are a lot of good teams playing good basketball. I think there are going to be some serious upsets in this tournament just because from top to bottom anybody can beat anybody on any given day, but I feel good where I am with this young group. They've had a great year and the confidence is there. That's what I like."
On Kam Williams needing to be aggressive:
"He has to be aggressive early. There is only so much we can do. We run things for him and he's not going to be open for very long. That's what he's got to understand. In high school you can be open for a long time. Here he's not going to open for a long time, but it's going to be a collective effort of a lot of guys. What I love about this group is I don't have to rely on one guy to have a great game. We've had different guys step up at different times of the year, and I like that about this group, and I also know the fact that we can defend. I'm really excited about it, but the hardest one to win is the first one. Everybody thinks it's the last one. The first one is the hardest to win."
On being 2-0 in AAC quarterfinals coming off a bye:
"I love your numbers. They scare me sometimes, but no, my philosophy is that you've got to win the first one, and I put everything into that first game because after that, everybody is the same. We don't know who we play (they practiced Wednesday as if the opponent was FAU, which it is), but we have to be ready to play, and that's the key."
On five starters who can score:
"We haven't had that, and what I also love is that we've had great bench play. It's the best bench play we've had since I've been here, so I'm not afraid to play some of those guys in tournament play when every possession means something. There are eight or nine guys that I have problem playing and know that they can come in and help us out."
On Brumbaugh averaging more than 37 minutes in conference play:
"I'm probably going to cut him to about 39.9 for the tournament. We'll give him about a five-second rest. He can rest in the summer. Right now we want to play three great basketball days. That's what I keep telling these guys."
BRUMBAUGH
On importance of Kam Williams being aggressive:
"It's super important. When he gets in the paint and he's getting downhill it opens up the whole game because everyone plays him as a really good shooter, so they try to run him off the line. If he can get in the paint and start creating because he has a great feel, it just opens up our offense so much."
On Williams as deadeye shooter:
"It's not like it's just in games. He does it in practice every day. Even when he misses a shot in games, I always think the next one's going in just because he's always working. He probably makes 85 to 90 percent of the shots he shoots in practice."
On confidence of whole team going into tournament:
"We're very confident, but we have to make sure that we stay even keel, too, because they can go on one early run in the game and you can lose all your confidence. You've just got to keep playing the game like it's our last, which it literally could be."
On not having road crowds to deal with being beneficial:
"Definitely. We struggled early on neutral sites, but we are different team right now 100 percent. How we closed out the conference, us being picked so low, we've got a lot of external motivation. We obviously all love each other and we love coach Hunter, so we have a lot of internal motivation, too."
WILLIAMS
On how he developed his shot:
"That's the main thing thing I was working on growing up. My dad always used to say that if you could shoot, you could space the floor for others, so that was the first skill that I worked on."
On best part of his shot:
"I I just know I put in a lot of work when nobody's around so I have the form, release and everything."
On why he chose Tulane:
"Honestly when I came on a visit I already knew I was coming here because the coaching staff was good, the people were good, the facilities."
On confidence entering tournament:
"We're very confident. We trust our work. We work on a lot of different things in practice--defense to offense, transition, everything. It doesn't matter who we are matched up against. We just know that we trust our defense against theirs and our work ethic is going to be better than them."
On road struggles maybe not being the same at neutral site:
"You could say that a little bit. When you are at home, the fans play a critical part in the energy that you bring, so now it's neutral. Nobody really has X amount of fans more than the others, so now it just comes down to the people on the court."
On importance of him being aggressive offensively:
"It's critical just because when I'm aggressive, it gives them a new look. Teams mainly focus on Rowan and Kaleb, but if I'm being aggressive, too, it gives them another driving lane because they're not going to help (defensively) if I'm the corner."
On why he is good defensively:
"I would just say the I.Q. and the reads I get of an offensive player. If they come off a screen, I know he's probably going to throw a skip pass, so I get a hand up to get a deflection. It's really just knowing the game."
On significance of winning tourney:
"It would mean a lot. We had a lot of doubters at the beginning of the conference season and now we're top four. We already beat the odds in that case, but we are not done yet. We still have to win three more games."
FAU is a very tall team but hardly dominant inside offensively. If Tulane closes out on the 3-point shooters like it has at home but has not done away from home recently, it will be hard for FAU to win. Oppnents have hit more 3s against Tulane in conference games than anyone else in the league, but are hitting them at the third-lowest percentage, which is literally the concept behind the matchup zone--to force teams to settle for low-percentage shots. The biggest concern is FAU leads the league in blocked shots, and Tulane has three guys who do damage close to the rim-Rowan Brumbaugh on drives, Gregg Glenn off the dribble in the post, and Kaleb Banks when he is feeling confident--and all of them could be affected by the shot blockers.
If Tulane gets past FAU, it likely will play Memphis in the semis, but not definitely. Wichita State, which plays Memphis in less than two hours, was one of two league teams to beat the Tigers and gave them a tough fight in Memphis the first time they met. I don't like Tulane's chances to beat Memphis in the semis because the Tigers have experienced players who know how to win, but if Wichita State did the Wave a solid, I'd very much like the Wave's chances against the Shockers.
I talked to Ron Hunter, Kam Williams and Brumbaugh Wednesday.
HUNTER
On being excited about chances:
"I think since I've been here this is probably the best opportunity in regards to the defense teams we're bringing, and we don't have to play the No. 1 team in the country (Houston). We've been ousted by them a couple of times (in 2021 and 2022), but we know it's still going to be tough. There are a lot of good teams playing good basketball. I think there are going to be some serious upsets in this tournament just because from top to bottom anybody can beat anybody on any given day, but I feel good where I am with this young group. They've had a great year and the confidence is there. That's what I like."
On Kam Williams needing to be aggressive:
"He has to be aggressive early. There is only so much we can do. We run things for him and he's not going to be open for very long. That's what he's got to understand. In high school you can be open for a long time. Here he's not going to open for a long time, but it's going to be a collective effort of a lot of guys. What I love about this group is I don't have to rely on one guy to have a great game. We've had different guys step up at different times of the year, and I like that about this group, and I also know the fact that we can defend. I'm really excited about it, but the hardest one to win is the first one. Everybody thinks it's the last one. The first one is the hardest to win."
On being 2-0 in AAC quarterfinals coming off a bye:
"I love your numbers. They scare me sometimes, but no, my philosophy is that you've got to win the first one, and I put everything into that first game because after that, everybody is the same. We don't know who we play (they practiced Wednesday as if the opponent was FAU, which it is), but we have to be ready to play, and that's the key."
On five starters who can score:
"We haven't had that, and what I also love is that we've had great bench play. It's the best bench play we've had since I've been here, so I'm not afraid to play some of those guys in tournament play when every possession means something. There are eight or nine guys that I have problem playing and know that they can come in and help us out."
On Brumbaugh averaging more than 37 minutes in conference play:
"I'm probably going to cut him to about 39.9 for the tournament. We'll give him about a five-second rest. He can rest in the summer. Right now we want to play three great basketball days. That's what I keep telling these guys."
BRUMBAUGH
On importance of Kam Williams being aggressive:
"It's super important. When he gets in the paint and he's getting downhill it opens up the whole game because everyone plays him as a really good shooter, so they try to run him off the line. If he can get in the paint and start creating because he has a great feel, it just opens up our offense so much."
On Williams as deadeye shooter:
"It's not like it's just in games. He does it in practice every day. Even when he misses a shot in games, I always think the next one's going in just because he's always working. He probably makes 85 to 90 percent of the shots he shoots in practice."
On confidence of whole team going into tournament:
"We're very confident, but we have to make sure that we stay even keel, too, because they can go on one early run in the game and you can lose all your confidence. You've just got to keep playing the game like it's our last, which it literally could be."
On not having road crowds to deal with being beneficial:
"Definitely. We struggled early on neutral sites, but we are different team right now 100 percent. How we closed out the conference, us being picked so low, we've got a lot of external motivation. We obviously all love each other and we love coach Hunter, so we have a lot of internal motivation, too."
WILLIAMS
On how he developed his shot:
"That's the main thing thing I was working on growing up. My dad always used to say that if you could shoot, you could space the floor for others, so that was the first skill that I worked on."
On best part of his shot:
"I I just know I put in a lot of work when nobody's around so I have the form, release and everything."
On why he chose Tulane:
"Honestly when I came on a visit I already knew I was coming here because the coaching staff was good, the people were good, the facilities."
On confidence entering tournament:
"We're very confident. We trust our work. We work on a lot of different things in practice--defense to offense, transition, everything. It doesn't matter who we are matched up against. We just know that we trust our defense against theirs and our work ethic is going to be better than them."
On road struggles maybe not being the same at neutral site:
"You could say that a little bit. When you are at home, the fans play a critical part in the energy that you bring, so now it's neutral. Nobody really has X amount of fans more than the others, so now it just comes down to the people on the court."
On importance of him being aggressive offensively:
"It's critical just because when I'm aggressive, it gives them a new look. Teams mainly focus on Rowan and Kaleb, but if I'm being aggressive, too, it gives them another driving lane because they're not going to help (defensively) if I'm the corner."
On why he is good defensively:
"I would just say the I.Q. and the reads I get of an offensive player. If they come off a screen, I know he's probably going to throw a skip pass, so I get a hand up to get a deflection. It's really just knowing the game."
On significance of winning tourney:
"It would mean a lot. We had a lot of doubters at the beginning of the conference season and now we're top four. We already beat the odds in that case, but we are not done yet. We still have to win three more games."