The signs are positive for Tulane's first good season in the AAC since joining the league, but we will know a lot more after today's game against struggling South Florida. The two teams played in very similar circumstances in 2014-15--the Wave's first year in the AAC--when Tulane was 2-1 after road wins against Memphis and ECU to start league play and USF was struggling. Tulane survived, winning in OT, but it was an ugly performance that foretold the Wave's impending collapse. That team simply was not good enough to hang with most of the teams in the AAC.
What I am looking for today is a complete, comprehensive victory of the type Tulane has had only once at home in its first seven years of AAC play. The Wave beat USF 94-71 in 2016-17, Mike Dunleavy's first year, and although that win turned out to mean nothing, good teams should take care of bad teams easily at home. If Tulane handles business today, it will set up a big game next Wednesday at Wichita State, which was the consensus third-place choice in the league before the season. The AAC appears weak this year, and even Houston is down its best player and another key performer for the rest of the season with injuries. Ron Hunter believes his group can contend for the title, which would require a gigantic leap for a program that never has finished better than 6-12 in the AAC. We will begin finding out today whether the incredible first half at Cincinnati--by far the best stretch of basketball Tulane has played since I returned to New Orleans in 2008--was more than a blip on the radar. Cincinnati rebounded to pound SMU at home, leading by as many as 25 points in the second half--and SMU was a consensus top-four pick in the league in the preseason.
Tulane's starting lineup is effective, with Jalen Cook an explosive scorer, Jaylen Forbes an explosive streak shooter (who needs to be more consistently aggressive), Kevin Cross a mismatch for opponents with his size and play-making ability, and Sion James capable of good stretches on both ends of the floor. If Scott Spencer can start shooting like he did at La Salle, it would be a big help. The bench is weak, but Jadan Coleman is hitting 50 percent of his 3s as a shooting specialist. Tylan Pope is not providing much help but has shown he is capable in the past, and DeVon Baker, a proven scorer at UNC Asheville, may improve as he gets more comfortable playing in a higher-caliber conference. Even R.J. McGee has provided some good minutes, although he took a terrible shot in OT right after Cook fouled out, costing Tulane its final lead.
I do see a path to conference contention for this team, but the margin for error is small. If the Wave loses today, it will be back to the drawing board, but if it wins and looks good doing it, the season can get interesting.
Tulane is 7-5 against USF, the only team it has a winning record against in the AAC. The Bulls are last in the league in scoring (57.3) and last in the league in shooting percentage (.373, fourth-to-last out of 358 D1 teams). This is a game a good team absolutely, positively should would win comfortably if it plays hard. Let's see what happens this afternoon.
What I am looking for today is a complete, comprehensive victory of the type Tulane has had only once at home in its first seven years of AAC play. The Wave beat USF 94-71 in 2016-17, Mike Dunleavy's first year, and although that win turned out to mean nothing, good teams should take care of bad teams easily at home. If Tulane handles business today, it will set up a big game next Wednesday at Wichita State, which was the consensus third-place choice in the league before the season. The AAC appears weak this year, and even Houston is down its best player and another key performer for the rest of the season with injuries. Ron Hunter believes his group can contend for the title, which would require a gigantic leap for a program that never has finished better than 6-12 in the AAC. We will begin finding out today whether the incredible first half at Cincinnati--by far the best stretch of basketball Tulane has played since I returned to New Orleans in 2008--was more than a blip on the radar. Cincinnati rebounded to pound SMU at home, leading by as many as 25 points in the second half--and SMU was a consensus top-four pick in the league in the preseason.
Tulane's starting lineup is effective, with Jalen Cook an explosive scorer, Jaylen Forbes an explosive streak shooter (who needs to be more consistently aggressive), Kevin Cross a mismatch for opponents with his size and play-making ability, and Sion James capable of good stretches on both ends of the floor. If Scott Spencer can start shooting like he did at La Salle, it would be a big help. The bench is weak, but Jadan Coleman is hitting 50 percent of his 3s as a shooting specialist. Tylan Pope is not providing much help but has shown he is capable in the past, and DeVon Baker, a proven scorer at UNC Asheville, may improve as he gets more comfortable playing in a higher-caliber conference. Even R.J. McGee has provided some good minutes, although he took a terrible shot in OT right after Cook fouled out, costing Tulane its final lead.
I do see a path to conference contention for this team, but the margin for error is small. If the Wave loses today, it will be back to the drawing board, but if it wins and looks good doing it, the season can get interesting.
Tulane is 7-5 against USF, the only team it has a winning record against in the AAC. The Bulls are last in the league in scoring (57.3) and last in the league in shooting percentage (.373, fourth-to-last out of 358 D1 teams). This is a game a good team absolutely, positively should would win comfortably if it plays hard. Let's see what happens this afternoon.
