Tulane is right where it should be at 4-4 in the AAC after missing a huge opportunity against Memphis at the Smoothie King Center, forcing the Green Wave to beat league-leading Tulsa to avoid going 0-3 in its home stretch.
Tulane won two games comfortably--at Memphis and East Carolina--and lost two games fair and square--Temple and SMU at home. The other four games could have gone either way, and the Wave made enough plays down the stretch to beat Houston and USF and not enough plays to beat UCF and Memphis.
Beating Tulsa will be difficult. Although the Wave matches up better with the Golden Hurricane than SMU, Tulsa has won 18 consecutive conference games dating back to midseason in Conference USA last year, taking their last eight regular-season games, three games in the CUSA tourney and the first seven this season. Tulsa's quickness wears opponents down as much as other teams' size, although it struggled at doormat East Carolina over the weekend, winning by two points.
Tulsa guards Shaq Harrison and James Woodard may be the two best players in the AAC, and it is hard to see how Tulane will be able to contain their penetration for 40 minutes. Quite simply, Tulsa probably will have easier ways to score than the Wave but that's why they play the games, and this Tulane team clearly is capable of competing with almost anyone in the league, something that could not be said in the past even in weaker Conference USA.
My guess is Tulane's chances for a high finish in the AAC went out the window in the loss to Memphis, when the Wave simply did not play well enough for most of the game to deserve to win even thought it had a terrific chance in the last minute. The schedule is too tough in the next month and Tulane simply doesn't have enough scoring options unless someone rises up (see front page Q&A with Keith Pinckney). There's too much pressure on Lou Dabney, Jonathan Stark and Jay Hook to manufacture all the points.
If the Wave wins tonight, the second half of the conference schedule could get very interesting.
If the Wave loses tonight, it will be interesting to see how the team holds together. This has been the toughest, most resilient group in Conroy's tenure, but the inability to put the ball in the basket for long stretches will frustrate any team.
Tulane won two games comfortably--at Memphis and East Carolina--and lost two games fair and square--Temple and SMU at home. The other four games could have gone either way, and the Wave made enough plays down the stretch to beat Houston and USF and not enough plays to beat UCF and Memphis.
Beating Tulsa will be difficult. Although the Wave matches up better with the Golden Hurricane than SMU, Tulsa has won 18 consecutive conference games dating back to midseason in Conference USA last year, taking their last eight regular-season games, three games in the CUSA tourney and the first seven this season. Tulsa's quickness wears opponents down as much as other teams' size, although it struggled at doormat East Carolina over the weekend, winning by two points.
Tulsa guards Shaq Harrison and James Woodard may be the two best players in the AAC, and it is hard to see how Tulane will be able to contain their penetration for 40 minutes. Quite simply, Tulsa probably will have easier ways to score than the Wave but that's why they play the games, and this Tulane team clearly is capable of competing with almost anyone in the league, something that could not be said in the past even in weaker Conference USA.
My guess is Tulane's chances for a high finish in the AAC went out the window in the loss to Memphis, when the Wave simply did not play well enough for most of the game to deserve to win even thought it had a terrific chance in the last minute. The schedule is too tough in the next month and Tulane simply doesn't have enough scoring options unless someone rises up (see front page Q&A with Keith Pinckney). There's too much pressure on Lou Dabney, Jonathan Stark and Jay Hook to manufacture all the points.
If the Wave wins tonight, the second half of the conference schedule could get very interesting.
If the Wave loses tonight, it will be interesting to see how the team holds together. This has been the toughest, most resilient group in Conroy's tenure, but the inability to put the ball in the basket for long stretches will frustrate any team.