College basketball’s most exciting and all-around captivating month is upon the sports world. Like the saying for the month goes, March has teams either coming in like lion or like lamb.
One of those lambs is the Tulane Green Wave. After a promising mid-season surge, the Wave have all but cooled off in the past two weeks, losing three straight (two at home) and leaving fans wondering just how soon season’s end may come.
The slump leaves Tulane (10-19, 3-13 American) bringing up the rear in an American Athletic Conference that’s soon headed to its annual tournament in Orlando. However, if the Green Wave don’t change something soon, they could again be looking at another early exit in Florida.
Where has it all gone south for a team that, until this recent drop off, was putting up numbers good enough to contend with AAC juggernauts? Free throws certainly haven’t been a helping hand in Tulane’s recent struggles. The team has missed 16 from the line in its last three games.
The offensive woes don’t end there, though, as the Wave have shot a mere 22 three-point shots in those games, all resulting in losses. With such lackluster shooting, Tulane cannot afford to be nearly as slow on defense as it has been in recent weeks. Seven blocks compared to 46 fouls (last three games) do not define a winning formula.
With all that being said, Tulane still has a chance to correct things before it departs for the AAC tournament. Two games stand between the Wave and the conference’s playoff, which means there is still time to climb the standings (at least a little) before the season comes to a close.
If Tulane can find the spark it had amidst its mid-February surge, then it can run the small table that’s left in front. The Wave will need top performances from their stars. Seniors Malik Morgan and Louis Dabney must step up and score points for a Tulane team that finds them hard to come by. Morgan, who led the team with 15 points in their most recent loss to SMU, has averaged 12.3 per game on the year. Dabney has 14.6.
Defensively, Tulane will look to forward Dylan Osetkowski to continue his play at the boards. Osetkowski has averaged 9.1 rebounds per game (254 total) and has recorded 34 steals this season.
If these players can play to the talent that their numbers have shown, then, for the final two games, things can peak at the right time for a Green Wave team that has had an otherwise forgettable season.
It is more than likely that the AAC tournament will have low-ranked Tulane up against one of the conference’s premier teams; a matchup that undoubtedly doesn’t favor the Wave. However, the kids from New Orleans have a chance to make some noise if they can find a way to mesh it all together.
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