It was a tough week to be a Green Wave fan. Both the Tulane University men’s and women’s basketball teams hit the road and came home empty-handed — though neither squad went down without a fight.
The men’s squad traveled to Tampa, Florida on Sunday to face the University of South Florida, a team currently riding high and leading the conference. The Bulls made it clear from the jump that they were not in the mood to share the spotlight. USF jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes, stretched it to 49-38 at halftime and never looked back — handing the Green Wave a 90-62 defeat.
The loss stings for a few reasons. For one, it clinched at least a share of the American Conference regular-season title for South Florida and gives Tulane a harder road in the conference tournament. USF’s Wes Enis was the headliner, dropping a game-high 25 points, while Izaiyah Nelson added 14 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high six assists.
For Tulane, Curtis Williams Jr. did his best to keep things respectable, finishing with 27 points, including five 3-pointers. But the Green Wave were dominated in the paint, outscored 42-14 and turned the ball over 18 times, which USF converted into 20 points. That is a recipe for a blowout and that is exactly what happened.
If the men’s loss was a blowout, the women’s loss was the kind that lingers. Tulane traveled to Boca Raton, Florida to face the Florida Atlantic University on Tuesday night and came within a whisker of pulling off the win — before ultimately falling 61-57.
The Green Wave was tied at 55 with 43 seconds remaining, after a clutch steal by CC Mays led to two free throws to knot it up. But FAU answered with a 3-pointer of its own with 30 seconds left, and Tulane could not recover in time. It was the kind of game that could have gone either way on a different night.
Looking ahead, both teams now turn the page with the regular season winding down and the AC Championship on the horizon. The women return home Saturday to host South Florida at 2 p.m. in what will be their regular-season finale. The men head to Philadelphia to take on Temple University on Thursday, one of their final two remaining games before the conference tournament begins.
The Green Wave may be licking its wounds right now, but there is still plenty of basketball left to be played.