Conference play kicked off just over two weeks ago for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and both teams are off to a hot start. The men’s team, which entered conference play with six wins and seven losses, seems to be hitting their stride at an opportune time as they have begun conference play with three wins and only one loss thus far. The women’s team had a solid start to the season, going 7-4 in non-conference play, and have remained steady with three wins and two losses to kick off conference play.  

There was plenty of scrutiny over the men’s team’s disappointing season a year ago, and with another slow start in non-conference play this season, it was fair to begin speculating about head coach Ron Hunter’s job security, especially considering this is the final year of his current contract. However, Hunter’s team has looked completely different since their huge conference-opening victory over University of North Carolina at Charlotte 83-68, and the Tulane University Green Wave hasn’t slowed down since.  

Led by breakout star forward Kaleb Banks, averaging 18.1 points per game, and a surprisingly productive season from freshman Kam Williams, averaging almost 10 points per game on nearly 43% shooting from beyond the arc, the Wave has started to click. This team has tons of length and athleticism and is benefiting greatly from continued experience, which this team lacked entering the season. 

On the women’s side, first-year head coach Ashley Langford has her team competing in a highly competitive American Athletic Conference, currently sitting in fifth place. The team is led by transfer forward Sherese Pittman, who followed Langford from Stony Brook University, averaging 13 points per game, and returners Amira Mabry and Kyren Whittington, averaging 12.2 and 11.8 points per game. They are experienced, balanced and have the length to match up with almost any team in the country. It will be interesting to see how Langford’s team gels as they continue to get more comfortable playing with each other in her system. 

The Tulane men’s team will have their hands full to finish off the month of January with matchups versus four teams with winning records, including Florida Atlantic University, Temple University, Rice University and the No. 18 University of Memphis Tigers. It will be a great opportunity for fans to see if this recent upswing in performance is real and if there is any hope of a potential postseason turnaround. The women’s team has an excellent opportunity to bolster their early conference record with their next two matchups coming against struggling teams, first the 7-11 Wichita State University Shockers before facing off against a drowning 3-12 Memphis team. 

You can catch both teams in action on Wednesday, Jan. 15, where the men’s team will be facing off against FAU in Devlin Fieldhouse at 6:30 p.m. CST on ESPN+ and the women’s team will be facing off against the Wichita State Shockers on the road at 6 p.m. CST on ESPN+.