In December, Tulane University men’s basketball was having trouble finding its groove. Home wins over Louisiana Tech University, Portland State University and Tougaloo College, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics program, were not as decisive as they should have been.
This was a bit concerning, considering that the Green Wave was about to kick off conference play on the road against East Carolina University as their first contest on New Year’s Eve.
However, they have turned things around, as Tulane is now on a five-game winning streak.
For a team like Tulane, its only chance to make the NCAA Tournament would be via winning the American Conference. If they perform well in the regular season, they will receive a high seed for the conference tournament and potentially receive three byes, landing them in the semifinals, where they only have to win two consecutive games.
The Green Wave went to East Carolina and took care of business by a score of 79-70. Guard Rowan Brumbaugh led the team in all major categories with 19 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
Florida Atlantic University has been solid for the past couple of seasons after losing its head coach, Dusty May, to the University of Michigan. Tulane picked up its third win in a row against the Owls, 69-66. Brumbaugh scored another 20 points as his backcourt partner Asher Woods added another 16 points.
The Green Wave then traveled to take on the University of Texas at San Antonio on Jan. 10 and routed the Roadrunners, 85-52. Brumbaugh once again had a strong performance with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Forward Curtis Williams Jr. also scored 22 points.
Brumbaugh was the preseason American Conference Player of the Year, and he’s proving why he received the honor. Hopefully, he can continue this stretch of play as Tulane gets into the main part of their conference schedule.