Tulane University men’s basketball has rallied back after a tough stretch of games against American opponents, defeating the University of North Texas in a close road game, making it three in a row. As the conference tournament approaches, it would take a Cinderella-type story to see this team play in March — but right now, that story feels a lot more believable than it did a few weeks ago.

To understand what made Thursday’s win so satisfying, you have to go back to the game against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in January. Needing to shake things up, coach Ron Hunter called on sophomore Luke Rasmussen, who provided a spark off the bench — a spark that soon landed him in the starting lineup. 

“Things started to turn for us when we put Luke in the lineup at the end of the Charlotte game,” Hunter said after the game. 

That small moment of accountability quietly changed the season’s trajectory. Scotty Middleton came off the bench with something to prove and, over the following weeks, became one of the most dangerous shooters in the conference. What followed was a win at the University of Memphis and another gritty road win at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

Then came North Texas, a team that had beaten Tulane the last five times they faced off. What could have been a reality check for the Green Wave brought this team closer than ever. A 15-point comeback in the second half has me thinking this Tulane team still has something to prove. 

It was such great ball movement, every player touching the ball and looking to attack. Plus, on the defensive side, Tulane looked hungry. Rasmussen gives this team an edge defensively when he’s on the floor. 

Hunter summed it up better than anyone could: “Earlier in the year, when we’d get down 15, we had no chance. We have grown up so much.”

That’s the real story here. Not the three-game win streak or conference tournament seeding — the fact that this team is genuinely different from the one that sleepwalked through January. There’s a confidence in them now — a willingness to compete in moments where they used to fade. 

Does this team make a run in March? Who knows. The American Conference doesn’t make anything easy, and Tulane still has a lot of work left to do. But after what we just watched against North Texas, I’m not writing them off.