Tulane Basketball: Green Wave off to best start in four years
The Tulane Green Wave are looking to make noise in the American Athletic Association this season.
Tulane (12-6, 3-3 American) has made tremendous strides under second-year head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. The Green Wave have already doubled their win total and matched their conference win total from a year ago. They have not produced this many wins since 2014-15 when they finished the season 15-16 and 6-12 in conference play. Tulane was picked to finish 10th by AAC coaches this preseason.
Tulane does not have a signature non-conference win. But two of the Green Wave’s three conference wins are against Houston and SMU, who are a combined 27-10 on the season. The Green Wave are 9-2 at home and have a +4.1 scoring margin for the season (76.1 -72.0).
Tulane is a very unselfish team that is also highly efficient. The Green Wave rank 31st in the country in assists per game (16.6). The Wave are also 82nd in assists-to-turnover (1.83), 77th in effective field goal percentage (53.5%), and 77th in three-point shooting (37.3%). They also rank 91st in field goal percentage overall (46.3%) and 70th in shooting efficiency with 1.134 points per possession.
The Green Wave are much better on the defensive end this year as well. The Wave, who have held opponents to under 60 points three times, are permitting 72.0 points a game (145th). They rank in the top-100 in opponent effective field goal percentage and opponent shooting efficiency, allowing 1.026 points per possession.
However, what the Wave do best defensively is defend the three-point line. Tulane is holding opponents to 6.6 triples a game at a 32.1% clip. Both of those numbers put the Green Wave in the top-60 in the country.
Tulane is also not doing a shabby job on the defensive boards. The Green Wave rank 107th in defense rebounds per game and 174th in defensive rebound percentage as they are grabbing 73.4% of those rebounds. In addition, the Wave are swatting nearly five shots a contest with 1.8 blocks belonging to 6-foot-9 Blake Paul.
Guards Melvin Frazier and Cameron Reynolds lead the way for the Wave, combining for over 33 points along with nearly 12 rebounds and six assists. Frazier is averaging 16.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. He is shooting 59.1% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-6 junior has produced three double-doubles and has scored in double-figures in 16 of 18 games, which includes seven games of 20 or more points. Frazier is averaging over 17 points on 52.7% shooting.
Reynolds has collected two double-doubles and three games of double-digit rebounds. The 6-6 senior has scored in double-figures in 12 straight games and 16 times overall, topping the 20-point mark five times. He is also producing 6.4 boards and 2.3 assists a game while shooting just 42.7% from the field, but 41.7% from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Ray Ona Embo (10.0 ppg, 3.2 apg) is also scoring in double-figures.
Next: AAC Basketball: 5 answers to preseason questions
2013-14 was the last season that Tulane has finished with at least a .500 record. The Green Wave have not posted a winning record since 2012-13 when they went 20-15.