Tulane defeats Auburn 77-62

Tulane Men's Basketball, in its home-opener against Auburn, looked extremely impressive in blowing out Auburn. What was most impressive about their performance was the intensity on the defensive side of the basketball and the depth of this team. Possibly the two best players on Tulane, David Gomez and Robinson Louisme ,got in foul trouble early in the first half and both missed over 15 minutes of the half. Yet by the end of the half, Tulane had a 9 point lead. Asim McQueen, and especially Donnie Stith, controlled the game defensively, as Auburn was not able to capitalize while Gomez and Louisme were on the bench. All the while, offensively, guards Johnny Mayhayne and Eric Vianney combined for 5 threes in the first half. If Tulane can continue to play defense like that and get good outside shooting, they are going to be a tough out against any team they play.

Considering their performance and their upcoming schedule, the Green Wave could conceivably be 5-0 heading to their matchup on the road against Syracuse. And that game may be the most important game all year to determining whether or not Tulane has a chance of making the NCAA tournament. To make the NCAA tournament, you need to beat good teams on the road. Considering Tulane is not in a major conference, it is even harder for them to make the tournament. A win against Syracuse on the road would validate Tulane as a legitimate team. It is also not an impossible task either. Syracuse is a tough team, and even tougher at home, but this is not a team that has overwhelming talent. They are not ranked in the pre-season poll, and for good reason. Syracuse is certainly a good team, but at the end of the year expect them to be a bubble team for the NCAA tournament like they have in the past few years (in other words, certainly beatable).