Sure, it may still be December, but with a 79-71 win over St. John's of the Big East, the Green Wave now has a top-65 RPI. The win comes following a tough loss to an outstanding St. Mary's team and a last-second 70-69 win over Georgia.
As usual with Dave Dickerson-coached teams, the Green Wave look solid defensively. The offense, though is a different story. None of the shooting guards has stepped up and filled Chris Moore's shoes as a go-to shooter, and ball handling and turnovers still seem to be an issue. The magic number this season is 70: Tulane is 6-0 when scoring 70 points or more and 1-4 when scoring less than 70.
Player of the Tournament: Kevin Sims
The sophomore is easily the Green Wave's most consistent scorer, now averaging 13.1 points per game and scoring double digits in every game but two this season. Still, when Sims puts up more than 10 shots in a game, the Green Wave is 2-4, compared to 5-0 when he puts up less than 10 shots. What this means is the Green Wave offense is at its best when Sims is hitting the three-pointers the defense gives him but primarily attacking the basket whenever possible so he can either get an easy bucket, setup his teammates, or draw a foul. Sims scored a season high 21 points against St. Johns and average 18 points per game for the tournament, earning all-tournament honors.
Stat of the Tournament : 31
That's how many minutes Robinson Louisme played in his 21-point performance against St. Johns. The redshirt junior has had problems with stamina and staying out of foul trouble over the past few years, but he still remains the most efficient player on Tulane's roster. If he can play 30 solid minutes a game and one of the shooting guards steps up, Tulane will finish no less than 3rd, possibly 2nd, in Conference USA.
Quote of the Tournament: Dave Dickerson
"I've very, very proud of our team and the way we handled ourselves and got better from game one to game three. I think it's very tremendous for our program to come to a national tournament like the Rainbow Classic and come away with victories over teams from the Southeastern Conference and Big East Conference.
Coming up: Tulane will play Alabama State (12/28) and LSU (1/2) to conclude its nonconference schedule.
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