Wave Sports

Baseball vs. Marshall

2008-04-05T18:21:00.006-05:00

The Herd come out with the victory tonight 7-4. Pitcher Steve Blevins threw 151 total pitches and got the complete game victory. The Wave fall to 21-9 on the year with the rubber game coming up tomorrow at 1 pm.

After six innings, the Herd still lead by 2, at 6-4. Loup was replaced after 4 1/3 innings and gave up 5 runs (2 earned). Marshall scored three runs in the top of the fifth to make 5-1 but the Wave responded with 1 in the bottom of the inning and two in the bottom of the sixth on a home run by Sam Honeck.

Through the first three innings, Marshall has a 2-0 lead over the Wave. Marshall scored their runs on a single and then a throwing error by Rob Segedin in the top of the third. The Wave have mustered just one hit so far, but have drawn two walks. Aaron Loup has given up just three hits, but has struggled with his control and has walked three batters. It could be a quick outing for Loup as he has thrown 70 pitches already.

Baseball Falls to SELA, 12-11

2008-03-25T22:52:00.002-05:00

Well I was way off about this being a low-scoring game. The Green Wave scored three runs in the ninth inning, but the game-tying run was gunned down at the plate and Tulane fell 12-11. Starter Jonathan Garret only lasted three innings, giving up two runs on five hits. But reliever Trey Martin and Preston Claiborne struggled mightily, giving up a combined 10 runs in four innings.

Tulane is now 1-4 away from Turchin-Greer, a disturbing fact to consider as conference play approaches. Still, a lot of the young players will continue to improve over the next few months.

Baseball taking on SELA tonight

2008-03-25T16:02:00.003-05:00

Well, the staff along with the rest of the student body is back from Spring Break. After a great weekend against lowly Oakland, the Green Wave will take on Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond. The Lions have struggled behind the plate this season, so expect Tulane starter Jonathan Garret, who is sporting a 2.31 ERA in four starts, to have a good night. Lefty Adam Jones (1-0, 3.38) will start for the Lions. You can keep track of the game using CSTV's gametracker and then check back with us for a recap and quotes.

Tulane 4, Northwestern State 3

2008-03-11T11:08:00.004-05:00

The Green Wave topped Northwestern State 4-3 in 11 innings Tuesday night thanks to a two-out, game-winning single by Warren McFadden. The hit was poetic justice for the junior, who has struggled mightily so far this season with runners on base.

While it may not seem like it from the final result, the Green Wave offense took a more aggressive approach and hit the ball well. While in the short term it resulted in a low pitch-count for Northwestern State starter Kyle Broughton (89 pitches in almost 8 innings), it should payoff in the long run for guys who have been tentative at the plate so far this season.

Post Game Quotes vs. East Carolina

2008-03-09T11:51:00.003-05:00

Senior forward David Gomez

On getting a win in his final home game

"I can't stop smiling. We've been in this situation before and the efforts have been real close. It's only fitting that we go out on top in a close game like this."

"Give East Carolina a lot of credit. They were draining threes all game but we hung in there, grabbed some big rebounds, and scored when we had to at the end."

On looking ahead to the conference tournament

"This definitely gives us great motivation. I'm really excited about going to Memphis and see what we're going to do."

Senior forward Donnie Stith

On finally getting a win in a close game

"We've lost three close games this season and we made the plays we had to at the end and pulled it out."

On playing his final home game

"My mom, dad, uncle, and aunt were here and it was great to play in front of them because they haven't seen me play in a while. It was great for all three seniors to go out with a bang."

On looking ahead to the conference tournament

"Our confidence never really wavered but it does feel good to get a win going into the conference tournament."

On making the two free throws to give the Wave a 2 point lead with 4 seconds left

"I just told myself that we got to win this game. I stepped up, took my time, and knocked them down."

Head coach Dave Dickerson

On breaking the slide

"Im just proud of our team and especially our seniors for having the fortitude, toughness, and character to stick with it. I've seen a lot of teams that would have quit."

"Hats off to our seniors. We're not where we are as a program without those three guys."

On the team's response to East Carolina's hot shooting

"They (ECU) made 12 threes and Jenkins was playing lights out. But our guys were determined not to lose this game. Dave (Gomez) came to the bench one time and said we're not going to lose this game."

On the play of the frontcourt

"The strength of our team are those guys up front. They continued to play like they have all season. Dave and Donnie delivered tonight but Kevin (Sims) and Eric (Vianney) played incredibly well."

On back to back winning seasons

"What I'm trying to do here at Tulane is raise the bar for the entire program. We have a chance to be good if we do certain things the right way."

"We have to start some way. First back to back winning seasons in a decade. I'm disappointed that we lost 8 games in a row but this is the best I've felt in a long, long time."

On looking ahead to the conference tournament

"This win should give us great confidence going into the tournament. We've had classic games against both UTEP and Tulsa and there are some things we can draw on from both of those games. March Madness is an entirely different beast and we have to re-invent ourselves in order to be ready to play either of those teams"

Men's Basketball vs. East Carolina 2nd Half

2008-03-08T18:55:00.045-06:00

0.0 Hinnant's long range three pointer is on-line but hits the back iron and rims out. The Wave finally finally snap their slide.

4.0 Stith powers his way in and is fouled by Fields. Stith will have two free throws. The first rolls in. Quick timeout called by ECU. The second is good off of the back iron.

34.4 Gomez is called for the foul on Jenkins, who misses the first free throw. The second is good and the game is tied at 75. The Wave will get the last possession of regulation after the timeout.

48.3 Blair's pass is deflected out of bounds by Wheaton and ECU will have a sideout down by 1 and 25 on the shot clock.

58.9 Stith's jumper is short once again and ECU gets the ball.

1:26 Stith misses the jumper but Gomez grabs a big rebound.

1:58 Jenkins hits a big three pointer from the left wing to cut it to 1. All of his made field goals have been from long range tonight, a scorching 8-11 from beyond the arc. Timeout Tulane.

2:11 Vianney is fouled again by Farmer and has a 1 and 1. The front end is good and the second goes in. 75-71 Wave.

2:28 Vianney is fouled driving the lane and has a 1 and 1 opportunity. The first is good as is the second. Wave up 73-71.

2:48 Jenkins is fouled again and will shoot two. The first rolls out but the second is good. Tie ball game.

3:02 Stith is fouled shooting a three pointer and he will have big free throws coming up. The first is good. The second one rattles in to tie the game. The third is nothing but net and the Wave lead 71-70.

3:21 Hinnant is fouled by Wheaton and will have two free crucial free throws. The first is good as is the second. ECU by 2.

3:50 Jenkins rattles in the front end of a one and one. He hits the second free throw to tie it up at 68.

The action's been fast and furious the last 5 minutes with the teams exchanging three pointers. The Wave lead by 2 with just under four minutes remaining. Only a win would be appropriate on Senior Night.

4:24 Vianney hits a three pointer from the baseline and the Wave lead once again, 68-66.

5:00 Hinnant hits a three pointer and ECU leads 66-65.

5:40 Sims hits a layup and is fouled. He completes the three point play to give the Wave a 2 point lead. 65-63.

6:43 Gomez comes right back with a layup to give Tulane the lead at 62-61.

7:03 Legan hits the three pointer to make it 61-60 ECU.

7:23 Wheaton hits the layup and thought he had a 3 point opportunity. Instead, he's called for the charge.

7:56 Farmer hits two free throws to make it a 2 point game. Young then steals it from Sims but misses the layup.

8:13 Stith forces up a shot, grabs the rebound and misses the putback. Gomez grabs the miss and is fouled going back up. He hits one of two free throws to extend the lead out to 4. That was Gomez's first miss from the free throw line today.

8:37 Young is held up by Sims and the Wave will have it as the possession arrow favors them.

8:48 Sims hits two free throws to give the Wave a three point lead.

9:10 Wheaton hits a three pointer from the right baseline to make it 57-56 Wave.

9:25 Farmer hits the layup to give ECU a 2 point lead.

9:38 Gomez hits the jumper but is called for the offensive foul.

9:43 Sims misses the layup but the ball rolls off of ECU. Tulane will have the ball back with a fresh 35.

10:39 Stith tips in a Louisme miss to tie it up again.

11:14 Louisme is fouled as he shoots the right handed hook and will have two free throws. First is no good as is the second. Still a two point game

11:56 Fields tips in a missed three pointer for ECU. Wave down by 2, 54-52.

12:20 Stith hits a jumper from the free throw line to tie the game up once again at 52.

12:52 Louisme follows a missed Stith three point attempt to cut it to 2.

13:19 Puckett fouls Hinnant shooting a three pointer. Hinnant misses the first, hits the second, and makes the third. ECU up by 4, 52-48.

13:31 Fields hits a layup to give ECU a 2 point lead, 50-48.

14:00 Jenkins hits his seventh three pointer of the ball game to tie it up at 48.

14:35 Sims' pass on the fast break is bobbled by Louisme and it rolls out of bounds. It will be ECU ball after the timeout.

14:48 Gomez answers with a jumper of his own to extend the lead out to three once again. 48-45.

15:15 Blair hits a one-handed jumper in the lane to cut the lead to 1.

16:17 Great strip by Puckett as he reaches in and knocks it off of Blair.

17:13 Louisme hits a reverse layup for his 13th point of the game. Wave up three, 46-43

18:06 Stith hits two free throws after being fouled.

18:44 Blair hits a jumper from the baseline and ECU has their first lead of the game, 43-42.

19:11 Jenkins hits a three pointer from the top of the arc to cut it to 1. He's shooting lights out from long range, now 6-7.

Halftime Leaders

Gomez 5-6 FGs, 6-6 FTs 16 points
Louisme 5-9 FGs, 11 points
Stith 6 points, 3 assists

Men's Basketball vs. East Carolina 1st Half

2008-03-08T18:08:00.037-06:00

1.8 Stith can't get the shot off and commits the foul on Farmer on the fast break. He hits both free throws as the Pirates draw even closer. A bad end to what has otherwise been a very positive first half.

40.3 Jenkins draws the foul on Vianney, his third and has two free throws. He hits both.

1:17 Stith rattles in the first of two free throws. The second is long and Carolina comes away with it.

1:55 Gomez banks it in off glass.

2:37 Jenkins hits another three pointer, this time with the shot clock running down to cut it to 39-34.

3:17 Gomez hits two free throws and is still perfect from the stripe. 39-31 Wave. As a team, Tulane continues to maintain a perfect clip from the line.

With 3:17 left in the half, Gomez will have two free throws after the timeout as the Wave look to reassert themselves after a 6-0 run that cut their lead in half.

4:22 Jenkins with another three pointer and the Wave lead is quickly down to six.

4:43 Jenkins now 3-3 from long distance as the Pirates cut it to 9.

5:11 Gomez hits another pair of freebies to give him 12 on the night. 37-25 Wave.

5:41 Wheaton misses the jumper but Gomez is there to grab the offensive rebound and is fouled going back up. Gomez hits both free throws, as the Wave continue to keep it a double-digit margin.

6:21 Vianney hits two free throws to make it a double digit game at 33-23.

6:57 Gomez hits another tough reverse layup after a nice pass from Mayhane. 31-21 Wave. Gomez now has 8 to go along with 6 boards.

7:32 Gomez drives to the free throw line and hits the jumper. Wave up 29-21

8:23 Sims hits a long three pointer with 7 on the shot clock.

9:13 Louisme hits the short jumper and is fouled and will have a free throw coming. The free throw is good. 24-19 Wave

10:12 Gomez hits the tough reverse layup to give the Wave the lead right back. 21-19

11:21 Hinnant hits yet another three pointer to tie up the game at 19

12:11 Louisme hits another soft hook after East Carolina hit another three pointer, their 4th of the ball game. 19-16 Tulane

12:30 Good pass from Puckett as he finds Louisme underneath the basket, who lays it in easily.

12:54 Puckett fouls Hinnant shooting a three pointer, who hits two of three from the line. 15-11 Wave.

13:20 Jenkins hits his second three pointer of the game from the right baseline. 15-9 Tulane

13:40 Vianney steals the pass and Stith is fouled on the fast-break. Stith hits both free throws.

14:01 Sims drops in a baseline jumper for a 13-6 Wave lead.

14:19 Jenkins hits a three from the right wing for East Carolina. 11-6 Wave

15:39 Stith hits a three pointer for an 11-3 Wave lead.

Interesting note: Kris Richard is missing from tonight's game. No news about his absence.

17:11 Gagnon hits a three pointer for the Pirates' first points. 8-3 Tulane

17:17 Good movement by the Wave leads to a Louisme hook shot that goes in. 8-0 Wave

17:45 Gomez drops it in after a Louisme miss. East Carolina timeout as the Wave are off to a hot start.

18:11 Sims hits a layup for an early 4-0 Tulane lead

18:47 Louisme misses the jumper but gets his own rebound and goes back up and scores the first points of the game. Wave 2 Carolina 0

19:30 East Carolina misses the first shot and Gomez is tied up. The possession belongs to the Wave

Starting Lineups

Tulane

Stith
Gomez
Wheaton
Sims
Louisme

East Carolina

Farmer
Hinnant
Gagnon
Jenkins
Blair

Rick Jones gets extension, sounds off on schedule

2008-03-07T02:13:00.004-06:00

A good year for Tulane baseball head coach Rick Jones just got a little bit better today. Tulane Athletics Director Rick Dickson announced Thursday that Jones' contract has been extended through 2015. The extension was in the works in 2005, according to Dickson, but Hurricane Katrina delayed the negotiations.

"It was our intent following the 2005 College World Series to synchronize an announcement of a contract extension for Rick Jones with the opening of the new stadium, but that was obviously delayed," Dickson said. "This extension will secure Tulane's baseball future through the Rick Jones era and the completion of his coaching career."

No complaints here. Heck-- let's lock him up until 2030. Does

Schedule too crowded?

Speaking of Jones, here's a tease from staff writer Jon Posner's upcoming print article previewing the UC Irvine game. Jones is quoted as being upset with the new scheduling rules and the powers that be:

Coach Jones is also worried about how rested his team will be for this weekend. Thanks to new rules by the NCAA, teams are forced to have more condensed schedules. Going into Friday the Green Wave will have played ten games in 15 days. Besides the fact that his players may be fatigued, Coach Jones is just not happy with the new rule.

“We are playing a major league schedule as far as the number of games, but a major-leaguer does not have to pass 18 hours at Tulane University,” said Jones. “So there is no question that the NCAA did not look after college baseball players with this schedule.”

As Coach Jones knows though, complaining is not going to change the schedule and the games still have to be played. This is going to be a tough weekend, and it will take a team effort to come away with a series victory. While the schedule so far has been hard, Coach Jones knows that it is only for the best and it is a great opportunity for the Green Wave to see what the national competition is like.

He's definitely got a legitimate beef, and Arizona head coach Andy Lopez agrees (although it seems like the players like the new scheduling). We'll ask Tulane players how they feel about it this weekend, but I would imagine they wouldn't like it too much either. For instance, weekday starter Jonathan Garret, a junior, is also a Biomedical Engineering major. Students in the engineering school can barely balance school with minor extracurriculars while still maintaining some semblance of a social life. I wonder how Garrett does it? Sounds like an article in the making.

Season Over for Women's Basketball

2008-03-07T00:07:00.003-06:00

After ending the regular season on a high note with an impressive win against SMU, the women's basketball team fell in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament 65-58 to Marshall, in all likelihood ending their season.

According to Lisa Stockton, the team that beat Kansas St. and SMU showed up in the second half while the team that stunk it up in conference showed up in the first half. The question remains: why? Was the team not motivated, or did they not feel a sense of urgency? Any team that shoots 17% for an entire half doesn't deserve to be competitive in a game. It's hard to imagine motivation being a factor, and Marshall's defense isn't exactly the one of the best in the nation (although they are fourth in C-USA). Even if it was, there's really no excuse for shooting that poorly unless the effort or sense of urgency wasn't there.

In the end, it was a combination of the understandable inconsistency of young players and the lack of mental fortitude on this team that hurt it in conference play. When shots weren't falling, everything seemed to fall apart and the scrappy, tenacious mindset that characterized last season's team disappeared. The loss of scorers and team leaders like Montagnino and Henry

Still, there's a lot to look forward to next season. Ashley Langford should be All-Conference and, if she improves over the summer, an All-American. Slaton and Aidoo showed a lot of potential, and only Alendra Brown, Nikki Luckhurst and Dominique Philpots will graduate, leaving a number of solid role players. But in order to avoid a repeat of this season, someone will have to step up an score over 15 points per game and show they can bail the team out during offensive slumps.

Here's an unusually succinct quote from a usually-chatty Nikki Luckhurst (from the game story on the official website):

"I can't believe that it's over. It's been a great four years, I couldn't ask for anything better."

Dairy Queen Classic Recap

2008-03-02T19:01:00.004-06:00

Update: Pictures from Minnesota (scroll down a little)

Also, Baseball America interviews a few National League scouts who views Shooter Hunt as a sure-fire No.1 or No. 2 starter. Can't say I disagree.

Tulane baseball (6-2) finished out a rough weekend in Minnesota with a win over an impressive TCU team. Due to unfortunate tournament scheduling, Shooter Hunt and the Green Wave had to go up against Pepperdine ace Brett Hunter. Hunt and Hunter gave up two runs a piece, but the Tulane bullpen gave up two runs in the last to innings, while Waves reliever Nick Gaudi pitched two shutout innings to seal a 4-2 victory for Pepperdine.

While Pepperdine was bound to be a tough matchup, the loss to Minnesota on Saturday was more of a shocker. Tulane led until the eighth inning, when Vanderbilt transfer Josh Zeid and righthander Preston Claiborne gave up four runs to give Minnesota a 7-5 lead and eventually the win.

The bullpen rebounded today against TCU after freshman Robbie Broach gave up three runs in six innings. Freshman Nick Pepitone gave up a hit in 1.1 innings, and closer Mason Griffin retired the last four batters for the save. Junior Seth Henry had a pair of hits while junior Aja Barto hit a solo homer.

Overall, it wasn't an ideal weekend (especially after losing to the Gophers), but at least the team left with a win. UNO, Southern and UC Irvine loom this weekend.

Baseball crushes Louisiana-Lafayette

2008-02-27T21:24:00.008-06:00

UPDATE: Our friends over at Gopher Nation have informed us that they will be blogging this weekend. Also, be sure to check out CSTV's score updates.

Despite the freezing cold temperatures outside, a modest contingency (albeit relatively quiet and focused on keeping warm) of Tulane fans showed up to see the Green Wave pummel No. 25 Louisiana-Lafayette. Junior Anthony Scelfo notched not one, but two triples. He had three hits for the night and a walk in five plate appearances. For those who missed it, you can actually "replay" the game with CSTV's nifty gametracker.

Player of the Game: Jonathan Garrett

While Scelfo reeked havoc at the top of the lineup (along with junior Drew Allain, who looked really good at the lead-off spot again), junior starter Jonathan Garret pitched a heck of a game, giving up only a hit in six scoreless innings. Sure, the Cajuns offense might be struggling, but Garret looked sharp with his location and featured some nasty breaking balls.

Stat of the Game: 1

That's the number of earned runs the bullpen gave up today, the first its given up over the course of the young season. That puts them well short of the 2005 Tulane bullpen's feat of no runs allowed in its first 15 games. But the culprit was third baseman and part-time reliever Rob Segedin, which begs the question: should that really count?

Coming Up

The Green Wave will be in Minnesota for the Dairy Queen Classic. Its opponents will include the Gophers as well as TCU and Pepperdine (which, other than Rice and UC Irvine, may be the best team TUlane faces in the regular season).

Baseball over Southeastern Louisiana, 4-3

2008-02-27T01:28:00.004-06:00

What a thriller!! A game-winning single by junior Sam Honeck in the bottom of the 12th keeps the Green Wave undefeated. But the real MVPs tonight were the Tulane bullpen, which only allowed one run (an unearned one in the 11th inning). Junior Drew Allain did an admirable job at the top of the lineup. Here is a recap, along with quotes and a box score.

Two things worry me about this team to this point. First, let's hope the starters can go deeper than five innings so that Jones won't have to overextend the bullpen. The dominance of this unit reminds me a lot of the 2005 relief staff that didn't give up an earned run in its first 15 games of the season. Still, it will be crucial to have these arms fresh for Conference USA and (in all likelihood) postseason play. The other issue is the offense, which, other than a few big innings (caused by Illinois-Chicago's horrendous defense), looks a little shaky so far. Of course, the optimists will point out that the guys struggling so far are freshmen like infielder Rob Segedin or transfers still settling in like sophomore shortstop Josh Prince.

But overall, this team looks like it's ready for a challenge like No. 25 Louisiana-Lafayette tomorrow or Pepperdine in the Dairy Queen Classic (great name) this weekend.

Baseball Roundup: No. 18 vs. No. 25 Wednesday night in Turchin

2008-02-26T11:47:00.008-06:00

The new Baseball America (the best publication in the business) rankings are out, and Tulane jumped from No.22 to No. 18 following its sweep of Illinois-Chicago. Meanwhile, tomorrow night's opponent, Louisiana-Lafayette (2-2), jumped to No. 25 after being unranked to begin the season [UPDATE: One commenter noted correctly that ULL was actually ranked No. 19 to begin the season -- my apologies]. The only other notable ranking is Rice at No. 15, as East Carolina dropped out after a bad weekend. Here are some other rankings out there (note: future TUlane opponents Pepperdine and UC Irvine are ranked in many of these polls).

The different between Baseball America and other rankings is that the Baseball America people actually watch the games. So Arizona, for example, won two of three on the road in Georgia to start the season, a very tough place to play. Other rankings dropped Arizona a little bit for losing a game, but Baseball America put them at No. 1 because of how well they played and the competitiveness of the Sun Devil's 9-7 opening-day loss. Bottom line: I trust Baseball America's ranking more than any of the other ones.

Tonight's starters vs. SELA

Sophomore lefty Matt Petitone, a former high school All-American, will take the mound against Lions lefthander, Rene LeBlanc. Petitone is a transfer from North Carolina and a native of Garden City, N.Y.

Tomorrow Night's Starters vs. ULL

Junior right-hander Jonathan Garret will make the second start of his career Wednesday night against the No. 25 Ragin' Cajuns. He will face lefty John Zorich.

Men's Basketball vs. Southern Miss 2nd Half

2008-02-23T18:48:00.038-06:00

The Wave fall once again, 70-59. That's the fifth straight defeat after the day started with such great promise. It'll be a very disappointed locker room but the Wave still have an opportunity to salvage the season.

Gotta love the Tulane pep band who chants "education" while USM fans start their cheer

13.6 Wise hits two more free throws. Wave down 11.

25.4 Mayhane shoots a three that gets nothing but air. Stith grabs the offensive rebound. Mayhane puts up another three and is fouled. All three shots are good but the Wave trail by 9.

41.7 Stith commits the foul after Sims missed the layup. Wise with another two free throws. Both are good once again and the Wave will need a miracle down by 12.

1:02 Sims grabs Wise and commits the foul. Both free throws are good and the Wave trail by 10.

1:29 Mayhane misses the three and S. Miss brings it up slowly.

2:48 Stith is fouled hard going for the dunk. He'll have two crucial free throws after the official timeout. The first free throw is good but the second rims out. Gomez taps it out to Stith. Wave commits the turnover after it's knocked away from Stith. Southern Miss comes away with it and hits a three pointer, that could be the dagger as the Wave trail by 8.

3:02 Craft hits a jumper to push the lead out to 6.

3:30 Gomez's shot rolls in and out. Unlucky for the Wave. Southern Miss calls a timeout with 26 left on the shot clock.

4:55 Richard commits the loose-ball foul as Mayhane turned it over. One of two free throws for Craft. Richard ends up with the ball after the second free throw is no good. He outlets it to Sims who lays it in and appears to have been fouled. No call. Wave down 57-53.

5:57 Mayhane commits the shooting foul on Stephens. The first goes in and out. The 2nd is good. 56-51 Eagles.

A crucial possession game coming up for the Wave as they trail by 4 with six minutes left. Southern Miss has possession with 13 left on the shot clock.

7:05 Wheaton telegraphed that last pass and it was picked off by Wise. Wheaton commits the foul on Wise who was going in for the layup. Mayhane quickly back to the scorer's table to check in for Wheaton. Wise hits 1 of 2 free throws to make it a 4 point game.

7:44 Gomez grabs the miss by Louisme and lays it in to cut it to 1.

8:47 Sims misses his first three of the game but S. Miss turns the ball over out of bounds on the other end.

9:18 Wise drops it in high off glass to give S. Miss a 3 point lead. Dickerson calls timeout.

10:27 Stith commits the foul on Stephens who hits the layup. The free throw is long and Gomez comes up with it. Mayhane commits the turnover on the traveling violation.

10:49 Louisme hits the one handed hook to make it 49-48 Tulane

11:16 Bad foul by Wheaton as he committed the turnover right before. S. Miss in the bonus the rest of the way.

11:40 Gomez commits the foul on Wise. He hits both free throws to make it 48-47 Eagles

11:48 Louisme rolls in the jumper but is called for the offensive foul. The ball will go back to S. Miss after the official timeout. The Wave up to 61.5% from three point range.

12:26 Mayhane hits a three from the left wing to give Tulane the lead back, 47-46.

12:55 Wise hits a step back three pointer to give the Eagles the lead 46-44

13:36 Stephens hits the layup and is fouled by Stith. The three point play is not converted but Stephens rebounds his own miss and lays it back in. Wave up by 1, 44-43

14:55 Mayhane hits another three for the Wave to extend the lead out to 5. Wave shooting lights out tonight, up to 61% from the field and 7-12 from long distance.

15:38 Louisme drives the baseline and drops in a soft jumper. Wave up 2.

16:15 Richard hits the soft hook to tie it at 39 apiece.

16:51 Beasley hits a jumper to give S. Miss the lead by 2.

17:07 Richard hits another three to tie it up at 37. Richard is 3-4 so far.

17:26 Sims fouls Wise on the fastbreak to prevent the easy basket. Wise hits both and So. Miss has its biggest lead of the ball game at 3 points.

18:13 Louisme is fouled shooting a jumper and will have two free throws. Wave went 3-5 from the stripe in the first half. The first attempt is no good as is the second. Wave still up by 1, 34-33

18:50 Richard converts on a layup with the shot clock winding down to extend the lead out to three.

Southern Miss opens up in man-to-man for the first time this game it seems.

Sims leads all scorers with 15 points on 5-5 shooting, 3-3 from beyond the arc.

The Wave shot a blistering 57% from the field in the first half but still only have a 1 point cushion mainly due to 8 turnovers. If the Wave take care of the basketball in the second half, they should pull out the win.

Men's Basketball vs. Southern Miss 1st Half

2008-02-23T17:44:00.030-06:00

0.0 Gomez heaves it from half court but it is way off line. The Wave take a one point lead into halftime at 32-31.

50.4 Beasley hits two free throws to make it a one point game, 32-31.

1:13 Louisme is fouled going to the basket and will shoot two free throws. The first is good...but the second is not. Tulane grabs the offensive rebound but Gomez commits the turnover.

1:30 Wise lays it on the fastbreak and the lead is cut to two.

2:25 Sims hits a jumper from inside the free thow line.

3:16 Louisme scores on the reverse layup and the Wave back up by 4, 29-25

4:04 Shot clock violation on the Wave. Richard's heave didn't touch iron.

5:03 Courtney Beasley lays it in after a nice feed and Dickerson calls timeout as the Eagles are on a 7-0 run.

5:29 Kraft hits a three for S. Miss and the lead shrinks to 4

6:42 Sims hits another three, he's been perfect from three so far. Wave up 27-18

7:46 Richard hits the three with the shot clock running out. The Wave are up 24-16.

8:57 Mayhanne misses the three as it rolls in and then out.

9:54 Gomez commits the foul on Wise, who will have two free throw attempts. The first one is no good and the second rolls in. 21-16 Wave

10:14 Gomez scores on the short jumper. I do believe that bucket is his first of the game. Wave up 21-15

10:59 After committing the turnover, Wheaton draws the charge on S. Miss on the fastbreak attempt. It'll be Wave ball after the timeout.

11:47 Sims hits an NBA range three from the top of the key. Wave still perfect from three

12:38 Great ball fake from McQueen and he hits the soft hook to extend the lead out to 4.

13:40 Richard hits a three from the left wing to give the Wave lead 14-12. Wave 2 of 2 from long distance so far

13:59 Wise converts at the other end on the fastbreak. S. Miss up 12-11.

15:08 Sims hits the Wave's first three pointer of the game. Wave up 11-8

15:45 Wise hits another three for the Eagles. Game tied at 8

16:08 Great movement off the ball by Wheaton as he takes in the pass from Richard and lays it in easily. Wave up 3

17:02 Sims is fouled and will shoot two free throws. Sims hits the first and the second. Wave up 6-5

17:48 Great hustle by Richard is wasted as Louisme throws it too deep for Gomez to grab.

18:14 Louisme drops in the hook shot and S. Miss calls a timeout. Eustachy was not very happy.

19:19 Sims drives the lane and lays it in, he's fouled in the process but cant hit the free throw.

19:37 Andre Stephens scores the first bucket of the game for S. Miss on a jumper.

One lineup change this evening as Kris Richard starts ahead of Daniel Puckett

The crowd is very different than it was Wednesday. In fact, there may be more visiting fans than Tulane fans 10 minutes to tip-off. Looking behind me, I can count the number of students in attendance on one hand.

Tulane takes on Southern Miss in a crucial game this evening at Fogelman. Coming off of another (somewhat expected) loss this past Wednesday against Memphis, the Wave will look to stop the bleeding of four consecutive losses. The two teams met earlier in the season with Southern Miss defeating the Wave 71-54 in Hattiesburg. In that game, the Wave were plagued by poor shooting and will have to shoot better to have any chance of coming out with a victory.

Look for Dave Gomez to once again lead the Wave tonight, while the Wave will have to watch S. Miss guard Jeremy Wise very closely. The sophomore leads the Golden Eagles in scoring and is amongst the top 5 overall in Conference USA.

Baseball vs. Illinois-Chicago (Game 1)

2008-02-22T19:23:00.029-06:00

Final Score: Tulane 6, Illinois-Chicago 0.

Quotes and analysis to follow this weekend.

Ninth Inning

Top Half

The Green Wave is three outs away from winning its season opener. Closer Mason Griffin, a right-handed submariner with a great breaking ball.

Batter 1: After Rubio works the count to 1-1, the Flames pull him and put in Devin Melecio to throw off Griffin. The bizarre move doesn't pay off as Melecio hits a weak chopper to Griffin, who throws him out.

Batter 2: Altavilla, bewildered by Grffin's breaking ball, swings wildly at one way off the plate for the second out.

Batter 3: Rutto grounds out to the third baseman. Game Over.

Eighth Inning

Top Half

Batter 1: With Trey Martin pitching for the Green Wave, Ganek grounds out to start the inning.

Batter 2: Infielder Andy Leonard singles to the right field gap but can't turn it into two.

Batter 3: Mcguiggan fouls out to the right field bullpen area.

Batter 4: Garcia grounds into a force out to end the inning.

Bottom Half

Batter 1: Adam Worthington now in to pitch for the Flames. Barto leads off the inning by grounding out to the shortstop.

Batter 2: Jared Dyer, looking for the first four-hit game of his career, works the count to 2-2, then fouls off about six pitches before striking out on a pitch in the dirt. Two outs.

Batter 3: Henry pops up to end the inning. Looks like Mason Griffin will come in to close out the game for the Green Wave.

Seventh Inning

Top Half

Shooter Hunt has left the game. His line: 6.0 IP, 0 runs, 3 hits, 8 strikeouts

Batter 1: Another dribbler in front of the catcher, another great play by Dyer. He's the MVP of the game so far.

Batter 2: Schaffer grounds out to the second baseman Henry. Two outs.

Batter 3: Yet another dribbler in front of Dyer, who tosses it to first base to end the inning.

Bottom Half

Batter 1: Righty Chris Kovacevich comes in for Phillis and gets off to a good start by striking out McFadden.

Batter 2: Scelfo hits a blooper to the second baseman. Two quick outs.

Batter 3: Segedin hits a sharp grounder to the third baseman, who throws him out. Inning over.

Sixth Inning

Top Half

Batter 1: Garcia grounds out to Segedin for the first out. Tulane's defense has been outstanding so far.

Batter 2: Rubio grounds out to Segedin. Hunt is starting to pitch to contact more as the game wears on.

Batter 3: Altavilla dribbles a ball three feet in front of the catcher, Dyer, who promptly throws him out to end the inning.

Bottom Half

Batter 1: With the count full, Segedin smashes a ball throught the left side of the infield. Flames starter Grant Kohlstaedt looks vulnerable right now. I predict at least a run this inning.

Batter 2: On a 2-2 pitch, Barto makes contact on an off-speed pitch low and away and drives through the left side of the infield for a hit. The Green Wave hitters continue to take Kohlsteadt deep into counts. Runners on first and second, no outs.

Batter 3: After trying to bunt the runners over on the first pitch, Dyer gets a hit to load the bases. Kohlsteadt gets yanked by Flames coach Mike Dee, who brings in left hander Don Phillis to face Seth Henry, who usually struggles against southpaws. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict three runs this inning instead of one.

Batter 4: Henry hits a line drive down the left field line, but it lands foul. He strikes out on the next pitch. Bases still loaded, one out.

Batter 5: After telling everyone i the press box that the next pitch would be a hit, Prince sure enough dribbles one to the third baseman, than beats out the throw to make me look like a genious. 5-0 Tulane

Batter 6: Phillis, the Flames' reliever, stops a sharp grounder at his legs. With an easy force-out available at home plate, he unexplicably throws the ball to first, allowing the run to score. Runners on second and third, two outs. 6-0 Tulane.

Batter 7: Strikeout

Fifth Inning

Top Half

Batter 1: Jason Ganek strikes out looking. That's seven strikeouts for Hunt, who hasn't shown signs of slowing down yet.

Batter 2: Leonard strikes out looking. Eight strikeouts now.

Batter 3: McGuiggan successfully bunts his way on base, then gets caught stealing to end the inning. Inning over.

Bottom Half

Batter 1: Allain strikes out swinging.

Batter 2: Honeck gets under a pitch and flies out to center field. Two outs

Batter 3: McFadden beats out a throw to first on a routine grounder. The scorekeeper rules it as an error.Surpringly, that's only three for the game by the Flames despite all the mistakes they've made in the field.

Batter 4: Scelfo looks like he had a pitch to hit, but gets under the ball slightly. The ball lands just shy of the warning track.Inning over.

Thoughts so far:

Both pitchers look great so far. The difference has been Illinois-Chicago's poor defense.

Fourth inning

Top Half

Batter 1: Altavilla gets a hit to lead off the inning. It's the least he could do for botching at least three plays in the field.

Batter 2: Schaefer strikes out.

Batter 3: Coddington gets caught looking to end the inning. Hunt

Bottom Half

Batter 1: Barto makes great contact, but gets under the pitch a little bit and flies out to left field.

Batter 2: Dyer with another hit, this time a solid base hit to left field.

Batter 3: henry reaches on a dying quail to right field, but Dyer, unsure of whether the ball would drop for a hit), can't advance to third. Runners on first and second.

Batter 4: Prince grounds sharply to the third baseman, who steps on the bag and the fires the ball across the infield for a double play. Dyer's inability to advane to third comes back to haunt the Green Wave. Inning over.

Third Inning

Top Half

Batter 1: Ho-hum groundout by No. 8 hitter McGuiggan.

Batter 2: Pop-up by shortstop Garcia. Two easy outs for Hunt.

Batter 3: Ty Rubio finally gets Illinois-Chcago its first hit of the game. However, someone forgot to tell Rubio that the baselines are slippery, which means base runners are prone to over-sliding. Sure enough, Rubio over-slides and gets tagged out. Inning over.

Bottom Half

Batter 1: McFadden strikes out swinging on a 2-2 pitch.

Batter 2: Scelfo draws a walk.

Batter 3: Scelfo gets caught stealing on a perfect throw by Coddington. Segudin flies out to end the inning. Illinois-Chicago pitcher Grant Kohlstaedt has thrown a heck of a game, but his defense has let him down so far.

Second Inning

Top Half

Batter 1: Ground out by cleanup hitter Brent Schaeffer. Close call, but it looked like Tulane got the benefit of the doubt again.

Batter 2: Hunt hits catcher Kevin Coddington. Second baserunner of the game.

Batter 3: Jason Ganek strikes out on a 2-2 pitch. Hunt is throwing high 90s right now.

Batter 4: Andy Leonard strikes out as well. It's going to be a long night for Illinois-Chicago if they continue to hit like this.

Bottom Half

Batter 1: Jared Dyer crushes a fastball inside to notch the first home run in Turchin-Greer history! 4-0 Tulane

Batter 2: Seth Henry hits a sharp grounder to the shortstop Garcia, who was playing too deep to make a play. That's three infield hits for Tulane.

Batter 3: Henry steals second, then heads to third after a bad throw by the catcher. But Allain strikes out with a man on third and only one out.

Batter 4: Honeck gets robbed of an RBI on a great play by the second baseman. Inning over.

First Inning

Top Half

Batter 1: Hunt strikes out outfielder Ty Rubio on a questionable third strike to start the game. Nothing like a little home cookin' to christen Turchin-Greer.

Batter 2: Strike 'em out, throw 'em out. Hunt looks jittery, but sharp

Batter 3: Hunt walks arguably ICU's best hitter, left fielder Chris Rutta. Green Wave catcher Jared Dyer goes out to calm Hunt down.

Batter 4: Rutta gets picked off by Hunt. Why was he even thinking of stealing (four steals all last year)? Inning over.

Bottom Half

Batter 1: Texas transfer Josh Prince records the first hit in Turchin-Greer history, a weak grounder to the shortstop, who had no play.

Batter 2: Allain bounces one over the pitcher's head. The shortstop, Rafael Garcia, drew first baseman Tony Altavilla off the bag (another instance of "home cookin').

Batter 3: Honeck strikes out on an off-speed pitch, certainly not what you want with runners on first and second.ONE OUT

Batter 4: The runners execute a double stealm but McFadden walks anyway. BASES LOADED

Batter 5: Altavilla bobbles what could have been a 3-6-3 double play. Scelfo is still out, but McFadden and Allain advance while Prince scores. 1-0 Tulane

Batter 6: Another bad play by Altavilla on a grounder by Segudin scores both runners. Segudin andvances to second as the outfielder tries to throw out McFadden at the plate. 3-0 Tulane

Batter 7: Barto fouls out to, of all people, Altavilla, to end the inning. Terrible fielding by the ICU led to all three runs.

Pregame

It's opening night here at Turchin. My apologies for being late with the blog, as even the distinguished members of the media such as myself had trouble finding their seats. The game began with fireworks...literally. Tulane Athletics sponsored a surprise fireworks show over the outfield fence to begin the game.

The bad news is people are getting ticketed $75 for parking on the neutral ground on Claiborne. In addition, the scoreboard operators are having trouble tonight (can't fault them for that, although the operator keeps asking everyone in the press box: "Does anyone have a manual for this thing?").

Tulane, Shooter Hunt, Preparing for Baseball Opener

2008-02-21T00:45:00.003-06:00

As the Green Wave gets ready for its season opener against Illinois-Chicago, Shooter Hunt managed to answer a few questions for The Hullaballoo.

On if the team has scouted Illinois-Chicago yet..

Not so much yet, we probably won't get down to that until Wednesday or Thursday, we have a good idea though, they were in the [NCAA] Tournament last year.

On the Illinois-Chicago team this year...

They usually win their league from what I am told, so I mean it's a good squad. They are coming down from the north so it will be warm weather, I am sure they are all pumped about that. It will be a good test for us.

On starting the first game of the season in brand new Turchin Stadium...

I am sure the butterflies will be swimming around, but thats good too. As long as you channel the right energy, you feed off of that for a long time hopefully. And we all will.

On what he will do for pre-game...

Pre-game will be the same thing I always do. I try to stay as calm as I can. Which will be tougher with the hoopla going around, but I am sure it will be fine.

On the team approach to the beginning of the season...

[We are] just getting back her and trying to go all-out. We have really been concentrating on putting full effort at all times and we have got something to prove this year so it's our first chance to show everybody what we are all about.

On whether he will try to change his approach as a pitcher at all this year...

I don't think so. I still have the same approach as always, just try to go out there and try to give out team the best chance of winning. However that is going to be, is what I am going to do. Wether I am cheering on the side and somebody else has to go in of if I am going the whole way.

On team defense...

I think the defense has done great. I mean I am not jinxing them, but they played great this fall and spring so far.

Memphis vs. Tulane Postgame

2008-02-20T23:12:00.002-06:00

Head Coach Dave Dickerson

"We just got beat by the best team in the country. It's a difficult loss but you have to put it in context."

"I thought we played hard for 40 minutes. This is tough for us because it's fourth straight loss and we have to find a way to get a win."

"Memphis' confidence is the most impressive part of their team. They weren't rattled by the amazing support from the students and fans we got tonight."

"Memphis has some of the best players in the country. The score says we lost by 26 points but we also played well. The big thing is that we have to get this loss out of our system."

Tulane forward David Gomez

"Their athleticism and size is definitely a factor but I don't really think it took that much away from us that we couldn't do anything about it."

Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts

"Tulane came out and gave us their best shot. We were a little deeper which got us over the hump."

On his big scoring night

"I didn't do anything different tonight, just came out aggressive the whole game."

On phenom Derrick Rose

"He's still a freshman, 18 years old, we're not expecting him to come out every night and carry us."

On their undefeated run

"We're taking it one game at a time. We don't pay attention to all of the streaks that we have going."

Memphis coach John Calipari

"Our plan was to pressure early. I was really, really worried about this game against Tulane. The distraction of Tennessee and the way it's been hyped up so far really worried me."

"Tulane scored on us at will inside. We have to play better than that against Tennessee."

Second Half: Tulane vs. Memphis

2008-02-20T20:10:00.021-06:00

Note (2/22/08): The final stats can be found here.

FINAL: Memphis 97, Tulane 71

Post-game thoughts and analysis to follow. Until then, enjoy this lovely picture

0:00 Tigers guard Jeff Robinson misses a break-away dunk to end the game, drawing laughter from the crowd. Hey, at least the fans leave happy.

0:39 Gomez leaves the game to a chorus of golf claps. This might have been the best game of his college career, although the stat sheet might not show it. He exits with 23 points and five rebounds.

3:13 The goal for Tulane is to get the game under 25 points. Meanwhile, the Memphis bench continues to play like this is an NCAA tournament game. 95- 68 Tigers.

6:32 Delay-of-game technical called on Donnie Stith. Pretty strange call if you ask me. Crowd is beginning to get anxious with the calls.

6:43 Calipari will probably rest Douglas-Roberts for the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, Tulane continues to miss free throws (I apologize for being redundant). 81-57 Memphis.

8:20. As the Memphis bench continues to dominate Tulane's starters, the crowd chants "overrated." Really?

10:00 Most of the crowd begins to leave. Who could blame them? The problem at this point is Tulane's dejected play and lack of energy. Meanwhile, the Memphis reserves are starting to pour it on.

11:16 The technical foul certainly woke up the Tigers players, who look more aggressive. Calipari takes advantage of the surge in energy by calling for a full court press. Meanwhile, Douglas-Roberts scores again. He has 29 for the game. 72-48 Memphis

11:55 Technical Foul on Joey Dorsey for jawing with a referee. Of course, Sims makes only one of two shots, and Tulane follows by inbounding the ball to Dorsey, who finishes the play with a dunk and a foul.

12:06 Chris Douglas Roberts exits the game for now. The Green Wave continues to shoot itself in the foot with missed free throws (shooting at a 50%) and poor rebounding. The ball seems to be avoiding the bottom of the net on layups as well, while the Tigers continue to gets easy shots.

13:57 Tulane finally makes its first three (sims from the corner). Memphis follows with an easy dunk. But the Green Wave respond from the outside again. But Memphis follows with a jumper. (Do you see a trend here?) 62-43 Memphis.

15:53 The Tulane fans are desperate for some sort of run, but other than Gomez (17) and Louisme, no Tulane players have been able to score more than a few buckets.

17:36 The pace has picked up in the second half. Calipari ordered a full court press, but Tulane seemed to have expected it. Still, the Green Wave continue to put up bad shots.Douglas-Roberts continues his hot shooting while Tulane has yet to make a three pointer. 54-31 Memphis (or, for those looking for a close game, Chris Douglas-Roberts 25, Tulane 31)

Another stat to consider: Tulane has yet to hit a shot from beyond 15 feet.

First Half: Tulane vs. Memphis

2008-02-20T19:04:00.021-06:00

Halftime score: Memphis 46, Tulane 26.

0:00 The last sequence of the half epitomizes this game so far. Tulane, hoping to get the last shot of the half off, turns the ball over on a bad pass by SIms into the back court. Memphis follows with a tip-in rebound at the buzzer.
2:07 memphis goes on one of its patented runs, scoring six points in about 30 seconds courtesy of an alley-oop dunk and two quick shots off turnovers. Three big issues for the Green Wave so far: rebounding, turnovers, and CHris Douglas-Roberts (20 points, 4 rebounds in 16 minutes).

3:53 Dickerson wisely switches to a 2-3 zone to stop penetration. As a result, Tulane forces a turnover and two long three pointers over a span of two minutes. Memphis coach John Calipari calls a timeout. 37-25 memphis.

5:04 This game is beginning to get out of hand. Gomez was taken out of the game for two minutes, and the Tigers shut out Tulane over that span. The story of the game so far has been Memphis' defense on everyone but Gomez and Tulane's rebounding and turnover woes. 37-21 Memphis.

8:09 While Memphis struggles to hit from the outside, Tulane continues to get manhandled on the board. Still, David Gomez is playing the best game of his collegiate career so far, but someone else will need to step up on the boards to prevent an embarrassment.

10:34 As David Gomez goes to the free throw line once again, I want to point out the defense of Memphis guard Derrick Rose. While the freshman may not have any steals, he has really tired Kevin Sims with his ball pressure. Considering Tulane's lack of a true point guard, that may be something to watch.

11:54 The only thing more active tonight than David Gomez (7 points) is the whistle of the baseline official. Tulane already has five personal fouls called against them, and Memphis has three. Of course, a free throw contest wouldn't be the worst for Tulane. Memphis is one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the nation.

14:28 Tulane is staying in this game with great feeds inside to Gomez and Louisme. Dozier, after being taken out earlier, is immediately put into the game after Gomez gets a good look. 14-7 Memphis

15:19 10-4 Memphis after a Douglas-Roberts three pointer. The big problem so far is Tulane's turnovers and Memphis' physicality inside. If the latter continues, this game will get out of hand over very quickly.

16:00 The timeout seemed to have calmed the Green Wave down. Louisme got a good layup inside and Gomez had another. Still, the fgollowing possession results in a five second violation

17:58 It took Tulane 2 minutes to call its first timeout. The team looks sloppy on offense and unable to get any stops on defense.

19:02 The Tigers have gone inside twice to Joey Dorsey to start the game. I suppose the strategy is to get Louisme and Gomez in foul trouble. 4-2 Memphis.

Please note that tonight's game will be aired on CSTV. An online feed can be found at channelsurfing.net.

Pregame: Tulane vs. No.1 Memphis

2008-02-20T18:31:00.006-06:00

Ignoring school history and perhaps forgetting what happened the last time Memphis came to town, Tulane fans have sold out Fogelman Arena tonight in hopes of seeing the Green Wave pull of its first win over a No. 1 team in...well, ever.

Not surprisingly, the atmosphere is unlike than any other game on campus this season. The student section was packed a half hour before the game began, and fans received green Tulane t-shirts to "green out" the arena. The pep band even deferred its responsibilities to the entire Tulane Marching Band for tonight's game.

UPDATE: With two minutes left until game time, the cushion seats behind the student section have yet to be filled. It looks like this will be a late-arriving crowd. After the Memphis player introductions, the Tigers made a circle around Joey Dorsey, who proceeded to do a little dance in the middle with another Tigers player. Whatever it takes to get in game mode, I suppose.

UPDATE 2: It's game time, and virtually all the seats have been occupied. The Green WAve will need to shoot well from the outside tonight to be competitive in this game.

Baseball Preview Released

2008-02-15T17:04:00.009-06:00

Update: The Hullabaloo Baseball Preview

It doesn't get any better than this coming week if you're a sports fan at Tulane. The NBA All Star festivities will be held in New Orleans this weekend (including a few events on campus), and then Tulane men's basketball takes on No. 1 Memphis on Wednesday in front of a sold out Fogelman Arena. Finally, fans will get to see the newly-renovated Turchin Stadium this weekend as No. 22 Tulane will, in all likelihood, feast on Illinois-Chicago.

The Tulane Hullabaloo baseball preview hits newsstands today (with the online edition following shortly -- I'll post the link as soon as I see it up). Here are a few pictures and links to get you warmed up for baseball season:

2008 Baseball Roster

New Players

Probable Pitching Rotation

Fridays: RHP Shooter Hunt, Jr.

Saturdays: LHP Aaron Loup, So.

Sundays: RHP Robbie Broach, Fr.

Closer: RHP Mason Griffin, Jr.

Probable Starters
C - Jared Dyer (Jr.), 1B - Sam Honek (Jr.), 2B - Seth Henry (Jr.), 3B - Rob Segedin (Fr.), SS - Josh Prince (So.), CF - Aja Barto (Jr.), RF - Warren McFadden (RS-Jr.), LF - Andrew Rodgers (Jr.), DH - Anthony Scelfo (Jr.)

List of Newcomers

Great preview by CSTV

Pictures of Turchin Stadium, in case you haven't seen it yet:

Recap vs. Houston

2008-02-11T08:56:00.000-06:00

When you hold a team to 32% shooting from the field while shooting 52% yourselves, it's easy to predict who likely won the game. However, the Houston Cougars still came out on top of the Green Wave last Saturday afternoon in Fogelman, 66-56. Two early fouls on David Gomez in the first half forced him to the bench, but the Wave were able to hang around through great play by Donnie Stith and trailed 29-28 at halftime. This despite going only 5-14 from the free throw line. The Cougars were just 4-22 from three point range in the half and you figured they would find their touch eventually.
After a back and forth start to the second half, the Cougars went on a 13-0 run to push their lead out to 16 points. The Wave would cut it down to 8 with 6:34 remaining but more threes by Houston negated any basket by the Wave down the stretch. The Wave never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Stat of the Game: Where to begin? 27 turnovers, 11-24 FT's, 16 offensive rebounds for Houston, 37 Cougar fast break points...the numbers all point to a Cougars victory

Player of the Game: Donnie Stith was perfect from the field and kept the Wave in the game in the first half despite foul trouble on David Gomez

Quote of the Game: "Give credit to Houston, they have excellent players and they exposed our weaknesses. We have to get better but we still have a chance to be a good basketball team." -Head Coach Dave Dickerson

Tulane vs Houston 2nd Half

2008-02-09T15:02:00.000-06:00

4.4 Stith hits a jumper but it won't matter as the Wave fall 66-56

18.2 Puckett commits his fifth and final foul. McKiver hits two free throws.

1:15 Williams drives and lays it in and the Cougars lead by 12.

2:10 Stith drives and lays it in. Toney with the dagger as he hits a three pointer. Houston 62, Tulane 52.

2:35 Richard commits the foul and Toney has two free throws. The first is no good...as is the second.

3:13 Wheaton hits the layup and the Wave is down 59-50.

4:06 McKiver is fouled with the shot clock running down. He hits the first and misses the second. Houston comes away with the offensive rebound as the clock runs under 4 minutes.

4:52 Stith is fouled and makes the shot. The free throw is good. Tulane down 10

5:20 Lewis hits a three pointer for the Cougars and the lead is back out to 13.

6:09 McKiver hits two free throws to extend the lead back to double digits. Puckett then commits yet another turnover and the ball goes back to the Cougars.

6:36 Gomez misses the layup but follows it up. Tulane down by 8

7:05 Richard comes away with the steal and passes ahead to Stith who lobs it to Gomez for the alley-oop. Wave down by 10.

7:53 Pane misses the jumper but Richard's foot was on the line and it goes back to the Cougars.

8:46 Gomez is fouled after he grabs the Nixon missed layup. The Wave have another one and one opportunity. Gomez hits the front end and then the second. Wave down by 12, 53-41.

9:11 Gomez misses the runner but follows it up. Wave down 53-39.

9:39 Cousin misses the jumper but Tulane cant corral the rebound.

10:18 Puckett misses the jumper and then commits the foul at the other end.

11:22 Vianney misses the front end of a one and one but gets bailed out by the traveling call on Pane.

11:37 McKiver hits a long jumper to push the lead out to 13 for the Cougars.

12:04 It's beginning to get out of hand, as Puckett commits another turnover and McKiver hits the three pointer at the other end on the fast break. Houston now up 48-37.

13:00 Gomez is fouled and has a one and one but once again cannot hit the first and Houston comes away with the rebound.

13:56 Puckett airballs a three point shot and McKiver makes the layup on the other end. Houston up 45-37. The next Houston foul will put the Wave in the bonus.

14:56 Wheaton commits the turnover and Smith hits another three pointer to push the lead back out to six at 43-37.

15:48 Stith cannot hit the free throw and Houston comes away with the rebound.

18 turnovers for the Wave now and Houston is beginning to hit their three point shots, now 7-27.

16:05 Sims hits a tough jumper in the lane go cut the lead to 5. Houston then air-balls a three point attempt and Stith lays it in on the fast break and draws the foul. He'll have a three point opportunity to cut the lead to 2 after the media timeout.

16:49 Sims commits the turnover and Toney hits the three as the Cougars quickly jump out to a seven point lead.

17:21 Wheaton is fouled as he drives the lane and is fouled going up. Wheaton with two attempts..the first is good...as is the second. Wave down just 1, 34-33.

18:02 Louisme misses the jumper but follows it up with a tip-in. Cougars 34, Wave 31

Stith checks in for Gomez

18:42 Another turnover is committed by Gomez and Smith hits a three to extend the Houston lead out to five at 34-29. Dickerson calls timeout.

18:58 Gomez commits the turnover and Houston converts on the fast break.

19:48 Louisme is fouled by Dowell and will shot two free throws. The first is no good again but the second rattles in. Game tied at 29 apiece.

Tulane vs. Houston 1st Half

2008-02-09T14:00:00.000-06:00

It was a very sloppy first half by both teams but the Wave should take confidence into the locker room knowing they held the high-octane Cougars to just 27% shooting in the first half, and just 4-22 from three point range. However, if the Wave are to come away with the win, the 15 turnovers they committed in the first half can't be a trend. The Wave also must hit their free throws; they were just 5-14 in the half.

0.0 Louisme blocks the shot of Nixon at the buzzer. Tulane goes into the locker room down just one, 29-28.

12.4 Stith drives the lane with the shot clock winding down to cut the Houston lead back down to 1. 29-28 Cougars

40.3 Puckett commits the turnover and Houston lays it in on the fast break. Houston 29 Tulane 26

1:38 35 second violation on the Cougars gives the ball back to the Wave. Good movement to break the full court press and Louisme lays it in to cut the lead to 1.

2:50 McGloster tips it in on the miss by McKiver.

3:38 Williams hits a three pointer at the other end and the Cougars have a 1 point lead, 25-24

3:55 Puckett hits a jumper in the lane to give the lead back to Tulane, 24-22.

4:04 Smith hits a three pointer with the shot clock winding down. Game is tied at 22.

4:39 McQueen misses the three point attempt but the layup attempt by Williams is way off. Stith is then fouled going for the rebound and has two free throws. Both free throws are good. Wave up by 3, 22-19

4:58 McKiver is fouled on the fast break by Stith and hits both free throws to cut the lead to 1.

5:40 Williams hits the runner in the lane off the backboard. Tulane 20 Houston 17

5:57 Great play by Stith who knocks it away from Williams. Stith lays it in and is fouled but yet again the free throw is no good. Wave up 20-15.

6:24 Puckett picks the pocket of McKiver and dunks on the fast break. Wave crowd into it for the first time as the Wave lead 18-15

7:04 Mayhanne can't hit the front end of a one and one and Houston comes down with the rebound.

The Cougars are shooting just 22% from the floor while the Wave are shooting 40%. However, the Wave cannot convert on their free throw opportunites, hitting just 3-10 thus far.

7:14 Mark Mosley commits the traveling violation and the Wave will have the ball after the timeout.

7:26 Matt Whaton gives the Wave the lead back as he hits the three pointer. The Wave up by 1, 16-15.

8:05 Puckett drives and hits the jumper. It's a two point game as the Wave trail 15-13

9:31 Houston hits another three and now lead 15-11. Lousime committed the turnover on the other end and Houston was able to convert on the other end.

10:27 Great work by the Wave as they beat the full court trap. Louisme gets position in the low post and lays it in and is fouled. The free throw rattles in and out.

Dickerson calls timeout to refocus his troops.

10:53 Nixon misses another three but Puckett is unable to corral the rebound. Wheaton then turns it over in the backcourt and Malone lays it in for Houston. Cougars 12 Tulane 9

11:10 Louisme is fouled driving to the hoop and has two free throws. The first free throw is too long but the second is good. Houston 10 Tulane 9

11:19 Houston misses the three but Sims can't hang onto the rebound. McKiver cuts down the lane and lays it in and is fouled by Louisme. Houston now up 2, 10-8

Each team has not been very good with the basketball, the Wave are just 3-11 and the Cougars are 2-12. Each team has also committed 5 turnovers. The Wave will have to play without Gomez for the rest of the half.

11:37 A costly foul as Gomez commits the over-the-back infraction and picks up his second foul.

12:27 Vianney commits the foul and McKiver hits both free throws. Tulane up 8-7

13:04 Traveling violation on Houston gives the Wave the ball back. Vianney takes a bad shot that is blocked.

13:12 Gomez is fouled in the lane and will have two free throws. The first one rattles in but the second does not. Tulane up 3.

13:42 Great find by Stith who lobs it into Gomez for an easy layup. Wave 7 Houston 5

14:30 Houston misses another three but Stith turns it over on the other end.

One stat to watch all game is the three point attempts from Houston. Thus far, the Cougars are 1-9 from the field and 1-7 from 3 point range.

15:32 Houston makes it's first field goal of the game as McKiver hits a three pointer to finally ened the scoring drought. Wave 5 Houston 3.

16:00 Great movement by the Wave off the ball. Sims threw a skip pass down to Puckett who caught it, threw to Stith, who passed it back to a cutting David Gomez, who layed it in and was fouled. The free throw was no good. Tulane 5 Houston 0.

16:22 Sims commits the foul on Jamal Hixon. He misses both free throws. Houston has attempted 7 FG's so far and 5 have been 3 point attempts. It's still Tulane 3 Houston 0

17:15 McKiver misses a three pointer and then fouls Sims coming up the floor. Gomez can't back in a shot from the low post

17:50 Toney misses a three pointer for Houston and Louisme is fouled at the other end. Two free throws for Robbie coming up. The first one is too long but the second rolls in. Tulane 3 Houston 0

18:00 Gomez was hacked but no foul was called. Matt Wheaton grabs the offensive rebound and is fouled going back up. The first free throw is no good. The second free throw rolls out

18:25 Gomez is called for the charge on a fast break

19:20 Gomez banks it in from the free throw line for the first points of the game

Starting Lineups

Tulane

Kevin Sims
David Gomez
Matt Wheaton
Daniel Puckett
Robinson Louisme

Houston

Kelvin Lewis
Dion Dowell
Ronald McKiver
Lanny Smith
Tafa Toney

Football National Signing Day

2008-02-06T10:46:00.000-06:00

Today is the day where thousands of prep football players across the country officially sign with their respective colleges. As of now, Tulane is expected to have 19 commitments after a pair of Louisiana linebackers, Bradley Roussel and Trent Mackey decommitted from the Wave to sign elsewhere. California quarterback Ryan Griffin and Connecticut center Rich Bell are arguably the two most valuable prospects that have been signed today.

For those wanting to follow today's action as players sign their letter of intent, check out the official site's blog. For more info on today's commitments, check out Scout.com's rundown.

Men's Basketball vs. UTEP

2008-02-05T22:00:00.000-06:00

Green Wave (15-6, 5-2 Conference USA) vs. UTEP Miners (13-7, 4-3 C-USA)
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008, 8 PM
Don Haskins Center

Overview: Tulane is coming off another close victory over conference doormats Rice. This is the last game of a three game road swing for the Wave. UTEP is coming off of a very impressive loss against #1 Memphis on the road, holding their own until falling late, 70-64. The Miners have lost just 1 game at home this season while the Wave are 4-3 on the road this season.

Last Meeting: The Wave last played UTEP in Fogelman last season, routing the Miners 92-67. Recently departed Chris Moore led Tulane with 17 points, with Kevin Sims chipping in 15. UTEP never got closer than 10 points in the second half and the Wave led by at least 20 for the majority of the half.

Scouting UTEP: Despite having seven losses on the year, the Miners have held their own against top-notch competition. Close losses against potential tournament teams in Memphis, Houston, and Texas A&M should give the Miners a ton of confidence the rest of the season. The Miners are led by Stefon Jackson, who leads Conference USA in scoring and ranks 6th in all of the country with 24.2 points per game. UTEP also boasts 2 other players in double figures in Marvin Kilgore and Randy Culpepper. The Miners are understandably among the conference leaders in scoring averaging over 77 points per contest.

Player to Watch: Simply, the Wave will have to limit Jackson's opportunities. The play of backups Kris Richard and Johnny Mayhanne may ultimately determine whether or not the Wave wins if Sims gets into early foul trouble.

Prediction: The Wave fall on the road again this season given the confidence UTEP should have coming into this contest, 72-64.

Recap vs. ECU

2008-01-27T16:46:00.000-06:00

"Coming into this game, we thought East Carolina was playing great basketball and they did some things that we thought would give us some problems. They are a good offensive transition team and a very good rebounding team. We worked on those two things the last day and a half and it paid off for us,” head coach Dave Dickerson said after the ECU game.

ECU proved to be no problem for Tulane as it defeated the Pirates 72-56. The Green Wave is now 14-6 on the season and 4-2 in C-USA. ECU falls to 7-11 with only one victory against a C-USA opponent.

Tulane begin the game with an early run, but ECU responded with a 14-4 run of their own and took a 20-15 lead. However with the help of David Gomez, Robinson Louisme and Kevin Sims, who each scored seven points in the first half, Tulane was able to lead going into the locker-room for the half 30-23.

The Wave started off the second half with another huge run. ECU was able to get within four but that was the closest the Pirates could get all second half. Tulane had a 19 point lead three times in the final five minutes of the game.

Stat of the Game: Three, the number of C-USA opponents that Tulane has managed to hold under 60 points.

Player of the Game: Senior David Gomez was 8-13 in scoring against ECU. The game against the Pirates was Gomez’s eight straight game in which he scored in double figures. Louisme and Simes also scored in double digits.

Matt Forte's Magical Season Continues

2008-01-26T23:13:00.000-06:00

Update: Here are video highlights of the game.

Proving that his 2000+ yard season was no fluke, Matt Forte undoubtedly impressed NFL scouts this week at the Senior Bowl. He capped off the week in style as he was named MVP of the Senior Bowl. Forte led the South team with 59 rushing yards on 8 carries and also caught 3 passes for 38 yards.

Running back is by far the deepest position in the 2008 draft, but Matt Forte has definitely shot up draft boards. Next up for Forte will be the scouting combine in February and Tulane's Pro Day later this spring. Only 4 Green Wave players have been drafted in the first round; Forte could very well be the 5th.

Preview: Men's Basketball vs. ECU

2008-01-25T15:04:00.000-06:00

Tulane (13-6, 3-2 Conference USA) vs. ECU Pirates (7-10, 1-3 C-USA)

Saturday, January 26th, 2008 6 pm
Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum

Overview: Tulane is coming off a three game winning streak in C-USA after victories against Tulsa, Rice and most recently SMU at Fogelman. Now the Wave begins a three game road stretch on Saturday against ECU. The Pirates have only won one C-USA game this year, a home victory against Marshall. ECU is 6-7 at home this season while Tulane has a 4-2 record against schools while playing in the Eastern Time zone.

Last Meeting: Tulane has a five game winning streak against ECU, which is the longest against a C-USA member. Last year Tulane won both its games against ECU, 65-56 in North Carolina and 88-72 in Fogelman. In that senior night game, then junior David Gomez and senior Chris Moore combined for 42 points.

Scouting ECU: The Pirates are coached by Mack McCarthy a former ECU associate head coach who got the full head coaching position when Ricky Stokes’ resigned in 2007. McCarthy has a 309-177 record at head coach of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Virginia Commonwealth. Senior guard Darrell Jenkins set the ECU single season record for assists with 166 in the 2006-7 season. He was ECU’s leading scorer in their recent lost to UAB. Off the bench sophomore John Fields, became the first freshman to lead C-USA in field goal percentage, shooting 62.4 percent from the field in the 2006-7 season. ECU is averaging 69.8 points and 34.4 rebounds per game this season.

Player to Watch: Look for sophomore point guard Kevin Sims to be running the floor. In Tulane’s game against SMU he controlled the pace in the second half, speeding up play thus givingTulane the chance to stretch its narrow point lead and hold off SMU for scoring for seven straight minutes.

Prediction: History will be proved correct again in the game against ECU. Tulane will continue their winning streak against the Pirates and their winning streak in C-USA. This will be a good start to Tulane’s three game stretch away from Fogelman. Tulane wins 76-52.

Recap vs. SMU

2008-01-24T19:08:00.000-06:00

The victory over SMU was almost expected as the Mustangs have been performing poorly all season starting off 0-4 and they only have one win in C-USA. Tulane took the lead in the beginning of the game, only to lose it at the 12 minute mark, not regaining it until the very end of the half. SMU had the last play of the half, but a quick save by Vianney and a quick three-pointer that almost bounced out, only to finally go through the net as the buzzer to end the half sounded, secured the advantage for Tulane going into the locker room.

Sims controlled the tempo of the second half, speeding things up and SMU went into a seven minute scoring drought. Tulane was able to build their lead as SMU fouled on several shots giving Tulane many opportunities at the “and one” play. Tulane wins the game 67-52 in its third C-USA victory in a row.

Stat of the Game: 1608, the attendance of the game. The number is not very significant, but rather the fact that all Tulane fans in attendance were loud and really got into the game. Some games Fogelman feels like a neutral site, with little fan participation, but this was not the case against SMU.

Player of the Game: Surprise, surprise David Gomez. The senior has really stepped up as a leader for Tulane by being the overall leading scorer in many games (he had 18 against SMU) and converting on clutch plays such as the three pointer to end the half.

Quote of the Game: “I really wasn’t expecting it at all. But as soon as they were taking the ball down, Eric (Vianney) made a tremendous steal and was smart enough and quick enough to pass it to me and at that point I just put it up and tried to get it towards the rim and I got lucky enough that it fell.” –David Gomez on his three-point attempt to end the half.

Tulane vs. SMU 2nd Half

2008-01-23T20:01:00.000-06:00

The classic three point play ruled the second half. Each team had ample opportunities of “and ones” as it seemed that almost every shot made had a foul accompany it.

The crowd in Fogelman was loud. Some students behind the press table said “this is way basketball should be played, fast and loud.” The crowd definitely helped bring energy to Fogelman and secure Tulane's third C-USA win in a row. Tulane advances 13-6 (3-2 in C-USA) and SMU falls again to a C-USA foe on the road.

19:58 SMU starts out with possession in the second half.

18:38 Puckett three pointer is Tulane’s first points of the half expanding their lead to 32-30.

18:24 Tulane’s lead was short lived as SMU ties the game at 32 apiece.

17:42 Fall’s dunk puts SMU in the lead for the first time this half, 34-32.

17:19 Killen at the foul line, but can’t get a shot to go in.

16:45 Gomez scores two.

16:16 foul on Gomez, Dickerson tries to reason with the refs.

16:01 Louisme has the chance to take the lead for Tulane, but misses both foul shots.

14:43 Traveling violation on the Mustangs.

13:37 The shot clock winds down and Gomez takes a hurried shot, missing a three pointer.

12:38 Malone scores three in an chance at an “and one” giving SMU their biggest lead of the game 40-24.

12:15 Mayhan scores two.

12:06 Sims can’t convert for three on a chance at a “and one” play.

11:33 SMU misses a hurried shot as the shot clock is about to expire.

10:54 Roberts scores with a breakaway, SMU is up 42-38.

10:22 Stith scores a layup, cutting SMU’s lead to two.

10:17 Gomez fouls Fall while shooting, who makes his shot at an “and one”

10:08 Stith takes the line and makes his shot at an “and one” bringing Tulane with in two, 45-43.

9:21 Puckett scores with the assist from Stith, tying the game at 45 apiece.

9:01 Mayhan makes his second foul shot, putting Tulane up by one.

8:27 Killen misses a three point shot, then runs down the court to fouling Sims.

8:23 Sims makes both of his “one and one” shots, Tulane is leading 48-45.

7:57 Killen’s shot is denied by Stith.

7:25 Killen misses a three as the shot clock winds down.

7:11 Scuffle for control of the ball at mid-court on the floor, Tulane is charged with a shot clock violation.

6:53 Vianney rebounds a missed shot from SMU.

6:47 Wheaton scores both his foul shots, Tulane has its largest lead of the half, 50-45.

6:27 Sims scores on a breakaway.

5:59 Tulane speeds up the pace of the game. Wheaton is charged with a foul.

4:24 Sims scores long three pointer.

3:53 Gomez is fouled on his shot, bringing him to the line for yet another “and one” opportunity, which he makes. Tulane leads 58-45.

2:45 Gomez is called with traveling at the baseline.

2:19 Fall scores a basket for SMU, their first since the nine minute mark.

1:50 Puckett lets loose a three.

1:19 Killen shoots a three. SMU is still down 13 as Tulane leads 63-50.

1:17 Vianney makes one of his two free throw attempts.

1:02 Stith runs the length of the court to score a lay-up.

41.7 The end of game fouling starts as SMU founds Vianney again, who makes only one of his foul shots.

31.1 Vianney fouls Fall, who makes both of his foul shots. Tulane still leads 67-52.

0.0 Everyone in Fogelman stands as the game ends. Tulane wins their third C-USA game in a row, 67-52.

Tulane vs. SMU 1st Half

2008-01-23T19:58:00.000-06:00

Tulane Starters:

Kevin Sims
Daniel Puckett
Robinson Louisme
David Gomez
Matt Wheaton

SMU Starters:

Paulius Ritter
Jon Killen
Bamba Fall
Mike Walker
Ryan Harp

SMU is a struggling team, who recently lost to Tulsa at the buzzer, a team that Tulane beat in overtime. SMU didn’t score in the first four and a half minutes of the game against Tulane.

Tulane gave up the lead at the 12 minute mark and didn’t regain it until the last two minutes of the half. However Vianney’s amazing save and Gomez’s in and out and finally in, three point shot gave Tulane the lead going into the locker room.

SMU is shooting 47.8% in the first half, while Tulane is only shooting 36.7%.

Tulane is doing a good job not sending SMU to the line. SMU is 2-2 at the line in their only trip there this half. Tulane is 5-8 at the charity stripe.

Gomez leads all scorers with 13 points.

19:58 SMU wins the tip.

19:35 Gomez misses first shot for the Wave. Tulane gets the ball back and Lousime scores two.

17:07 SMU’s Walker tosses ball to Gomez as a turnover, but Gomez can’t convert.

16:19 Harp shots an air ball, the crowd reacts.

16:04 Gomez makes both foul shots.

15:34 Fall scores SMU’s first two points.

15:08 Sims scores two, Tulane’s up 6-4.

13:29 Fall scores a lay-up for SMU. Tulane is still up 10-8.

12:40 Killen misses a jumper, Puckett rebounds.

12: 16 Killen scores three putting SMU in the lead for the first time, 11-10.

11:47 Killen scores again. 13-10

11:03 Gomez scores two, narrowing SMU’s lead, 13-12.

10:04 Tulane’s defense fails and Falls scores wide open three, up’s SMU’s lead to 16-12.

9:35 Louisme scores two. SMU is still up 16-14.

9:03- Harp silences the crowd who’s taunting him after his earlier air ball by scoring three.

8:19 23 Mayhane travels, Puckett replaces him in the lineup.

7:36 Gomez misses a lay-up. SMU knocks the ball out of bounds, but Tulane can’t convent on their second chance.

6:29 Wheaton scores a long three. 19-17, Tulane is trailing by two.

5:23 Gomez scores on a backdoor cut, tying the game at 19 apiece.

4:42 Spencer finally scores for SMU on their third rebound.

3:46 Gomez tips one in tying the game again, this time at 21 apiece.

3:42 Walker sinks both foul shots on SMU’s first trip to the line. SMU is up by two, 23-21.

2:56 Sims fouls Killen, for his first foul of the game.

2:08 Fall fouls Stith, who scores on the classic three point play. Wheaton replaces Mayham in the lineup. Tulane is leading for the first time since SMU first took lead at the 12 minute mark.

1:50 Malone scores putting SMU up by one, 25-24.

1:08 Gomez scores two.

37.2 A two by Walker quiets the crowd who was chanting “defense” and SMU is up again, 27- 26.

6.12 Gomez misses a lay-up. SMU has possession of the ball and calls a time out to set up the potential last shot of the half.

0.12- 0.0 Vianney almost knocks over at the press table as he saves the ball and tosses it to Gomez who’s three bounces in and out of the basket before finally going in as the buzzer to end the half sounds. Tulane takes the lead into the locker room 29-27.

Preview: Men's Basketball vs. SMU

2008-01-22T21:58:00.000-06:00

Tulane (12-6, 2-2 Conference USA) vs. SMU Mustangs (6-10, 0-3 C-USA)
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 7 pm
Fogelman Arena

Overview: After a less than stellar performance against Rice this past weekend, the Wave take on another team struggling this season in SMU. After four straight losses to begin the season, SMU reeled off six wins in seven games to improve to 6-5. However, the Mustangs have struggled of late with 4 straight losses. The Mustangs are currently 288th in RPI, while Tulane sits 118th.

Last Meeting: SMU defeated the Wave last season 55-53 in Dallas. The Wave led by double figures for a majority of the contest, but a shooting slump in the last 7 minutes, in which they could only muster 7 points, ultimately led to the Wave's demise.

Scouting SMU: The Mustangs are led by 2nd year head coach Matt Doherty, the former boss at North Carolina. Three players average double figures for the Mustangs led by Joe Killen with 11.7 points. Bamba Fall and Pape Dia average 10.9 and 10.6 points respectively. Dia also leads the Mustangs with 6.8 rebounds per contest. SMU is 1-3 and averages 61.2 points per game on the road this season. The Mustangs have also shot well from beyond the arc, shooting at an impressive 33.2% clip.

Player to Watch: Johnny Mayhanne has become one of the Wave's primary weapons off of the bench along with Donnie Stith. With every game, Mayhanne seems to be more and more confident, which should only help the Wave's depth. The bench should see a lot of action this game, assuming the Wave shows up for 40 minutes.

Prediction: The last game against Rice should have provided some valuable lessons for the Wave. I expect them to play much better against SMU. Wave wins 72-58.

Matt Forte @ the Senior Bowl

2008-01-22T12:53:00.000-06:00

Day 2

Matt Forte continues to impress NFL scouts in Mobile.

Day 1

While most of us have gotten to see how good Matt Forte is on the football field, the NFL is now beginning to see glimpses of his potential. The Senior Bowl is the marquee all-star game for college seniors and Forte has started the week off on the right foot.

Recap vs. Rice

2008-01-21T10:46:00.000-06:00

It wasn't supposed to be this hard for the Wave. Going into halftime with a 36-24 lead against a 3 win Rice team, the second half was supposed to closely resemble the first. However, on the heels of a 20-4 run to begin the second half, the Owls unthinkably took a 4 point lead with 12 minutes left in the game.

Benched at the outset of the game for being late to a team meeting, David Gomez began to assert his will on the Rice frontmen and hit four free throws in a row to give the Wave a 1 point lead with 10 minutes left that seemed to stop the bleeding. The game then swung back and forth until two steals and dunks by Donnie Stith finally put Rice away with 3:41 left.

The Owls never got closer than 4 points the rest of the way and the Wave defeated Rice 61-56. Gomez led the Wave with 17 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line and Johnny Mayhanne and Matt Wheaton had 8 apiece. It was a very sloppy game on both sides, with each team committing 21 turnovers. After shooting 50% from the field in the first half, the Wave shot just 26% in the second. However, despite the struggles, the Wave still managed to come out with their first conference victory at home.

Stat of the Game: 11-13 FT's for David Gomez. Arguably, it was Gomez's presence in the post that kept Rice from pulling the upset. The undersized Owls frontline could not handle Gomez, especially in the second half.

Player of the Game: Donnie Stith/David Gomez

Quote of the Game: "Very good win. We're still trying to find our identity as a team. It's always good to get a win playing the way we played in the second half." - coach Dave Dickerson

Tulane vs. Rice 2nd Half

2008-01-19T18:03:00.000-06:00

Wave improves to 12-6 and 2-2 in Conference USA play. The Wave will have to play better than they did in the second half or it could be a long season. I expect the Wave's next practice will not be easy.

Gomez finishes the game with a game high 17 points, with the bulk of those coming at the free throw line. Sims added 12 and Wheaton and Mayhanne had 8 apiece.

0.0 The game ends as the Wave are able to hang on 61-56 in a contest that was a lot closer than it should have been.

3.4 Stith commits a questionable foul on Britton. Likely wont matter as he hits both.

10.6 Britton commits the over-the-back foul on Stith. He hits both shots for a 61-54 lead.

32.6 Gomez hits one of two free throws to extend the margin back to 5.

39.6 Stith commits the turnover in the backcourt and Rice will have it. A foul on Sims will give the Owls two free throws. Foster hits one of two and the Wave have a 4 point lead, 58-54

45.0 Packevicius lays it in easily after a nice pass from Foster. It's not over yet as Wave have the ball leading by 5.

55.7 Sims will have two free throws as Ghoram commits the turnover and Foster fouls Sims in the backcourt. Sims hits both for a 7 point lead.

1:09 Stith drives the length of the floor but can't finish the dunk. Wheaton is there for the putback and the Wave lead by 5, 56-51.

1:36 Packevicius is fouled going to the hoop and makes one of two free throws

1:56 Rice throws it away but Stith can't corral it as it rolls into the backcourt. A break for Rice as they get the ball back still down 4.

2:24 Wheaton misses a three pointer and Puckett can't tip it in. Rice ball

2:50 Rice commits the turnover and the Wave will have the ball after the last official timeout of the game.

3:05 Stith misses the three pointer. I know Stith was excited but he still can't be taking that shot with the Wave up 4

3:38 Stith with another beautiful steal and throws it down again for the second time. The crowd is as loud as its been all game.

4:26 Pierre Beasley hits two free throws for Rice and the game is tied once again at 50 apiece.

4:46 Stith steals the ball and throws it down with a thunderous one handed dunk. Wave up 50-48.

5:01 Gomez misses the jumperand it rolls out of bounds.

5:07 Mayhanne misses the jumper but Rice is unable to secure the rebound. Sims will inbound with 17 on the shot clock

6:11 Louisme commits the foul on Ghoram, who hits two free throws to tie the game at 48

6:37 Britton commits the foul and Gomez will have a one and one. Gomez has 13 points thus far, 9 of which have been from the line. The front end is good but Gomez misses the second. Tulane leads 48-46

7:55 Mayhanne hits a jumper from the low post and Tulane retakes the lead 47-46

8:30 Louisme is called for charging and Rice converts after a Ghoram jumper falls. The Wave is down by 1, 46-45

8:59 Louisme commits another turnover but Mayhanne steals right back.

9:42 Louisme is called for the foul but after further discussion, Packevicius is called for traveling. Dickerson still unhappy but things seem to be turning around for the Wave finally.

10:15 Gomez is beginning to assert his authority now. He is fouled again in the lane and hits two free throws to give Tulane the lead 45-44.

10:48 Rice air-balls a jumper but Wheaton and Louisme both go for the rebound and Rice retains possession. Dickerson can only shake his head.

11:12 Rice three pointer goes in and out --very very lucky for the Wave as that would have been a 6 point lead. Gomez is fouled at the other end and has two free throws. Both are good and Wave cuts the lead down to 1. The crowd is in it for the first time this half.

11:32 Puckett is fouled and will shoot two free throws after the official timeout. This will be a very big point in the game for the Wave. With every possession, Rice is gaining more and more confidence. Puckett hits one of two to cut the Rice lead to 44-41.

11:47 Foster hits a three pointer for Rice and they have their biggest lead of the ballgame, 44-40.

12:23 Gomez will try to stop the bleeding as he has two free throws. Nothing has gone right for the Wave this half. Gomez hits both free throws to make it a one point game.

13:27 Rice hits another jumper and extends the lead to 3. They are on a 17-2 run in the half.

14:10 Stith commits the turnover and Rice converts on the other end. Owls now up by 1

14:57 Stith with a good hustle on the loose ball but possession is given to Rice. The officials huddle up to review the call. Rice retains possession after the review.

My bet would be that Dickerson gave his team an earful at that last timeout. Let's see if his message got across.

15:35 Loose ball on Mayhanne will give the ball back to Rice and they will have a chance to take the lead. Just remarkable the way this game has turned around.

15:46 Sims misses the jumper and Ghoram hits a jumper from the free throw line. Rice cuts the lead down to one.

16:17 Gomez commits the turnover and Packevicius scores on the jumper. The Wave are starting down a very slippery slope as the lead is down to three.

17:27 Gomez hits two free throws to finally end the Rice run. The Wave lead 38-31

17:43 Wheaton misses both free throws and Dickerson obviously looking upset. Tulane has not scored this half.

18:17 Louisme misses the gimme dunk and then gets called for offensive interference as the ball was still above the cylinder. Beasley then hits a three pointer and the Wave lead is quickly down to 5.

18:37 Dickerson calls timeout as Rice hits a jumper to cut the lead to 8. Obviously not the way the Wave wanted to start the second half.

19:42 Sims misses a jumper and Puckett can't hang onto to it as it goes out of bounds to Rice. Foster converts on the other end after a nice pass from Patrick Britton. Wave up 10 at 36-26

Tulane vs. Rice 1st Half

2008-01-19T16:50:00.001-06:00

Rice has failed to take advantage of the Tulane turnovers scoring just 4 points compared to the Wave's 13. However, the Wave will have to be smarter with the basketball in the second half in order to put this one away.

Halftime Leaders

Sims 10 points, 5 assists
Wheaton 6 points, 2-2 3pt FG

It's been a very sloppy first half with 19 total turnovers. Tulane is hitting 50% from the field while Rice has struggled, shooting just 35%.

0:01 Foster misses the three pointer as the half ends with Tulane leading 36-24

0:39 Foster hits a jumper as the shot clock hits zero and it goes in. 36-24 Tulane. The Wave call a timeout as they will hold for the final shot. There is a .4 second differential between shot and game clock

1:16 Mayhanne hits a three pointer to give the Wave a 36-22 lead.

2:20 Mayhanne hits the jumper to extend the Wave lead to 11.

2:38 Packevicius finishes the three point play after getting a friendly roll from the rim. Wave lead back down to 9 at 31-22

2:55 Sims hits a three pointer with the shot clock winding down. That breaks a 6-0 Rice run.

3:37 Rice will have two free throws after Beasley grabs the offensive rebound off a Foster three point miss. Beasley hits both and the Wave lead is down to 9.

4:10 Louisme misses the fast break layup after Rice was unable to convert a 3 on 1 fast break. That just about sums up the way the first half has gone for both teams.

4:55 Rice turns the ball over again, that's their 11th just this half and Sims is fouled in the backcourt. Sims hits both free throws for a 28-13 lead.

5:25 Rice misses both free throws and Louisme is fouled at the other end. Louisme is unable to hit either free throw but is bailed out as Rice is unable to secure the rebound. Sims hits a one handed floater for a 26-13 lead.

5:49 Gomez hits the soft hook in the lane to extend the lead to 24-13.

6:50 Another Rice turnover but Louisme is unable to finish. Brian Beasley is then fouled by Vianney and will shoot two free throws. He hits one of two to cut the lead to 22-13 Wave.

7:31 A jump-ball after Louisme gets tied up with two Rice players. The Owls will have the ball after the timeout trailing 22-12.

9:26 Sims hits a three from the top of the key to give the Wave a 20-10 lead. Rice then turns the ball over. Several substitutions in for the Wave as Mayhanne, Louisme, Richard, and Asim McQueen enter the game.

11:16 Turnover on Stith as he throws it too high for Gomez. The Rice shot is blocked from behind by Puckett and Wheaton hits a three from the left corner. Wave up 17-8

11:56 Wheaton gets drawn into the air after a good pump fake by Packevicius.

12:16 Matt Wheaton hits the Wave's first three of the ball game. Wave now lead 14-6

12:47 Gomez puts a nice pump fake on the defender and is fouled and the shot drops. Gomez finishes the three point play and the Wave have their largest lead of the game 11-5

13:09 Three consecutive blocks by Louisme is all for naught as Sims turns it over on the fast break. Louisme gets a nice round of applause as Stith replaces him in the lineup.

14:30 Puckett finishes the alley-oop with a one handed slam. Lousime then muscles the ball through for another Tulane basket on the next possession to give the Wave an 8-5 lead.

It's been a very sloppy game thus far with multiple turnovers on both teams

14:59 Mayhanne is fouled and will have two free throws after the official timeout. He hits one of two to cut the lead to 1 at 5-4.

15:18 Rodney Foster hits the three for Rice. Owls up 5-3.

16:17 Traveling on Louisme gives the ball back to Rice. Louisme then makes for it by forcing the turnover on the other end.

17:47 Richard hits a jumper from the free throw line to give the Wave their first lead of the ball game 3-2.

18:56 Great defense by the Wave and Rice is called for a 10 second violation

19:07 Robinson Louisme hits one of two free throws to cut the lead to 2-1 Rice.

19:20 Rice takes the early lead after a fast-break layup off of a missed three by Kevin Sims

Stith, Mayhanne, and Richard are getting the starts today in place of Gomez, Puckett, and Wheaton

Rice figures to be in for a long game due to several recent injuries. Two members of the football team have even seen action this season for the Owls.

The Green Wave take on the Rice Owls this afternoon. A less than average crowd has shown up for tonight's game. However, the Sound Wave make their triumphant return to Fogelman Arena after a month hiatus.

Preview: Men's Basketball vs. Rice

2008-01-18T21:19:00.000-06:00

Tulane (11-6, 1-2 Conference USA) vs. Rice Owls (3-13, 0-3 C-USA)
Saturday, January 19th, 2008 5 pm
Fogelman Arena

Overview: Coming off an overtime win against Tulsa on the road, the Wave host the Rice Owls this Saturday. This will mark the first of a two game homestand for the Wave. The Wave are looking for their first conference victory at home this year, after a heartbreaking loss to UAB 62-61 in the opener. This is the first of two meetings between these two teams as Tulane will travel to Houston in two weeks.

Last Meeting: The Wave split their two games against Rice last season. The Owls defeated the Wave 75-70 in overtime in the first meeting, but Tulane was able to avenge the loss by blowing out Rice in Fogelman Arena 75-55.

Scouting Rice: To say that Rice has struggled so far is an understatement. The Owls are coming off of a 77-50 loss to #3 Memphis and haven't come close to winning a game thus far in conference play. The Owls have struggled without Morris Almond, who is now plying his trade for the Utah Jazz in the NBA. Couple that with 'home' games that are actually away from their campus due to renovations have led to their rapid fall. While their usually is a silver lining, their simply isn't one for the Owls, who have been blown out in most of their losses. Paulius Packevicius is the only player to average double figures in points with 10.4, and the Owls average just 55.4 points as a team.

Player to Watch: The team seems to go as Kevin Sims goes. Against a seemingly overmatched Rice squad, Sims will have to manage the Wave offense to avoid the upset. The Wave as a team, must also not overlook their opponent as they did against Alabama State in the first half.

Prediction: If the Wave plays like they should play, Wave in a rout 70-50.

Recap: Tulane 67, Tulsa 65

2008-01-18T17:01:00.000-06:00

After consecutive disheartening defeats to the hands of UAB and UTEP respectively, the Green Wave got back on track Wednesday topping Tulsa 67-65 in an overtime thriller. Senior David Gomez paced the Wave with 16 points with sophomore Kevin Sims adding 14. Tulane erased an 8 point deficit with 8 minutes left in regulation to force overtime. In the extra period, the Wave managed to hold off a late Tulsa run with clutch foul shooting. Tulane improved to 11-6 with the win.

Player of the Game- Tulane forward David Gomez

Stat of the Game- 36.1%
Tulane was able to hold Tulsa to this relatively anemic field goal percentage while connecting on 41.4% themselves.

Quote of the Game- Head Coach Dave Dickerson
This was a really good win for our guys and for our program. The one thing we talked about was winning on the road in this conference and what we had to do as a program. Everyone was patting us on the back for our non-conference performance and our RPI. But what we had to do was get Conference USA tough. Our backs were against the walls and we circled the wagons. Our guys worked hard and we knew if we rebounded the basketball we would have a chance to win this game. My hats off to all of our guys and coaches for getting a road win against a team that doesn't lose at home. It was a very commendable effort for our players and coaches.

Coming Up
Tulane will match up against conference foe Rice at Fogelman arena Saturday, January 19th.

DC Kaumeyer accepts job at Kentucky

2008-01-18T10:32:00.000-06:00

Green Wave Defensive Coordinator Thom Kaumeyer accepted the job of Defensive Backs coach at Kentucky this past week, ending a short one-year stint with Tulane. While it seems like a lateral move on the surface, Kaumeyer actually played for Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks at Oregon in the late 1980's. He also coached under Brooks in the NFL, so the two have a lot of experience together. Tulane led Conference USA in rushing defense (132.6) under Kaumeyer last season. Kaumeyer was hired by head coach Bob Toledo last season after serving as defensive coordinator for San Diego State.

Analysis: Don't be surprised if Kaumeyer becomes Kentucky's defensive coordinator down the line. Brooks probably assured Kaumeyer he would be next in line for the job. As for the Green Wave defense, the unit played fairly well by Tulane standards but still didn't live up to expectations considering how many seniors it had on the defensive line. In addition, the defense played terrible in fourth quarter almost every game and cost the team at least two games (Memphis and Army come to mind) because of its ineptness against no-huddle offenses.

Recap: UAB 62, Tulane 61

2008-01-10T16:52:00.000-06:00

The Green Wave fell in a heartbreaker 62-61 Friday night. The Blazers brought the ball up with 10 seconds left after forward David Gomez missed the second of two free throws. With less than two seconds left in the game, referees called a foul on guard Kevin Sims for reaching in on UAB guard Ed Barrios, who was in the act of shooting a three pointer. Barrios hit all three free throws. The Green Wave couldn't get a final shot off and subsequently fell to 10-5 on the year.

Players of the Game: UAB guard Ed Barrios (or the officiating crew, depending on your perspective)

There were a few main problems with calling a foul on Sims on the final possession:

1) Barrios initiated the contact. The UAB point guard was trapped in the corner by forward Donnie Stith and Sims and had nowhere to go. In desperation, he flung his body forward into Stith and Sims, who both had position and weren't moving.

2) Some observers say the foul was on Sims because he reached in on Barrios, not because of the contact on the shot. In this scenario, the Blazers should have only shot two free throws, not three, since the foul occurred before the shot and there is no continuation rule in college basketball. This certainly would have been a ticky-tack foul as well.

However, head coach Dave Dickerson thought it was a good call, and there wasn't a lot of complaining on the Tulane side. In any case, Barrios' decision to fling himself a the basket in hopes of drawing a foul was a heady play and resulted in a win for the Blazers.

Stat of the Game: 50

The Green Wave defense broke down in the second half, allowing the Blazers to hit 50% of their shots compared to only 30% in the first half. Many of UAB's points late in the game came on easy penetration to the basket. The help defense seemed as step too slow on every play. Offensive rebounds also kept UAB in the game down the stretch and allowed the hot-shooting Blazers more opportunities. The final rebounding margin was 40-29 in favor of the Blazers.

Quote of the game: Head Coach Dave Dickerson

"I thought it was a good call (the foul on UAB's last second shot). We're not complaining about the call. We had our chances to win this game and hats off to UAB and (Ed) Berrios. Whenever you can go to the line with 1.6 seconds and win the game with three back-to-back free throws is a hell of a job. They made all the right plays and we didn't. It is as simple as that. We missed a free throw that would have tied the situation up and would have forced over time, and we had an easy shot in front of the basket and missed that. The bottom line is we couldn't rebound the ball enough to win the game. They out-rebounded us and made all the tough plays, and we have to go back and work on that."

Coming Up Tulane will continue conference play on the road with games against Southern Miss tomorrow and Tulsa on Jan. 16.

BCS Championship Part 3

2008-01-07T21:04:00.000-06:00

3rd Quarter:
14:53- Game resumes- LSU first down

*LSU's offense is totally warping OSU's #1-ranked defense at this point; the Tigers are finding openings everywhere to gain more yardage.
10:30- OSU 4th personal foul- intentional harm to punter. LSU first down
9:13- First and goal LSU
9:04- LSU in for another touchdown, to raise the score to 30-10. Good field goal launches LSU to 31-10 lead.
*Side note: This is getting ridiculous. I am recanting what I said about Coach Tressel in the previous post. There is no reason that the #1 defense in the country should be losing it this badly. At this point, I (as an OSU fan) was ready to turn the game off from sheer annoyance. However, I believe in perseverance, so I will continue to recap this runaway matchup.
8:03- OSU QB runs in a wide-open field for the first down, but the team cannot convert into another first down. Ball goes back to LSU
5:43- OSU switching up its field position, holding LSU to 2nd and long
4:54- LSU breaks through OSU defense yet again for another first down
3:44- OSU's Malcom Jenkins intercepts ball, runs it to the 11
1:59- OSU stopped to 4th and 5- OSU scores touchdown; punt is good to bring the score to 31- 17 LSU

4th Quarter:

14:33- 3rd straight stop by OSU defense, forces LSU's Fischer to punt. OSU gets the ball at its own 20.
13:30- OSU first down, gaining of 17 at the 40-yard line
13:06- Wells shows his speed and great vision, picking up a first down for Ohio State
12:47- the Buckeyes are picking up momentum, running the ball well for another first down
11:29- 3rd and 4 for Ohio State- Beckman gets sacked
10:40- OSU time out, while at 4th and 7
10:31- OSU Qb's pass blocked and the ball is loose; players scrambling; LSU gains possession
8:15 OSU gains the ball back
7:04- Wells, off a 4th and 1 play, gains the much-needed first down for OSU
6:49- 13-yard completion for the Buckeyes, good for a first down.
6:31- Beckman hit from behind by Glen Dorsey (where has he been all night?), drops the ball, but recovers it
5:43- LSU intercepts Beckman's pass, gains possession
3:00- Murphy runs ball to 27 yard line
1:50- LSU touchdown
1:42- OSU returns the ball to the 46-yard line
1:29- flag for interference on the play on OSU; 15-yard penalty for a first down for OSU
1:13- OSU touchdown pass from Beckman to Hartline and kick is good for a 38-24 ballgame

And that's the Game. Congrats to LSU, they played it well and (despite my overwhelming bias) deserved to win this thing. OSU has a very young team, with only 3 starting seniors, so expect to see big things from those kids next year.

What are your thoughts? Were you as annoyed as I was by the 5 personal fouls on Ohio State as I was? Do you still think that LSU and OSU should have been in this championship? or should USC have had a shot at the BCS title?

BCS National Championship Part 2

2008-01-07T20:07:00.000-06:00

2nd Quarter:

OSU Coach Jim Tressel has been very gutsy with his calls so far and it has definitely paid off.

14:15- LSU QB Ryan Perriloux now in the game
13:56- Perriloux- runs ball for close to a first down. OSU's Denlinger called for a late hit--LSU first down
13:10- personal foul- face mask grab on OSU, first down
13:00- LSU's Tight End(82) Richard Dickson scores 13-yard touchdown to tie game at 10.
12:45- OSU's Wells- long 1st down run past half field.
12:37 Robiskie- first down run.
12:05- OSU flag- pushed back 15 yards to make it 2nd and 25.
10:55- LSU stops OSU field goal attempt
8:55- LSU's Holliday manuveres through OSU defense to make 3rd and short. Sets up for an LSU 1st down.
7:25- Brandon Lafell- LSU touchdown. LSU leads 17-10
6:18- LSU interception to the 28-yard line
5:26 -Dixon makes catch at OSU's 1-yard line
*The momentum seems to have have changed drastically, as LSU has definitely taken control of the game
4:16- LSU touchdown; the Tigers have obtained 24 unanswered points

BCS National Championship- Ohio State vs LSU: Part 1

2008-01-07T19:24:00.000-06:00

Though Tulane did not get a bid to a Postseason NCAA bowl this year, it seems a crime to overlook the biggest event in college football that's taking place in our backyard. LSU vs Ohio State: a game in which many sports experts claimed that neither team deserved to attend because of this mess of a reguar season. A game that many commentators claimed would only be watched by Tiger and Buckeye fans.
As an avid Ohio State fan (and Tulane student), I will say that I am gunning for OSU to pull through with the victory because if the team wants to be taken seriously next season, it must pull off this win, especially after last year's embarrassing loss to Florida. However, I will not overlook LSU,as the Tigers are the obvious favorites tonight with homefield advantage.

*Side note- Very clever how Glenn Dorsey parodied Forrest Gump in the game's pre-show. Even OSU fans can appreciate that.
That being said, let's get this show on the road!

1st quarter-
13:34- 3rd play of the game-Ohio State touchdown, (28)Chris Wells- run-in 65-yard touchdown.
12:53 to go in 1st- LSU gains possession, snap from Brett Helms sails by Flynn, recovers ball at own 5, LSU must punt.
12:03- 69-yard punt, OSU regains ball at the 41-yard line
11:53 -(3)Tailback Brandon Saine- catch at LSU's 15-yard line--wide open catch on the outside formation!
10:55- False start-on Ohio State's Rehring (71)-to make it 2nd and 10
9:12- Pretiorus scores field goal to make it 10-0 Ohio State.
8:20- LSU regains the ball
7:37- LSU (9)-Ducett obtains the Tigers' first first down of the night
6:26- Handoff to Hester-gain of 20 yards
5:59 Flynn to (9) Ducett- long pass
4:29- Handoff to Hester- gain of 4, inside the OSU 12 yard line.
2:31- LSU time out
2:25- Flynn stopped by OSU defense; Colt David scores 32 yard field goal. OSU leads 10-3.
1:28 - Wells- 5 carries, 87 yards, 65-yard touchdown
*Ohio State is definitely more aggressive this year, putting so much pressure on the ball at every point in the game.
0:07- LSU fumble- at 15 yard line; LSU regains ball at its own 15-yard line.
End of 1st

LSU Recap

2008-01-03T15:18:00.000-06:00

The Tulane men's basketball team finally got rid of the curse that's been hanging around for almost 26 years by defeating LSU 68-63. It was a complete team effort with Donnie Stith and Johnny Mayhanne providing big efforts off of the bench. As usual, the Wave were led by David Gomez who had a double-double, and Kevin Sims, who committed zero turnovers in 30+ minutes of action.

It was a back-and-forth affair all night long, but the Wave came through when it mattered in the final three minutes. With the game tied at 63, Daniel Puckett hit a jumper in the lane to give Tulane the lead. After Anthony Randolph missed a baseline jumper, Puckett then hit one of two free throws to make it a three point game. This forced LSU to shoot a low-percentage three from the baseline on its next possession. Stith then hit two free throws for the final margin of victory.

Stat of the Game

17-19 FT's

Tulane shot an impressive 90% from the line that made sure that each possession did not go wasted. LSU meanwhile, was only 9-14 from the line.

Player of the Game

Donnie Stith

It is hard to pick out one player that is deserving of this award, but Stith made some key free throws late in the game and grabbed key offensive rebounds that allowed Tulane extra possessions.

Post-Game Quotes

Tulane coach Dave Dickerson

On beating LSU for the first time since 1982:

"What a great win for our program, our guys played extremely hard for 40 minutes and everyone stepped up."

On the Wave's excellent free-throw shooting:

"We felt that LSU had to foul us because they were so small inside"

"(jokingly) I'll take credit for the free throw shooting. The offseason work on free throw shooting, where we made everyone shoot 350 free throws, definitely helped us tonight at the line."

On Johnny Mayhanne:

"He's a talented player that didn't get to play much last season because of a knee injury.It was just his night to step up and he made some big shots."

On the team's future:

"I hope we continue to get support from the fans, there are great things going on with this basketball team."

Tulane forward David Gomez

On beating LSU:

"I can't even begin to describe how it feels to beat LSU being from Baton Rouge."

On being able to control the lane:

"We outweighed them and were able to negate their length because we were able to get far enough into the lane."

"The foul trouble on (Anthony) Randolph was part of the gameplan because they only play 7 or 8 guys."

LSU Coach John Brady

"We gave ourselves a chance to win it at the end, and that's all you can ask for. I'm not disappointed with the effort that we gave out there tonight"

"That's the best Tulane team we've played since the rivalry was renewed."

Tulane vs. LSU 2nd Half

2008-01-02T21:02:00.000-06:00

Wave grab their 10th victory of the year, 68-63 defeating LSU for the first time since 1982 in the NIT. A big win for the Green Wave is simply an understatement.

9.0 Martin air-balls a three and Wheaton grabs the rebound. Tulane then runs out the clock to loud applause from the crowd.

16.2 Randolph misses the jumper and Stith gets the rebound. He is then fouled by Spencer and will shoot two free throws. Stith hits both for a Wave 5 point lead.

LSU calls its last timeout as the crowd comes to its feet. The big thing here is that the Tigers need a three to tie.

24.0 Martin then fouls Puckett in the lane. He has two huge free throws coming up. Puckett hits 1 of 2 for a three point Tulane lead.

52.1 Randolph miss is corralled by Stith.

1:07 left and 31 on the shot clock. LSU will inbounds from half-court.

1:13 Puckett with a big basket in the lane as the Wave now lead by two with just over a minute left. LSU calls their last full timeout, they have just a 30 left.

1:47 Thornton commits the foul on Gomez, who will have two free throws. Gomez hits the first and then the second. The loose ball goes off of Martin and the Wave will have the ball tied at 63.

LSU in the full court press

2:15 Randolph hits both and LSU back up by a point. Dickerson calls a 30 second timeout at a crucial juncture

2:45 LSU turnover on the pass attempted for Randolph. Sims brings it up but Stith turns it over. Randolph is fouled on the other end by Gomez and will have two big free throws.

3:12 Mayhanne at the line after a foul on Thornton. He hits both and the Wave now up by 1

3:13 Randolph dunks the ball off of the LSU miss and the Tigers lead by 1.

3:50 LSU will have the ball down 60-57 after a Tulane foul. Randolph will shoot two free throws. First free throw is good as is the second. LSU down 1 and in the full court press. Gomez can't handle the ball and it'll be LSU ball

4:16 Wheaton hits the front end of a one-and-one and then the second to give the Wave a three point lead.

4:47 Spencer hits a three as the Wave now lead by just 1. Louisme missed a gimme layup on the other end on the Wave's previous possession

7:06 Puckett comes away with the offensive rebound but is called for traveling as he falls down

7:39 Great defense by the Wave on the defensive end as Louisme first blocks a Mason shot and then comes away with the rebound. Thornton then called for the loose-ball foul.

8:03 Gomez will shoot two free throws after he is fouled by Randolph, his 4th. Gomez hits both free throws as the Wave now lead by 4.

8:20 Wheaton commits the turnover which turns into a fastbreak opportunity at the other end for Randolph. Stith commits the foul saving an easy basket. Wave continue to lead 56-54.

9:12 After a Mayhanne missed dunk, Dameon Mason is fouled in the lane and hits the shot. He will have a three point opportunity, which he misses. LSU comes away with the offensive rebound however. Randolph air-balls a jumper and Tulane comes away with it.

9:52 A great pass from Sims to Gomez and he converts easily. Temple answers on the other end with a three that cuts the Wave lead to 4.

10:40 LSU once again beats the shot clock as Temple hits a three to cut the lead to 5. It was an NBA range three that Temple converted

11:38 A thunderous block by Stith and a Sims three pointer at the other end extends the Wave lead to 8 at 54-46

11:48 Johnny Mayhanne nearly completes his own personal 7-0 run, but his layup rolls in and out. Mayhanne hit a three pointer and then scored on a layup before missing the current attempt. Wave now have their biggest lead of the game at 51-46.

13:50 Sims drives the lane against the 2-3 zone LSU was in and makes the layup. Wave up 46-43.

14:56 A big foul on Anthony Randolph, his 3rd as he has to exit the ball game. Sims hits two free throws to give the Wave a 3 point cushion. Sims then plays excellent defense on Temple forcing him to call a timeout.

15:24 LSU will have a three point opportunity as Puckett commits the foul on Martin as he drove the lane. Martin converts and the Wave again lead by 1

16:32 Sims hits a three pointer to extend the Wave lead to 4, 42-38.

17:00 A tough baseline jumper is good by Marcus Thornton of LSU. The seesaw affair sees the Wave lead by 1

18:05 A double whammy for LSU as Johnson commits the turnover and injured his thumb on the play

19:00 Louisme hits a floater in the lane, as the Wave lead by 1.

19:30 Johnson hits a baseline jumper to give the lead back to LSU

19:53 Randolph commits the offensive foul and Matt Wheaton puts in the reverse layup to give the Wave a one point lead.

Tulane vs. LSU 1st Half

2008-01-02T20:04:00.000-06:00

Halftime Leaders

Gomez 12 points, 4 rebounds
Stith 7 points, 6 rebounds
Sims & Richard 3 points apiece

0.0 Puckett inbounds to Richard to heaves it and it falls. The Wave trail by 1 at the half for the moment as it is reviewed by the officials. The shot is upheld after review.

50.2 Sims hits a jumper from the free throw line to cut the lead to 30-28

1:10 Martin hits a three to give the Tigers a 4 point lead

2:51 Good defensive play from Richard will give the Tigers possession but only 5 on the shot clock. A desperate 3 point heave is banked in as the shot clock winds down. LSU leads by 1

First shouts of Green Wave as Tulane is now on a 9-0 run.

3:42 Terry Martin turns it over and the Wave will have a chance to extend it to a 2 possession game after the official time-out.

4:06 Stith on the fast break lays it in and is fouled by Garrett Temple. Stith converts the three point play and the Wave now lead by 2.

4:50 Louisme scores after Chris Johnson is called for LSU's third goaltending violation. Kris Richard then creates the turnover and Stith is fouled in the lane. Stith hits both free throws and it is quickly a 1 point game once again.

5:37 Gomez hits two free throws to make it 24-19 LSU.

6:00 Chris Johnson hits 1 of 2 free throws and Terry Martin hits a three pointer to extend the Tigers lead to 24-17

The crowd is really into it now as Gomez is called for a foul and Dickerson a technical for demonstration.

6:11 Gomez dunks it easily but is called for the technical foul for slapping the backboard after dunking it. Thornton only hits 1 of 2 and it remains a 1 possession game.

6:56 Martin converts on the Puckett turnover laying it in easily for a 19-15 Tigers lead

8:20 A questionable non-call on a Gomez shot for goaltending. Kris Richard then loses the handle out of bounds to LSU.

9:00 Wheaton hits a three to cut the lead to 2.

9:22 Spencer hits one of two free throws to give LSU its biggest lead 17-12

10:12 Good persistence from Randolph as he is able to put it in on the third tip attempt. Tigers 16 Tulane 12

So far Gomez leads the Wave with 8 points, Stith and Puckett have the other points for Tulane with 2 apiece. The Wave have been able to hang with the Tigers thus far. It will interesting to see how the Wave respond without Gomez on the floor

11:24 LSU is able to grab two offensive rebounds in succession, which results in an Anthony Randolph layup. LSU back on top 14-12

12:32 Good movement by the Wave offense leads to a Daniel Puckett layup. Game tied once again at 12

13:12 Stith scores on the lefty hook in the lane to cut the lead to 12-10 LSU

13:46 Bo Spencer scores for LSU on the fast break to give the Tigers a 12-8 lead.

15:08 Gomez hits another shot in the lane and ties the game at 8. Gomez has scored all of the Wave's points

16:01 Gomez gets 2 offensive rebounds in a row. The second putback by Gomez is good after a goaltending call. LSU 8 Tulane 6. Gomez's basket snaps an 8-0 run by LSU

17:15 Terry Martin hits a 3 to give the Tigers the lead, 6-4. Tigers on a 6-0 run in the last 2 minutes.

18:33 Matt Wheaton fouls Anthony Randolph on the fast break. Randolph hits 1 of 2. Wave 4 Tigers 1

19:00 Gomez drives the baseline and puts it in on the reverse layup. Wave 4 Tigers 0

19:36 David Gomez tips it in off a Robinson Louisme miss and the Wave have an early lead 2-0.

A nice crowd has turned out for tonight's game, mostly clad in green. There is a small contingent of LSU fans also in attendance, but for once Green Wave fans outnumber Tigers fans

Preview: Tulane vs. LSU

2008-01-02T00:07:00.000-06:00

Men's Basketball vs. LSU (
Women's Basketball vs. Nicholls State (5 p.m.)
New Orleans Arena
CSTV

It's only 18 hours until Tulane basketball resumes with a double-header in New Orleans Arena. The women will begin by feasting on a poor Nicholls State team, and then the men will follow with a huge matchup against a very beatable LSU team.

Scouting Women's Basketball vs. Nicholls State.

The reason Lisa Stockton's crew doesn't get a separate blog post is because Nicholls State is, to be blunt, bad. Their RPI is estimated to be around 334, which would make them one of the worst teams in Division I women's basketball. This win will hurt the Green Wave's RPI, which now sits around 70. This game could get ugly -- I'm talking Georgia vs. Hawaii ugly.

Scouting LSU
The Tigers are a tough team to scout for one simply reason: who knows which Tigers team will show up, and for how long? Will it be the well-oiled machine that pounded the likes of Washington and Villanova in the first half, or the mess of a ball club that ended up blowing those two games in the second half with poor shooting and non-existent defense. The Green Wave should expect the best from the Tigers, since the last thing LSU basketball needs while struggling to fight obscurity in football country is a loss to an in-state rival.

The Tigers feature plenty of size inside with big men Chris Johnson and Anthony Randolph both standing at 6'11." The pair can hit the glass, block shots, and get easy buckets inside. The key to this game will be rebounding. LSU dominated the Green Wave on the boards last year and, as a result, won the game despite playing poorly.

Player to Watch: David Gomez

Last season, the Baton Rouge native led the Wave in scoring and rebounding and forced the Tigers to pay more attention to him on defense, leaving Sims and others with easier shots on the perimeter. Gomez is a fun player to watch when he plays with a chip on his shoulder. Also look out for LSU's Bo Spencer, an outstanding freshman who was recruited by Tulane but decided in the end to go to LSU

Prediction:
If LSU plays its best basketball for 40 minutes: LSU 76, Tulane 58
If LSU goes through the motions like it usually does: Tulane 67, LSU 62

Alabama State Recap

2007-12-30T16:42:00.001-06:00

After a very slow start, the Wave picked up the intensity in the second half going on a 7-0 run to begin the period. David Gomez was one of three players in double figures, leading Tulane with 28 points in 32 minutes of action. He also became the 14th player in Tulane history to record 1000 rebounds.
Kevin Sims nearly picked up a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 9 assists. Head Coach Dave Dickerson said this was a big win for the Wave despite Alabama State being from the SWAC.
"I told our guys that this was a big game for this program; if we lose, we're back to where we started when I first came here."
After a fiery halftime speech, Dickerson relied heavily on his seniors namely Gomez.
"He got on us a little bit, I'm not gonna lie,"Gomez said.
Dickerson also praised the play of his young point guard.
"Sims was amazing for us tonight, he kept the guys calm when Alabama (State) made their run."
Up next for the Wave is the hated LSU Tigers at the New Orleans Arena on January 2nd. The Tigers come in with a lot to prove after a very slow start to their season. However, Gomez is well aware of the threat that LSU can pose.
"They're still looking for an identity but the main thing is that they're still very athletic, which can create a lot of problems."

Tulane vs. Alabama State Second Half

2007-12-28T19:50:00.001-06:00

The Wave win their 9th game of the year 69-60 and will take on the LSU Tigers in their next game on January 2nd.

0:49 Stith hits two free throws, Wave up 69-56. Gomez takes a seat to cheers from the crowd after a well-played game

1:10 5 second violation on the Wave. Alabama State has it back down 11, 67-56

1:56 Puckett draws the foul as he drives the lane. Tulane will now shoot two free throws the rest of the way. Puckett hits both free throws and the Wave lead 67-54

3:28 Sims is shaken up after a foul on the inbounds pass. Sims takes a minute to regain his composure as he will have a one and one at the other end. The front end is no good.

3:51 Puckett puts back a Stith miss and the Wave have their biggest lead of the game at 65-53

4:51 Kickingstallionsims fouls out and Puckett is on the free throw line shooting one and the bonus. Puckett hits both free throws.

5:25 Sims makes up for his turnover by hitting a big three to push the lead to 9. An offensive foul on the other end by Chief gives the Wave the ball with just over five minutes left

5:59 A turnover by Sims puts Alabama State back in it, 58-52.

6:35 Gomez fouled by Kickingstallionsims and will have two free throws. Gomez misses the first and makes the second. Wave up by 10, 58-48

Once again, clock issues stop play at Fogleman Arena

8:13 Wheaton hits a three to extend the Tulane lead to 57-46

8:29 Chief hits two free throws to make it Tulane 54 Alabama State 46

9:00 The best name I've seen so far in basketball, Alabama State center Chief Kickingstallionsims, commits the foul on David Gomez

9:30 Gomez hits both free throws to push the Wave lead back into double digits, 54-44

10:05 Louisme lays it in on the fast break after an assist from Sims. The Wave lead is back up to 8

10:35 Mayhanne drives and banks it home and is fouled in the process. The three point play is converted. Wave 50 Alabama State 44

10:48 Hayles with another three, its now a one possession game at 47-44

11:32 Stith stops the bleeding for the moment as a jump hook falls after dancing on the rim for a couple seconds, Wave up 47-41

11:54 The media timeout can't come quickly enough for the Wave as they are on their heels at the moment without the presence of Gomez. The Wave however still have a 4 point lead at 45-41

12:20 Dickerson can't bear to watch at the moment as Vianney air-balls a three point attempt

12:47 Andrew Hayles hits a three pointer to make it a 4 point game, Hayles however is called for the technical foul after overaggression on defense. Mayhanne misses both technical free throws and the lead remains at 4

13:17 Brandon Brooks hits a jumper in the lane to cut the Wave lead to 7 points, 45-38

14:50 Gomez now has 21 points to lead all scorers as he lays it in after a pass from Vianney

15:25 Brandon Gordon finishes a miss with a thunderous dunk as the Wave lead is cut to 43-34

16:20 Louisme with a tough shot but is able to finish, Wave lead 41-30

17:21 A nice feed by Matt Wheaton and Sims lays it in easily, Wave lead 39-30

17:59 After a State miss, Gomez finishes the fast break with a reverse layup to give the Wave a 37-28 lead. Alabama State calls a full timeout as the Wave look to pull away early. That's a 7-0 run to begin the half

18:30 Puckett drives to the hoop and lays it in for his first points of the game, Wave lead 35-28

18:56 The Wave have definitely turned up the intensity on the defensive end as they force their second turnover in as many possessions

19:13 Gomez with another opportunity for a three point play, Gomez converts and the Wave have their biggest lead of the game at 33-28

Tulane vs. Alabama State First Half

2007-12-28T19:14:00.000-06:00

Halftime Leaders

Gomez 12 points, 5 rebounds
Sims 5 points, 5 assists
Louisme 6 points, 3 rebounds

The Wave is shooting 43% from the floor but is just 1 of 3 from the free throw line. The Wave's best opportunities came when they drove to the basket and they will have to be more aggressive in the second half.

0:01 Gomez hits a fallaway jumper at the buzzer to give the Wave a 30-28 lead going into halftime.

0:33 Roland Fitch hits a jumper for Alabama State to tie the game at 28

1:10 Puckett is rejected at the rim, looking for a foul but none is coming

2:03 Louisme scores on the layup to give the Wave its first lead since early in the game, 28-26

2:46 Gomez scores off of the inbounds pass and the game is tied for the first time in a long while

3:19 Sims air-balls a three point attempt with the shot clock winding down

4:09 Gomez banks one off the glass to make it 26-24, Wave still trails

4:49 Gomez will have an opportunity for a three point play and converts and the State lead is down to 1, 23-22

6:15 Matt Wheaton hits a three and another Tulane jumper cuts the State lead down to 2 points, 21-19

7:57 Another turnover by the Wave as Gomez is the culprit this time, the Wave are bailed out by a traveling violation by Alabama St.

9:11 Vianney hits a jumper from the free throw line to make it 19-14 Alabama St.

9:31 Wave are playing very sloppy ball at the moment as Richard turns it over

10:22 Turnover on Stith, Alabama State capitalizes on the turnover with a layup by Roland Fitch

Sims leads the Wave 5 points thus far, Kris Richard and Johnny Mayhanne both check into the game

11:15 Tie ball and the possession arrow will go to the Wave after the official timeout

11:30 Stith takes a long three, obviously not in his range, and misses badly

12:33 Kevin Sims drives to the basket and lays it in as the Wave cut the lead to 5, 17-12

13:21 Donnie Stith is fouled driving to the basket but misses both free throws

13:41 Alabama State 15 Tulane 8 as Alabama is able to hit a three pointer

At the first official timeout, Alabama St. leads the Wave 12-8.

Rainbow Classic Recap: Tulane over St. Johns

2007-12-23T11:42:00.000-06:00

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.

Tulane at Rainbow Classic

2007-12-21T20:57:00.000-06:00

The Green Wave men's basketball team is currently in Hawaii participating in the Rainbow Classic. The Wave lost to St. Mary's last night but rebounded with a win against Georgia 70-69 earlier this afternoon. David Gomez hit a go-ahead three pointer with 6 seconds left to vault the Wave ahead. He finished with 24 points to lead all scorers. The Wave now takes on St. John's in the fifth place game, to take place tomorrow.

Preview: Men's Basketball vs. Indiana State

2007-12-16T11:20:00.000-06:00

Tulane vs. Indiana State Sycamores (Missouri Valley Conference)
Monday, December 16, 2007 at 6 p.m.
Fogelmen Arena

Overview: With final exams ending this week and the holidays appraoching, there probably won't be a large contingent of students on campus for Monday's game against Indiana State But that still doesn't mean this won't be a good game. The Grreen Wave is coming off a solid win over Gardner-Webb, and its RPI has shot up in recent weeks thanks to the resurgence of Nicholls State, which beat Louisiana-Monroe, UNO and Lipscomb over the past few weeks after starting the season 0-6. The rest of the non-conference schedule includes the Sycamores, a tough St. Mary's team (No. 24 as of Sunday) in the Rainbow Classic , and LSU. A weep of tha schedule would certainly open some eyes in the national scene, but a 3-2 or 4-1 non-conference finish is more realistic.

Last Meeting: The Green Wave fell at Indiana State last year 59-47 despite holding them to under 33% shooting. The Sycamores blew Tulane away in the second half with a 27-9 run as the Green Wave simply could not buy a field goal. The rebounding margin was also a difference, as the Green Wave was out-rebounded 43-32.

Scouting Indiana St.: The Sycamores have been historically one of the most underrated teams in college basketball...when playing at home. The road, however, is a separate story, escpecially this season. First-year coach Kevin McKenna's squad is 3-0 at home but 0-4 on the road. To be fair, the road schedule hasn't been easy, but the team simply misses open shots and makes more mistakes when away from the Hulman Center. Marico Stinson leads the team in scoring with only 10.8 points per game, but the Sycamores are similar to the Green Wave in that they have many (inconsistent) weapons -- it's just a matter of who will step up on any given night.

Player to watch: David Gomez has 20 points and 9 rebounds in the game last season despite fouling out. Look for him to be more assertive than the last few games. Vianney, a transfer from Illinois State which also plays in the Missouri Valley Conference, should also have a good game as the Indiana State defense collapses on Gomez and Louisme,

Prediction: Green Wave in a close one.

Forte, Nierman receive national recognition

2007-12-11T21:16:00.000-06:00

Matt Forte finally got some recognition for his performances this season as he was named to the Associated Press All-American 3rd team. Forte was very deserving of this national recognition and will look to boost his stock in the Senior Bowl in January.

Meanwhile, freshman offensive lineman Andrew Nierman was an honorable mention in Sporting News' All-Freshman team.

Green Wave tops Gardner-Webb

2007-12-09T16:39:00.000-06:00

As many of you may know, the Green Wave knocked off Gardner-Webb (yes, the same one that upset Kentucky earlier this year) 84-79 on Saturday. Donnie Stith broke out for 15 points and 10 rebounds while Kevin Sims added 19. For the second home game in a row, the officials were having trouble with the shot and game clocks as play was interrupted a number of times.

Player of the Game: Donnie Stith
If Stith played to his potential like this all the time, the Green Wave would be one of the top three teams in Conference USA. He's already a weapon on the defensive end but never seems to have put it all together on the offensive side of the ball. It seems the key to success for the Green Wave involves getting good games out of Sims, Robinson Gomez, and one of the guards (Mayhane/Vianney/Wheaton) and one of the forwards (Stith/Louisme/Puckett). Gomez had another relatively quiet night and has really been a disappointment so far this season. Dickerson said earlier in the year he wanted Gomez to score around 15-17 points a game, but instead it looks like he's taken a step back from last season.
Stat of the Game: 15

The Green Wave grabbed 15 more rebounds (46-31) than Gardner-Webb thanks to the performances of Stith and Asim McQueen (who had 7 boards). Both teams shot fairly well, but Tulane's size and quickness advantage really won them the game.

Quote of the Game: Dave Dickerson

"This is a good win for us because Gardner-Webb is a very good team. It's no fluke that they beat Kentucky at Kentucky. They came in here and played 40 minutes of solid basketball, but give credit to our team. We made unbelievable plays and had 19 offensive rebounds. Donnie Stith was our best player of the day without a doubt with 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Without his effort, there is no way we win the game, and that is what a senior is supposed to do and Donnie did it today."

Next Up: The Green Wave will take on Indiana State in Fogelman Arena next Monday, December 17th. They'll be looking to avenge a 59-47 loss to the Sycamores last season in the house that Larry Bird built.

Tulane vs. Huston-Tillotson Second Half

2007-12-05T20:03:00.000-06:00

0:00 - The game finished with Tulane winning 75-43. A very boring game, in the sense that right ffromt he very beginning Huston-Tillotson never really stood a chance. Complete dominance offensively and defensively. A very good performance from Tulane, as they did what was expected of them. I would have like to see better outside shooting from the Green Wave, but I guess you can't get everything.

5:24 - Tulane is finally starting to get the jumper to go, as they have now hit three three pointers in this half to go along with a few umpers. Tulane just keeps on pouring in the points at this point. They are up 69-32

9:24- Robinson Louisme is having his way in this game. HE is just way too big for this team to handle, as he should be. Huston-Tillotson is a non-NCAA division 1 team. To be honest, I don't even know what that really means, but I am sure it is not good. TUlan has just about double HTU's score, up 55-28

13:20 - Eric Vianney drills the first three-pointer of the game. Wave up 47-25

David Gomez and Robinson Louisme are already on the bench. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't come back in or take a longer rest than usual here. Huston-Tillotson does not seem to be posing any threat.

16:19- Tulane continues to put on a show, get highlight reel blocks. Huston-Tillotson can not get anything going on offense. Wave up 40-19

Tulane vs. Huston-Tillotson First Half

2007-12-05T19:11:00.000-06:00

What I liked about the first half: Team rebounding and Krish Richard's defense. Richard did a great job on his man, notching two steals and also forcing him to throw the ball out of bounds another time. His man never scored. Rebounding wise, Tulane out-rebound HTU 23-15, which is a very wide margin.

What I didn't like about the first half: Outside shooting. While it is not necessarry for Tulane to hit outside shots this game, it certainly would be nice. They are winning this game with layups and rebounding, but against bigger Conference-USA teams, they are going to also need to shoot the ball. Tulane is 0-10 on three-pointers, and as far as I can remember, only hit one jump shot. That is embarrassing.

0:00 - Tulane finishes the first-half ahead of Huston-Tillotson 34-17. Basically played how expected

David Gomez has just become the 29th player in school history to score 1000 his points. He accomplished this with his eighth point, and is now at 1001.

5:29 - Huston-Tillotson is a very small team, and David Gomez is taking advantage. After hitting a jumper, David Gomez blocked a shot, than used his size on the offensive end of the court to get a layup+ foul. He has 9 points already. Tulane is putting this one away quickly, now up 30-10.

8:00 - Huston-Tillotson recently switched to a full court trap, and it seems to be giving Tulane a little bit of trouble. Kevin Sims comes back in the game to help that solve that problem. Tulane keps expanding the lead, which is now 20-10

11:00- Freshman Kris Richard shows great basketbal IQ, smartly picking off two passes on consecutive plays. Green Wave lead 16-6.

12:46- Green Wave look very tentative shooting the ball. They are playing reat defense right now, but offensively they just dont look very confident. Tulane leads 12-6.

14:54 - I got to Fogleman a little late, but right now the Green Wave lead 8-4.

Tonight I am blogging live from Fogleman for the Tulane Men's Basketball game against Huston Carrolton.

Toledo hitting the recruiting trail

2007-12-04T11:43:00.000-06:00

Well, now that I'm back from my one-week hiatus, I'll be able to post more this month. We have a new poll up as well and hopefully some exclusive interviews as well in addition to bringing back in-game blogging for basketball games.

It seems Toledo and his staff have been working their magic on the recruiting trail, hosting a number of high-level prospects that never would have visited during the Scelfo-era.

The list includes one of the top defensive end prospects in the nation, E.D. White Catholic High School's Chase Clement. Clement is a friend and former teammate of Tulane offensive lineman Michael Parenton, and scouts say his size and quickness will bolster any college defense. A number of SEC teams seem to agree, as Clement holds offers from the likes of LSU, Florida, Alabama, and Ole Miss. I personally think he'll stay in-state and join LSU, but his persistent interest in 'Bama and Tulane might make things interesting.

In addition to Clement, a pair of highly-regarded prospects from Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas, Phillip Longino and Kris Rhymes, committed to the Green Wave this past week according to Scout.com.

Longino, a defensive tackle who was Second Team all-District in a tough 5A district in Texas, is around 6'1 tall and weighs in around 170 or 180, and it seems he may continue to grow. He's a guy that can penetrate an interior line and get to the quarterback, racking up three sacks in a 14-0 win of Willowridge in September. Here are his stats from last season. He had committed to LA Tech earlier this year, but backed out and now is considered a solid verbal to the Green Wave. He may get playing time early in his career with the departure of many seniors on the front line.

Rhymes, a safety and former Baylor commit, has battled injuries throughout this season, so the numbers may not look as good as Longino's. But Marshall Coach Michale O'Guin had this to say about Longino earlier this year:

"Had he not been injured, he might've had the opportunity to go [to any college] he wanted to go," O'Guin said. "He came back faster; he looked really good in the spring."

Rymes is around 6'1", 200 lbs. and runs a 4.52 40-yard dash when healthy. He plays running back a lot for Marshall, and he looks like he could develop into an outstanding C-USA safety if he can stay healthy and learn the position better.

Mens Basketball 60, Syracuse 73

2007-12-02T21:52:00.000-06:00

In what will probably be the toughest regular season game for Tulane, the Green Wave lost decisively to Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. From the get-go, Tulane was never really in the game with the Orangmen scoring the game's first 11 points. After a slow start though, Tulane showed some heart by not giving up. Easily, the Green Wave could have just given up and let this game be a 30 point blowout.

But the Green Wave fought back and played tough defense, trimming the lead to seven by half-time. In the end, Syracuse's talent turned out to be too much, as for most of the second half Tulane was down by double-digits. Tulane had a lot of trouble with the size of Syracuse, as expected, giving up 20 offensive rebounds. But in the loss, the team showed it was never willing to quit, and this is a characteristic that is needed to be succesful once conference play starts.

Player of the Game: Daniel Puckett

Daneil Puckett was really the only player who got anything going offensively. He was 6-11 from the field, including two three-pointers, and led the team with 16 points. He kept the game close going into the half, hitting a three-pointer followed by a jumper to cut the lead from 12 to seven. Puckett was huge in the first half when everyone else on Tulane could not score, scoring 10 of his 16 points.

Stat of the Game: .18%

That is the combined shooting percentage of Tulane's two best players, David Gomez and Kevin Sims. Obviously Tulane got killed on the boards, but what really did them in was their terrible shooting. When your top two players go a combined 5-28, it is going to be hard to beat anyone in the country, let alone Syracuse. While Tulane is certainly a deep team, having seven or eight players on the roster who could lead them in scoring, it would be nice to have somebody you can always count on. During this three game losing streak, David Gomez has been anything but that. He was supposed to step up and be the leader, but so far that has yet to happen. While it is still early in the season, if he waits any longer to get it going, it may be too late.

Next up for Tulane: Huston-Tillotson on Wednesday, November 5th at Fogleman Arena, 7:00 PM

Mens Basketball 51, Buffalo 65

2007-11-29T21:06:00.000-06:00

Tongiht, Tulane started their two-game road trip with a loss to the University of Buffalo, 65-51 dropping their record to 3-2. This was their second straight loss, as they lost at home to the University of New Orleans 74-67. Tulane had a miserable night offensivly, shooting 34% from the field and committing 16 turnovers. Not one player had it going offensively, and on a team that is so deep, it is very surprising. Against a weak opponent like Buffalo, you would figure someone would step.

Tulane is showing a troubling trend of getting off to slow starts. Against Nichols State, Tulane was down 16-4 before blowing them out. Against New Orleans, Tulane was down by as much as 17 points, trailing 51-34. Against Buffalo tongiht, by halftime they were already down 37-20. If Tulane is going to consistently be putting itslef in a hole like this, they are going to struggle winning games. Buffalo is by no means a good team. Tulane beat Buffalo 80-63 last year. For Tulane to come out looking this flat is just unacceptable.

Player of the Game: None

While David Gomez put in a solid game tonight if you look at the box score, with 13 points and 6 rebounds, he is supposed to the star of this team. Non surpisingly, David Gomez was only 2-6 in the first half which is when Tulane only managed an embarrassing 20 points. Gomez should be killing weak teams such as Buffalo and the team really needed him to step up in the first half. Yet Gomez was nowhere to be found.

Stat of the Game: .182

That was Tulane's 3-point field-goal percentage. That is just attrocious. Up until then, Tulane had been shooting the three reasonably well. Tulane will be hard pressed to beat any team though shooting this poorly, regardless of how bad they are.

Basketball Season

2007-11-27T15:49:00.001-06:00

Now that football season is over and basketball season upon us, it'll be good for Tulane students to get into the right frame of mind for the season, especially with big road games against Buffalo and Syracuse on the horizon.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LhYy-qq4rX8

Matt Forte Awards

2007-11-20T18:45:00.000-06:00

Despite leading the nation in rushing yards, Matt Forte was not named as a finalist for either the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back or the Maxwell Award, given to college football's best all-around player. Forte should however remain a candidate for the postseason All-America teams and was invited to participate in the Senior Bowl in the spring.

Men's basketball defeats Nichols State 73-51, looks ahead towards University of New Orleans

2007-11-18T21:43:00.000-06:00

On Friday night, for the 16th straight time, the Green Wave defeated the Nichols State Colonels to improve their record to 3-0. Early on, the Green Wave looked like they were in trouble, as they got down 16-4. The Green Wave responded though with a 20-1 run, and by half-time were ahead 35-27. In the second half, Tulane turned the game into a blowout, running the score up to 73-51 before the final buzzer sounded. Tulane was able to seize control of the game with great defense and a balanced offense. That is what got the job done against Auburn. Robinson Louisme led the team with 14 points, but four other players had at least nine points. Gomez is supposed to be the star player, yet he has only led the team in scoring once. If the team is going to have a great season, the supporting cast is going to have to be there for Gomez. There will be nights where he just doesn't have it, and if the supporting cast can continue to pick him up, Tulane should have a great season.

This Saturday, the 24th, Tulane plays the University of New Orleans Privateers (2-0), which should surprisingly be a tough game. While last year Tulane won pretty handily 78-64, this year the Privateers are seemingly a different team. They will be playing with tons of confidence, and deservedly so, after knocking off #22 ranked North Carolina State 65-63, in North Carolina nonetheless, a huge upset by an standard. New Orleans is led by senior Bo McCalebb. He is the reigning Sun Belt Conference player of the year, averaging 25.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals last year. Against North Carolina State, he led the team with 20 points. What makes him more amazing is that he averages 6.8 rebounds and is 6-0! That is almost unheard of. Expect him to be a handful for point guard Kevin Sims. UNO has won twice on the road, and that is usually a sign of two things: good coaching and mental toughness.

Tulane is the more talented team overall though, especially in the front-court, and should win this game. But New Orleans clearly is a different team from last year's edition, and proved in North Carolina State they can't be taken lightly. Expect a hard-fought came that comes down to the wire.

Hullabaloo Prediction: Tulane 67, UNO 63

Tulane vs. Rice 4th Quarter Update

2007-11-17T16:31:00.000-06:00

The Green Wave defeated Rice 45-31. Matt Forte, who started the day with 1,813 yards, finished with 194 yards on 39 carries with 5 touchdowns. The total gives Forte 2,007 yards on the season. Forte became the first running back to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark since JJ Arrington. While it is still unlikely that Forte will make the top 5 in Heisman voting, he certainly should be in contention for other national awards.

Signing Day

2007-11-15T13:54:00.000-06:00

Today was Early Period Signing Day for many of the non-football sports, including Green Wave sports like basketball, baseball, volleyball and (forthcoming) golf. Today athletes who've committed to the school of their choice early can finish off the recruiting process by officially inking a letter of intent instead of waiting until the Spring. Of course, this isn't without controversy, as sports like cross country have eliminated the practice of early signing altogether (here's another article from 2003 in opposition to early signing, which shows how long the debate has persisted). Controversy aside, here is a lowdown on the players that signed with Tulane today:

Men's Basketball:
Head coach Dave Dickerson signed a pair of Texas guards today. The first was Trent Rogers, 6'3" combo guard from Houston Strake Jesuit who was all-district as a junior, averaged 10 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and shot 59 percent from the field last season. That's right, 59 percent. An all-district performer, Rogers served as team captain and was named to the Houston Chronicle All-City second team. Rivals has him ranked as the No. 11 player in Texas
. Last year the Green Wave scouted and offered another Strake Jesuit guard, Sei Paye (who chose LA-Monroe). Don't be too alarmed about the scoring average -- Strake Jesuit has a ton of scorers and playmakers, and Rogers' numbers should go up this season with Paye and others graduated.

Dickerson on Rogers (link):
"Trent is a very complete guard and is kind of a `throwback' type player. He's not a true one, two or three guard, but a hardworking guard who is smart enough to play the point in Conference USA and a good enough shooter to play anywhere in guard rotation. We are very excited to have him join our program because he will give us a great guard combination with our current players. Trent comes from a well-coached team with head coach Wayne Jones, who is a former college player, and he is attending a high academic school, so I believe he will make the transition from high school to Tulane quickly."

The second was Kendall Timmons, a 6'5" shooting guard from Southwest High School. He's the prototypical guy Dickerson likes -- gets after the boards, plays lock-down defense, and shoots the ball well. We posted about him a few months ago when the team announced his commitment. While he's fairly low by recruiting services, I think Timmons may be a big-time sleeper that was overlooked for whatever reason (height? lack of gaudy stats?). His game fits the current landscape of college basketball, where versatility, defense and shooting are at a premium.

Dickerson on Timmons:

"Kendall is another highly rated player from the state of Texas, who should come here next year and give us instant offense. He is well-schooled on the offensive side of the ball and we are excited about that aspect of his game. He has the ability to be a double-double type player in Conference USA early in his career. Kendall will give us the luxury of playing more of an up-tempo style of defensive system. He will be an exciting player to watch on both ends of the court during his four years."

Baseball

As always, Rick Jones signed an amazing recruiting class and, like Dickerson, tapped into the Texas recruiting pool to sign many of his prospects. The recruits include OF/CF Canyon Ramirez (TX), LHP T.J House (MS), C Jeremy Schaffer (TX), OF Ross Seaton (TX), SS/3B/P Carson Blair (TX), and RHP Ryan Doiron (LA). Schaffer and Seaton, both from Houston, are outstanding prospects who should contribute from the start.

Other Sports
Women's Basketball signed two, Women's Golf signed four , and Women's Tennis signed two.

Men's Basketball 66, Charleston Southern 60

2007-11-13T08:12:00.001-06:00

As expected, Charleston Southern put up a fight against the Green Wave. But Dave Dickerson's squad was unable to pull away from the hot-shooting Bucaneers(who hit close to 50% of their 23 three-pointers. Up 58-47, Tulane saw CSU go on a 10-1 run late in the fourth quarter to close the gap to 59-57, but the Green Wave made its free throws down the stretch and had some key stops.

Here is the box score, and a game recap from a Charleston paper.

Hullabaloo Player of the Game: David Gomez (22 pts, 7 rbs, 3 blks)
After a quiet night against Auburn, Gomez really carried the load on offense and simply wore the Bucs out in the paint. He also played some great interior defense, forcing the Bucs into perimeter shots and, as a result, 38% shooting. This certainly won't be the last time he'll have to play like this for the team to win.

Stat of the Game: .478

That's the percentage the Bucs shot from behind the three-point arc (11/23). The Green Wave played outstanding interior defense and forced CSU to beat them from the outside...and they almost did.

Quotes of the Game

"The bottom line is the fact our guys were good enough and tough enough to win on the road. We executed in the last three minutes to win the game. Our defense came through again by holding Charleston Southern to a 38 percent shooting night on its home floor. We played great defense last Friday to beat Auburn at home and we were tough again on defense tonight and that helped us win the game. I'm very, very proud of this team. We did enough things to lose this game, but we had enough character to pull a win out on the road."
- Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson on his team's performance

"Gomez was the difference tonight. He's a big strong guy and we couldn't stop him very often. We have to do a better job in the post defensively and that's an area we will continue to work on."- CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh on David Gomez

Coming up:

The Green Wave will take on Nicholls State at home this Friday at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena.

Men vs. Charleston Southern tonight

2007-11-12T15:13:00.000-06:00

Men's Basketball vs. Charelston Southern
Tonight at 7 p.m. (CST)
Audio: listen to 690 a.m. or listen online
Video: watch online (not free)
Gametracker: Big South Gametracker (none available on CSTV)

The men will look to improve to 2-0 as it faces Big South Conference member Charleston Southern tonight, which started its season with a win over Anderson College 85-74. Although they finished 9-22 and lost six players (including two of its leading scorers), the Bucs picked up a few good transfers and freshmen, including 5'10" freshman Jamarco Warren, a big-time scorer who will probably give the Green Wave fits the way Loyola's guards did in the exhibition game. He scored 24 points in the season opener, and freshman Omar Carter added 19 of his own. For more on the Bucs and the match up, check out the Colonel's game notes,Tulane's game notes , and the box score from last season's CSU vs. Tulane game.

In case you're wondering why Tulane would schedule a home-and-home Charleston Southern, head coach Dave Dickerson is a native of South Carolina and grew up in Olar, which is close to Charleston. This is a team that gave Tulane fits in Fogelman last season, and an upset is certainly not out of the question. Still, the Green Wave has more balance, size, depth, athleticism, and even shooting than CSU, and Dickerson will have his guys prepared to play.

Hullabaloo Prediction: Tulane 78, CSU 57

Also, the women's basketball team will be playing Georgia Tech in Fogelman tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. However, there will be good food and free giveaways before the game, so plan on getting their early.

Great Weekend

2007-11-11T19:41:00.000-06:00

Our poll of the week last week asked readers which Tulane team they thought would be most likely to come away with a win last weekend. As it turns out, they all did.

Football took care of a struggling UTEP team in the Superdome 34-19. With the Miners defense concentrating on stopping Forte (and they held him to "only" 170+ yards and 2 touchdowns). Here are some articles from the Times Pic: Recap , Forte , Jeremy Williams' big game.

I happened to be at the game (as a fan, not as a reporter). It was a beautiful afternoon/evening for tailgating, and I was glad to see a decent-sized and noticeably audible crowd on hand for Senior Day. Dave from WaveFootball.com took some great pictures of all the seniors. You can also see the game threads below for our live coverage.

As for Forte, he still leads the nation in rushing, although UCF's Kevin Smith isn't far behind. Forte needs 187 to hit the 2,000 yard mark, about 400 to break Mewelde Moore's single-season All-Purpose Yards record, 584 yards to be the Tulane career rushing leader, and...well, just read about all the records he can break here.

Men's Basketball notched its first win over an SEC team in 6 years and first win in Fogelman against an SEC team in about 30 years with a commanding 77-62 win over Auburn
. Our basketball beat writer posted his thoughts on the game, which also drew a great crowd. Dave from WaveFootball.com has pics from the Auburn game as well. The men face an underrated Charleston Southern team this week before hosting Nicholls State on Friday.

Women's basketball had its own fun with an SEC opponent, beating Alabama on the road 64-56. This is the second straight year they've beaten the Crimson Tide. Redshirt freshman Brittany Lindsey had herself a nice debut, and with her and Chassity Brown stepping up (15 points) it looks like this team hasn't missed a beat despite losing its top two scorers from last season.

Women's Volleyball completed an undefeated season at home with a 3-0 sweep over UTEP. Too bad it will have to the C-USA tournament in West Virginia as a second seed, with Tulane nemesis and host team Marshall being the top seed.

And let's not forget Women's Cross Country, which ended the season with a ninth place finished in the NCAA Regionals, the Tulane's best finish in history. Senior Aubrey Phillips finished 30th place in the final race of her illustrious career.

Tulane vs. UTEP Fourth Quarter

2007-11-10T20:38:00.000-06:00

Scelfo back at QB, hands-off to Matt Forte for a 6-yard gain to the TU 32.

Scelfo throws it into orbit, but the ball gravitates into the sure hands of Jeremy Williams for a 56 yard reception to the UTEP 12. Williams has 8 catches for 188 yards and 2 TDs.

7-yard carry by Forte.

Hand-off to Forte, stopped after 1-yard gain. 3rd and 2.

Pitch to Forte for a wide-open 4-yard TD run and Forte jogs in. The kick is good.

Forte now TU's all-time leader in TDs scored with 28 career TDs. Grats Mr. Matt. Previous record held by Bill Benker, played from 1927-29.

A Helluva Hullabaloo roars from around the stadium. Sounds very good, excellent unity.

5 plays, 74 yards and 12:53 remains. Forte has 27 carries 132 yards and 2 TDs.

TU 31, UTEP 13.

Josh Femack receives the punt and carries it to the UTEP 35 for a 10-yard return.

Flag on the play: Vinnateau rolled right, threw it deep and low and Skehan nearly came away with it.

Penalty: false start against UTEP, 5-yard penalty back to UTEP 30. 1st and 15.

Vinnateau completes the pass down the middle, short gain.

Vinnateau pass to West incomplete, broken up by Lumar.

3rd and 12 and the crowd goes nuts.

Vinnateau completes the pass to West who is brought down very hard by Carlos Jackson for an 8-yard gain.

UTEP goes for it on 4th and 4 from own 41, and Vinnateau completes a 5-yard pass for a UTEP 1st down at its own 46.

Vinnateau passes to Marcus Thomas for a 4-yard gain. 2nd and 6 at the 50.

Vinnateau throws it out, intended for Chris Adams who takes a valiant, pointless dive.

3rd and 6 at the 50, 10:18 remaining in the game.

Vinnateau pass to Rouse incomplete, 4th and 6 at midfield. Miners 1-2 at 4th down.

Going for it...Pass complete to Joe West despite double coverage, runs down the sideline a 26-yard gain to TU 24. First down.

Vinnateau loops it to Marcus Thomas on the sideline who grabs it and falls out for a 19-yard reception. First and Goal.

Hand-off to Marcus Thomas, gains three yards and is brought down at the 2.

Hand-off to Thomas who runs it in, but there's a flag: holding on the offense and the play is wiped. 2nd and 12 at the Tulane 12.

Vinnateau completes the pass to Maturi who spins around his man and sprints in for the touchdown.

2-point conversion, a pass by Vinnateau, fails. 11 plays, 61 yards and the score is TU 31, UTEP 19. 9:16 remains on the clock.

Andre Anderson receives the punt and downs it in the end-zone. TU to start at the 20 yard-line.

Moore in at QB, hands-off to Forte for a 2-yard gain. 2nd and 8 at the 22.

Moore pitches to Forte who runs right, then jukes up the middle for an 11-yard gain. 1st down at the 33.

Lonely "Roll Wave" chants

Hand-off to Forte for a 4-yard gain. 2nd and 6.

Hand-off to Forte, brought down after a 2-yard loss. 3rd and 6, TU 50/50 on 3rd down at 35.

Scelfo rushes backwards under heavy pressure but releases the force-pass to Batiste who sprints through the defense for a 43-yard gain to the UTEP 32. First down.

Hand-off to Forte who runs left for a 9-yard gain.

Hand-off to Forte who gets the first-down on a 4-yard rush. TU at UTEP 10, first and goal.

TU time-out, first of the 2nd half.

Hand-off to Forte for no gain. 2nd and goal.

4:58 left in the game.

Pitch to Forte whose pass to Ratcliff in the end-zone is high and incomplete.

3rd and goal at the 10.

Hand-off to Forte who struggles up the middle for a 7-yard gain.

UTEP takes a TO, second of 2nd half.

4th and goal for TU from the 3.

2 varieties of cheerleader outfits must be explained...

Ross Thivoneaux kicks a 20-yard field goal, and it's TU 34, UTEP 19. 11 plays, 77 yards.

4:37 left on the clock.

DiRochema kicks a long grounder, scooped-up at the Miners's 16 and run to the 22.

Vinnateau completes 6-yard pass.

Vinnateau pass intercepted by a leaping Skehan who falls back clutching the ball. Skehan has four tackles and four pass break-ups thus far.

Hand-off to Forte, 3-yard gain to 45. 36 carries for 174 yards tonight for Forte.

Tireless, Forte gains 1 yard, 3rd and 6 at TU 46. TU still 50/50 at 3rd down.

Skehan interception ended 121-pass streak by Vinnateau.

TU runs for no gain and it's 4th and 6 at the 46.

Neighbor just trying to write story, professionalism noted.

DiRochma punts it high to Quentin Dims who is completely trucked, sprawling back a yard or more in mid-air and losing the ball...but there are two flags on the play.

Audible groans from beer-swilling man in upper-stands.

Penalties offset each other: roughing the kicker and kick-catch interference. Fourth down replayed:

A deep kick and Dims pitches it to Stevenson, who is brought down at the 10 by an ankle swipe. Flag on the play: personal foul after the play against Joe Goosebi, 15-yard mark-off up to Miner 22.

1st and 10 and 2:05 remains.

Vinnateau completes it to Rouse who is forced out after a 16-yard gain to the UTEP 38. First down.

Vinnateau passes wide-right Rouse who is immediately leapt upon and brought down by Goosebi. Personal foul after the play against Rouse, 15-yard loss on the penalty and a 1-yard loss on the pass. 2nd and 26 at the 22.

12-yard completion to West. 3rd and 14.

Vinnateau completes it to Rouse who is wide open in the middle for a 7-yard gain, 4th and 5 and UTEP goes for it.

Pass to Pierce Hunter who drops it under less pressure than a theoretical vacuum and its TU ball.

Kevin Moore kneels for the final play, clock runs out...and Tulane wins!! Improves to 3-7, with a final score of TU 34, UTEP 19.

Helluva Hullabaloo chant circles stadium with decent enthusiasm. This neophyte personally impressed with de rigueur Forte effort, Skehan's faultless defense, Scelfo's mobility and occasional deep passes and William's speed and catcher's mitt-grasp.

End Transmission

Tulane vs. UTEP Third Quarter

2007-11-10T20:18:00.000-06:00

2nd Half begins.

TU kicks-off to Dims for a 16-yard return to the UTEP 31.

Vinnateau breaks out of the scrum but can't complete the pass.

2nd and 10. Hand-off to Marcus Thomas, runs 9 yards to UTEP 40. Miners 1-6 on 3rd down.

Hand-off to Thomas, minor yardage but there's a flag. Offsides on TU's Avery Williams. UTEP first down.

Sam in at QB. Hand-off to Sam Kieves for a 4-yard gain to UTEP 49. 2nd and 6 with 13 minutes remaining.

Vinnateau back at QB gets the throw off under extreme pressure, it's high and wobbly but the receiver gets a hand on it. He can't bring it in and it's third down.

Vinnateau completes the pass to Jeff Maturi, gains 10 yards after evading his man for a first down.

Vinnateau guns it outside to Lawrence Sam for a 5-yard gain to the TU 36.

2nd and 5. Hand-off to Terrell Jackson, stopped after 3 yards for 3rd and 2 at the TU 33.

Whistles from across the land.

Sam back at QB, scrambles for a sneak and fumbles, but regains it for a 7-yard gain to the TU 26. First down.

Vinnateau at QB, completes it to Jake Sears who is forced out after 13 yards. 1st and 10 at TU 13.

Hands-off to Marcus Thomas, stopped by Jordan Ellis for no gain. 2nd and 10.

Near reception by Joe West, Josh Lumar dives and tips a likely TD. 6th TU pass breakup.

Vinnateau finds no one open, sacked by Avery Williams for a 3-yard loss to the TU 16.

34-yard attempt by Jose Martinez.

A fake FG attempt! But it's unsuccessful-- a 14 yard sack making for TU's 4th sack of the night.

TU regains it, and Matt Forte runs 4 yards--19 carries for 104 yards thus far.

Moore completes it to Batiste for 3 yards, 3rd and 2.

Hand-off to Forte and he gains 3 yards to the TU 41. First down.

Moore launches it down-field to Jeremy Williams but it's knocked away and nearly intercepted.

Hand-off to Forte whose quick spins up the middle result in a 2-yard gain for 3rd and 8.

Whistles prior to the snap: false start against TU's Tyler Rice. 5 yard loss and it's 3rd and 13.

Moore completes it to #84 Kenneth Gidrose for an 8-yard gain. It's fourth and 5 and TU punts...

Or not! It's a fake--Andre Anderson emerges from the ruck with the ball and blazes 43 yards down the field to the UTEP 10.

Scelfo back in at QB. Hand-off to Forte for a 3 yard gain. 2nd and 6 at the 7.

Hand-off to Tuyo for a 1-yard gain to the 6. 3rd and 5.

Scelfo rushes wide-right and passes to Gidrose for a 5 yard reception and TU first down at the 1 yard-line.

Hand-off to Forte who powers up the middle for a TOUCHDOWN. The Allstate net rises and the kick is good. 11 plays and 70 yards and 3:06 remains in the 3rd quarter.

That was Forte's 37th in his career, tying the all-time TD mark set by Bill Benker in the roarin' 20s.

Jason Williams returns the punt and is tackled by Josh Lumar after a 27-yard run to the UTEP 41 yard-line.

3:00 left in the 3rd quarter.

The camera rotates around Toledo and techno emphasizes that you need to buy TU football tickets now!

Crowd dissipated based on noise,at least.

Hand-off to Marcus Thomas who blasts up the middle for a 15-yard gain, UTEP 1st down at TU 45.

Hand-off to Thomas who runs wide-right behind formidable blocking, nearly downed but no, runs 22 yards en toto to TU 23. Brought down by Skehan.

Thomas on the carry again, gains 2 yards to the TU 21. 2nd and 8.

1:22 remains.

Vinnateau completes the pass to Lawrence Sam who shakes off his defender, spins around and is pummeled by Morton for 15 yards and 1st and goal at the TU 6.

Quote: Sam is the injured Miner. Morton is a sizable fellow, but the hurt looked minor. Time will tell...

Dickerson's basso profundo and motion blur invite you to support TU basketball, which you should anyway.

Vinnateau rushes backwards, evades a tackler and throws it away, 2nd and goal at the 6.

49 seconds remain in the quarter

Hand-off to Thomas who hops around a tackler but is brought down by Avery Williams for a 2-yard gain.

3rd and goal. Excellent pass-coverage: Vinnateau's pass knocked down by Joe Goosebe (SP!!).

The 21-yard field-goal attempt by Jose Martinez is good.

With 4 seconds in the 3rd quarter, the score is 24 TU, 13 UTEP.

Martinez punts it to the TU 8, returned 18 yards by Tuyo to the TU 26, and the 3rd quarter draws to a close with annoyingly propulsive action-movie whooshes and beats.

Crowd begins to pick it up with energetic "Green Wave" chant. Marching band drones a lazy rhythm.

Tulane vs. UTEP Halftime

2007-11-10T19:29:00.000-06:00

Mission: Impossible theme courtesy of TU marching band. Note skills, lone sequined multiple baton-tosser with impressive coordination. Black-outfitted six-woman squad tossing lightweight white rifles in semi-unison. Marching band announcer really something-- very enthusiastic.

Rendition of theme from musical Hair. Marching band forms and reforms slowly. This sounds a lot like "Age of Aquarius." Rifle-tossers now spinning cartoon-flame flags. Excellent rendition and performance.

Tulane vs. UTEP Second Quarter

2007-11-10T19:19:00.000-06:00

UTEP at 43, Vinnateau completes pass to Joe West, but tight defense by Skehan causes the receiver to bobble and drop the ball.

UTEP punts to TU 17, Robottom takes it to the TU 31.

Kevin Moore in at QB.

Hands-off to Matt Forte who takes it 4 yards to TU 35. 2nd and 6.

Forte gets the hand-off, rushes outside, avoids several tacklers and takes it 12 yards to the TU 47. First Down.

Hand-off to Forte, 9-yard gain to UTEP 44. 2nd and 1

Forte has 10 carries for 56 yards.

Hand-off to Forte up the middle. Finds little purchase, 3-yard gain to 41.

Direct-snap to Forte, PASSES it high to Brian King, near interception near the end-zone. Credit the break-up to UTEP Cornelius Brown.

Brian King injured on the play.

Hand-off to Forte, finds mile-wide gap outside, tackled by Cavardi-Smith after 18-yard carry to UTEP 23.

TOUCHDOWN!!!

23-yard reception by Jeremy Williams off a high-loop, Williams skies the defense and pulls it down under considerable duress, shakes off the tackle and steps into the end-zone!!!

The field goal is good.

7 plays, 69 yards. TU 17, UTEP 0

12:00 left in 2nd.

Williams has 5 catches, 120 yards and 2 touchdowns.

It's getting better all the time piped over speakers...indeed.
DiRochma kicks off to Dims, stopped at the UTEP 26.

Sam back at QB, tackled after an unsuccessful 1-yard sneak. Credit Evan Lee.

Vinateau fires a bullet to West, tackled by Ishabellum for a 14-yard gain to the Miner 41. First down.

Hand-off to Marcus Thomas, threads a gap and breaks free for a 59-yard gain; high-steps into the end-zone. UTEP touchdown.

3 plays, 74 yards for Miners, and the extra-point is good.

10:35 remains in the second quarter.

Tulane 17, Miners 10

Martinez kicks-off to Tuyo at the goal-line. Bursts forward and breaks through the oncoming tacklers for a 54-yard return to the UTEP 46.

Scelfo back at QB, lateral pitch to Forte for a 1-yard loss.

Hand-off to Forte, piffling yardage.

Direct-snap to Forte, runs wide-left for a 4-yard gain.

4th and 2 at UTEP 38.

Scelfo goes for it, pitches it backwards to Forte, who bobbles it and is tackled.

Miner first-down at own 46.

1-yard gain by Marcus Thomas.

Vinnateau completes it to Lawrence Sam who is dragged out after a 21-yard reception. Miner first-down.

Frank Morton stops UTEP runner for a 4-yard loss.

Vinnateau pass to Joe West incomplete, Skehan credited for the break-up: dives and flips over West's shoulder.

Miner 3rd-down.

Vinnateu completes it to Thomas for a 4th and 2 situation.

Martinez makes the 42-yard field-goal attempt.

6:20 left, TU 17, Miners 10.

Remember to join Coach Toledo at Bruno's every Wednesday for his radio special. Enjoy Cabela's Big-Game Hunter.

Martinez kicks-off to Tuyo at the one-yard line, tackled after a 20-yard gain.

TU first down from own 21.

Moore at QB, pitches to Forte for a 2-yard loss.

2nd and 12.

Forte takes the direct-snap, stutter-steps for a five-yard gain.

3rd and 7 at TU 24.

Moore completes it wide to Forte, tackled by Dims for a 6-yard gain for 4th and 1.

Tulane punts and the ball is downed at the Miner 27 with 4:15 remaining in the half.

UTEP 1st and 10 at 27. Hand-off to Marcus Thomas for a 4 yard gain to Miner 31.

2nd and 6. Vinnateau completes Jake Sears for a 2-yard gain. 3rd and 4.

UTEP at own 34, 0-4 on 3rd down. Crowd erupts.

Vinnateau passes to Marcus Thomas for an 11-yard gain to Miners 45.

Vinnateau passes to Sam, forced-out after a 12-yard gain. First down at TU 43.

Vinnateau doesn't have as much time in the pocket as he thought: scrambles wide and is brought down spinning with an ankle grab by Frank Morton for a 13-yard loss to UTEP 44.

2nd and 23 for the Miners. Vinnateau pass to Rouse incomplete.

3rd and 23 with 1:49 remaining. Spotty crowd makes noise. Vinateau sacked by Evan Lee for a 9-yard loss. Tulane takes a time-out. TU and UTEP have now both burned a TO.

1:41 remains. UTEP on 4th and 32, will they go for it?

No, Kyle Peterson punts to Robottom who downs it and falls over. Flag on the play.

Kick-catch interference against UTEP. 15-yard penalty.

Scelfo back at QB, throws it away. 2nd and 10 at TU 39.

Scelfo pass to Williams incomplete, knocked away by force of diving UTEP defenseman.

Hand-off to Forte who runs 11 yards for a 1st down.

TU has it at the 50, calls a TO with 1:09 remaining.

Note again the spirited crowd. Also commercial for exercising granny. She's living right!

Scelfo bullet up the middle to Williams complete for 8-yard gain to UTEP 42.

Scelfo under heavy pressure throws it away deep. Flag on the play. Scelfo is on the ground, inspected by trainers.

Penalty is illegal formation. 5-yard penalty. Scelfo still down...

According to my neighbor, Scelfo took a hard two-man hit. Walks off field without assistance. Moore back in at QB.

Completes the pass to Forte for no gain. 3rd and 7.

Completes the pass to Williams for four yards. 4th and 3 at the UTEP 43. TU time-out with 13 seconds remaining in the half.

DiRochma on to punt, a short kick and the ball rolls out after 23 yards.

Miner first down at UTEP 20 with 4 seconds on the clock.

Vinnateau takes a knee and the half ends. TU 17 UTEP 10.

Faithful Hullabaloo reporter to survey spelling, chicken wings during half.

Tulane vs. UTEP First Quarter

2007-11-10T18:03:00.000-06:00

Tulane wins the toss and elects to receive at the southern endzone.

The stadium is almost entirely empty, though the color-configuration on the stadium seats really is quite nice in an 80's sort of way.

Jose Martinez kicks it to the five, Tuyo breaks a few tackles and makes it to the thirty, but there's a flag.

10-yard penalty on Chris Dunn, illegal blocking.

Tuyo ran a total of 25 yards.

Forte runs to the outside and is tackled after a 12-yard run to the 32. Tulane first down.

Scelfo is in at QB, hands off to Forte for a 7-yard gain up the middle.

Another direct snap to Forte, loss of 2 yards, 3rd and 5.

Short pass to Jeremy Williams on the outside, first down. A gain of 6 yards to the 43.

Scelfo completes to Tyler Helm under pressure, 1-yard gain. 2nd and 9.

Short lateral flip to Williams, Quentin Dims on the tackle. Gain of 3 to the 46.

Impressive scramble up the middle by Scelfo, runs for a first down, 10 yards off-balance.

Incomplete pass intended for Jeremy Williams, still at UTEP 40.

TOUCHDOWN!!!

A near interception, bobbled by a UTEP defenseman into the waiting arms of Jeremy Williams for a 43-yard touchdown.

The extra-point it good.

9 plays, 80 yards in 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

Tulane fans make a good deal of noise in comparison to their scarcity.

First touchdown for Tulane on its opening possession this season. A promising portent.

Fred Rouse receives it off the bounce at the 7, tackled by David Kirksey at the Miner 20 yard line.

Long pass to Fred Rouse, 31-yard reception to the Tulane 49 yard-line. First down.

Marcus Thomas dances up the middle, gains a single yard.

Joe West catches it outside for a 22-yard reception, pulled down at the Tulane 26.

UTEP quarterback Lawrence Sam throws it incomplete to Josh Femack, 2nd and 10 at TU 26.

Sam scrambles wide, throws it short and incomplete to West.

3rd and 10.

Trevor Vinneatou back at QB, tosses it to Fred Rouse for an 8-yard gain. 4th and 2 at TU 18.

Jose Martinez misses the 35-yard field-goal attempt.

Kevin Moore in at QB, hands off to Matt Forte for a 7-yard gain to the Tulane 27.

Moore throws a high loop to Brian King for a first down at the UTEP 45 yard-line.

Hand-off to Matt Forte, gains 2 yards to the Miner 47. 2nd and 8.

Moore completes the pass to Williams, no gain. 3rd and 8.

Green Wave 2 and 2 on 3rd down.

Shotgun to Moore, brought down hard by UTEP Adam Vincent. Loss of 11 yards.

Tulane punts it high to the Miner 15. No yards on the return.

Marcus Thomas carries it several yards, tackled by Ishabellum. Thomas spins and flops. Flag on the play. Boos go up around the stadium. Two fouls after the play, personal fouls by offense and defense.

Total gain of 6 yards. Fouls offset each other.

Lawrence Sam back at QB for Miners. Terrell Jackson carries seven yards for a UTEP first down at own 28.

Hand-off to Jason Williams, bogged-down and tackled by Avery Williams for a 2-yard gain.

Vinnateau back at QB, pass deflected by Reggie Scott. 3rd and 8 at Miners 30.

UTEP 0-1 on 3rd down.

Vinnateau completes to Marcus Thomas, stopped by Josh Lubar and slides forward but it's not enough: 7-yard gain for 4th and 1.

UTEP punts to Casey Robottom, 36-yard punt and 1-yard return.

Tulane first down at own 28.

Tulane defense is looking good. Tulane basketball announcement/commercial comes over the loudspeaker. Note last night's win.

Scelfo back at QB, throws deep, beautiful bomb to Williams for a 48-yard reception at the Miner 24.

Scelfo is 4-5.

Forte takes a direct snap, gains 3 yards to Miner 21.

Hand-off to Matt Forte, crushed up the middle for a 2 yard gain. 3rd and 5.

Scelfo throws incomplete, intended for Gabe Ratcliff.

4th and 5 at miner 15.

36-yard field goal by Ross Tievenaux is GOOD.

1:08 remaining in the first quarter, Tulane 10 UTEP 0

5 plays covering 53 yards in 1 minute 43 seconds.

A short kickoff, possible flub?

Kicked out-of-bounds, advanced to Miner 35.

1st and 10 for UTEP, Vinnateau flips it to Marcus Thomas who charges up the sideline for a 10 yard gain. UTEP 1st down.

Vinnateau lasers a deep pass, credit Skehan with tough pass-coverage resulting in a near miss.

Vinnateau completes a short lateral to Jeff Vaturi, loss of 2 yards on the reception.

3rd and 12 for the Miners as the first quarter ends. Miners 0-2 on 3rd down.

Tulane Volleyball on the field, cheered by crowd, C-USA tourney bye celebrated. A helluva hullabaloo!

Tulane defeats Auburn 77-62

2007-11-10T13:40:00.000-06:00

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).

Basketball Preview

2007-11-05T08:18:00.001-06:00

As you may know, the Hullabaloo's Basketball Preview is out already on newsstands around campus. If you're off campus or you're an alumnus, click here. Here are a list of important links:

Hullabaloo Basketball Preview
Men's Schedule
Men's Roster
Women's Basketball Roster
Women's Basketball Schedule
Quotes from Dickerson on the roster
Quotes from Dickerson on the state of Tulane Basketball/Fan Support
Conference USA Coaches Poll (Men picked 7th, Women 1st)

The men will begin a fairly tough non-conference schedule this Friday in Fogelman at 7 p.m. against the Auburn Tigers , who some call a sleeper to make the tournament out of the SEC. Hopefully history won’t repeat itself after last season’s 40-point opening night loss to Butler (which went on to have an outstanding season).

The women will start the season on the road against Alabama in Saturday before its home opener next week against Georgia Tech. Here are some pictures from the girls' practice to get you into full basketball mode, and I'll try to get out there for the guys' practice some time this week. (Mac Users click here if you don't see anything)

Tulsa Grades

2007-11-04T14:11:00.000-06:00

I don't think it would be too big of a stretch to say Saturday's game was the worst of the season for the defense. If the defense (and the coaching staff) continues to show a glaring inability to defend the spread offense, the Green Wave won't win more than a few games in Conference USA. Period. Then again, the defense couldn't stop the run either against Tulsa. Had it not been for three turnovers by the Golden Hurricanes,they could have easily been over 70 points.

Meanwhile, the offensive line had one of its worst games of the season. Forte didn't have any legitimate holes to run through, and blockers were never able to get him to the second level. Tulsa dared quarterback Anthony Scelfo to throw the ball deep, and the Green Wave rarely took advantage. With the loss, Tulane will not be going to a bowl game this season -- a shame, considering the season Matt Forte has had and how many wins have simply slipped out of their hands in the closing minutes of games. Here are the grades for Saturday's game:

Offense: C-

Quarterback: C-

Scelfo didn't have a bad game on paper, but the team's inability to convert on third down really comes down to the poor passing game. As mentioned above, they dared Scelfo to go deep on them and put the team on his shoulders, and they only got burned once. Backup Scott Elliot looked good on the Green Wave's final drive, although by then the game was over.

Bob Toledo better hope freshman Joe Kemp (who is redshirting right now) lives up to the hype, because the quarterback position is a major weakness on this team at this point.

Tailbacks: B+

Forte's string of 200-yard games are over, but most of that has to do with the blocking and the fact that Tulsa always had one more tackler than Tulane had blockers.

Receivers/Tight Ends: C-

The numbers look decent, but they should have been much, much better. Tulsa played Jeremy Williams and Brian King one-on-one pretty much the entire night except in obvious passing situations. The Golden Hurricanes decided that if they were going to give up yards, it would be to the Green Wave receivers. Expect to see this strategy throughout the rest of the season

Offensive Line: D-

Worst game of the season. They looked lost and unprepared for Tulsa's schemes, and even failed to block the Golden Hurricanes' defensive linemen one-on-one at times. Barry Sanders wouldn't have run for 200 yards last night.

Defense: D-

Defensive Line: D+

This experienced group looked outmatched against Tulsa upfront. It can't be a matter of talent -- this unit has more physical ability than any offensive line in the conference (if you don't believe me, feel free to take a look at the tape against LSU). It looks like a matter of motivation at this point. Avery Williams seemed like the only guy playing with a sense of urgency.

Linebackers: C-

Not a great game for the linebackers. Safety Chinonso Echebelum had to come out of the safety position to make the majority of the stops.

Defensive Backs: D-

This unit simply got whipped by Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith. Not much else to say.

Toledo Frustrated

2007-10-30T23:52:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, the Green Wave coaching staff has sent video of the fourth quarter of last week's game, contesting that tight end Gabe Ratcliff was out of bounds with 17 seconds left in the game (and, thus, the clock should have stopped). Toledo himself was shaking his head over the call during his weekly press conference:

"You can't do anything. It's like wrestling with a hog...you get dirty and the hog walks away. There's nothing you can do, what can you do? You express your feeling and you're disappointed in what happened, but officials are human. Hopefully you have replays that take care of some of that, but the game is over. We can't do anything about it and that's the sad thing."

"We've sent video in that shows everything. Now it's up to the commissioner to get back to us and our supervisor of officials. Our supervisor of officials was over in Europe refereeing a game, so he wasn't available to talk to the other day. Anyway, that's what happened. I'm not blaming officials. I'm just saying I wish we would have had a chance to see what we could have done."

Toledo reiterated his stance on not playing guys or even not letting guys suit up or attend road trips if they don't perform better in practice. He also didn't name a defensive player of the week, a clear sign of his disappointment with the unit. In addition, Toledo noted that Kevin Moore suffered a separated shoulder and will be out for some time.

Grades for Memphis Game

2007-10-30T12:01:00.000-05:00

Offense: B- Once again, the Green Wave have failed to capitalize on yet another amazing game from Matt Forte, who ran for 278 yards. Yes, 27 points is decent. But considering how much Forte ran for, Tulane should ahve scored at last 30, probably more. The passing game at this point is just pathetic. I don't know if backup Kevin Moore is athletic enough to do thiss, but at this point Tulane might want to consider using a spread-option attack like West Virginia uses. This would allow Kevin Moore to run the ball and would probably be more productive than attemptin to pass the ball. It would also take the some of the load off of Matt Forte, who had 44 carries this week and at this point he could start wearing down.

Defense: D+ While the defense did not play horrible, once again the defense let the other team drive down the firled for a game winning/tying touchdown. That alone gives them a terrible game, for blowing yet another lead. Not to mention th 355 yards passing. Only reason this isn't a failing grade is because they forced 2 turnovers and managed to hold Memphis to 55 yards rushing.

Special Teams: F It doesnt matter what was done throughout the whole game, the fact is Thevenot missed a 22 yard field-goal taht would have iced the game for the Green Wave. Just completely unacceptable. Instead of finishing off the Tigers, Thevenot instead gave them life and they drove down the field for the game-winning touchdown. That field goal is three yards longer than a PAT. How on earth does a kicker miss that? Truly embarrassing.

*Kevin Moore is injured, so him playing right now is not a possibility

Tulane vs. Memphis 4th Quarter

2007-10-27T16:28:00.000-05:00

Replays clearly showed Ratcliff getting pushed out with 17 seconds left. Scelfo had no idea that the clock was running and went to the line and even audibled thinking there was time to do so. He got the play off but the time ran out and the Wave could not run any more plays. The referees quickly ran off the field after announcing the previous play had been ruled in bounds. Tulane had a timeout to use in that situation but were apparently not told about the ruling and did not have an opportunity to use their timeout to stop the clock. Tulane loses another heartbreaker.

0:00 Clock RUNS!!! Confusion everywhere as the line judge had signaled for the clock to stop but apparently ruled that Ratcliff stayed in bounds. The clock runs out and Scelfo is tackled after a 5 yard gain. Tulane players and coaches are irate

0:17 Pass is complete to Ratcliff. Gets out of bounds at the 49.

0:21 Scelfo completes short to Forte and he runs out of bounds for 9 yards

0:29 Memphis squib kicks it and the return goes out to the 37.

Replay confirms the ruling on the field of a touchdown and Memphis converts the extra point.

Memphis 28 Tulane 27

0:36 Hankins pass is complete to Williams for the touchdown but the play is under review. Williams' body was in the end zone but he came back for the ball and the ball may not have crossed the plane. Big, big review.

The entire crowd is on its feet as the game hangs in the balance on these two plays. 43 seconds remain

1:04 Hankins is pressured from the back side by Logan Kelley. Hankins completes the pass for one yard. It will be 3rd and goal at the 5.

1:44 Doss carries for a one yard loss . 2nd and goal as the clock continues to tick away

2:51 Perhaps the biggest play thus far. 3rd and 3 for the Tigers. Malouf lobs it and Maurice Jones comes down with it at the 5.

3:50 Hankins pass is complete down the middle to Williams who breaks a couple of tackles and get it all the way down to the Wave 32. That was a 41 yard pass and catch

4:27 Doss is stopped in the backfield for a 2 yard loss. The Tigers play a crucial 3rd and 3

4:59 Tigers run the screen to Doss for 9 yards up to the 29.

5:10 Scelfo throws the fade to Forte who can't come down with it. Thevenot on to attempt a 23 yard field goal which he misses to the right. Memphis is still in this game with just over 5 minutes remaining

6:10 Forte runs to the right and has to cut back to the middle for no gain

6:43 Memphis defense jumps again and Tulane has a first and goal at the 7

7:19 Three straight carries for Tuyo as he picks up 5 down to the 12. The Wave will play a 3rd and short

8:21 Scelfo hands off to Ade Tuyo and the backup running back gets another 22 yards down to the 20.

9:36 Forte carries for 4 yards on first down. He's been getting to the second level on most carries.

9:54 Scelfo gets the defense to jump on the hard count giving the Wave a first down at the Tigers 48

11:05 Scelfo's pass is complete to Stephany for 7 yards setting up a 2nd and 3

11:33 Jordan Stephany gets his first carry of the day and picks up the first down

12:15 Hankins passes deep for Williams but the pass is interecepted by Josh Lumar. The Wave will set up a first down at their own 27

12:44 Hankins fumbles but recovers

13:00 Memphis out to the 36 yard line on a nice return by Williams

13:16 Forte gets the hand off one more time and walks into the end zone. Forte now has 265 yards on 37 carries and 2 TD's.

Tulane 27 Memphis 21

13:36 Forte down to the 1 yard line on 2nd down.

13:57 Forte takes the sweep to the left side and picks up 4 yards down to the Wave 2.

14:22 Scelfo runs the option and picks up 5 on the keeper. First and goal Wave

14:55 Forte on the handoff takes it up the middle, weaving his way through a couple of tackles to set up a third and 3

Tulane vs. Memphis 3rd Quarter

2007-10-27T15:52:00.003-05:00

0:20 Forte takes the toss to the left side but is stopped for no gain. That will be the last play of the third quarter as the Wave trail by 1 going into the final frame.

1:17 Forte straight up the middle for 8 yards. The Tigers defense simply has no answer for Forte

1:29 Scelfo steps up in the pocket and scrambles across the field for 21 yards down to the Memphis 31.

1:59 Forte takes the sweep, has to make a couple of moves in the backfield and eludes the defense for a 13 yard gain

2:08 Robottom calls for a fair catch of the Memphis punt at the Tulane 35. The Wave nearly got to the punt for a block

2:59 The screen pass is complete to Williams but short of the first down. Memphis is forced to punt

3:44 Doss carries to the right side and is quickly met by Evan Lee. Only 1 yard on that carry and Memphis has to play a long 3rd down.

4:36 Scelfo is flushed, avoids the rush but can only scramble for one yard bringing up a 4th down. deRochement on to punt. The punt is a short one, it bounces at the 22 and takes a Memphis bounce to the 25.

5:46 The Memphis defense finally is able to stop Forte as they bring him down for a one yard loss

6:09 Ade Tuyo takes the short Memphis kickoff out the the Wave 43. The Wave have had good field position for most of the game

6:17 Malouf's pass is complete to Carlos Singleton for a touchdown. The Tigers retake the lead

Memphis 21 Tulane 20

6:47 Malouf on the option loses a yard tackled by Avery Williams and Frank Morton

7:28 Doss carries to the right side and picks up 23 all the way down to the Wave 4. The Tigers will have a first and goal. Doss had a huge hole to run through and David Skehan saved a touchdown

7:39 Hankins scrambles out to the right and finds Maurice Jones for 42 yards down to the Wave 27

8:45 Doss carries for 6 yards on first down, the carry marks the longest Memphis run so far today

8:55 David Skehan makes a nice play on the kickoff limiting the return to the 18

9:00 Scelfo on the play-action pass and throws a beautiful pass over the left shoulder of Jeremy Williams at the 2 and Williams runs the remainder of the way to the end zone.

Tulane 20 Memphis 14

9:30 Forte up the middle for another seven yards as the front seven for Memphis is getting little push

9:50 Forte carries to the left for another 3 yards and picks up a Wave first down

9:56 Forte gets the toss out to the right and picks up 8 yards led by a great block by Stephany

The replay booth overturns the catch by Batiste ruling he did not have complete possession before going out of bounds.

10:01 Scelfo scrambles out to the right and completes it to Michael Batiste along the sideline. The play went for 12 yards but is under review by the replay booth

10:31 Forte to the right side for another 10 yards up to the Wave 47. With that carry Forte goes over 200 yards, his fifth straight game with over 200

10:56 Scelfo completes just his 3rd pass today to Ratcliff for 10 yards and a Wave first down

11:20 Forte carries to the left for 7 yards setting up a 3rd and 2.

12:17 Hankins pass is complete to tight end Brett Russell. Russell fumbles it as he is flipped over by Josh Lumar and the fumble is pounced on by the Wave.

13:44 Matt Malouf carries for no gain. The Tigers will go for it on 4th down and it'll all depend on the spot. A favorable spot for the Tigers and they will have a first down

14:33 Hankins pass is complete to Williams. The Tigers will have a 3rd and short from the Wave 35.

14:51 Thevenot's kickoff is returned all the way to the Wave 43.

15:00 The Tigers will receive the opening kickoff after scoring to take the lead just before halftime

2007-10-27T15:52:00.001-05:00

Tulane vs. Memphis 2nd Quarter

2007-10-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

The first half will come to an end as Scelfo takes a knee. The Wave have played fairly well thus far. Their passing game will have to come along to take some of the pressure of Forte in the second half.

0:39 Tulane brings the blitz but Hankins stands strong and completes it to Earnest Williams. Shoddy tackling by the Wave secondary and Williams is able to run into the end zone for a Tigers touchdown.

Memphis 14 Tulane 13

1:01 Hankins completes yet another short screen pass for a 4 yard gain. They will have a 3rd and 6 from the Wave 47 after the timeout.

1:24 Scelfo's pass is interecepted by Alton Starr. In Scelfo's defense, the offensive line didn't give him much time. The Tigers have a first down just short of midfield

1:34 Hankins pass is incomplete on third down. A good stand by the Wave defense and they will have one more opportunity on offense before halftime

2:17 Hankins passes it complete to Doss on the screen. Doss picks up the first down with a good second effort.

2:26 Hankins pass is complete short to Doss for a gain of 3. The Tigers face a 3rd and 7 from their own 22

3:57 Forte carries for another 12 yards on the draw setting up a 3rd and short. Scelfo is flushed out again and scrambles for a yard. Darren deRochement on to punt.

4:07 Scelfo's pass is incomplete to Justin Kessler. That one was on his tight end as Scelfo put it right in his hands.

4:22 Hankins is pressured by the Wave defensive line and his pass falls incomplete. Memphis forced to punt it away for a second straight possession

5:10 Hankins pass is incomplete to Williams. Tulane cornerback was in good position to make a play at the interception but got his feet tangled up with the receiver

With that carry, Forte becomes the new single season rushing leader. 174 yards thus far and the first half isn't over yet

5:22 Forte carries up the middle, picks his way through the defense, stumbles but keeps his balance and outruns the secondary on his way to a 51 yard touchdown.

Tulane 13 Memphis 7

5:32 Scelfo's pass is incomplete to Ratcliff. He's been mediocre at best so far

5:58 Forte on the carry to the right picks up another 14 yards to the Wave 49 and another first down

6:06 Scelfo on the play action pass throws it deep for Jeremy Williams. The pass is incomplete but pass interference is called on the Tigers and the Wave pick up a first down to the 35

6:14 The Memphis punt bounces at the 5 and rolls harmlessly into the endzone for a touchback

6:22 Hankins pass on the wide receiver screen is incomplete, a huge hit is laid on by David Skehan and the receiver can't hang onto the pass.

7:09 Doss is stopped for a 1 yard loss as the Tigers will have a 3rd and 4 from the Wave 48

7:33 Hankins pass is complete to Steven Black for 26 yards out to the Wave 46.

7:41 Better kickoff from Thevenot and Memphis has to take a knee three yards deep in the end zone

7:46 Scelfo's pass to the end zone is broken up by the Tigers on a nice play. Ross Thevenot on to attempt a 37 yard field goal which he puts up and through.

Memphis 7 Tulane 6

Timeout Memphis

7:52 Forte is bottled up this time on 2nd down and loses 3 yards. The Wave will play another 3rd and long.

8:34 Forte carries to the right and picks up 16 down to the Tigers 17. With that carry, Forte goes over 100 yards. This is the fourth time this season Forte has gained over 100 yards in the first half

8:56 The offensive line does a good job this time and Scelfo finds Casey Robottom for a first down to the Memphis 33

9:35 Scelfo scrambles but is contained and brought down for a 3 yard loss. The Wave play a 3rd and long.

9:51 Scelfo on the play action scrambles out to the left but tight end Gabe Ratcliff can't hang onto the pass

10:16 Offensive line creates a big hole up the middle and Forte picks up 8 and a Wave first down
10:57 Forte up the middle for one yard. The Wave will have a 3rd and 1

11:34 Scelfo back in at quarterback, handoff goes to Forte and he picks up 8

11:40 Ade Tuyo with another good kickoff return out to the Wave 37 where they will play a first and 10

11:47 Earnest Williams carries on the reverse and has nothing but green turf in front of him. The Tigers score easily and take the lead.

Memphis 7 Tulane 3

12:20 Tigers complete the screen pass to the Wave 6. It will be 3rd and 1. Quarterback Matt Malouf carries to the left on the option and picks up the first down.

13:15 Another WR screen is complete to Duke Calhoun for 10 yards and a Tigers first down

13:21 The Wave have to spend their final timeout of the half as the Tigers have a 3rd and 4 from the Tulane 25 yard line

Matt Forte had 79 yards just in the first quarter. Another 300 yard game in the making?

14:21 Hankins pass is complete on the WR screen for a Tigers first down. The Tigers play a first and 10 from the Wave 31

14:56 Joseph Doss carries to the left for a 1 yard loss. The Tigers will face a 3rd and 11

Tulane vs. Memphis 1st Quarter

2007-10-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

That's the end of the first quarter and the Wave lead 3-0.

0:02 Hankins on the play action pass goes deep throwing into triple coverage. The pass is broken up but Memphis picks up a first down on the holding penalty by the Wave secondary.

0:43 The Wave bring the blitz but Memphis runs the screen pass out to the right and picks up a first down into Wave territory. A 21 yard pass and catch

1:28 Mickel Barnes is tackled by Avery Williams and Sean Carney for a 2 yard loss. The Tigers will have a third and 7.

2:10 A short kickoff from Thevenot is returned out to the 29 yard line by the Tigers. They'll have their second crack on offense as the Green Wave came up with a big stop on the Tigers last possesion.

2:22 Moore is flushed out and scrambles for a one yard loss on third down. Ross Thevenot on to attempt a 48 yard field goal. The kick is up and good. The field goal is a career long for Thevenot.

Tulane 3 Memphis 0

3:48 Moore on the play action pass completes it Brian King for 21 yards.

4:16 Forte straight up the middle picks up another first down.

5:12 Kevin Moore in at quarterback. The handoff goes to Forte and he picks up a first down to the Tigers 31. That's an 11 yard gain for Forte

5:20 Memphis plays a 3rd and 5 from the Wave 25. The pass is complete to Duke Calhoun very close to the first down. It will be fourth down and the Tigers will go for it. The Tulane defense rises to the occasion and stops the run play in the backfield for a one yard loss.

6:52 A second straight WR screen is complete for another Tigers first down.

6:59 Martin Hankins pass is complete all the way down to the Wave 43 on the wide receiver screen. A 42 yard catch and run

7:44 Joseph Dawes carries for a one yard loss after Memphis picked up a first down

From the replays it looks like Forte was down before the ball came loose. Tulane burned another timeout to give the replay booth more time to look at it but to no avail.

8:32 Forte once again up the middle and fumbles it away. The ball is recovered by the Tigers inside their one yard line.

9:09 Forte carries again and gets down to the 1 yard line. Jumbo package in for the Wave.

9:46 Forte up the middle again picks up a big 1st down. It will be first and goal from the 7

10:21 Forte up the middle for no gain. The Wave will go for it on fourth down

10:57 Forte on the carry picks up 5 yards setting a 3rd and 2 at the Memphis 10

11:45 Jeremy Williams on the reverse picks up 3 yards on first down

Timeout called by the Wave, their first of the half as Scelfo couldn't get the offense in the right formation

11:52 Trick play from the Wave as they caught the Tigers napping, the direct snap goes back to Forte with the line bunched to the left and Forte picks up 25 yards down to the Memphis 18

12:19 Forte on the sweep to the right, juggles the ball a few times but picks up 4 yards

13:23 Anthony Scelfo picks up the first down on the option to the Wave 45

14:42 Matt Forte on the sweep picks up 4 yards on first down.

14:52 Ade Tuyo returns the kickoff to the Wave 34. Anthony Scelfo leads the offense out onto the field for the first time

Tulane wins the toss and will receive the opening kickoff.

Tulane plays host to its first home game in a month, hosting the 3-4 Memphis Tigers at the Superdome. The scene is vastly different from the Wave's last home game, a full stadium against the LSU Tigers.

Coach Dickerson's Thoughts on the 2007 Roster

2007-10-26T12:20:00.000-05:00

We had an opportunity to speak to Coach Dickerson and some players after practice Thursday. While the majority of our conversation won't be available until the Hullabaloo hits the racks next Friday, we felt fans might be interested in some player-related snippets from our conversation with the coach.

"The great thing about this team is we have seven of out of nine players returning, and we can get a lot of scoring out of those guys. David Gomez is a player that can raise his level of play, can become more of a complete player. He’s a guy we need to have a good year. He averaged 13 points a game, 5-6 rebounds last year, and he needs to take those stats up to around 15-17 and eight rebounds.
Kevin [Sims] did a good job for us last year, and he’s going to be called upon to run the team and he’s going be called upon to score also. His role won’t change from last year because what is important for us is we have a good point guard that can run the team and score. We have to look for other ways to get him some more scoring opportunities but his first and foremost obligation will be to run the game for us.
Kevin has become more of a complete player, he understands the system and he knows where to pick his points as far as scoring and defense and being a leader. We need to continue him doing is be vocal, the way good point guards are. We had him watching Chris Paul practice. Have him learning from a good point guard in the NBA. Hopefully those things can carry over. Kevin is a good player for us and we’re lucky to have him. If he can be a leader and score more points for us that would be great, but we have Donnie Stith back for his senior year, and we have Daniel Puckett, whom should both be scoring in double figures.
Then you have the player that had the best off-season for us, Matt Wheaton. Matt is in better condition, he understands the system, he’s scoring the ball inside and out. If Dave Gomez can go to another level and Kevin can stay solid and Wheaton can raise his level of play then we have three or four guys that can be in double figures.
Our headline freshman is Chris Richard. He’s a versatile guard…we’ve played Chris primarily at the two and the three in the first weeks of practice and now we’ve shifted him around to the point guard position. The more he learns the system the better he’ll be as a player. He has a knack for scoring and he’s very quick defensively so he can play in the passing lane and get a lot of steals for us.
Jake Henderson has been going against Kevin Sims everyday in practice, playing at being a backup point guard for us. He’s struggled at times but he’s kept his confidence up, hopefully he’ll be able to play five to seven minutes a game for us this year.
Jun Anderson we don’t need to come in and play right away, because we have Dave Gomez, Robby Louisme and Asim Mcqueen and Donny Stith. If those four guys can play at a high level he can learn on the job and be ready to play come December.
Robby we graded as the most productive player on our team if he had played forty minutes for us last year. But last year he was coming off a red shirt year, he had no familiarity playing with officials and he got in foul trouble and his conditioning was a problem. This year he’s in the best shape of his tenure here at Tulane and hopefully he can play more minutes than fourteen and be a scoring threat inside next to Dave Gomez."

Memphis-Tulane Preview

2007-10-25T12:35:00.001-05:00

The Green Wave will be hoping that Homecoming 2007 turns out a little better than Homecoming last year, when the team was upset by SMU in its emotional post-Katrina return to the Superdome. All eyes will be on Matt Forte, and Memphis head coach Tommy West admitted he would stack the box in order to stop the run in order to get the Green Wave in 2nd and long and 3rd and long situations:

"It's no secret, if you don't stop their back, then they'll never throw it. You've got to try and load up to try and stop their back. The key to me is not necessarily make them throw it but get them in the down and distance you want them in where you know they have to (throw it) to be successful."

Here is the full transcript of his Monday press conference. Also, here are some game notes from the Times Pic.

Coach Dickerson Looking for Fan Support

2007-10-24T21:38:00.001-05:00

Head Basketball Coach Dave Dickerson was asked on how he feels the Tulane basketball program was being supported. Here is his response

Dickerson: One of my big pushes since I've been here is to try and get our students more involvded in our basketball program because I understand from a first hand basis that if you get good fan support but mostly good student support you have a chance to win game. We can get 1,500-2,0o0 students here every home game. We have over 1,500 season ticket holders already so that means we are almost sold out. When we won a national championship, we went undefeated at home that year, that was largely based on the students. You look at Memphis student support vs. our student support, its not comparable. But if you look at the opportunity for us to be a good team, and with our gym only being under 4,000 people, if we can get a lot of students in here then we have a chance to at least win our home games. If we can do that then steal some on the road, then you have a chance.
I think our administration is committed to us being a good program, but I would like to see our students come out and support us. A place like Tulane University you need everyone... you need everyone to be successful because we are such a small school and we are an academically-based school. Our student-athletes that we have, especially our basketball players, we are high-achieving in the classroom. We don't get any special passes because we are atheltes. Our team GPA is 2.9... We are doing the same thing everyone else is doing, so we are trying to make this whole thing into a family situation where they support us, we support them ,and there is no disconnects- all of us in this whole deal together.

It seems like Coach Dickerson just wants the seats to be filled up and I agree. Even though the gym is small, in a way that is an advantage because it gets much louder. Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke only holds around 4,000, and it is considered maybe the toughest place to play in the country. Every year there are crazy upsets in college basketball, and almost all happen when a talented team is on the road in a hostile environment. This is noticed the most in the ACC, where a clearly less talented team like Virginia is able to consistently beat Duke or North Carolina on their home court. Remember, these guys are college players, not professional athletes. They can get easily rattled and the fans play a big part in that. When a place gets so loud that a team can barely hear, they start to get nervous. So if Fogleman Arena could consistently get filled up, I think that would be a huge boost for Tulane's season and would make a difference in the win column.

Matt Forte for Heisman? MattForte25.com

2007-10-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: The website is is officially up. You can click here to visit it. Great job by Roger Dunaway and the athletics department.

Also, Forte has been named a Mid-season All-American by Phil Steele Publications. MattForte25.com has a great list of all his honors.

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Let the Matt Forte hype begin.

Tulane Athletics will be working on a new website, MattForte25.com, to get some national attention for the nation's leading rusher. The site is still in the works, but should be up later this week.

According to the Times Pic, the site will include pertinent video highlights, stats, and notes. The athletics department have also mailed out flyers to national media outlets (who have, in their defense, mentioned Forte's performance a number of times this week).

I just hope Forte and the offensive line will be able to deal with the hype, especially since teams will be gunning after the running game in hopes of being "the team that stopped Matt Forte." But we here at the Green Wave sports blog embrace the hype. Here are some more articles to check out:

CSTV Heisman Rankings - note that in ESPN's Heisman rankings, LSU's Glenn Dorsey is getting more votes (!)
Sun Journal (North Carolina)
Clarion Ledger

No Love for Wave Basketball

2007-10-23T21:18:00.001-05:00

CBS Sports currently has a preview of the Conference USA basketball season. I don't necessarily agree with their assessment of the Green Wave finishing 8th, especially since 4 of 5 starters return from a team that finished 4th last season.

Serious love for Forte

2007-10-23T18:03:00.000-05:00

While running back Matt Forte isn't getting the type of attention he would if he played in a major conference, nonetheless he's drawn a lot of praise for the monster season he's having.

Once again, Forte was named Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week, the second time he's won the award this season after a 300+ yard performance. He was also nominated for the AT&T All American Player of the Week (second time this year as well). You can vote for him here early and often. Curiously enough, while kicker Ross Thevenot and defensive tackle Avery Williams were named LSWA Players of the Week on special teams and defense respectively, the writers chose Matt Flynn over Forte. Huh?

ESPN has a nice blurb about him in one of their round-ups (scroll down). Forte was also featured on ESPN's mid-week college football program, and anchor and former Giants QB (and "The Bachelor" star) Jessie Palmer had some nice things to say about Forte.

Finally, for a quick laugh, there's this article from the Denton Record-Online about SMU head coach Phil Bennett's reaction. Be sure to check out Bob Toledo's press conference as well.

SMU-Tulane Players of the Game

2007-10-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

What a game in Dallas! Unfortunately we saw the Green Wave give up another game-tying drive in the final seconds. But the performance of Matt Forte coupled with the Green Wave's first conference win made for an amazing show. Here are this week's players of the game:

Offense: Matt Forte
Are you kidding me? Forte is now the leading rusher in college football after his 38-carry, 344 yard performance. Think about that -- all those Heisman hopefuls the networks like to hype up, like Ray Rice, Mike Hart, Darren McFadden -- Forte is ahead of them all. Give credit to the offensive line though. Kropog, Barto, even the freshman Nierman (this kid is amazing -- no wonder McKnight had so much room to run at John Curtis) were all outstanding. Jordan Stephany had an amazing game as well

Defense: S Joe Goosby

No player really stood out on defense, but Goosby had a solid all-around game, with a sack and another tackle for a loss. He also finished the game with five total tackles.

Special Teams: Ross Thevenot

Thevenot has been off and on after an outstanding freshman year, but with DeRoachmont handling punting duties this week, Thevenot shined, hitting both his field goal attempts and kicking the ball deep on kickoffs.

Tulane-SMU Preview

2007-10-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

For those that haven't heard, tonight's game will be on FOx Sports Southwest, so check your cable provider to see which channel that is -- it should be on basic cable. Kickoff is at around 7:00 p.m.

As for the game itself, the Dallas paper reports that both teams are desperate for a win. I have to disagree with their assessment that Tulane will win the game if Forte runs the ball effectively -- this game will be decided by Tulane's passing game, particularly the wide receivers.

The Times Pic says the key to the game is stopping SMU quarterback Justin Willis, who torched the Green Wave for 267 yards passing, 75 yards running, and two touchdowns.

I expect Tulane will come away with its first win. Looking at the poll, I see (so far) people agree with Bob Toledo's immediate benching of guys that don't perform. That'll go a long way in straightening out the losing mentality of this program in my opinion, although we'll have to see if it translates to more wins.

Predictions: Tulane 23, SMU 20

Tulane Vs. SMU

2007-10-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

This week, Tulane heads off to Dallas to play the Southern Methodist University Mustangs. They have been a huge disappointment this year, as last year they went 6-6 and this year were supposed to be one of the better teams in Conference-USA and challenge for a bowl bid. Obviously, they have not lived up to expectations so far. Expect this to be a tough battle, as both teams realize this is probably their best chance to get a conference win

Basketball Madness

2007-10-16T00:34:00.001-05:00

I took a few pictures at the Basketball Madness event on Friday night (below). Overall, there weren't as many people in attendance as I thought there'd be, but I guess that's to be expected considering it was on a Friday night (and it's not really basketball season). Nonetheless, I'm glad the athletics department and Coach Dickerson decided to do something resembling a Midnight Madness.

Let me know in the comments if you'd like more.

Grades vs. UAB

2007-10-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

Offense B-

The offense continues to be plauged by inconsistent play as penalties often held the Wave back from sustaining drives. Momentum was never clearly on the Wave's side despite outgaining the Blazers' 504-372.

QB: B-

Anthony Scelfo had a career day throwing for 264 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions. Most of his yards were gained with the Wave furiously trying to come back late in the game.

RB/FB: A

What more can you say about Matt Forte? 200+ yard games are becoming normal for him and he is almost singlehandedly keeping the Wave in most games

WR/TE: B-

A solid effort by this group but don't be fooled by the numbers. A good portion came with the Wave trying to mount a comeback through the air

OL: B-

Did a great job opening up holes for Forte but key penalties keeps this group from getting a higher grade. Couple that with five sacks allowed kept the Wave from establishing any rhythm in the second half

Defense: C+

The defense was mediocre forcing just 1 turnover and not getting to the quarterback. A healthy 4.4 average on the ground from the Blazers kept the Wave defense off balance for a good portion of the game.

DL: C

Usually this group produces a better effort and it shows in the final stats, but not against the Blazers. Zero sacks from a group that produced seven against LSU is unacceptable.

LB: C

There was nothing to write home about the linebacker play other than junior Evan Lee leading the Wave defense with seven total tackles.

DB: C+

UAB Quarterback Sam Hunt threw for 262 yards and consistently found open receivers. Josh Lumar had seven tackles for the Wave but this group was torched for multiple 20+ yard plays.

Special Teams: B

Ross Thevenot did not attempt a field goal but converted all three extra points. He shared kickoff duties with Darren deRochement and both had decent success.

UAB Players of the Game

2007-10-14T13:48:00.000-05:00

It's simply perplexing to comprehend why Tulane keeps losing matches they should dominate, especially when some of its players post their best numbers in said matches. Saturday's 26-21 loss to UAB proved worrysome for the Green Wave, as it sets Tulane on a 3-game losing streak. That being said, here are the standout performances of the game:

1. Matt Forte (senior running back)- You've got to hand it to Forte: he's been having a great season. With 209 running yards in the game, Forte completed his second consecutive 200-plus yard games. With a total of 919 yards and nine touchdowns rushing on the season, Forte is set to break Tulane's single-season rushing record.

2. Anthony Scelfo (RS sophomore quarterback)- Scelfo posted a career-best 19 of 37 passes for a total of 264 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday. Yet, his efforts were not enought to finish off the Bulldogs, despite the fact that Tulane out-gained UAB 504-372.

UAB Update

2007-10-13T02:12:00.001-05:00

Here's an update on UAB's preparation for Saturday's game. This will be UAB's homecoming game and the Blazers will look to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Green Wave in 2004

http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101107aac.html

Army Match Players of the Game

2007-10-11T23:41:00.000-05:00

1. Matt Forte (senior running back)- No surprises here, Forte has definitely emerged as the standout star on the Greew Wave this season. With 202 yards rushing on the game, Forte solidified his place in university history as the first Tulane player to rush 200-plus yards in his college career. Forte also nabbed two touchdowns on 32 carries and grabbed five passes for 45 yards from QB Anthony Scelfo.

2.Adam Kwentua (sophomore defensive end)- Kwentua, a former linebacker, earned a career-best two sacks at Army, and also aided the defensive line in restricting army to just 240 yards total and 47 yards on the ground.

3. Tulane defensive line- Saturday's game marked the third consecutive match in which the Wave earned 5-plus sacks. Limiting the Army offense to just 240 total yards and stopping 12 of 16 third down conversion attempts, Tulane's defense played exceptionally well for the duration of the game.

Taylor Rochestie Update

2007-10-11T09:51:00.001-05:00

For those that remember Taylor Rochestie, the standout point guard that played at Tulane as a freshman but then transferred to Washington St. following Katrina [sigh] before leading them in scoring and to an NCAA tournament run last year.

Well now, he apparently isn't even asking for a scholarship to play at WSU his senior year. In order to make room for another recruit (defensive specialist Marcus Capers), Rochestie agreed to forfeit his scholarship for his senior year so that Capers could receive one. The money he's giving up is valued at around $20,000-$25,000. If only....