Tulane Green Wave Can’t Overcome Early Deficit in Loss Against Florida State

This basketball season is going to be an interesting one for Tulane.

With so many new faces and inexperience players that head coach Ron Hunter has to navigate, there are going to be ebbs and flows depending on how they’re able to execute on any given night.

After a prolonged stretch of playing against mid-major and lower-tier programs, this Green Wave group was going to face a tough test when they matched up with ACC foe Florida State.

This was a chance for Tulane to make a statement, but after they got down early, they couldn’t overcome that deficit and eventually lost, 77-64.

The Green Wave were ready to play from the opening tip by jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead, but that period was the only time they held the lead after the Seminoles snatched if from them just under five minutes into the contest.

With 6:52 left in the first half, Florida State had run their newfound lead up to 14 points and extended that into the locker room with the score being, 37-22.

Tulane played much better in the second half, actually winning that period, 42-40, but they ultimately never threated Florida State since that early lead was too much to overcome.

It might be a frustrating result for the Green Wave since they had broken their four-game losing streak on Dec. 10 by throttling Southern Miss, but there was still some positives to take away for Hunter and his young team.

Most notably, Kaleb Banks continues to showcase his skill set.

He finished with a career-high 33 points and 16 rebounds. He went 11-of-20 from the field and 10-of-13 from the free throw line to hit this number.

Unfortunately, the only other player to join him in double-figures was Rowan Brumbaugh who had 15.

Still, for the Green Wave to respond to a tough first half by actually winning the second is a good sign going forward.

Hopefully they can build upon this effort against Florida State and carry it with them going forward.

Tulane faces local New Orleans school Dillard University in their final non-conference game of the season on Dec. 20.