TAMPA, Fla. (WGNO) — The Tulane men’s basketball team (12-11) cruised to a 76-57 victory over the University of South Florida (7-17) on Tuesday night inside the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.
Tulane led by as many as 23 as it collected its ninth conference win, continuing its best AAC campaign since joining the conference in 2015.
“We needed this game more than any game we’ve played in the last couple weeks,” Tulane head coach Ron Hunter said. “I’m really proud of the guys. We still got four to get and we still have to keep playing, but I felt to even have a chance at the postseason we had to win the last two.”
The Green Wave got what it wanted most of the night on the offensive end, shooting a cool 53% from the field and 39% from three while going a perfect 9/9 from the free-throw line. Tulane also held USF to 35% shooting as it completed its season sweep over the Bulls.
Jaylen Forbes poured in 22 points on 8/13 shooting, his fourth straight game with at least 20 points. Kevin Cross added 19 points and eight rebounds. Jadan Coleman continued his hot shooting, scoring 16, following up a career-high 17-point effort against Temple.
“I’m very confident right now, but not just because of what I’ve been doing,” Coleman said. “It’s just something that I’ve had instilled in me since I was a kid.”
Tulane was outrebounded by USF 36-25, mostly thanks to seven-footer Russell Tchewa’s ten boards.
Kevin Cross got the Wave going early, scoring nine of Tulane’s first 11 points. The game was all-square at 17-17 with 12 minutes to go in the half, before Tulane went on a 14-1 run. The Green Wave continued scoring at will for the rest of the half, connecting at a 57% clip in the period, and took a 13-point lead into the break (41-28).
The Green Wave controlled the pace in the second half and took care of the ball, turning it over only three times. Tulane shot at a 48% clip in the period and got solid three-point shooting from Forbes and Coleman who knocked down three and two long-range shots respectively.
