Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 19, 1993 TAG: 9303190125
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: ORLANDO, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
TULANE ANSWERS QUESTIONS
Tulane's basketball team answered the questions about its presence in the NCAA Tournament field Friday afternoon by doing more than showing up.While upsetting sixth-seeded Kansas State in the Southeast Region, the Green Wave played like the ranked club that had an 11-game winning streak earlier this season, not the rank bunch that lost four of five entering the tourney.
The defense forced 20 turnovers. The offense wasn't consistent, but it was good enough. When the Wave wasn't playing smart, it was playing hard at Orlando Arena.
And in passing out credit for a 55-53 victory, the Greenies didn't forget what helped get them there.
"When we lost to Virginia Tech [in the opener of the Metro Conference Tournament last week], it woke us up," Tulane senior guard G.J. Hunter said. "We lost other games, but it was like we thought we just had to go out and play and we'd win."
The upset by the last-place Hokies followed crushing losses at Temple and Louisville and an overtime setback at home to Virginia Commonwealth. Tulane, having reached the NCAA for the first time a year ago, was sliding toward the NIT.
Hunter said when the Green Wave watched the tournament selection show Sunday evening, the feelings were mixed. Coach Perry Clark thought the Wave had a bid sealed, but some of the players weren't sure.
"I thought we had a chance, and I thought we deserved a bid because we'd played well over most of the season, but some people wondered if losing to Virginia Tech would knock us out," said Hunter, whose ankle sprain limited his playing time to five minutes against K-State.
Tulane (22-8) was 20-4 when the skid began. Perhaps it was weariness in a season that began in mid-November in the Preseason NIT. Perhaps it was a lack of self-motivation once the 27-point debacle at Freedom Hall ended the Wave's Metro regular-season title hopes.
"We lost something there somewhere," Hunter said. "We were missing shots. We weren't recognizing things on the floor. Our confidence went. We had to gain it back, and I think everyone saw the `old' Tulane again."
Among the 34 at-large teams, Tulane was in the bottom four selected. The Wave is an 11th seed, the same as LSU and one slot ahead of George Washington and Marquette among the invited.
"After we were selected, I heard a lot about how we probably didn't belong in," junior forward Carlin Hartman said. "Some people said our name exceeded our talent."
While that wasn't true, the Wave's reputation in its four-year rise from the ashes of a point-shaving scandal that closed down the program did exceed the late-season performance.
If the Metro was to get a second bid after tournament champion Louisville, why not VCU, which reached the final and had an 8-2 finish to a 20-9 season, including that late win at New Orleans?
How did Tulane get in over the Rams? Well, in the Ratings Percentage Index used by the NCAA Basketball Committee to pick the field, the Wave was 3-3 against top 50 clubs, while VCU was 0-5.
Tulane split with Louisville, lost at Indiana and Temple, and beat Memphis State and Southern Methodist. VCU fell three times to Louisville, and also lost at Syracuse and Western Kentucky.
Against the RPI top 100, Tulane was 5-6, VCU 2-6. The average RPI ranking of Tulane's last 10 foes was 106, compared to 158 for VCU opponents. Tulane was ranked 60th, four spots ahead of the Rams.
Clearly, the RPI meant RIP for VCU in the NCAA meeting room.
If Tulane's skid didn't provide enough impetus for the NCAA trip, Clark's practices in the three days before tipoff were at least fun. All the Wave did was scrimmage. "Up and down, shoot, play defense," Hunter said.
Clark also provided some food for thought Wednesday when he delivered to his players a sheet of paper. Photocopied on it was a Richmond Times-Dispatch sports column by Mike Harris.
Harris quoted VCU athletic director Dick Sander as saying the Rams deserved a bid ahead of Tulane. After 40 minutes of defending their honor against K-State, the Wave gets third-seeded Florida State in a former Metro matchup in Saturday's second round.
"We definitely had to prove we belonged here," Hunter said. "We had to prove it to ourselves and to others. The weather's nice here. It's a nice arena.
"It's nice to be here. It's nice to get to stay."