Preview Paw Prints: Tulane Green Wave Game Two

One could argue Tuesday's tilt is one of the three most important games of the season. UC lost the biggest road matchup of the year against Houston and still has to face Memphis at their arena, but the Tulane trip isn't far behind them.

Cincinnati notched a much-needed Q2 win against UCF, and gets another chance at one Tuesday in a tight conference race.

"I don't get into all that," head coach Wes Miller said about win strength after the UCF victory. "Control what you can control. And that's getting better today, getting prepared for the next game. That stuff all shakes out the way it's supposed to. And I really believe that, when you look at your schedule, as you're putting it together, you want to have enough games to prepare to, you know, be a team that's an at-large team in the (NCAA) Tournament. So you do that in preparation, once you get in the season, It's just about the next day."

Step-by-step for Miller, whose team is well in the running for that coveted second seed in the AAC tournament. Tuesday is massive for that goal. The Green Wave own a top-20 offense nationally and are one game ahead of Cincinnati in the conference race.

Tulane is currently second behind Houston, pacing a four-team group (UC, Memphis, Temple) that's separated by one game. Getting that second seed is massive towards UC's only path to the dance: winning the AAC Tournament. 

Whoever lands there avoids Houston until the tournament final, and gets to open with either the seven or ten seed. 

A trio of Bearcats is playing their best ball when it matters most down this conference stretch run. David DeJulius is headlining with fantastic ball movement and a true transformation from score-first guard in 2021-22, to all-around playmaker this season.

On Saturday, he became the 35th player in team history to score 1,000 points in three years or less. Oh, and he leads the AAC with 6.64 assists per game in league play, posting his ninth-straight game with five-plus assists.

Lander Nolley II has been just as consistent. His shot didn't fall like normal on Saturday, but he's still posted double-scoring figures in 14 straight games (team-high). Add in a career-high five assists (most by a UC player since 2019), and you get another 40 minutes that Nolley impacted.

Then we have Viktor Lakhin, who just posted his second career 20-point game (20 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals). Lakhin's stamina and production are leveling up in sync. He's averaging 16.8 points and 7.8 rebounds across 32 minutes per game in the past four outings.

That's a ten-minute increase in playing time compared to the rest of the season.

Tulane is playing some great ball lately, having won three in a row.

They should be a great test for UC's man-to-man defense. The Green Wave have four players averaging double scoring figures and are 18th nationally in points per game (81.4 PPG).

It's a stable foundation as well. Tulane maintains its efficiency through great ball movement (three players posting at least 3.5 assists, 37th in APG), close shots (55% from two-point range, 37th), and free throws (17.5 per game, sixth nationally).

They are led by guards Jalen Cook (19.1 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 4.5 Ast) and Jaylen Forbes (18.7 Pts, 4.8 Reb, 1.9 Ast). Each creates big problems in the half-court and Memphis felt that this past weekend when Cook dropped 25 points in Tulane's 90-89upset win.

Forward Kevin Cross (14.8 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 4.0 Ast) and fellow guard Sion James (10.8 Pts, 5.0 Reb, 3.6 Ast) are no slouches either. All four are fantastic ball movers helping this Tulane system work like a well-oiled machine.

Can Cincinnati keep turning conference foes over? UCF's 29% turnover rate was a big reason UC still won by nine points, despite a worse effective field goal rate on Saturday. It'll be tough against a disciplined team like Tulane.

They are the top team in the AAC by turnovers per possession (11th nationally) and shape up as a tough nut to crack for the Bearcats' defense.