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| PJay Smith Jr. vs. Tulane in 2023-24 (photo courtesy of Furman athletics) |
Overview of the Matchup:
If there was a game that definitely seemed to change the trajectory of the Furman basketball season in 2023-24, most who followed the Paladins last season would probably agree in unison that it was the double-overtime, 117-110, loss at Tulane. Friday night's clash will mark just the second all-time clash between the two programs.
The losses at Princeton and Tulane were two that Furman should have won, however, let slip away. The way the game at Tulane ended last December, it seemed that the Paladins were victimized by some sort of voodoo.
It appeared a JP Pegues three-pointer at the buzzer had given Furman, which charged back from as much as a 16-point deficit in the second half, felt it had the game in the bag and had salvaged a major road win out of a tough road trip.
However, eight-tenths of a second were put back on the clock, and that was enough time for Kevin Cross, who recorded a triple-double in the contest (25 points, 12 rebs, 12 assists), caught the ball, turned and shot in just five-tenths of a second and was fouled in the process, drawing a three-shot foul on Davis Molnar.
Cross went to the line and made all three foul shots to tie the game and send the game to its first overtime. The Green Wave would eventually go on to hand the Paladins a bitter, 117-110, defeat inside the historic confines of Devlin Fieldhouse.
Fortunately for Furman, most of that talented all of that talented roster has departed New Orleans, with Cross having moved on to San Diego State, while much like the year before when leading scorer Jalen Cook transferred to LSU. In fact, head coach Ron Hunter had to replace all five of those starters that took the floor against Furman last season, and that probably led to a low ranking in the preseason American Athletic Conference poll, as the Green Wave were picked in a tie for 11th in the 13-team league.
Another talented player that Paladins--at least for now--won't have to worry about is Collin Holloway, who scored 18 against the 'Dins in that game last December. He has since moved on to SoCon rival and defending champion Samford to play "Bucky Ball." With arguably a more talented roster last season than two years ago, Tulane saw a decline in wins, as the Green Wave went from 20 wins down to 14.
Noted as one of the top offensive teams in the country a year ago, like Furman, it was struggles with consistency on the defensive end of the floor that proved to be costly for Ron Hunter's Green Wave during the 2023-24 season. The Green Wave averaged 81.9 PPG last season, and they ended the season on a seven-game losing streak, falling to 14-17 by the end of the 2023-24 campaign. All five starters, which have now all departed, averaged in double figures at season's end last spring.
During the off-season, the Green Wave added 10 players and with a 3-0 start to the season, the Green Wave carry positive momentum into its first road test of the season against the Paladins.
Furman comes into this contest off its first 3-0 start to a season since the 2020-21 campaign, and the Paladins' latest victim came on Tuesday night, as the Paladins downed the Jacksonville Dolphins, 78-69, as a part of the SoCon-Atlantic Sun Alliance.
Previewing the Green Wave:
Head coach Ron Hunter has seen just about everything in his career as a successful college basketball coach, which has been spent mostly at the mid-major level, having coached at Georgia State and IUPUI, leading both of those programs to the NCAA Tournament, and in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, led the Panthers to a win in the tournament.
Now at Tulane, he's trying to return the Green Wave to a destination--the NCAA Tournament--which it hasn't been in two decades, with the last appearance in the Big Dance coming in 1995.
Like so many coaches of a program at the mid-major level, which undergoes massive overhaul now with almost each turn of the calendar, Hunter had to familiarize himself with the whole process, and wisely sought out the counsel of coaches who did it with more regularity as a part of their jobs. He contacted coaches he used to work with now in the JUCO ranks to try and get advice on how they were able to turn over rosters so quickly.
It was not a bad option. Like most coaches, he has found there is a sort of inexact science to the whole process of assembling a team, with the chemistry and moving parts to be complimentary of one another. It's like a hypothesized assembly of talent and personalities that hopefully, when the end product reaches fruition at the most crucial point of the season, will pay off in that short window of opportunity. The job of mid-major college basketball coach in this current era is likely one of the toughest in the world in any vocation.
The Green Wave will also enter Friday night's contest with a 3-0 mark to start the season, as Tulane has posted wins over Louisiana Christian (W, 76-42), Lousiana-Monroe (W, 80-64), and Alcorn State (W, 84-51). It will be Tulane's first road trip of the season. This is another team that appears to be functioning at a high-level offensively under Hunter, which is no surprise considering the respect Hunter gets in coaching circles as a basketball coach, and particularly when it comes to coaching teams with great offensive efficiency.
Like Furman, the Green Wave has exhibited outstanding shot selection through its first three games this season. The Green Wave come into Friday night's game ranking 42nd in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (). The Green Wave have connected on 35-of-83 shots from downtown as a team this season, which converts to an impressive 41% from long range as a team this season.
Much like Furman has done this season, Tulane has gotten a fresh start with its additions from the transfer portal. One of those has been guard Rowan Brumbaugh (13.3 PPG, 5.7 APG, 3.3 RPG), who has transferred into the program Georgetown, and he's been a solid at point guard. Hunter called Brumbaugh a point guard that has the potential to be the best he has ever coached in the preseason.
Brumbaugh had his best performance of the season in terms of scoring in Tulane's second game of the season, which was an 80-64 win over Louisiana Monroe. The 6-4 guard, who hails from Washington, D.C., posted 22 points, with in the win over the Warhawks, with the majority of that damage done from beyond the arc, as he connected on 6-of-8 shots from downtown in the win over ULM.
He's been an efficient outside threat for the Green Wave through the first three games of the season, having connected on 10-of-21 shots from long range this season, which converts to an impressive 47.6% shooting clip through the first three games of the season. He's also dished out seven assists in two of the Green Wave's three games this season, handing out seven helpers in wins over Louisiana Christian and Tulane's latest opponent, Alcorn State. He also posted nine points in both of those contests.
Set to team with Brumbaugh in the backcourt Friday evening will be Mari Jordan (10.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG), and he's a 6-5 wing that has worked out nicely for the Green Wave this season. Jordan is a redshirt freshman that was highly sought after in the recruiting process when he was procured to NOLA from Atlanta, GA., by Hunter.
In his very first game as a NCAA Division I college basketball player, he showed why, as he poured in 18 points in the season-opening win over Louisiana Christian. While only posting three points against Louisiana-Monroe, Jordan responded with a nice effort in the last outing against Alcorn State, posting nine points on a 3-for-4 performance shooting from long range. Like Brumbaugh, a big part of Jordan's game is his ability to shoot from the perimeter and do so with high efficiency. He's taken just nine perimeter shots this season but has made five of them.
In the paint, Kaleb Banks (19.3 PPG, 10.7 RPG) has proven himself to be the real deal. The 6-8, 210-lb transfer from Indiana never really could find his fit with the Hoosiers in two seasons in Bloomington, averaging just 2.3 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 45 total games over two seasons.
Banks has become a reliable inside-outside option for the Green Wave. His versatility should cause concern for the Paladin coaching staff. He has connected on a team-high 11 triples this season and is shooting a blistering 57.9% (11-of-19) from downtown through the first three games this season.
Prior to his arrival in NOLA, Banks had only connected on seven treys in his career and had shot only 25 total. With his hot start to the season from beyond the arc, it's clear that he has dedicated himself to being a threat from the perimeter and is a 40.9% shooter (18-of-44) from long-range for his career.
Banks is also shooting 60.6% (20-of-33) from the field this season and is also the Green Wave's leading rebounder through the first three games, averaging a double-double per outing. Banks has scored in double figures in all three games, including 25 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in Tulane's last outing against Alcorn State.
He started the season with back-to-back double-doubles against Louisiana Christian and Louisiana Monroe. Banks posted 14 points and 13 rebounds against Louisiana Christian, and followed that up with a 19-point, 12-rebound performance against Lousiana-Monroe.
Set to team with Banks down in the paint for the Green Wave on Friday night will be both forward Gregg Glenn III (9.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG) and Tyler Ringgold (7.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG). Glenn III is a 6-7, 230-lb junior is a former four-star/five-star recruit, who came to NOLA from the University of Michigan, and saw action in only four games in his freshman season with the Wolverines in 2022-23. He would see limited action in 2023-24 with the Green Wave in what was his first season at Tulane, averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.6 RPG in almost 10 minutes a game a year ago. He would see two minutes off the bench against the Paladins last season, but didn't record any statistics.
Hunter is hoping to see a stark increase in Glenn's overall production this season and hoping he can also realize that five-star potential for the Green Wave, as that will be vital to the success of this team when it gets into the rigors of the grueling American Athletic Conference slate, in January and February.
Glenn III started the season with a pair of double-figure scoring performances against Louisiana Christian and Louisiana Monroe, posting 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Ringgold rounds out the starting five slated to go against the Paladins on Friday night. He came to Tulane after redshirting the 2023-24 season at Texas A&M. The 6-8, 215-lb Ringgold redshirted the 2023-24 season at Texas A&M due to injury and he's gotten off to a solid start at Tulane, scoring in double figures in two of his first three games with the 10 points in his first two games of the 2023-24 season against Louisiana Christian and Louisiana-Monroe, and scored just two points and had five rebounds in the last outing against Alcorn State.
One of the main players to watch coming off the bench for the Green Wave on Friday night will be Michael Eley (2.3 PPG, 0.7 RPG), who transferred into the program from Siena where he was the MAAC Rookie of the Year after averaging 13.3 PPG and 5.5 as a rookie in 2022-23 and last season also averaged in double figures, averaging 11.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG. He played 48 games, which included 16 starts over the past couple of season with the Saints.
The 6-4 junior guard logged his most action with the Green Wave last time out against Alcorn State, which saw him play a total of 12 minutes, posting seven points.
Asher Woods (5.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG) is a player Southern Conference and those who follow Furman basketball might be familiar with. The 6-3 junior guard started his career at VMI before making his way to NOLA to play for the Green Wave. Woods started all 32 games as a freshman at VMI back in the 2022-23 season, leading the Keydets by averaging 14.2 PPG and was named to the SoCon's All-Freshman Team by both the coaches and media.
Woods enters the clash against the Paladins having seen his productive game of the young season last time out against Alcorn State, as he posted nine points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Rounding out those who see major minutes for the Green Wave coming into Friday night's showdown includes 6-8 wing Kam Williams (8.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG), who can play either guard or forward, and is extremely athletic, and 6-10 center Spencer Elliott (2.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG), who is averaging about 11 minutes per contest off the bench for the Green Wave so far this season. Williams recorded his most productive outing of the season last time out against Alcorn State, as he posted 13 points, four rebounds and three steals in the lopsided 84-51 win.
Previewing Furman:
Through the first three games this season, Furman has made a habit of getting 10 or 11 players involved in the action, and in all three games this season, the Paladins have featured three different leading scorers, which includes two players procured from the transfer portal during the off-season. The latest of those was 6-11 Charles Johnston (14.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG), who recorded a game-high and season-high scoring performance for the Paladins against Jacksonville, posting 25 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and a 4-for-5 effort from three-point land in the 78-69 win.
The other game which has seen a newcomer lead the Paladins in scoring this season was the season-opening blowout of Columbia International, which saw Tom House (13.3 PPG, 1.3 RPG)--a junior transfer from Florida State--score all 21 of his points in the opening half, as Furman posted a 104-46 win over the Rams.
The only game which has seen a Paladin veteran returnee post a leading performance for the Paladins this season just also happened to land him the first SoCon Player of the Week honor this season, as PJay Smith Jr. (17.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.5 APG) finished out the contest with a team-leading 21 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining, as the Paladins were able to escape with a 76-74 win at the Curb Events Center against Belmont. Smith was also a preseason All-SoCon selection and in his second game of the 2024-25 season, he put together another solid, all-around effort, posting 14 points, six rebounds, handed out six assists, and recorded four steals.
Smith Jr. will once again handle the point guard position Friday night against the Green Wave and is expected to team with sharp-shooting Nick Anderson (10.0 PPG, 2.7 APG, 1.7 RPG), who is a graduate transfer from Barry University, and showed what he could do as a perimeter threat in the win at Belmont, connecting on all five of his three-pointers for the game in the opening half against the Bruins, as he finished the contest as Furman's second-leading scorer behind Smith with 17 points.
In the paint, the Paladins will feature an experienced trio that is expected to start once against Friday night against the Green Wave, with forward Garrett Hien (10.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.3 APG) getting the start at the four, while Cooper Bowser (3.3, 5.3 RPG, 2.7 BPG) is expected to start at the five and has been a defensive enforcer through the first three games this season, which includes a career-high 10 rebound and four-block performance in Furman's win at Belmont. The small forward spot will be occupied by Furman's main "glue guy" Ben VanderWal (3.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG), and he does whatever is necessary to help the Paladins gain a winning edge. His primary strength is his ability to drive off the bounce, as well as his ability to cut to the basket for layups and dunks.
Perhaps Furman's most impressive performer to start the season has been the 6-10 Hien. The graduate senior from Charlotte, N.C., has started the season with a pair of double-figure scoring efforts, which includes a second-career double-double last time out in the nine-point win over Jacksonville. Hien registered 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the win. That performance followed an excellent outing at Belmont, which saw Hien post 15 points, six assists, and six rebounds in Furman's key road win over the Bruins.
Off the bench, the Paladins to watch for in no certain order are redshirt freshman guard Eddrin Bronson (6.7 PPG, 0.3 RPG), veteran senior forward Tyrese Hughey (4.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG), and sophomore forward Davis Molnar (3.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG). Johnston and House, who are mentioned above, are also expected to see impactful minutes off the bench once again on Friday night against Tulane for the Paladins. Johnston appears to be fully healthy after battling some injuries throughout the preseason.
Bronson offers the Paladins one of their best lockdown defenders off the bench. The 6-4 guard from Tampa, FL., can score in a variety of different ways, and is especially good off the bounce. Hughey comes off a game which saw him post a +16 off the bench against Jacksonville, and like VanderWal, can change the temperature of the game with his overall effort.
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