A “somebody has to blink” spot in the AAC (and the market knows it)
Memphis at Tulane on Sunday night isn’t the kind of matchup casuals circle in October—but in March, this is exactly the type of game that creates weird lines and even weirder betting behavior. You’ve got Memphis dragging a seven-game losing streak into New Orleans, and Tulane fresh off a brutal three-game skid of their own (including a 56–90 home faceplant vs Tulsa) before stabilizing with two wins. Both teams have been bleeding points, both have been volatile possession-to-possession, and the books are basically telling you: “We don’t trust either side, so pick your poison.”
What makes it interesting for you as a bettor is that the side market is basically a coin flip, while the total market is flashing a cleaner signal. When the moneyline sits around even and the spread is hovering around pick’em, you’re often better off reading the information baked into the total—especially when exchanges and sharp books start to align.
And that’s the story here: the number hanging at 152.5 is drawing more meaningful signal than the -1/-1.5 side range. If you’re coming in searching “Memphis Tigers vs Tulane Green Wave odds” or “Tulane Green Wave Memphis Tigers spread,” the quick takeaway is simple: this is a tight side with a loud total.
Matchup breakdown: form is ugly, but the scoring environment is real
Start with the macro: Tulane owns the higher power profile right now with a 1477 ELO to Memphis’s 1433. That’s not a massive gap, but it’s meaningful—especially in a game priced like a toss-up. The real issue is neither team has played like their best version lately.
Tulane’s last five: 2–3, but the three losses weren’t normal losses—they were 29, 28, and 34-point beatdowns (Temple 60–89, USF 62–90, Tulsa 56–90). Then they flipped the script with two wins (Rice 81–75, North Texas 77–71). That’s the definition of a team you don’t want to handicap purely by “W/L.” The variance is the handicap.
Memphis’s last five: 0–5, and it’s not subtle. They’ve allowed 96 at home, got popped by 16 at ECU, and lost to South Florida twice in that span (including 66–87 on the road). They’re on a seven-game losing streak, and in the last 10 they’re 2–8. If you’re looking for “Memphis Tigers vs Tulane Green Wave picks predictions,” the first thing you should be asking isn’t “who’s better?”—it’s “who’s functional for 40 minutes?”
On the season-style indicators, both defenses have been leaky. Tulane is scoring 70.9 and allowing 75.4. Memphis is scoring 74.6 and allowing 75.9. That’s a baseline environment that already leans toward mid-150s when the pace is normal and both teams shoot decently. Now add in the recent game logs: you’re seeing a lot of inflated opponent totals, which usually comes from a mix of transition leakage, bad live-ball turnovers, and long stretches of poor half-court resistance.
The side handicap comes down to which version shows up: Tulane’s “we can score in bunches at home” version, or the “we just got run off our own floor” version. Memphis is similar: they can still put points up, but their defensive floor has been scary low lately. That’s why the market won’t commit to a real spread.