MBB Game 18 Preview: Texas State

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team remains at home during its season-long five-game homestand as it will play host to Texas State in a Sun Belt Conference game on Thursday at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m. and will follow the women's game between Louisiana and Texas State at 5 p.m. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on Hot 107.9 and ESPN 1420-AM.

The UL Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be collecting shoes starting at 4:30 p.m. before the women's game and will continue until after the start of the men's game. All shoes collected will be donated to Soles 4 Souls, a not-for-profit organization that distributes shoes to people around the world to fight poverty. Fans can donate any type of gently used shoes.

In the midst of a season-high, four-game win streak, Louisiana (9-8, 5-3 SBC) has won all seven games this season at the Cajundome. The Ragin' Cajuns posted an 88-65 win over Troy last week as Shawn Long posted his 12th double-double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Bryce Washington added 16 points for Louisiana, which shot 57 percent from the floor, while Jay Hedgeman came off the bench to add 12.

Long leads the Ragin' Cajuns in both scoring (18.7) and rebounds (12.6) with Kasey Shepherd (12.1), Jay Wright (9.4), Johnathan Stove (7.8), Washington (7.8) and Hayward Register (6.9) next in scoring.

GAME 18: Louisiana (9-8, 5-3 Sun Belt) vs. Texas State (9-7, 3-4 Sun Belt)
January 28, 2016 | 7:15 p.m. | Lafayette, La. | Cajundome (11,550)
TV/Web: None
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM | Talent: Jay Walker (PBP)
Video: RaginCajuns.com
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @Cajunbasketball
Series: UL leads, 6-0 | In Lafayette: UL leads, 3-0 | In San Marcos: UL leads, 2-0

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 445-251 (23rd season), Record at UL: 97-85 (6th season)

TEXAS STATE
Head Coach: Danny Kaspar (North Texas, 1978)
Career Record: 496-240 (25th season), Record at Texas State: 31-47 (3rd season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana has won 10 straight games at the Cajundome dating back to last season.

• The Ragin' Cajuns have shot at a 47-percent clip overall from the floor, and 37 percent (38-for-102) from behind the 3-point line, in their last five games.

• Tonight's game pits the Sun Belt's top-scoring offense (Louisiana, 82.0 ppg) against the league's No. 2 scoring defense (Texas State, 62.2 ppg.).

• Louisiana is 8-0 during the 2015-16 season when holding an opponent under 70 points.

QUICK HITS
• The Ragin' Cajuns 88-65 win over Troy cliched their first winning month of the season. Louisiana, which is 5-2 during the month of January, went a combined 4-6 during the first two months of the season, including a 2-4 record during December.

• Kasey Shepherd (24-for-28) and Johnathan Stove (18-for-21) are both shooting 85.7 percent from the free throw line during Sun Belt Conference play.

• Hayward Register is shooting 40 percent (22-for-55) from behind the 3-point line in the Ragin' Cajuns last 10 games.

• During the Ragin' Cajuns four-game winning streak, they have outscored their opponents by an average of +18.8 points per game.

THE SERIES
Louisiana has all six meetings in the series, including a 3-0 record in Lafayette. The series began in 1959 with the Ragin' Cajuns claiming a 70-68 victory in Lafayette. The series resumed in the 2013-14 season when Texas State joined the Sun Belt Conference. Louisiana claimed all three meetings between the schools last season, including a quarterfinal win in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

THE OPPONENT
Texas State enters tonight's game with a 9-7 overall record and a 3-4 mark in Sun Belt play. The Bobcats nearly earned a sweep of the Arkansas SBC teams, falling to Little Rock in overtime (77-74) before earning a 78-68 win over Arkansas State. Emani Gant leads Texas State in scoring (13.6) and rebounds (7.3) with Kavin Gilder-Tilbury (12.8) next in scoring.

UP NEXT
The Ragin' Cajuns will continue their season-long five-game homestand on Saturday (Jan. 30) against UT Arlington at 4:15 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jay Hedgeman

Shawn Long

Hayward Register

Kasey Shepherd

Johnathan Stove

Bryce Washington

Jay Wright

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics