MBB Game 13 Preview: at Arkansas State

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 9) when it visits Sun Belt Conference co-leader Arkansas State in a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Convocation Center.

The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on Hot 107.9-FM and on the internet at RaginCajuns.com.

Louisiana (5-7, 1-2 SBC) looks for its first win on the road during the 2015-16 season after falling to Little Rock, 77-57, on Thursday. Shawn Long scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Ragin' Cajuns, who trailed 34-30 at halftime before a 25-12 run by Little Rock in the second half closed out the game.

Long enters Saturday's game against Arkansas State (7-7, 3-0 SBC) with 1,181 rebounds – two shy of the Sun Belt Conference record set by South Alabama's Augustine Rubit. Long, who has scored 1,916 points in his career, is two points shy of passing Rubit for ninth-place on the Sun Belt's all-time scoring list.

GAME 13: Louisiana (5-7, 1-2 Sun Belt) at Arkansas State (7-7, 3-0 Sun Belt)
January 9, 2016 | 7:05 p.m. | Jonesboro, Ark. | Convocation Center (10,475)
TV/Web: None
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM | Talent: Steve Peloquin (PBP)
Video: RaginCajuns.com
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @Cajunbasketball
Series: UL leads, 47-23 | In Lafayette: UL leads, 27-8 | In Jonesboro: UL leads, 19-15

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 441-250 (23rd season), Record at UL: 93-84 (6th season)

ARKANSAS STATE
Head Coach: John Brady (Belhaven, 1976)
Career Record: 398-332 (25th season), Record at ASU: 117-116 (8th season)

STORY LINES
• Shawn Long can become the Sun Belt Conference's all-time leading rebounder with three boards against Arkansas State. The senior enters tonight's game with 1,181 rebounds, two shy of the SBC record (1,183) held by former South Alabama standout Augustine Rubit.

• Long is two points shy of passing Rubit for ninth-place on the Sun Belt's all-time scoring list. Long has scored 1,916 points in his career.

• Long will move into sole possession of fourth-place on the school's all-time list in games started. Long has started in 109 games in his Ragin' Cajuns career, tying him with Brett Smith (1997-2001).

• Louisiana has dropped its last seven regular-season road games with its last win coming against Arkansas State (81-57) in the 2014-15 regular-season finale.

THE SERIES
• Louisiana leads the all-time series against Arkansas State, 47-23, winning the last five games in the series - its longest win streak since claiming six straight games from a period between 1980-82. The Ragin' Cajuns are 19-15 overall in Jonesboro and have won the last two meetings at the Convocation Center.

THE OPPONENT
• Arkansas State enters tonight's game on a three-game win streak, including a 68-65 overtime win over ULM on Thursday. The Red Wolves rank fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring offense (77.6 ppg.) and are second in the league in field goal defense holding opponents to 38 percent from the floor.

• Anthony Livingston (15.1 ppg.), Devin Carter (15.0) and Donte Thomas (13.6) are the top scorers for the Red Wolves with Livingston ranking third in the league in rebounds (8.9) and Thomas leading the SBC in assists per game (6.4) while ranking third in field goal percentage (.552).

UP NEXT
• Louisiana will remain on the road for a pair of games beginning on Thursday, Jan. 14 at Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. The Ragin' Cajuns will wrap up their four-game road swing on Saturday, Jan. 16 against defending league champion Georgia State in a 1:30 p.m. CT game in Atlanta.

QUICK HITS
• Shawn Long is the NCAA Division I active leader in both double-doubles (60) and rebounds (1,181). He ranks second among active NCAA Division I players rebound average (10.5), is third in both field goals made (720) and field goal attempts (1,443), fourth in points (1,916) and seventh in blocked shots (231).

• Long is currently ranked fifth nationally in rebounds per game (12.2).

• The Ragin' Cajuns 0-7 record in road games equals the 2010-11 team that eventually dropped their first 10 road games of the season before winning their last four of the season.

• Louisiana is ranked ninth nationally in total rebounds per game (43.0), 33rd among Division I schools in scoring offense (82.0) and 34th in rebound margin (+6.8).

• Thanks to the play of senior Shawn Long and an up-tempo squad that can get to the bucket, Louisiana has averaged 40.5 points per game in the paint during the 2015-16 season.

• The Ragin' Cajuns have scored 40 or more points in the paint in seven games during the season posting a 5-2 record. Louisiana scored a season-high 68 points in the paint in its season opener against Louisiana College and added 56 points in a win over McNeese State.

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Players Mentioned

Shawn Long

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