MBB Game 12 Preview: at New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday (Dec. 17) when it visits former Sun Belt Conference rival New Orleans in a 2 p.m. contest at Lakefront Arena.

The game will be televised on Cox Sports Television. The game will also be broadcast in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420-AM.

Louisiana (8-3) looks to rebound from a 73-60 loss at Georgia on Wednesday, snapping an eight-game winning streak and preventing the Ragin' Cajuns from equaling their best 11-game start since 1993-94.

Frank Bartley leads Louisiana, and is second in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring, at 18.4 points per game while tied for the team and SBC-lead with 2.3 steals per game. Bryce Washington, who has nine double-doubles on the season, is averaging 14.9 points and 11.8 rebounds per game for the Ragin' Cajuns with Jay Wright (13.5 ppg.) and Justin Miller (10.7) each averaging in double figures in scoring.

Louisiana enters the game averaging 87.4 points per game – 15th in the nation – while ranking among the national leaders in field goal percentage (.484), rebound margin (+9.4), scoring margin (+14.7) and steals (8.6).

New Orleans (4-4) had a three-game winning streak snapped last week with an 83-49 setback at Big 10 member Northwestern. The Privateers earned wins over Florida College, Tulane and Washington State during its three-game win streak.

As a team, the Privateers are averaging 72.5 points, 37.2 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 7.6 steals and 3.5 blocks per game. Senior forward Erik Thomas leads the Privateers offensively with 20.5 points per game, followed by senior guard Christavious Gill with an average of 13.5 and junior forward Travin Thibodeaux with a mark of 9.1.

Thomas also paces the team with 7.8 rebounds a night and shares the steals lead with Gill at 1.4 thefts per outing apiece. Gill leads the squad with 3.7 assists per game and junior forward Makur Puou headlines the defense with 1.8 blocked shots per contest.

GAME 12: Louisiana (8-3) at New Orleans (4-4)
Date / Time: December 17, 2016 / 2 p.m.
Site: New Orleans, La.
Arena: Lakefront Arena (8,785)
TV/Web: COX Sports Television
Talent: Lyn Rollins (pxp), Victor Howell (color), Tatum Everett (sideline)

Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

Video: RaginCajuns.com
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB

Series: Louisiana leads, 38-30
At Lafayette: Louisiana leads 21-12
At New Orleans: New Orleans leads, 17-13

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 463-261 (24th season), Record at UL: 115-95 (7th season)

NEW ORLEANS
Head Coach: Mark Schlessenger (Aurora, 1996)
Career Record: 97-116 (8th season), Record at UNO: 61-90 (6th season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana's 8-3 record is its best 11-game start since starting 9-2 in the 1993-94 season.

• The Ragin' Cajuns make their first regular-season appearance at Lakefront Arena since Jan. 8, 2009 (a 61-58 Privateer victory).

• Today's game is part of a basketball-football doubleheader for Louisiana as the Ragin' Cajuns will face Southern Miss in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

• The Ragin' Cajuns eight-game win streak was the longest during the month of November and December since the 1990-91 season (won 9 games during November-December).

Louisiana is one of four Sun Belt Conference teams ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Ragin' Cajuns entered the poll last week at No. 20 before moving up one spot to No. 19. UTA (No. 3), Arkansas State (No. 21) and Little Rock (No. 22) join Louisiana as SBC schools ranked in the top 25.

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana is averaging 87.6 points per game during its last five games. Five players - Frank Bartley (17.6), Bryce Washington (14.0), Jay Wright (13.2), Justin Miller (10.4) and Johnathan Stove (10.0) - are averaging in double figures during the span.

• The Ragin' Cajuns are 4-0 against in-state opponents in 2016-17 and 21-6 overall in non-conference games against in-state opponents under head coach Bob Marlin.

• Louisiana has won its last five games against Southland Conference schools since 2014-15 and is 9-4 overall since Bob Marlin became head coach in 2010-11.

• Bryce Washington's 18 rebounds at Georgia increased his career total to 507.

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Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

Justin Miller

Johnathan Stove

Bryce Washington

Jay Wright

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