MBB Game 17 Preview: Georgia Southern

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday when it faces Sun Belt Conference leader Georgia Southern in an early league showdown at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., and is the nightcap of a doubleheader that begins with the Louisiana-Georgia Southern women's game at 5 p.m. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420 AM.

Louisiana (12-4, 2-1 SBC), off to its best start since posting an identical 12-4 record in 1993-94, returns to action after posting a 69-60 win over ULM last Saturday. The Ragin' Cajuns built a 12-point lead at halftime against the Warhawks and improved to 8-0 at home this season and 5-0 at the Cajundome.

Jay Wright scored 16 points to lead four players in double figures for Louisiana with freshman P.J. Hardy coming off the bench to add 14. Johnathan Stove added 10 points for the Ragin' Cajuns with Bryce Washington posting his 13th double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-best 21 rebounds.

Frank Bartley leads Louisiana in scoring (15.3 ppg.) with Wright (14.6), Washington (14.1) and freshman Justin Miller (11.1) following. Washington, who is third nationally in rebounds, leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 12.3 per game with Wright leading the SBC with 2.1 steals per game.

GAME 17: Louisiana (12-4, 2-1 SBC) vs. Georgia Southern (10-6, 3-0 SBC)
Date / Time: January 14, 2017 / 7:15 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)

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, 5-2
At Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 4-1
At Statesboro: Tied, 1-1

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 467-262 (24th season), Record at Louisiana: 119-96 (7th season)

GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Head Coach: Mark Byington (UNC-Wilmington, 1998)
Career Record: 68-55 (5th season), Record at GS: 61-51 (4th season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana ranks in the top-30 nationally among Division I programs in seven categories: offensive rebounds per game (13th, 14.13), rebound margin (15th, +8.2), turnovers forced (16th, 16.81), scoring offense (23rd, 83.5), turnover margin (24th, +3.6), total rebounds per game (28th, 40.13) and scoring margin (30th, +13.5).

• Today's game pits two of the top scoring teams in the Sun Belt Conference with Louisiana leading the league at 83.5 points per game with Georgia Southern third (79.6). The Eagles are second in the SBC in steals per game (8.4) with Louisiana ranked third (8.1).

• Louisiana's 12-4 start equals its best 16-game start since the 1993-94 season.

• Louisiana has won its last six regular-season games at the Cajundome dating back to last season.

• In Sun Belt Conference games, Louisiana is shooting a SBC-leading .391 percent from behind the 3-point line while allowing the fewest points per game (62.0).

QUICK HITS
• With 310 career assists, Jay Wright is four shy of tying Dwayne Mitchell (2003-06) for 10th-place in school history.

• Bryce Washington's 21-rebound performance against ULM on Jan. 7 was the best recorded effort by a Sun Belt Conference player this season and the ninth-best overall in Division I.

• With 197 rebounds in the first 16 games of the 2016-17 season, Bryce Washington has already surpassed his career-high (189) set in 33 games last season.

• Louisiana's average attendance since returning to the Cajundome on Dec. 1, 2016 is 4,263. The Ragin' Cajuns are averaging 89.0 points per game in five contests in the newly refurbished building.

• Freshman P.J. Hardy is 8-for-10 from behind the 3-point line in Sun Belt Conference play.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• Georgia Southern has won four of its last five games and enters its Louisiana swing in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. The Eagles possess the league's top-two scorers in Ike Smith (19.7 ppg.) and Tookie Brown (17.3).

• The Eagles opened Sun Belt Conference play with an 88-65 win at home on Dec. 31 over Georgia State before defeating Troy (86-82) and South Alabama (84-79 in overtime).

• Georgia Southern is 3-0 in league play for the first time since the 2011-12 season and look to go 4-0 for the first time since 1991-92 when it won its first nine games in the Trans America Athletic Conference (now the Atlantic Sun).

UP NEXT
• Louisiana will return to action on Monday when it hosts Georgia State in a 7 p.m. contest at the Cajundome. The Ragin' Cajuns will then head west to face Texas State (Jan. 21) and UTA (Jan. 23).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

P.J. Hardy

Justin Miller

Johnathan Stove

Bryce Washington

Jay Wright

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics