MBB Game 18 Preview: Georgia State

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team wraps up a three-game homestand on on Monday when it returns to action to face Sun Belt Conference rival Georgia State at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420 AM.

Louisiana (12-5, 2-2 SBC) looks to rebound from an 81-76 loss to SBC leader Georgia Southern on Saturday. The loss marked the first for the Ragin' Cajuns at home in nine games this season after going 3-0 in games at Blackham Coliseum and 5-0 at the Cajundome.

Jay Wright scored 21 points to lead Louisiana against the Eagles with Johnathan Stove adding 18 and Bryce Washington 16. Washington also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to post his 14th double-double of the season, tying him with Purdue's Caleb Swanigan for the national lead.

Wright and Frank Bartley average 14.9 points per game to lead Louisiana with Washington averaging 14.2 points while ranking fourth nationally with 12.3 rebounds.

GAME 18: Louisiana (12-5, 2-2 SBC) vs. Georgia State (9-7, 2-2 SBC)
Date / Time: January 16, 2017 / 7:00 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: Georgia State leads, 7-5
At Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 3-2
At Atlanta: Georgia State leads, 4-1
At New Orleans: Tied, 1-1

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 467-263 (24th season), Record at Louisiana: 119-97 (7th season)

GEORGIA STATE
Head Coach: Ron Hunter (Miami [Ohio], 1986)
Career Record: 386-278 (23rd season), Record at GSU: 112-68 (6th season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana and Georgia State have won two of the last three Sun Belt Conference Tournament championships since 2014.

• Louisiana's Bob Marlin (344) and Georgia State's Ron Hunter (315) are two of the top three active Sun Belt coaches in career wins. Coastal Carolina's Cliff Ellis (722) is the winningest active coach in the Sun Belt.

• Louisiana (38th, 8.1 per game) and Georgia State (19th, 8.6) are ranked in the top-40 nationally in steals per game.

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana is 73-23 (.760) in games played at the Cajundome since the 2010-11 season.

• A season-high crowd of 5,464 increased all-time attendance at the Cajundome to 1,997,434 since its opening in 1985. The Ragin' Cajuns will cross the 2,000,000-million mark with a crowd of 2,566 in its next game.

• Bryce Washington is tied with Purdue's Caleb Swanigan for the national lead in double-doubles (14) and is fourth nationally in rebounds (12.3).

• With 312 career assists, Jay Wright is two shy of tying Dwayne Mitchell (2003-06) for 10th-place in school history.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• The Panthers snapped ULM's 18-game home court winning streak on Saturday night with a 73-65 overtime win.
• Senior Jeremy Hollowell, an All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team member, continues to lead the Panthers averaging 15.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Hollowell has scored 20 or more points in a game seven times this year, including 24 at ULM on Saturday.
• Senior Willie Clayton has picked up two double-doubles already this season and has 19 for this career. Clayton, who is averaging 7.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, leads the Sun Belt with a 63.4 field goal percentage and is second with 3.5 offensive rebounds per game.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana will head west for its next two games beginning on Saturday (Jan. 21) at Texas State before facing UTA on Jan. 23 in an 8 p.m. game that will be televised on the American Sports Network.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

Johnathan Stove

Bryce Washington

Jay Wright

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