MBB Game 11 Preview: vs. New Orleans

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team returns home to the Cajundome on Saturday when it faces in-state rival New Orleans in a non-conference game.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on RaginCajuns.com and can heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420 AM, along with on the ESPN 1420 app.

Louisiana (8-2) increased its win streak against in-state opponents to 14 after a 75-71 win at Louisiana Tech on Tuesday. The Ragin' Cajuns have won their last 11 non-conference games at home dating back to 2015 and have won 27 straight regular-season, non-conference games at home dating back to 2012.

GAME 11: Louisiana (8-2) vs. New Orleans (2-6)
Date / Time: December 16, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

TV/Internet: RaginCajuns.com (FREE)
Talent: Dan McDonald

Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB

Series: Louisiana leads, 39-32
At Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 21-13
At New Orleans: New Orleans leads, 17-14
At Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 4-2
Streak: Louisiana +4

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 136-106 (eighth season), Career Record: 484-272 (25th season)

NEW ORLEANS
Head Coach: Mark Schlessenger (Aurora, 1996)
Record at UNO: 79-104 (seventh season), Career Record: 104-127 (ninth season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana and New Orleans renew their hardwood rivalry as the schools meet for the third straight season.
• The universities were rivals in both the American South Conference (1987-1991) and Sun Belt Conference (1991-2010).
• Bryce Washington continues his climb up the Louisiana scoring charts with 1,066 points. The New Orleans native is nine points from tying Randell Daigle (2007-11) for 37th-place on the Ragin' Cajuns scoring list and is 12 points from passing Bryant Mbamalu (2010-14) for 36th.
• The Cajuns have won 14 straight games against in-state schools since a 91-79 loss at Louisiana Tech on Dec. 12, 2015.
• Louisiana is 9-2 overall in games in the month of December during the past two seasons.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have won 11 straight non-conference games at home dating back to March 23, 2016 (UC Irvine) in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. During the regular-season, Louisiana has won 27 straight non-conference games at home dating back to Dec. 18, 2012 (vs. Robert Morris).
• Washington is ninth among active Division I players in total rebounds and seventh in career double-doubles (29).

QUICK HITS
• Johnathan Stove, who scored a career-high 23 points at Nicholls, is 147 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point mark.
• Louisiana is the only Division I school in the country ranked in the top-20 nationally in scoring offense (12th, 89.4), assists per game (t-6th, 19.4), steals per game (17th, 9.5) and offensive rebounds per game (t-20th, 13.6).
• Louisiana has surpassed the 100-point mark three times in 2017-18 - its best total since recording four 100-point games during the 2013-14 season.
• The Ragin' Cajuns 105 points at Nicholls was the first 100-point game on the road for Louisiana since Jan. 29, 2004 at Western Kentucky (W, 110-102).
• Louisiana has won 20 or more games in three of the past four seasons.

SCOUTING THE PRIVATEERS
• New Orleans, which reached the NCAA Championships last season, dropped a 79-66 decision at SMU on Wednesday. The Privateers are 0-6 on the road this season with other games this season at St. John's, Oakland, Memphis, South Alabama and Houston
• The Privateers are playing the second of four games in an eight-day span.
• Travin Thibodeaux leads UNO in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game. Makur Puou is the top rebounder for the Privateers (6.4) with Troy Green leading the team with 3.4 assists.
• Scott Plaisance, who played for the Ragin' Cajuns from 2015-16, will make his debut for the Privateers after sitting out a year after transferring before the Spring 2017 semester.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana will wrap up its six-game stint against in-state opponents on Tuesday (Dec. 19) when it entertains Southeastern Louisiana at the Cajundome. The meeting between the Ragin' Cajuns and Lions will be first between the schools in men's hoops since the 1984-85 season.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bryant Mbamalu

Johnathan Stove

Bryce Washington

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