MBB Game 24 Preview: at Georgia Southern

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team wraps up a two-game swing through the state of Georgia on Monday when it faces Sun Belt Conference co-leader Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CST) and will be streamed live on ESPN3. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on both KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420 AM, along with on the internet via the Radio Pup app.

Louisiana (14-9, 4-6 SBC) nearly mounted an incredible comeback in its last game at Georgia State on Saturday, turning a 20-point deficit into a chance to take the lead in the final seconds. Frank Bartley scored a career-high 31 points for the Ragin' Cajuns with Rincon, Ga., native Jay Wright scoring 20 in a return to his home state.

Bartley averages 16.1 points per game to lead Louisiana with Wright (14.7), Bryce Washington (13.8) and Justin Miller (10.5) all averaging in double figures. Washington, who notched his 17th double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Georgia State, leads the Sun Belt Conference with 11.5 rebounds per game.

Georgia Southern (15-8, 8-2 SBC), which is tied with Arkansas State and Georgia State for the SBC lead, snapped a two-game skid with a 76-62 win over ULM on Saturday.

Ike Smith and Mike Hughes combined for 39 points and 10 of Georgia Southern's 13 3-pointers in the win. Smith scored 22 points for Georgia Southern with Hughes scoring 17, on 5 of 6 aim from behind the 3-point line.

GAME 24: Louisiana (14-9, 4-6 SBC) at Georgia Southern (15-8, 8-2 SBC)
Date / Time: February 6, 2017 / 6 p.m. CST
Site: Statesboro, Ga.
Arena: Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897)

TV: ESPN3
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

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

Series History: Louisiana leads, 5-3
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 4-2
In Statesboro: Tied, 1-1

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 469-267 (24th season), Record at Louisiana: 121-101 (7th season)

GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Head Coach: Mark Byington (UNC Wilmington, 1998)
Career Record: 73-57 (5th season), Record at GS: 66-53 (4th season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana leads the Sun Belt Conference in scoring offense (82.0), rebound margin (+6.1) and offensive rebounds (13.5).

• The Ragin' Cajuns rank 15th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (13.52), is 24th in scoring offense (82.0), 20th in free throw attempts (589) and 30th in rebound margin (+6.1).

• Jay Wright is currently eighth in school history with 334 assists. The senior is 49 points shy of becoming the 44th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career.

• Louisiana is 4-4 this season in games decided by six points or less. In 2015-16, the Ragin' Cajuns were 0-6 and are overall 38-40 under Bob Marlin.

QUICK HITS
• Bryce Washington has recorded 17 of his 20 career double-doubles this season.

• Washington is second behind Purdue's Caleb Swanigan (20) for the national lead in double-doubles with 16. The junior is fifth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.26) and is fifth nationally in rebounds per game (11.5).

• Frank Bartley has produced seven 20-point games this season with Jay Wright recording 20 or more points six times in 2016-17.

• Louisiana posted season-highs in both 3-point field goal percentage (.538) and free throw percentage (.870) in its win at Texas State. The Ragin' Cajuns 48 field goal attempts and 13 3-point field goal tries marked season-lows.

• Bryce Washington's 21-rebound performance against ULM on Jan. 7 was tied with Reginald Poole (at Hawai'i, 12/27/98), Dion Brown (vs. McNeese State, 2/6/82) and Roy Ebron (vs. UT Arlington, 1/13/73) for the eighth-best total in school history.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• League co-leader Georgia Southern snapped a two-game losing streak with a 76-62 win over ULM on Saturday at Hanner Fieldhouse.

• Ike Smith and Mike Hughes combined for 39 points and 10 of Georgia Southern's 13 3-pointers in the game. Smith scored 22 points for Georgia Southern with Hughes scoring 17, on 5 of 6 aim from behind the 3-point line.

• Georgia Southern is 8-1 at home in 2016-17 and 38-13 overall under head coach Mark Byington. The Eagles are 21-5 all-time in Sun Belt Conference home games with Louisiana recording a 74-65 victory in last year's game in Statesboro.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana returns to the Cajundome on Saturday (Feb. 11) when it hosts Troy in a 7:15 p.m. contest. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.

MBB Game 24 Preview: at Georgia Southern

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Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

Justin Miller

Bryce Washington

Jay Wright

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