MBB Game 20 Preview: at Texas State

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team wraps up a two-game trip to the state of Texas on Saturday when it faces Texas State in a Sun Belt Conference battle at Strahan Coliseum.

Tipoff is set for 4;30 p.m., and will follow the women's game between Louisiana and Texas State at 2. The game will broadcast in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9 FM and ESPN 1420 AM and will be streamed live at TXSTBobcats.com.

Louisiana (16-3, 6-0 SBC) continued its hot start with a come-from-behind 77-65 win at UT Arlington on Thursday. The Ragin' Cajuns trailed 18-4 at the 15:00 mark in the first half before outscoring the Mavs, 73-47, for the remainder of the game.

Frank Bartley, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career that includes 803 points at Louisiana, scored a season-high 26 points to lead the Ragin' Cajuns with Marcus Stroman scoring 12 points and Justin Miller 10. Bryce Washington pulled down 16 rebounds to increase his career total to 951 and within 12 of tying former Old Dominion standout Kenny Gattison (963, 1982-86) for fourth-place on the Sun Belt Conference all-time list.

Texas State (13-7, 6-1 SBC) won its sixth straight game with a 55-52 win over ULM on Thursday. The Bobcats have won their last six games by a combined 20 points that includes last-second wins over Troy and Little Rock.

GAME 20: Louisiana (16-3, 6-0 SBC) at Texas State (13-7, 6-1 SBC)
Date / Time: January 20, 2018 / 4:30 p.m.
Site: San Marcos, Texas
Arena: Strahan Coliseum (7,200)
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

TV/Internet: TXSTBobcats.com ($)
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB

Series History: Louisiana leads, 9-1
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 5-0
In San Marcos: Louisiana leads 3-1
In New Orleans: Louisiana leads, 1-0
Current streak: Louisiana +2

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 144-107 (eighth season), Career Record: 492-273 (25th season)

TEXAS STATE
Head Coach: Danny Kaspar (North Texas, 1978)
Record at TXST: 72-77 (fifth season), Career Record: 537-270 (27th season)

STORY LINES
• Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Louisiana has won a total of 101 games - currently the most of any Sun Belt Conference school during that span and the third-best mark during a five-season span in school history.
• Louisiana looks build on its best 19-game start since opening 18-1 in the 1972-73 season.
• Louisiana's current six-game win streak is tied for the 12th-longest among Division I schools.
• Louisiana's 12 consecutive SBC victories dating back to last season are the most in school history. The Ragin' Cajuns won 10 straight SBC games from Jan. 22, 2011-Feb. 26, 2011.
• Louisiana (60.5) and Texas State (61.1) have allowed the fewest points per game during Sun Belt Conference play in 2017-18.
• One of five players in school history with 900 career rebounds, Washington (951 rebounds) passed Dion Brown (1981-84) for fourth place on the Ragin' Cajuns career list with 12 rebounds against ULM.
• Bryce Washington enters today's game needing 12 rebounds to tie former Old Dominion star Kenny Gattison (963, 1982-86) for fourth-place on the all-time Sun Belt Conference list.
• Washington is fourth among active Division I players in total rebounds (951), tied for sixth in career double-doubles (34) and is 28th in career field goal percentage (.575).

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana's 77-65 win over UT Arlington on Thursday marked its third comeback victory of the season when trailing by double digits. The Ragin' Cajuns, who trailed 18-4 at the 15:00 mark of the first half, also rallied from 13 points down against Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 19 and 10 at Nicholls State on Dec. 1.
• Frank Bartley surpassed the 1,000-point barrier for his career with 26 points at UTA, increasing his career total to 1,017. Since transferring to Louisiana from BYU before the 2015-16 season, Bartley has scored 803 points.
• Bryce Washington is one of five Division I players to average a double-double during the past two seasons joining Bonzie Colson (Notre Dame), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), Alize Johnson (Missouri State) and James Thompson IV (Eastern Michigan).
• Washington is one of four Sun Belt players named to the Lou Henson Award Midseason Watch List.
• JaKeenan Gant is one of two Division I players currently averaging 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and shooting over 60 percent from the floor joining Ajdin Peneva of Marshall.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
• Texas State joined Louisiana as the hottest team in the Sun Belt Conference after its 55-52 win over ULM on Thursday. The win was the sixth straight for the Bobcats, who have won by a combined total of 20 points and are 5-3 overall in games decided by five points or less.
• Nijal Pearson leads Texas State in scoring (14.3) and is tied for the team lead in rebounds (6.1). Immanuel King is second on the team in scoring (9.8) and is grabbing 6.1 boards per game while leading the team in blocks (16).
• Texas State, whose only loss at home was a 79-78 contest to I-35 rival UTSA in its home opener on Nov. 15, averages 68.8 points per game on the season and allows 62.5.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana returns home to close out the month of January with games against South Alabama (Jan. 25) and Troy (Jan. 27) at the Cajundome. The game against South Alabama will be a "Blackout game" with the Ragin' Cajuns coaching staff wearing tennis shoes for both games to support Coaches vs. Cancer.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

JaKeenan Gant

Justin Miller

Marcus Stroman

Bryce Washington

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