@RaginCajunsMBB Game 10 Preview: vs. Prairie View

LAFAYETTE – After concluding final exams last week, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday (Dec. 11) when it plays host to Prairie View in a non-conference game at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (PxP) and Eric Mouton (color) on the call. Fans can also listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KHXT-FM (107.9), ESPN 1420 AM and worldwide on RaginCajuns.com with Jay Walker (PxP) and Ross Cook (color) providing the commentary.

Tickets are available on-line at RaginCajuns.com and the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the Cajundome.

Louisiana (6-3), which will conclude a four-game homestand on Saturday against in-state rival Louisiana Tech, won its fourth straight game after defeating Loyola of New Orleans last Wednesday, 97-84. JaKeenan Gant, Justin Miller and Marcus Stroman each posted double-doubles for the Ragin' Cajuns, who improved to 26-2 in non-conference home games under head coach Bob Marlin.

Gant, ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in rebounds, is eighth in the league in scoring (17.7) while hauling down 7.9 rebounds per game. Malik Marquetti (13.2 ppg.), Miller (11.8) and Stroman (10.6) all average in double figures for Louisiana

Prairie View (1-8), playing the 10th of 12 straight games on the road to open the season, dropped an 82-68 decision at Louisiana Tech in its last game on Dec. 4. The Panthers opened the season with an 81-64 win at Santa Clara on Nov. 9 before dropping their next eight.

Gary Blackston (15.3 ppg.), a Preseason Second-Team All-SWAC pick, and Devonte Patterson (14.1) are the top scorers for Prairie View with Blackston hauling in a team-high 6.1 rebounds per contest.

Louisiana leads the all-time series against Prairie View, 3-0, with the last meeting coming on Jan. 24, 1991.

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (6-3) vs. PRAIRIE VIEW (1-8)
Date / Time: December 11, 2018 / 7 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)

Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (PxP); Ross Cook (color)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Dan McDonald (PxP), Eric Mouton (color)

Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Social Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB | #GeauxCajuns

SERIES INFORMATION
Series: Louisiana leads, 3-0
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 2-0
In Prairie View: Louisiana leads, 1-0
Streak: Louisiana +3

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 161-114 (ninth season), Career Record: 509-280 (26th season)

PRAIRIE VIEW
Head Coach: Byron Smith (Houston, 1991)
Record at PVAMU: 29-45 (third season), Career Record: Same

STORY LINES
• Louisiana has won its last 20 games at home during the month of December and is 26-2 overall under head coach Bob Marlin.
• Louisiana has won 16 straight games at home against non-conference opponents dating back to March 23, 2016.
• Senior JaKeenan Gant is the only Division I player in the country averaging at least 17.5 points per game, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks.
• Marcus Stroman's 275 assists at Louisiana are the 21st most by a Ragin' Cajun in school history. Stroman is two assists shy of passing Brian Jolivette (276, 1984-87) for 20th place and six from tying Jerry Bisbano (281, 1971-73) for 19th.
• Louisiana is 23-5 all-time against schools from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, going a combined 10-0 against Alabama State (1-0), Alcorn State (4-0), Grambling (1-0), Mississippi Valley (1-0) and Prairie View (3-0).

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana's one personal foul in the first half against Loyola was the second time this season a team was whistled for one foul in a half. Holy Cross was called for one foul in the first half of its game against Siena on Nov. 18.
• The double-doubles recorded by JaKeenan Gant, Justin Miller and Marcus Stroman against Loyola marked the fifth time this season a Division I trio posted double-doubles in the same game. Gonzaga, Colorado, Western Michigan and Furman all have had trios post double doubles.
• Louisiana's 58 rebounds against Loyola on Wednesday are the most by a Sun Belt Conference team this season and the most by the Ragin' Cajuns since hauling in 59 boards at Houston on Jan. 4, 2003.
• Since the 1992-93 season, Stroman is the 13th player in Division I history to average at least 10 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
• JaKeenan Gant is one of four players from the Sun Belt Conference and 49 players nationally named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List. The award is presented to the top mid-major player in Division I.

SCOUTING PRAIRIE VIEW
• Prairie View, playing the 10th of 12 straight games on the road to open the season, dropped an 82-68 decision at Louisiana Tech in its last game on Dec. 4. The Panthers opened the season with an 81-64 win at Santa Clara on Nov. 9 before dropping their next eight.
• Gary Blackston (15.3 ppg.), a Preseason Second-Team All-SWAC pick, and Devonte Patterson (14.1) are the top scorers for Prairie View with Blackston hauling in a team-high 6.1 rebounds per contest.
• Prairie View, picked to finish fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, finished 16-18 overall last season, 12-6 in SWAC play and reached the semifinals of the SWAC Tournament.

CAJUNS GET BATTLE-TESTED EARLY
• For only the second time in school history, Louisiana faced at least two teams ranked in the top 10 when it played at No. 6 Tennessee (Nov. 9) and No. 2 Kansas (Nov. 16).
• The only other time Louisiana faced two top-10 teams in the same season was in 2004-05 when the Ragin' Cajuns played then No. 2-ranked Kansas (L, 96-51) and No. 4 Louisville (L, 68-62).
• The Nov. 16 game at Kansas was Louisiana's second contest against a No. 2-ranked team in school history - ironically, the previous game against a No. 2 team was Kansas.
• Louisiana's lone win against a top-5 team in nine games came in a 70-61 win over then-No. 5 Georgetown (with freshman Patrick Ewing) in the opening game of the 1981 Great Alaska Shootout.

THE RAGIN' CAJUNS LEGACY LIVES ON
• Two members of the 2018-19 Ragin' Cajuns squad are following in the footsteps of their fathers, who each played for then-USL.
• Freshman forward Kobe Julien (Baton Rouge) is the son of former Ragin' Cajuns forward Wayne Julien (1977-81) with freshman guard Eli Mouton (Lafayette) the son of former Ragin' Cajuns player and current ESPN+ analyst Eric Mouton.

BORN ON THE BAYOU
• Eight of the 15 players on the 2018-19 Ragin' Cajuns basketball team hail from the state of Louisiana.
• Baton Rouge - Kobe Julien (Madison Prep) and Jalen Johnson (University Lab); Lafayette - Eli Mouton (Ascension Episcopal School); Lake Charles - P.J. Hardy (St. Louis Catholic); Alexandria - Cedric Russell (Peabody) Luling - Mason Aucoin (Hahnville); DeRidder - R.J. Gladney (DeRidder); Roseland - Jeremy Hayes.

CAJUNS IN THE PROS
• Louisiana currently has one player - Elfrid Payton (New Orleans Pelicans) - competing in the National Basketball Association.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have had three players - Andrew Toney (8th pick, 1980, Philadelphia), Kevin Brooks (18th pick, 1991, Milwaukee) and Payton (10th pick, 2014, Philadephia/Orlando) taken in the first round of the NBA Draft.
• Louisiana has had eight players compete on an NBA roster - Brooks, Payton, Toney, Larry Fogle (New York Knicks), Dwight "Bo" Lamar (Los Angeles Lakers), Shawn Long (Philadelphia), Fred Saunders (Phoenix, Boston, New Orleans Jazz) and Marvin Winkler (Milwaukee).

100-POINT GAMES
• Louisiana reached the 100-point mark for the 139th time in school history after its 121-80 win over the University of the Virgin Islands on Nov. 6.
• The Ragin' Cajuns recorded five 100-point games last season - a 113-58 win over Louisiana College (Nov. 14), a 115-82 victory over Savannah State (Nov. 17), a 105-80 win at Nicholls State on Dec. 1, a 102-91 victory at Georgia Southern and a 100-79 win over UT Arlington on Feb. 17.
• In all, UL is 136-3 in games in which it has scored 100 points.
• Under head coach Bob Marlin, Louisiana is 18-0 in games when scoring 100 points or greater.

SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Season tickets, beginning at $100, are available online at RaginCajuns.com using Account Manager, or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2357.
• All current UL faculty and staff, along with recent graduates (within the last five years), can purchase season tickets at a 50-percent discount to cheer on the Ragin' Cajuns during the 2018-19 season at the Cajundome.
• The special package will allow recent graduates of Louisiana to purchase tickets in sections 101-103. Discounts will be applied upon confirmation of graduate status by the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office.

GET YOUR PASSPORT
• The game against Southern is part of the "Louisiana Passport," which will recognize Ragin' Cajuns fans who attend all eight of Louisiana's scheduled games against in-state opponents during the 2018-19 season.
• Each game, beginning with the Ragin' Cajuns Nov. 28 game at New Orleans, fans will get their passport stamped at a location to be determined. In-state games for the Ragin' Cajuns include home games against Southern (Dec. 1), Loyola (Dec. 5), Louisiana Tech (Dec. 15) and ULM (Feb. 16), with additional road games slated against McNeese State (Dec. 18), Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 29) and ULM (Jan. 19).
• At Louisiana's game against ULM at the Cajundome on Feb. 16, those who have a completed passport with eight stamps will be recognized on the court at some point during the game.
• For more information on tickets, contact the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2357. For information concerning parking, contact the RCAF at (337) 851-2903.

FOLLOW THE CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsMBB), Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsMBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Men's Basketball.

@RaginCajunsMBB Game 10 Preview: vs. Prairie View

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Players Mentioned

Mason Aucoin

JaKeenan Gant

R.J. Gladney

P.J. Hardy

Jeremy Hayes

Jalen Johnson

Kobe Julien

Shawn Long

Malik Marquetti

Justin Miller

Eli Mouton

Elfrid Payton

Cedric Russell

Marcus Stroman

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