MBB Game 28 Preview: at Troy

TROY, Ala. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team will look to win its first Sun Belt Conference regular-season title since 1999-2000 when it opens its final road trip of the regular-season on Thursday against Troy at Trojan Arena.

Tipoff is tentatively set for 7:15 p.m., and will follow the women's game between Troy and Louisiana set for 5:15 p.m. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9 FM and on the RadioPup app with Jay Walker providing the commentary. The game will also be streamed live on ESPN3 with Barry McKnight and Doug Brandon on the call.

Louisiana (23-4, 13-1 SBC) can claim a share of its first regular-season SBC title since 1999-2000 with a win against Troy (13-14, 7-7 SBC). The Ragin' Cajuns, who have a three-game lead over second-place Georgia State, can also claim the title outright with a win and a loss by the Panthers at Texas State.

The Ragin' Cajuns can establish a new school-record for most wins in SBC play with a win during their final four games of the regular-season and can earn their ninth road win of the season, tying for the second-most in a season in school history.

Head coach Bob Marlin enters Thursday's game against Troy one win shy of recording the 500th victory in his career. In his 25th season as a head coach, Marlin has posted a 499-276 overall record that includes stops at Pensacola Junior College (123-35), Sam Houston State (225-131) and Louisiana (151-108).

After facing Troy, Louisiana will close out its road schedule on Saturday when it travels down I-65 to Mobile to face South Alabama in a 7:05 contest at the Mitchell Center.

GAME 28: Louisiana (23-4, 13-1 SBC) at Troy (13-14, 7-7 SBC)
Date / Time: February 22, 2018 / 7:15 p.m.
Site: Troy, Ala.
Arena: Trojan Arena (5,200)

Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

TV/Internet: ESPN3
Talent: Barry McKnight (pxp), Doug Brandon (color)

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

Series History: Louisiana leads, 15-6
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 8-4
In Troy: Louisiana leads 6-2
Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 1-0
Current streak: Louisiana +1

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 151-108 (eighth season), Career Record: 499-274 (25th season)

TROY
Head Coach: Phil Cunningham (Campbellsville, 1990)
Record at Troy: 65-90 (fifth season), Career Record: Same

STORY LINES
• Louisiana can clinch a share of its first SBC regular-season title since 1999-2000 with a win tonight.
• Louisiana can also clinch the outright SBC regular-season title with a win and a loss by Georgia State at Texas State.
• Head coach Bob Marlin can earn his 500th career win tonight. Marlin is 499-274 in his 25th season as a head coach that includes stops at Pensacola Junior College (123-35), Sam Houston State (225-131) and Louisiana (151-108).
• Since the 2013-14 season, Louisiana's 108 wins are the most of any Sun Belt Conference school, ahead of Georgia State (105), UTA (98) and Little Rock (79).

LOUISIANA IN THE RANKINGS (through games of Feb. 20)
• RPI - 40 | BPI - 46 | KenPom.com - 55 | Sagarin - 72

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana's 13 victories in Sun Belt Conference play are tied for the most in school history (1993-94, 1999-2000, 2014-15).
• Louisiana, Montana and Stephen F. Austin are the only schools nationally (through games of Feb. 20) that have won eight or more games on the road and are undefeated at home.
• Louisiana's eight road wins in 2017-18 are one away from tying for the second-most in school history.
• Under Bob Marlin, Louisiana is 55-30 overall in games played in February and March.
• Since the 2013-14 season when Louisiana last reached the NCAA Tournament, the Ragin' Cajuns have recorded 88 games with 80 or more points scored - the fifth-most by any Division I school during that span and trailing North Carolina (104), BYU (98), Duke (93) and Gonzaga (93).
• During Bob Marlin's tenure at Louisiana, the Ragin' Cajuns have recorded 100 points or more in 17 games (17-0), tying them for 11th-best among all Division I programs (VMI leads with 28).
• Louisiana's 14 made 3-pointers against UTA marked the eighth time this season with 12 or more makes. The Ragin' Cajuns sank a school-record 16 3-pointers earlier this season against Savannah State.
• During the past two games, Louisiana is 38-for-40 (95.0 percent) from the free throw line. Louisiana is the only school in the country this season to record three games with a 94-percent or better mark from the free throw line with 18 or more made free throws.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• Troy had a four-game win streak snapped last Saturday in a 65-54 loss at Appalachian State. The Trojans' win streak began with an 80-63 win over in-state rival South Alabama, with wins at home against Arkansas State, Little Rock and at Coastal Carolina.
• Wesley Person, ranked sixth in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring, leads Troy with a 17.9 average with Jordan Varnado averaging 17.5. Alex Hicks is averaging 11.6 points and a team-best 7.9 rebounds for the Trojans with Kevin Baker ranked sixth in the SBC with 3.3 assists per game.
• Person, the SBC all-time leader in 3-pointers made, is second in the league in both free throw percentage (.831) and 3-point field goal percentage (.384) while pacing the conference with 3.0 3-pointers made per game.
• The Trojans are fifth in the league in scoring (75.6) and are second in free throw percentage (.745).

NEXT UP
• Louisiana heads down I-65 to Mobile for its final regular-season road game in 2017-18 on Saturday to face South Alabama in a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Mitchell Center.

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