MBB Game 30 Preview: vs. Arkansas State

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team continues on its historic season on Thursday when it plays host to Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference game at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m., and will follow the Louisiana-Arkansas State women's game at 5 p.m. The game will be streamed live on RaginCajuns.com with the game being broadcast in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420 AM.

Louisiana (25-4, 15-1 SBC) claimed its first outright Sun Belt Conference title since 2000 last week with an 88-71 victory at South Alabama. The Ragin' Cajuns 25 wins during the 2017-18 season are tied for the most in school history, with the feat set three times – 1970-71, 1971-72, 1999-2000 – previously.

The Ragin' Cajuns 13-0 start at the Cajundome is tied for the best home start in school history with the previous marks set in the 1972-73 and 1977-78 campaigns.

Louisiana's 16-game homecourt win streak dating back to last season is tied with the College of Charleston for the second-longest in the nation behind South Dakota State (20).

After facing Arkansas State (10-19, 5-11 SBC), the Ragin' Cajuns will wrap up the regular-season on Saturday against Little Rock in a 7 p.m. contest at the Cajundome.

GAME 30: Louisiana (25-4, 15-1 SBC) vs. Arkansas State (10-19, 5-11 SBC)
Date / Time: March 1, 2018 / 7:15 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
Talent: Dan McDonald (pxp)

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

Series: Louisiana leads, 50-26
At Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 28-9
At Jonesboro: Louisiana leads, 20-17
At Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 2-0
Streak: Louisiana +1

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 153-108 (eighth season), Career Record: 501-274 (25th season)

ARKANSAS STATE
Head Coach: Mike Balado (St. Thomas [Fla.], 1998)
Career Record: 10-19 (first season), Record at A-State: Same

STORY LINES
• Senior Frank Bartley enters Thursday's game needing eight points to reach the 1,000-point mark in his Ragin' Cajuns career. In his four-year career that included two seasons at BYU, Bartley has scored 1,209 points.
• Louisiana's 13-0 start at home is tied for the best start in school history. The Ragin' Cajuns opened the season 13-0 during both the 1972-73 and 1977-78 seasons.
• Louisiana's 25 wins during the 2017-18 season tied a school-record set three times (1970-71, 1971-72, 1999-2000).
• A win would give Marlin his 154th as Ragin' Cajuns head coach, moving him past Bobby Paschal (1979-86) into fourth place on the school's all-time list.
• Since the 2013-14 season, Louisiana's 110 wins are the most of any Sun Belt Conference school, ahead of Georgia State (106), UTA (100) and Little Rock (79).

LOUISIANA IN THE RANKINGS (through games of Feb. 27)
• RPI - 35 | BPI - 44 | KenPom.com - 54 | Sagarin - 72 | WarrenNolan.com - 35

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana's 15 victories in Sun Belt Conference play are the most in a single-season since joining the league in 1991-92.
• Louisiana's 16-game homecourt win streak dating back to last season is tied with the College of Charleston for the second-longest among Division I programs. South Dakota State's 20-game homecourt win streak is the longest in the country.
• Louisiana is the only school nationally (through games of Feb. 27) to win 10 games on the road and post an undefeated record (13-0) at home.
• Louisiana's 10 road wins in 2017-18 are the second-most in school history. The Ragin' Cajuns won a school-record 11 games on the road in 1971-72.
• Under Bob Marlin, Louisiana is 57-30 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 90 games with 80 or more points scored - the fifth-most by any Division I school during that span and trailing North Carolina (105), BYU (98), Duke (94) and Gonzaga (93).
• 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 RED WOLVES
• The Red Wolves have used 15 different starting lineups, seventh-most among Division I programs this year.
• The Red Wolves have had a player score 20 or more points in 20 of 29 games this year.
• Ty Cockfield had 35 points versus Coastal Carolina, his second 30-plus point outing in the last five games.
• Cockfield has seven 20-point games this year, fourth most among a first year player at A-State dating back to the 2010-11 season.
• The Red Wolves committed 10 or more turnovers in 19 of the first 21 games. A-State has 10 or fewer turnovers in six of the last eight outings.
• A-State has scored 90 or more points in five games this season, most since the 2001-02 club had seven such outings.
• The Red Wolves have two 90-plus point efforts in league play, most since the 1999-2000 season in which A-State also had two such games.
• A-State is 6-3 when leading at halftime, but 4-16 when tied (1-2) or trailing (3-14) at the break.

NEXT UP
• Louisiana closes out the regular-season on March 3 against Little Rock in a 7 p.m. contest. The Ragin' Cajuns senior class – Frank Bartley, Jacob Broussard, Larenz Stalcup, Johnathan Stove and Bryce Washington will be honored.

MBB Game 30 Preview: vs. Arkansas State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

Jacob Broussard

Larenz Stalcup

Johnathan Stove

Bryce Washington

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