MBB Game 24 Preview: at Georgia State

ATLANTA – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team continues its three-game road trip on Thursday when it faces Sun Belt Conference rival Georgia State in a battle between the league's top two teams at GSU Sports Arena.

Tipoff is set for 6:15 p.m. CT and will follow the Louisiana-Georgia State women's game set for 4 p.m. CT. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT-FM (107.9) with a live broadcast available on ESPN3.

League-leading Louisiana (20-3, 10-0 SBC) opened its road trip last week with its 10th-straight victory – an 80-59 win at ULM. The Ragin' Cajuns face a second-place Georgia State (18-6, 9-2 SBC) squad that has won its last nine games overall, tied with Villanova and New Mexico for the 11th-longest win streak in the country.

The meeting between the schools is the lone scheduled contest this season.

GAME 24: Louisiana (20-3, 10-0 SBC) at Georgia State (18-6, 9-2 SBC)
Date / Time: February 8, 2018 / 6:15 p.m. CT
Site: Atlanta, Ga.
Arena: GSU Sports Arena (3,854)

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

TV/Internet: ESPN3
Talent: Sam Crenshaw (pxp); Rodney Turner (color) Live Stats: CajunStats.com

Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB

Series: Georgia State leads, 10-5
At Lafayette: Series tied, 3-3
At Atlanta: Georgia State leads, 5-1
At Neutral Sites: Georgia State leads, 2-1
Streak: Georgia State 4

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 148-107 (eighth season), Career Record: 496-273 (25th season)

GEORGIA STATE
Head Coach: Ron Hunter (Miami [Ohio], 1986)
Record at GSU: 141-80 (sixth season); Career Record: 415-290 (24th season)

STORY LINES
• Two of the hottest teams in the country face off tonight as Louisiana (10-game win streak) and Georgia State (9-game win streak) put their respective win streaks on the line in the lone regular-season meeting.
• Louisiana's current 10-game win streak is the 10th-longest among Division I schools.
• Since the 2013-14 season, Louisiana (105) and Georgia State (104) have won the most overall games among SBC schools.
• Georgia State (62) and Louisiana (56) have won the most SBC games since 2013-14.
• Louisiana looks to build on its best 24-game start since opening 22-2 in the 1972-73 season.
• Louisiana's 16 consecutive SBC victories dating back to last season is the longest streak in school history.
• Under Bob Marlin, Louisiana is 51-17 overall in games played in February.
• Bryce Washington enters today's game needing six rebounds to reach the 1,000-career mark. He would become the fourth player in both UL and Sun Belt Conference history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a career.
• Louisiana is the only school in the country ranked in the top 25 in the following categories (as of Feb. 6): Scoring Margin (8th, 15.5), assists per game (7th, 18.0), won-lost percentage (9th, .870), rebound margin (11th, 7.4), steals per game (17th, 8.4) and scoring offense (22nd, 83.6).

QUICK HITS
• Bryce Washington is fifth among active Division I players in total rebounds (994), tied for sixth in career double-doubles (34), 35th in career field goal percentage (.572) and tied for 38th in games played (124).
• Louisiana is one of seven schools nationally (as of Feb. 6) that have won seven or more games on the road and are undefeated at home. The Ragin' Cajuns are joined by Vermont, Nevada, St. Mary's, Montana, Villanova and Purdue.
• Since the 2013-14 season, Louisiana has recorded 85 games with 80 or more points scored - the fifth-most by any Division I school during that span and trailing North Carolina (100), BYU (97), Gonzaga (92) and Duke (92).
• Washington is one of four Division I players to average a double-double during the past two seasons joining Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), Alize Johnson (Missouri State) and James Thompson IV (Eastern Michigan).

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• Georgia State has won its last nine games, tied with Villanova and New Mexico State for 11th-longest in the country, and are 9-1 at home this season.
• Georgia State enters play ranked No. 20 nationally in scoring defense (64.4), sixth in field goal defense (38.9), 15th in turnover margin ( 3.9), 32nd in turnovers (11.4).
• D'Marcus Simonds, the SBC leader in scoring (20.9) and minutes played, has scored in double figures in 41 straight games dating back to last season.
• Simonds' 20.9 points per game average is currently the third-best single-season scoring average in
school history and it No. 29 in the NCAA in scoring.

NEXT UP
• Louisiana closes out its weekend in the Peach State on Saturday when it ventures to Statesboro to face Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. CT and will televised on ESPN3.

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Washington

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