@RaginCajunsMBB Game 16 Preview: at Georgia State

LAFAYETTE – After earning a split at home during the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference play, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team returns to action on Thursday when it visits league rival Georgia State at the GSU Sports Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., CT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Sam Crenshaw (pxp) and Rodney Turner (color) on the call. Fans can listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KHXT-FM (107.9) and worldwide on RaginCajuns.com with Jay Walker (PxP) and Ross Cook (color) providing the commentary.

Louisiana (10-5, 1-1 SBC) rebounded from a SBC-opening loss to Arkansas State last Thursday with a 75-61 victory over Little Rock. Senior JaKeenan Gant, a native of Springfield, Ga., scored a career-high 45 points – a Cajundome record and 11th-highest total in school history – against the Trojans and is the lone player in Division I currently averaging 18 points (18.5), seven rebounds (7.7) and three blocks per game (3.0).

Marcus Stroman (12.6 ppg.), the SBC leader in both assists (6.4) and steals (2.4), and Justin Miller (10.3) are next in scoring for Louisiana with Gant leading the team in rebounds.

Georgia State (11-4, 2-0 SBC), which has won four straight games and eight of its last 10, opened SBC play with wins at UT Arlington (63-58) and Texas State (73-69).

Reigning SBC Player of the Year D'Marcus Simonds leads GSU in scoring (18.6) and is one of five players averaging in double figures. Malik Benlevi (12.7), Devin Mitchell (12.4), Jeff Thomas (11.0) and Kane Williams (10.5) are next in scoring for the Panthers, who average 76.8 points per game.

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (10-5, 1-1 SBC) at GEORGIA STATE (11-4, 2-0 SBC)
Date / Time: January 10, 2019 / 6 p.m. CT
Site: Atlanta, Ga.
Arena: GSU Sports Arena (3,854)

TV/RADIO
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM
Talent: Jay Walker (PxP); Ross Cook (color)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Sam Crenshaw (PxP); Rodney Turner (color)

LIVE STATS/SOCIAL
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Social Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB | #GeauxCajuns

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Georgia State leads, 11-5
In Lafayette: Series tied, 3-3
In Atlanta: Georgia State leads, 6-1
Neutral: Georgia State leads, 2-1
Streak: Georgia State +5

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 165-115 (ninth season), Career Record: 513-281 (26th season)

GEORGIA STATE
Head Coach: Ron Hunter (Miami [OH], 1986)
Record at GSU: 158-89 (eighth season), Career Record: 432-308 (25th season)

STORY LINES
• Since the 2013-14 season, Louisiana (122) and Georgia State (121) have accumulated the most victories among current Sun Belt Conference schools.
• Thursday's game pits the first of two scheduled meetings this season between the defending Sun Belt Conference regular-season champion (Louisiana) and 2018-19 SBC Preseason favorite (Georgia State). The teams will meet on Friday, Feb. 8 in Lafayette in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
• The game against Georgia State is the first of three consecutive road games for Louisiana, which will also travel to face Georgia Southern (Jan. 12) and ULM (Jan. 19).
• Louisiana's JaKeenan Gant is a native of Springfield, Ga., and prepped at Effingham County High School.

QUICK HITS
• JaKeenan Gant's 45-point, 11-rebound performance against Little Rock marked the sixth time during the 2018-19 season a Division I player notched a 40-10 game. His record-setting performance was the seventh 45-10 contest dating back to 2010-11.
• The 45-point performance by Gant was the first 40+-point game by a Ragin' Cajun since Sydney Grider (41 at Ole Miss) on Nov. 24, 1989.
• In games played through Jan. 7, Gant is the only Division I player in 2018-19 averaging 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks per game.
• Marcus Stroman is one of five Division I players (through Jan. 7) averaging 12 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals per game.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are officially 258-179 in Sun Belt Conference play and 92-56 under head coach Bob Marlin.
• Louisiana's 73-72 victory at Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 29 was its first one-point win since defeating ULM, 85-84, on Feb. 18, 2017. The Ragin' Cajuns are 11-4 overall in one-point games under head coach Bob Marlin and 55-49 overall in school history.
• Gant and Justin Miller are tied with Georgia Southern's Montae Glenn for the Sun Belt Conference lead in offensive rebounds per game (2.6).

SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE
• Georgia State, which has won four straight games and eight of its last 10, opened SBC play with wins at UT Arlington (63-58) and Texas State (73-69).
• 2018 SBC Player of the Year D'Marcus Simonds leads GSU in scoring (18.6) and is one of five players averaging in double figures. Malik Benlevi (12.7), Devin Mitchell (12.4), Jeff Thomas (11.0) and Kane Williams (10.5) are next in scoring for the Panthers, who average 76.8 points per game.
• GSU has won its last 15 games played in the month of January dating back to 2017.

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.

TROPHY MARLIN
• Head coach Bob Marlin is in his ninth season at the helm of the Ragin' Cajuns with his teams from 2013-15 equaling the most wins (45) since a period from 1982-84 which saw then-USL post records of 22-10 (1982-83) and 23-10 (1983-84).
• During the past two seasons, Louisiana's 48 wins equaled the 1970-72 teams for the best two-year mark in school history.
• Under Marlin's guidance, the Ragin' Cajuns have made five postseason appearances, including a berth in the 2014 NCAA Championships.
• He is 165-116 in his career at Louisiana and has taken two teams - Louisiana (2014) and Sam Houston State (2003, 2010) to the NCAA Championships.

SBC STANDARD BEARERS
• Since the 2013-14 season, Louisiana's 122 overall wins are the most among current Sun Belt Conference schools.
• During that span, Louisiana (122), Georgia State (121) and UT Arlington (107) are the only SBC schools to record 100 or more overall victories.

TEAMS PLAY FAST UNDER MARLIN
• During Bob Marlin's 25-year tenure as a head coach, that includes three trips to the NCAA Tournament and a NJCAA national championship, his teams have employed a fast-paced style of basketball that has averaged 78.5 points per game during that span.
• His teams have averaged over 70 points per game 24 of the 25 years.
• The last six Ragin' Cajuns teams under Marlin have led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring.
• His last five teams has averaged 19th among 351 Division I teams in scoring.
• The 2017-18 edition averaged 83.2 points per game and posting the highest season average since the 1990-91 season.
• Since the 2013-14 season, Louisiana has scored 80 or more points 99 times to rank fifth among Division I schools with North Carolina (117), BYU (113), Gonzaga (111) and Duke (109) ahead.

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
• During the Bob Marlin era, Louisiana is 46-41 in games decided by six points or less with at least nine wins recorded in both 2010-11 and 2013-14.
• The Cajuns were 3-1 in games decided by six points or less in 2017-18 and are 2-0 this season.
• In one point contests, Louisiana's 73-72 victory at Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 29 was its since defeating ULM, 85-84, on Feb. 18, 2017.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 11-4 overall in one-point games under head coach Bob Marlin and 55-49 overall in school history.

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, Philadelphia/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 140th time in school history after its 122-90 win over Prairie View on Dec. 11.
• 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 (Dec. 1), a 102-91 victory at Georgia Southern (Feb. 10) and a 100-79 win over UT Arlington (Feb. 17).
• In all, UL is 137-3 in games in which it has scored 100 points.
• Under head coach Bob Marlin, Louisiana is 19-0 in games when scoring 100 points or greater.

WELL, FOR STARTERS ...
• During the 2017-18 season, Louisiana had nine players earn starts and have equaled that in 2018-19.
• Players earning starts this season include JaKeenan Gant, Malik Marquetti, Marcus Stroman, Justin Miller, Jerekius Davis, Jeremy Hayes, Cedric Russell, Trajan Wesley and P.J. Hardy.
• Only the following schools have had more players earn starts in 2018-19.

Harvard - 10
Princeton - 10
Detroit Mercy - 10
Incarnate Word - 10
UT Martin - 10
Eastern Washington - 10

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.

CAJUNS CARE TICKET INITIATIVE
• Help Louisiana Athletics continue to give back! After a successful start during the 2018 football season, the Cajuns Care program will allow Ragin' Cajuns fans the opportunity to purchase Louisiana men's basketball season tickets for $20.
• Tickets purchased through the Cajuns Care program will be donated to local charitable and philanthropic initiatives, including Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana, the United Way and area military servicemen and servicewomen.
• Fans and supporters of Louisiana men's basketball can find the option to purchase Cajuns Care season tickets online, by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the Cajundome (337-265-2357) or visiting in-person.

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 16 Preview: at Georgia State

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Players Mentioned

Mason Aucoin

Jerekius Davis

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

Trajan Wesley

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