@RaginCajunsMBB Game 27 Preview: at Texas State

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team wraps up a two-game trip to the Lone Star State on Saturday when it visits Sun Belt Conference co-leader Texas State in a 4 p.m. contest at Strahan Arena.

The will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Brant Freeman (pxp) and Cordell Patrick (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 (16-10, 7-6 SBC) opened its two-game road swing with a 76-64 victory at UT Arlington behind a game-high 19 points from Jerekius Davis. Justin Miller posted his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds with Cedric Russell scoring 14 points and JaKeenan Gant 11.

Texas State (21-6, 10-4 SBC), which is tied with Georgia State for the league lead, dropped a 63-60 decision to ULM on Thursday. The Bobcats, off to their best start since 1959-60, are led in scoring by Nijal Pearson (18.1) and Tre Nottingham (14.0).

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (16-10, 7-6 SBC) at TEXAS STATE (21-6, 10-4 SBC)
Date / Time: February 23, 2019 / 4 p.m.
Site: San Marcos, Texas
Arena: Strahan Arena (10,000)

RADIO/TV
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM
Talent: Jay Walker (PxP); Ross Cook (color)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Brant Freeman (PxP); Cordell Patrick (color)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Louisiana leads, 12-1
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 6-0
In San Marcos: Louisiana leads, 4-1
Neutral: Louisiana leads, 2-0
Streak: Louisiana +5

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 171-121 (ninth season), Career Record: 519-287 (26th season)

UT ARLINGTON
Head Coach: Danny Kaspar (North Texas, 1978)
Record at TXST: 95-94 (sixth season), Career Record: 560-287 (28th season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana is 42-20 overall in games played during the month of February under head coach Bob Marlin and a combined 62-35 in February/March.
• The Ragin' Cajuns face their Lone Star State rivals (UT Arlington, Texas State) for the only time during the regular-season.
• Louisiana enters Saturday's game tied with ULM for fifth place in the Sun Belt Conference standings.
• JaKeenan Gant is the lone Division I player averaging 20 points, eight rebounds and 3.0 blocks during the 2018-19 season.
• Bob Marlin's 98 wins in Sun Belt Conference games are the most by an active coach in the league.
• With 1,218 points in his collegiate career (including 953 in his career at Louisiana), Gant is 47 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point mark with the Ragin' Cajuns.

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana is 10-3 overall when scoring 80 or more points during the 2018-19 season.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 10-1 overall when holding an opponent to under 80 points
• Louisiana is 6-1 this season in games decided by six points or less.
• With 73 blocks in 2018-19, JaKeenan Gant has posted the fifth-best total in a single-season in school history and is one block shy of equaling his total - the fourth-best mark - from last season.
• Gant has recorded a Sun Belt Conference-best 10 double-doubles during the 2018-19 season.
• With four assists against UT Arlington, Marcus Stroman increased his season total to 165 and tied Aaron Mitchell (1990-91) and Johnny Collins (1982-83) for the 10th-best single-season total in Ragin' Cajuns history.
• Louisiana has used 10 different starting lineups during the 2018-19 season, including six since losing senior Malik Marquetti to a knee injury on Dec. 29.
• 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.

SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
• Enjoying its best season since 1993-94 and its best start since 1959-60, Texas State had its four-game win streak snapped in a 63-60 decision against ULM on Thursday. Tre Nottingham and Eric Terry combined for 41 points on 14 of 27 aim from the floor while the remainder of the team went a combined 7-for-37 from the floor.
• Nijal Pearson is averaging 18.1 points per game to lead the Bobcats with Nottingham (14.0), Terry (8.6) and Alex Peacock (8.3) next in the scoring column.
• Texas State averages 74.3 points per game on the season and leads the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense (64.0), scoring margin (+10.3), field goal defense (.406), 3-point FG defense (.292), rebound margin (+5.7) and assists (15.4).

LAST MEETING - LOUISIANA 80, TEXAS STATE 54
• Frank Bartley scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the second half and the top-seeded Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns used a 26-4 run in the first half to pull away and defeat Texas State, 80-54, in a Sun Belt Conference Championship quarterfinal game at Lakefront Arena.
• Justin Miller and Jerekius Davis combined for 26 of the Ragin' Cajuns 40 points from its bench as Louisiana (27-5) advanced to the semifinals for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
• Marcus Stroman dished out eight assists while scoring eight of his 10 points in the second half as the Ragin' Cajuns built a 37-15 lead at halftime and held No. 9-seeded Texas State (15-18) to 6-for-25 (24.0 percent) shooting from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Tickets are available online at RaginCajuns.com using Account Manager, or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2357.

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 27 Preview: at Texas State

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Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

Jerekius Davis

JaKeenan Gant

Malik Marquetti

Justin Miller

Cedric Russell

Marcus Stroman

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