@RaginCajunsMBB Game 30 Preview: at Little Rock

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team opens its final week of the regular-season on Thursday when it travels to Little Rock, Ark., to face Sun Belt Conference rival Little Rock at the Jack Stephens Center.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Ben Creighton (pxp) and U.S. Reed (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 (17-12, 8-8 SBC), which is mired in a three-way tie with Coastal Carolina and ULM for fifth-place in the Sun Belt Conference standings, concludes the regular-season on Saturday at Arkansas State.

The top 10 teams in the Sun Belt Conference standings qualify for next week's Sun Belt Conference Tournament with the top six seeds guaranteed a spot at New Orleans' Lakefront Arena. A pair of campus site games, pitting the No. 7-10 seeds, will be played on Tuesday with the winners advancing to New Orleans.

JaKeenan Gant leads Louisiana in scoring (20.8), rebounds (8.8) and field goal percentage (.541) while leading the Sun Belt Conference in both blocked shots (2.7) and double-doubles (12). Marcus Stroman, the SBC leader in assists (6.4), is next in scoring (11.6) for the Ragin' Cajuns with Jerekius Davis (9.5) and Justin Miller (9.0) next in the scoring column.

Louisiana defeated Little Rock (10-19, 5-11) earlier in the season, 75-61, behind a Cajundome-record 45 points from Gant. The Trojans, currently in a 10^th-place tie heading into the final weekend, is led by Rayjon Tucker, who is averaging 20.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (17-12, 8-8 SBC) at LITTLE ROCK (10-19, 5-11 SBC)
Date / Time: March 7, 2019 / 6:30 p.m.
Site: Little Rock, Ark.
Arena: Jack Stephens Center (5,600)

RADIO/TV
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM
Talent: Jay Walker (PxP); Ross Cook (color)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Ben Creighton (PxP); U.S. Reed (color)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Louisiana leads, 31-22
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 17-7
In Little Rock: Little Rock leads, 14-10
Neutral: Louisiana leads, 3-1
Streak: Louisiana +1

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 172-123 (ninth season), Career Record: 520-289 (26th season)

LITTLE ROCK
Head Coach: Darrell Walker (Arkansas, 2012)
Record at Little Rock: 10-19 (first season), Career Record: 55-37 (third season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana enters the final week of the regular-season tied with ULM and Coastal Carolina for fifth-place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. The Ragin' Cajuns would be the No. 6 seed by virtue of earning a split in four games against both teams (No. 5 Coastal Carolina [3-1], No. 6 Louisiana [2-2], No. 7 ULM [1-3]).
• Marcus Stroman's 398 assists in his two-year Ragin' Cajuns career leaves him two shy of becoming the ninth player in school history with 400. Stroman needs to tie Johnny Collins (1981-83) for ninth place on the school's all-time list.
• Bob Marlin's 99 wins in Sun Belt Conference games are the most by an active coach in the league. The next victory would make Marlin the fifth coach in SBC history to earn 100 wins in league play.
• Louisiana has won five of the last six meetings in the series, including the previous two meetings at the Jack Stephens Center.

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana is 20-16 overall in games played during the month of March under head coach Bob Marlin and a combined 63-37 in both February/March.
• Louisiana is 11-4 overall when scoring 80 or more points during the 2018-19 season.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 11-2 overall when holding an opponent to under 80 points
• Louisiana is 6-2 this season in games decided by six points or less.
• Louisiana's JaKeenan Gant is the only Division I player averaging 20 points, eight rebounds and 2.7 blocks during the 2018-19 season.
• Justin Miller became the 33rd player in school history with 500 career rebounds after grabbing nine against App State. Miller is currently 31st in school history with 504 boards.
• 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 LITTLE ROCK
• Little Rock, which has dropped its last four games, looks to remain in contention for a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Championships with home games against Louisiana and ULM. The Trojans are currently tied for 10th with Appalachian State in the standings with two games remaining.
• Rayjon Tucker leads Little Rock in scoring (20.5) and rebounds (6.8) with freshman Markquis Nowell (11.1), Nikola Maric (10.4) and Deondre Burns (10.0) all averaging in double figures.
• Little Rock has dropped nine of its last 12 games after evening its league record at 2-2 with wins over Troy (Jan. 10) and South Alabama (Jan. 12). The Trojans lost five straight games before earning consecutive wins over Troy (Feb. 7), South Alabama (Feb. 9) and UT Arlington (Feb. 14).

LAST MEETING - LOUISIANA 75, LITTLE ROCK 61
• Louisiana's JaKeenan Gant posted a double-double, scoring a career-high 45 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in leading the Ragin' Cajuns to a 75-61 victory over Little Rock in a Sun Belt Conference game at the Cajundome.
• Gant, who became the first Ragin' Cajun to score 40 points in a game since Sydney Grider in 1990, equaled the 45-point effort set by legendary guard Dwight "Bo" Lamar in 1972 for the 11th-best scoring performance in school history for Louisiana.
• The 6-foot-8 senior finished 15-for-21 from the floor, 11-for-11 from the free throw line and drained 4 of 5 attempts from behind the 3-point line as snapped a rare, two-game losing streak at home. Little Rock, which handed Louisiana its lone home loss last season, was led by Rayjon Tucker's career-high 36 points.
• Louisiana, which was without head coach Bob Marlin who was dealing with a family health matter, never trailed after Jeremy Hayes' three-point play gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 9-8 lead with 14:31 remaining in the first half. Hayes bucket was part of a 14-0 run for Louisiana that began was a bucket by Marcus Stroman with 15:35 left in the first half and capped by two free throws by Gant at the 11:19 mark.

MARLIN SET TO JOIN SELECT COMPANY
• With 99 career victories in Sun Belt Conference play for Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin, the next victory by the Ragin' Cajuns would make him the fifth coach in SBC history to reach the 100-win mark.
• Marlin, who is 99-62 in SBC games, would join a list that includes Kermit Davis, Jr. (Middle Tennessee, 117), Ronnie Arrow (South Alabama, 112), Gene Bartow (UAB, 111) and Dickey Nutt (Arkansas State, 103) as coaches with 100 victories in Sun Belt Conference play during their careers.

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.

STROMAN DISHING IT OUT
• With 185 assists during the 2018-19 season at Louisiana, senior Marcus Stroman looks to become the first-ever Ragin' Cajuns floor general to reach the 200-assist mark twice in a career.
• With 398 career assists in his two-year career, Stroman can become the ninth player in school history - and first since for Cajun and current New Orleans Pelicans guard Elfrid Payton (2011-14) - to reach the 400-mark.

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 172-123 in his career at Louisiana and has taken two teams - Louisiana (2014) and Sam Houston State (2003, 2010) to the NCAA Championships.

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.

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 107 times to rank fifth among Division I schools with North Carolina (126), Gonzaga (121), BYU (118) and Duke (118) ahead.

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
• During the Bob Marlin era, Louisiana is 50-46 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 6-1 this season.
• In one-point contests, Louisiana's 73-72 victory at Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 29 was its first 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.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Tickets booklets for the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, scheduled for March 13-17 at New Orleans' Lakefront Arena, are currently on sale on-line at RaginCajuns.com, using Account Manager, or by visiting the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• For more information, call the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2357.

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 30 Preview: at Little Rock

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Players Mentioned

Mason Aucoin

Jerekius Davis

JaKeenan Gant

R.J. Gladney

P.J. Hardy

Jeremy Hayes

Jalen Johnson

Kobe Julien

Malik Marquetti

Justin Miller

Eli Mouton

Elfrid Payton

Cedric Russell

Marcus Stroman

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