Louisiana Men's Basketball Continues Non-Conference Play Against New Orleans

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Men's Basketball continues their non-conference slate against New Orleans 7 p.m. Friday at the Cajundome. The game is available to be live streamed on ESPN+.

Louisiana had six days off following a narrow loss to Jackson State on Saturday. The Ragin' Cajuns complied a 21-7 run in the second half, but the comeback attempt fell just short.

Louisiana continued its up-tempo style of play last week and now ranks eighth in the nation and first in the Sun Belt in adjusted tempo this season garnering 73.9 possessions per game according to KenPom.

Redshirt freshman guard Kobe Julien led the Ragin' Cajuns in the scoring column for the first time this season on Saturday compiling 15 points on six of 11 shooting from the floor. Julien led the team with 17 points in the preseason charity exhibition against Alabama in October.

Kentrell Garnett continues to impress with the start to his second year campaign, the walk-on drained a pair of a pair of shots from beyond the arc totaling six points against the Tigers. Garnett is fourth in the conference with 2.2 3-point makes a game.

As a team, Louisiana is the only team in the league to have three players ranked in the top 20 of the conference per game 3-point leaderboard. Newcomers Jalen Dalcourt and Greg Williams, Jr. are averaging 1.5 and 1.7 per game, respectively.

New Orleans enters the contest a 3-5 following an 85-65 loss to Texas A&M on Tuesday. The Privateers are led by graduate guard Derek St. Hilaire who is averaging 21.4 points per game this season.

BLOCK PARTY
As a team, Louisiana ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference with 4.69 blocks per game this season. Individually, Jordan Brown is fifth in the conference with 1.3 blocks per game while Theo Akwuba ranks eighth with 1.2.

SERIES NOTES
The game will mark the 71st meeting between the two programs with Louisiana leading the all-time series 39-31. The Ragin' Cajuns have prevailed in nine of the last 10 contests including a 73-63 victory last season.
Head coach Bob Marlin is 8-0 in his career against the Privateers while New Orleans headman Mark Slessinger is 0-7 when facing the Ragin' Cajuns.

PLAYER TO WATCH: KENTRELL GARNETT
Having entered the season without making a start in his collegiate career, Garnett has been in the opening lineup in each of the first six games. The second-year guard out of Donaldsonville, La. Is averaging 7.5 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.9 steals so far this season.

LOUISIANA LEGACY
Louisiana's 2021-22 roster features two second-generation talents in Julien and Brown. Julien's father Wayne was with the program from 1976-81 and was a member of the 1977 Southland Conference championship team.

Dion Brown lettered for the Ragin' Cajuns from 1980-84 and finished his career as one of the top scorers and rebounders in school history. Brown, a 1984 graduate of UL, earned All-Southland Conference honors in 1982 and was a two-time All-Louisiana selection.

He finished his career with 1,412 points and 926 rebounds (then second in school history) and helped then-USL to the championship of the 1982 Great Alaskan Shootout where he was named to the All-Tournament team.

Louisiana Men's Basketball Continues Non-Conference Play Against New Orleans

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Players Mentioned

Theo Akwuba

Jordan Brown

Jalen Dalcourt

Kentrell Garnett

Kobe Julien

Greg Williams, Jr.

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