Louisiana Set To Face ULM in Home-and-Home Series

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Men's Basketball team returns home for the first time in two weeks on Thursday as it plays host to in-state opponent ULM in a Sun Belt Conference game at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game is the first of two for Louisiana (13-6, 7-5 Sun Belt) against ULM (4-15, 2-10 Sun Belt) with the series set to conclude on Saturday in a 4 p.m. contest at ULM's Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Both games can also be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL 96.5 FM with Jay Walker providing the commentary. Thursday's game will also be simulcast locally on ESPN 1420 AM. Live stats for both contests will be available at CajunStats.com.

The series will also be available on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (play-by-play) and former Ragin' Cajuns guard Eric Mouton (color) providing the commentary for Thursday's game. Chris Harris (play-by-play) and former ULM head coach Mike Vining (color) will call the action in Saturday's finale.

Louisiana, which will wrap up its home schedule next week (Feb. 19-20) against UT Arlington, looks to get back in the win column after stumbling to a hot-shooting Arkansas State squad last weekend in Jonesboro, Ark. Dou Gueye produced a double-double with a career-high 23 points with 14 rebounds in last Friday's opener before Cedric Russell scored a season-high 30 points in Saturday's finale.

Head coach Bob Marlin looks at etching his name atop the Sun Belt record books. The 11^th year Ragin' Cajuns coach enters the series against the Warhawks two wins shy of passing former Middle Tennessee's Kermit Davis, Jr., as the league's all-time leader in victories.

Marlin, who became the third coach in Ragin' Cajuns Men's Basketball history to reach the 200-win mark in school history, is 116-80 in Sun Belt Conference games in his career and 201-149 in his career at Louisiana.

Louisiana returns home to the Cajundome where it has posted a 9-2 record this season and looks to reach the 10-win mark for the 10^th time in the past 11 seasons.

In an effort to limit exposure due to COVID concerns, Sun Belt Conference teams will host one opponent for two games on Friday and Saturday each week during the 2020-21 season. Additionally, Louisiana will only play its divisional opponents, playing four schools (Arkansas State, Little Rock, Texas State and UT Arlington) a total of four times, while playing its traditional travel partner (ULM) twice.

Season-ticket holders can download their tickets through mobile ticketing from Ticketmaster. Fans can download the #GeauxCajuns app to their smart phone to begin the process. Season-ticket holders who are unable to download tickets or wish to have printed can visit the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the Cajundome to have them printed.

For more information on Men's Basketball tickets, fans can call the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2170.

The Cajundome will operate at a significantly reduced capacity for the 2020-21 season (unless state COVID-19 policy changes during the season). This will allow for fans and University students to be accommodated this season. The Department of Athletics will quickly communicate any schedule adjustments or changes to attendance protocols through its social media channels and RaginCajuns.com.

In the interest of public safety and following the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) Best Practices Guide, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Athletics Department is implementing a clear bag policy at all venues that host ticketed events effective with the 2020-21 competition season. Information about the clear bag policy can be found by visiting www.RaginCajuns.com/clearbag.

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.

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (13-4, 7-3 Sun Belt) vs. ULM (4-15, 2-10 Sun Belt)
THURSDAY – Game 1
Date / Time: February 11, 2021 / 7 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)

SATURDAY – Game 2
Date / Time: February 13, 2021 / 4 p.m.
Site: Monroe, La.
Arena: Fant-Ewing Coliseum (7,000)

RADIO/TV
THURSDAY
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Dan McDonald (PxP), Eric Mouton (color)
Radio: KPEL 96.5 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (PxP)

SATURDAY
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Chris Harris (PxP), Mike Vining (color)
Radio: KPEL 96.5 FM
Talent: Jay Walker (PxP)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Louisiana leads, 56-25
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 35-4
In Monroe: Louisiana leads, 20-19
Neutral: ULM leads, 2-1
Streak: ULM +1
Last Meeting: ULM, 83-77 (2/22/20 at Monroe)

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 201-149 (11th season), Career Record: 549-315 (28th season)

ULM
Head Coach: Keith Richard (ULM, 1982)
Record at ULM: 125-209 (11th season), Career Record: 275-326 (20th season)

STORY LINES
• The meeting against in-state opponent ULM will be the 82nd between the schools dating back to 1953.
• Thursday's matchup is the first of two games this week between the No. 2 (Bob Marlin, 116) and No. 5 (Keith Richard, 103) active Sun Belt Conference coaches in career wins in league history.
• With 116 career victories in Sun Belt Conference play, Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin can tie former Middle Tennessee coach Kermit Davis, Jr. for the all-time SBC lead with his next win.
• Marlin is currently 116-80 in Sun Belt Conference games at Louisiana.
• Louisiana is 35-4 all-time in games played in Lafayette against its North Louisiana neighbor and has won the last five meetings at the Cajundome.
• Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin's first collegiate coaching job was at ULM (then Northeast Louisiana) where he was an assistant under the legendary Mike Vining and coached current ULM head coach Keith Richard.

QUICK HITS
• With 1,317 points in his career, Cedric Russell is three points shy of passing Bryce Washington (1,319, 2014-18) for 27th place on the Ragin' Cajuns all-time scoring list.
• In Sun Belt Conference games, Russell is averaging 18.4 points per game while shooting 47 percent from behind the 3-point line.
• In February games under head coach Bob Marlin, Louisiana is 46-28 overall.
• Louisiana is 7-3 this season in games decided by six points or less and is 64-57 overall under Bob Marlin.
• Louisiana is 13-2 this season when holding an opponent to under 80 points.
• Currently 9-2 at home this season, Louisiana can win 10 games at the Cajundome for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons.
• Louisiana went 9-4 in the Cajundome during the 2016-17 season after playing its first three home games at Blackham Coliseum (all wins) before returning to the refurbished arena.
• The Ragin' Cajuns seven wins in the month of January equaled marks set in 2015-16 (7-2) and 2017-18 (7-0).
• Louisiana has made at least one 3-pointer in 509 consecutive games dating back to the 2005 season.
• Louisiana is playing its first game on Thursday this season.

MARLIN JOINS SHIPLEY, REINHARDT IN 200-WIN CLUB
• With a 62-60 victory at Texas State on Jan. 29, head coach Bob Marlin earned his 200th career victory at Louisiana to become the third coach in Ragin' Cajuns history to reach the 200-win plateau.
• Now with 201 career victories at Louisiana, Marlin trails legendary coaches Beryl Shipley (293) and J.C. "Dutch" Reinhardt (238) on the school's all-time list.

MAKING THE FREEBIES
• Three of the top four season marks from the free throw line in Ragin' Cajuns history have come in the past three seasons under head coach Bob Marlin.
• Louisiana converted on 74.3 percent (507-of-682) of its attempts from the free throw line last season to mark the third-best season percentage in school history.
• The 2017-18 team converted on 76.1 percent (590-of-775) of its attempts from the line to rank second all-time with the 2018-19 squad recording the now fourth-best mark (74.2), making 527-of-710 attempts.
• Through 19 games during the 2020-21 season, Louisiana is converting on 69.9 percent (235-of-336) of its attempts, including a school-record 29 consecutive free throws made that dated back to the second half of the Jan. 1 game against Texas State.

ONE-POSSESSION, TWO-POSSESSION GAMES
• During the Bob Marlin era, Louisiana is 64-57 in games decided by six points or less with at least nine wins recorded in both 2010-11 and 2013-14.
• Louisiana is 7-3 during the 2020-21 season in games decided by six points or less with wins at New Orleans (66-63), Louisiana Tech (61-56), Little Rock (66-64), Arkansas State (77-74) and three wins against Texas State.
• During the 2019-20 season, Louisiana was 5-6 overall in games decided by six points or less and 1-1 in one-point decisions.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 13-6 overall in one-point games under head coach Bob Marlin and 57-51 overall in school history.

MARLIN CLOSES IN ON SBC HISTORY
• Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin entered the 2020-21 season fourth Sun Belt Conference history with 109 career wins in league play.
• After Louisiana's 74-73 win at Texas State on Jan. 30, Marlin earned SBC win No. 116 to move him to within one victory of tying Kermit Davis, Jr., on the league's all-time list.
• Marlin, in his 11th year as head coach at Louisiana, is one of six coaches in league history with 100+ wins.
• Below is the list of Sun Belt Conference coaches with 100 league victories:

1. Kermit Davis, Jr. (Middle Tennessee) - 117
2. Bob Marlin (Louisiana) - 116
3. Ronnie Arrow (South Alabama) - 112
4. Gene Bartow (UAB) - 111
5. Keith Richard (ULM) - 103
6. Dickey Nutt (Arkansas State) - 102

Louisiana Set To Face ULM in Home-and-Home Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dou Gueye

Cedric Russell

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics