Louisiana Battles A-State In Sun Belt West Division Clash

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Men's Basketball team caps off a season-long, four-game road trip beginning on Friday when it faces Sun Belt Conference West Division foe Arkansas State at First National Bank Arena.

Tipoff for Friday's opener is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the series finale set for Saturday at 4 p.m. Both games will be available on ESPN+ with Roger Twibell (pxp) and Mike Watson (color) on the call.

Both games can also be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL 96.5 FM with Jay Walker providing the commentary. Live stats will be available at CajunStats.com.

Louisiana (13-4, 7-3 Sun Belt) increased its current win streak to five games after earning a road sweep last weekend at Texas State and moving into first place in the league standings. The Ragin' Cajuns opened with a 62-60 victory in last Friday's opener before recording a last-second 74-73 victory on Saturday.

Head coach Bob Marlin, who missed the Texas State series due to COVID-19, returns to the bench for Louisiana with a chance at etching his name atop the Sun Belt record books. The 11^th year Ragin' Cajuns coach enters the series against Arkansas State (6-9, 3-5 Sun Belt) 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 116-78 in Sun Belt Conference games in his career and 201-147 in his career at Louisiana.

A-State's Norchad Omier ranks third nationally, leading the Sun Belt Conference, with 12.2 rebounds per game and is sixth nationally with nine double-doubles. The Red Wolves are 6-2 overall at home on the season with a pair of one-point setbacks.

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) at ARKANSAS STATE (6-9, 3-5 Sun Belt)
FRIDAY – Game 1
Date / Time: February 5, 2021 / 6 p.m.
Site: Jonesboro, Ark.
Arena: First National Bank Arena (10,563)

SATURDAY – Game 2
Date / Time: February 6, 2021 / 4 p.m.
Site: Jonesboro, Ark.

RADIO/TV
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Roger Twibell (PxP), Mike Watson (color)
Radio: KPEL 96.5
Talent: Jay Walker (PxP)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Louisiana leads, 57-27
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 35-9
In Jonesboro: Louisiana leads, 21-18
Neutral: Louisiana leads, 1-0
Streak: Louisiana +4
Last Meeting: Louisiana, 77-74 (1/23/21 at Lafayette)

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 201-147 (11th season), Career Record: 549-313 (28th season)

ARKANSAS STATE
Head Coach: Mike Balado (St. Thomas [Fla.], 1998)
Record at Arkansas State: 46-65 (fourth season), Career Record: Same

STORY LINES
• Louisiana returns to the road for the second straight weekend as it heads to Jonesboro to face Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference series.
• 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 victory.
• Marlin is currently 116-78 in Sun Belt Conference games at Louisiana.
• The Ragin' Cajuns current four-game road trip is their longest of the season and part of a stretch where Louisiana plays seven of its final 10 regular-season games on the road.
• Marlin returns to the bench for the two-game set at Arkansas State after missing last week's trip to Texas State after testing positive for COVID-19.
• Louisiana has won the last four meetings against A-State (all in Lafayette) and have won four of the last seven contests (dating back to the 2013-14 season) in games played in Jonesboro.

QUICK HITS
• In February games under head coach Bob Marlin, Louisiana is 46-26 overall
• Louisiana is 7-2 this season in games decided by six points or less and is 64-56 overall under Bob Marlin.
• Louisiana is 7-2 this season when trailing at halftime.
• Louisiana's four wins on the road in 2020-21 - 4-1 in true road games - have surpassed last year's record of 3-12.
• 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 507 consecutive games dating back to the 2005 season.
• Louisiana has won 13 of its last 16 games since opening the season against then top-ranked Baylor on Nov. 28 at the #VegasBubble.
• Louisiana is ranked No. 8 nationally among Division I schools in total blocks (88) and is 15th in blocks per game (5.2).
• Junior forward Theo Akwuba is third nationally in total blocks (53), fourth in blocks per game (3.1) and is 14th in total rebounds (163).
• Mylik Wilson is 12th nationally in total steals (39) and is 21st in steals per game (2.29).

MARLIN JOINS SHIPLEY, REINHARDT IN 200-WIN CLUB
• With a 62-60 victory at Texas State last Friday, 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 75 games during the 2020-21 season, Louisiana is converting on 69.3 percent (205-of-296) 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 64-56 in games decided by six points or less with at least nine wins recorded in both 2010-11 and 2013-14.
• Louisiana is 7-2 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 last Saturday, Marlin earned SBC win No. 116 to move him to within one victory on the league's all-time list.
• With 116 career wins in Sun Belt play, Marlin trails Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee) for the SBC all-time lead.
• 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 Battles A-State In Sun Belt West Division Clash

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Players Mentioned

Theo Akwuba

Mylik Wilson

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