Louisiana, McNeese Meet On Thursday In Lake Charles

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Men's Basketball team begins a stretch of playing eight of its next 10 games on the road beginning on Thursday when it travels west to Lake Charles to face in-state rival McNeese at the Legacy Center.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network.

Louisiana (9-1), off to its best 10-game start since 1990-91, plays its next four games on the road after a 98-63 win over Louisiana Christian on Monday. The Ragin' Cajuns will head to Austin, Texas to face nationally-ranked Texas on Dec. 21 before opening Sun Belt Conference play with games at Coastal Carolina (Dec. 29) and Old Dominion (Dec. 31).

Jordan Brown, coming off a career-high 37 points against LCU, is second in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring at 19.6 points per game. Themus Fulks, the SBC leader in assists (5.9), joined Elfrid Payton and Marcus Stroman as Ragin' Cajuns point guards to post a double-double in the Bob Marlin era after scoring 12 points with 11 assists against LCU.

McNeese (3-7) is coming off a split in a trip in Iowa where it defeated Northern Iowa (52-49) before falling at No. 20-ranked Iowa State (77-40). Trae English leads the Cowboys in scoring (10.9 ppg.) with Christian Shumate pacing the team in rebounding (9.7 rpg).

The contest is the 98^th all-time meeting between the schools with Louisiana holding a 62-35 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns have won the last seven meetings in the series, including the previous two games in Lake Charles.

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

For the latest on Louisiana Men's Basketball, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB).

GAME 11 PREVIEW – Louisiana (9-1) at McNeese (3-7)
Date / Time: December 15, 2022 / 7 p.m.
Site: Lake Charles, La.
Arena: Legacy Center (4,424)

RADIO/TV
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Tom Hoefer (pxp), Ron Hayes (color)
Radio: KPEL-FM 96.5 / The Varsity Network
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Louisiana leads, 62-35
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 40-13
In Lake Charles: McNeese leads, 22-21
Neutral: Louisiana leads, 1-0
Streak: Louisiana +7
Last meeting: Louisiana, 83-68 (12/8/21 at Lafayette)

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 230 -168 (13th season); Division I Record: 455-299 (25th season);
Career Record: 578-334 (30th season)

MCNEESE
Head Coach: John Aiken (Southern Maine, 2008)
Record at McNeese: 14-29 (second season), Career Record: 44-62 (fourth season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana begins a stretch of playing eight of its next 10 games on the road when it travels down Interstate 10 to face in-state rival McNeese.
• Thursday's game is the 98th all-time meeting between the in-state rivals and the second at McNeese's Legacy Center.
• Louisiana holds a 62-35 lead in the series and has won the last seven meetings between the schools.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have won the last two meetings in Lake Charles, including an 80-67 win in the previous meeting at the Legacy Center on Dec. 18, 2018.
• In the Bob Marlin era, Louisiana is 51-10 all-time against in-state, non-conference opponents.
• Louisiana's 9-1 start equals its best 10-game start since the 1990-91 season when the Ragin' Cajuns opened with a 10-1 record.

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana was picked as the 2022-23 preseason Sun Belt Conference favorite in a vote by the league's head coaches.
• Louisiana is ranked No. 6 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Poll.
• The Ragin' Cajuns reached the SBC Championship Game for the first time since winning the league's automatic berth in 2014.
• Louisiana's six wins in the month of November were the most in school history eclipsing the previous mark (5) set in the 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons.
• With 455 wins at the Division I level, head coach Bob Marlin is 32nd among active coaches.
• In a 94-88 win over in-state rival Louisiana Tech on Nov. 17, head coach Bob Marlin earned his 450th career win at the Division I level in 25 seasons. His current record at the Division I level is 455-299 (.603).
• Marlin was 123-35 in five seasons (1990-95) at Pensacola Junior College, leading the team to the 1993 NJCAA National Championship.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 16-7 overall in one-point games under head coach Bob Marlin and 60-52 overall in school history.
• Eight players on Louisiana's 2022-23 roster are in-state products.
• Six of the 14 players on the 2022-23 roster are first-year players.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana plays its final game before the Christmas holiday on Wednesday (Dec. 21) when it travels to Austin, Texas to face nationally-ranked Texas in a 7 p.m. contest at UT's new Moody Center.
• The game will be televised on the Longhorn Network.

Louisiana, McNeese Meet On Thursday In Lake Charles

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Brown

Themus Fulks

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