Louisiana Battles Jaguars In SBC Hardwood Matinee

MOBILE, Ala. – Coming off one of its best offensive performances of the season, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Men's Basketball team caps off a weekend road swing on Saturday when it visits Sun Belt Conference rival South Alabama at the Mitchell Center.

Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with J.D. Byars (pxp) and Pat Greenwood (color) providing the commentary. Fans can listen to the game on KPEL-FM (96.5) and the Varsity Network with Jay Walker calling the action.

The meeting between Louisiana (13-4, 3-2 Sun Belt) and South Alabama (8-9, 2-3 Sun Belt) is the 64^th all-time on the hardwood with the Ragin' Cajuns holding a 32-31 lead in the series. The teams meet in Mobile for the first time since the 2019-20 season where the Jaguars earned a last-second 78-75 victory.

Louisiana opened a four-game SBC road trip on Thursday with an 83-76 win at ULM. The Ragin' Cajuns opened the game with a torrid start, making eight of their first nine shots from the floor while building a 21-4 lead.

The Ragin' Cajuns finished a blistering 32-for-52 (.615) from the floor against the Warhawks – the best shooting performance in a SBC game this season and best by Louisiana against a SBC school since shooting 61.7 percent against Little Rock in 2017.

South Alabama came away with a 63-62 win over James Madison on Thursday as Kevin Samuel blocked a last-second layup attempt to seal the win. Isaiah Moore led the Jaguars, who held a 63-57 lead with 1:37 remaining, with 16 points.

Single-game tickets are available by visiting the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome, purchasing by visiting Account Manager. For more information call the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome at (337) 265-2104.

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 18 PREVIEW – Louisiana (13-4, 3-2 SBC) at South Alabama (8-9, 2-3 SBC)
Date / Time: January 14, 2023 / 3 p.m.
Site: Mobile, Ala.
Arena: Mitchell Center (10,000)

RADIO/TV
TV: ESPN+
Talent: J.D. Byars (pxp), Pat Greenwood (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, 32-31
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 16-14
In Mobile: South Alabama leads, 14-12
At Neutral Sites: Tied, 3-3
Streak: South Alabama +1
Last meeting: South Alabama, 77-70 (1/20/22 at Lafayette)

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 234-171 (13th season); Division I Record: 459-302 (25th season);
Career Record: 582-337 (30th season)

SOUTH ALABAMA
Head Coach: Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 83-60 (fifth season), Career Record: 118-88 (seventh season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana closes out its third weekend of Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday when it faces West Division rival South Alabama at the Mitchell Center.
• The game is the second of four consecutive road games for Louisiana.
• Louisiana closes out its road trip next weekend with a pair of SBC West Division games at Arkansas State (Jan. 19) and Texas State (Jan. 21).
• Louisiana makes its first visit to the Mitchell Center since Feb. 13, 2020.
• The game features the NCAA active leaders in 3-point field goal percentage (Louisiana's Kentrell Garnett) and rebounds (South Alabama's Kevin Samuel).

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana's 32-for-52 (.615) performance from the floor at ULM on Thursday was its third game during the 2022-23 season shooting above the 60-percent mark and its best outing against a Sun Belt team since shooting .617 (29-for-47) against Little Rock in 2017.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have used the same starting lineup – Themus Fulks, Kentrell Garnett, Greg Williams, Jr., Terence Lewis II and Jordan Brown – in all 17 games during the 2022-23 season.
• Garnett's .464 career average from behind the 3-point line is tied with Jordan Gainey of USC Upstate for first among active NCAA Division I players.
• Garnett is two made 3's from reaching 100 in his career (98-for-211).
• Themus Fulks leads the SBC and is fifth nationally in total assists (109) and is sixth in assists per game (6.4).
• Brown has scored 736 points in a Louisiana uniform and has 1,080 in his collegiate career.
• Brown has attempted 113 shots from the free throw line in the 2022-23 season to rank 13th among all DI players.
• Grad transfer Terence Lewis II is 10th among NCAA Division I players in field goal percentage (.650).
• As a team, Louisiana leads the Sun Belt Conference and is 13th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.394) and is the SBC leader in 14th among Division I schools in field goal percentage (.493).
• Louisiana ranks 18th nationally in effective field goal percentage (.560), 24th in rebound margin (+6.4), 25th in scoring offense (81.3) and 31st in assists per game (16.2).
• With 459 wins at the Division I level, head coach Bob Marlin is 33rd among active coaches.
• In a 94-88 win over in-state rival Louisiana Tech on Nov. 17, Marlin earned his 450th career win at the Division I level in 25 seasons. His current record at the Division I level is 456-301 (.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 16-8 overall in one-point games under head coach Bob Marlin and 60-53 overall in school history.
• Eight of Louisiana's 14 players on the 2022-23 roster are in-state products.
• Six of the 14 players on the 2022-23 roster are first-year players.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana closes out its four-game road trip next week with league games at Arkansas State (Jan. 19) and Texas State (Jan. 21).
• The Ragin' Cajuns close out the month of January with home games against Troy (Jan. 26) and Georgia Southern (Jan. 28).

Louisiana Battles Jaguars In SBC Hardwood Matinee

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Brown

Themus Fulks

Kentrell Garnett

Terence Lewis II

Greg Williams, Jr.

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