Louisiana Basketball Preview: vs. Troy

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team wraps up its five-game homestand on Saturday when it plays host to defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion Troy at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is scheduled for noon. The game will be available on ESPN+, with fans able to listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app. Live results will be available at CajunStats.StatBroadcast.com.

Single-game tickets for all Louisiana home games are available at RaginCajuns.com.

Louisiana (4-13, 2-3 SBC) withstood a late ULM rally and claimed an 85-79 victory to complete a season-series sweep for the fourth time in the past five years. Freshman Joshua Lewis scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns with Dariyus Woodson coming off the bench to score a season-high 17.

Dorian Finister (16 points) and Jaxon Olvera (10) finished in double figures for Louisiana, which won for the third time in its last five games.

Troy (10-6, 3-1 SBC), which leads the SBC in scoring offense (85.7 points per game), dropped an 86-74 contest at Arkansas State on Wednesday, snapping a five-game win streak. The Trojans fell behind early and were unable to recover, due to Arkansas State connecting on 12-of-30 (.400) 3-pointers.

Theo Seng delivered a standout performance for Troy on Wednesday, scoring 23 points - one shy of a career high. The Davis, Calif., native made a career-best 10 field goals (10-of-13) and added eight rebounds.

Victor Valdes (15.9) leads Troy in scoring with Thomas Dowd (15.7 points, 10.3 rebounds) leading the SBC with eight double-doubles on the season. Seng (13.8) and Cooper Campbell (13.7) are next in scoring for the Trojans with Cobi Campbell averaging 9.3 points.

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 (4-13, 2-3 SBC) vs. Troy (10-6, 3-1 SBC)
Date/Time: January 10, 2026 / 12 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)

TICKETS
Single-game tickets are available at RaginCajuns.com

RADIO/TV
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Dan McDonald (pxp), Eric Mouton (color)
Radio: KPEL 96.5 FM/ The Varsity Network
Talent: Ian Auzenne (pxp)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Overall – Louisiana leads, 23-10
In Lafayette – Louisiana leads, 12-6
In Troy – Louisiana leads, 9-4
Neutral Sites – Series tied, 2-0
Last 10 – Louisiana, 6-4
Streak – Louisiana +1

STORY LINES
• Louisiana wraps up a five-game homestand Saturday, hosting defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion Troy at the Cajundome.
• The 34th all-time meeting features a contrast in styles, matching the Sun Belt's top scoring offense - Troy (85.7 ppg) - against the league's third-ranked scoring defense, Louisiana (69.2 ppg allowed).
• Louisiana's 72-69 victory at Troy in the most recent meeting snapped a four-game skid in the series.
• Prior to that stretch, the Ragin' Cajuns won 18 of 20 meetings against Troy, dating back to January 23, 2010.

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring defense in league play (68.0 ppg) and third overall for the 2025-26 season (69.2 ppg).
• The Ragin' Cajuns' 85 points vs. ULM marked their first 80-point performance since scoring 82 at Georgia Southern on Feb. 5, 2025.
• The 85-point output was Louisiana's highest in the Cajundome since an 86-60 win over Bowling Green on Feb. 11, 2023.
• Louisiana made 13 of its final 16 shots from the floor, including nine consecutive field goals in the second half against ULM.
• The Ragin' Cajuns' +17 rebounding margin vs. ULM was their largest since a 49-30 (+19) advantage over South Alabama on Feb. 3, 2024.
• Freshman Joshua Lewis scored a career-high 26 points vs. ULM, tied for the fifth-highest scoring total in a Sun Belt game this season.
• Lewis is averaging 14.0 points per game during Louisiana's current homestand.
• Dorian Finister ranks ninth in the Sun Belt in minutes played (32.0 mpg) and 23rd in free throw percentage (.727).
• Louisiana's average home attendance of 2,625 through eight games ranks sixth in the Sun Belt Conference.
• Eight teams on Louisiana's 2025-26 schedule competed in the 2025 postseason: McNeese (NCAA), UNCW (NCAA), Norfolk State (NCAA), Troy (NCAA), Tulane (CBC), Stanford (NIT), Santa Clara (NIT), and Arkansas State (NIT).

UP NEXT
• Louisiana hits the road for its next four games beginning on Wednesday (Jan. 14) at Texas State before wrapping up the weekend at South Alabama on January 17.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will head east the following week with visits to App State (Jan. 22) and Old Dominion (Jan. 24).

CAJUNS INK THREE IN '26 CLASS
• Louisiana inked its first three signees for the 2026-27 season with four-star recruit Tyshawn Duncan (Alexandria, La./ASH) leading the way.
• Duncan, the top-rated prospect in the state of Louisiana in the 2026 class, is ranked as the No. 104 national recruit by 247Sports.com.
• The Ragin' Cajuns added point guard Isaiah Wilks (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – the No. 2-rated player in the state of Oklahoma and son of OKC Thunder assistant coach Mike Wilks.
• Louisiana's third addition is 6-foot-7 wing player Zayson Salanoa (Humble, Texas/Atascocita HS).

NO. 1 IN THE SBC; NO. 45 NATIONALLY
• Louisiana's 2026-27 signing class for Louisiana is ranked No. 1 overall in the Sun Belt Conference and is No. 45 nationally (as of Jan. 6) by 247Sports.com.
• The incoming class is also nationally-ranked by Rivals.com with a No. 57 ranking (and No. 1 in the SBC).

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Players Mentioned

Dorian Finister

Joshua Lewis

Jaxon Olvera

Dariyus Woodson

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