MBB Game 8 Preview: at UCLA

LOS ANGELES – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team opens up a two-game roadtrip on the West Coast as it will face No. 22 UCLA on Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion.

Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The game can also be heard in the Lafayette area on Hot 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420-AM.

Louisiana (3-4) meets UCLA (7-3) for the first time on the hardwood and will face a nationally-ranked program for the first time since competing against No. 16 Creighton in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Championships in San Antonio, Texas.

GAME 8: Louisiana (3-4, 0-1 SBC) at No. 22 UCLA (7-3, 0-0 Pac-12)
December 15, 2015 | 8:00 p.m. CST | Los Angeles, Calif. | Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
TV/Web: Pac-12 Network
Talent: Ted Robinson (pbp), Bill Walton (color)
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Steve Peloquin (pbp)

Series History: First meeting

STORY LINES
• Louisiana will play against a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since facing No. 16 Creighton in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Championships in San Antonio, Texas.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will face a current member of the Pac-12 for the 16th time tonight and are 4-11 overall. UCLA becomes the eighth current Pac-12 school Louisiana has faced in school history (Oregon State, Stanford, USC and Utah are lone schools the Ragin' Cajuns have not played.)
• Louisiana will make its first trip to the West Coast since facing San Francisco in the 2011-12 season.
• With one block, Shawn Long will move into sole possession of fifth-place on the Sun Belt career list (225).

THE SERIES
The meeting between the Ragin' Cajuns and Bruins is the first-ever between the schools on the hardwood. Current Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin is 0-1 all-time against the Bruins in his coaching career as his previous school - Sam Houston State - dropped a 75-61 decision at UCLA in the 2006-07 season.

THE OPPONENT
UCLA has won its last four games and earned its second win over a nationally-ranked program in a nine-day span as it defeated No. 22 Gonzaga, 71-66, on Saturday in Spokane, Wash. Isaac Hamilton scored a team-leading 20 points and had three steals for the Bruins with Jonah Bolden registering his first collegiate double-double, totaling 10 points and 11 rebounds in a season-high 30 minutes off the bench.

UP NEXT
• The Ragin' Cajuns will remain in the Golden State as they will face West Coast Conference member Pepperdine on Friday, Dec. 18 in Malibu. After facing the Wave, Louisiana will return home and will face former Sun Belt Conference rival New Orleans on Dec. 21, at 7 p.m.

QUICK HITS
• Shawn Long is the NCAA Division I active leader in both double-doubles (56) and rebounds (1,117). He ranks second among active NCAA Division I players in FG (688) and rebound average (10.3), fourth in points (1,828) and seventh in blocked shots (224).

• Louisiana leads the Sun Belt Conference, and is tied for third among Division I programs, in scoring with a 90.0 points per game average.

• Long is one of two players in the Sun Belt Conference (Kevin Hervey, UTA) averaging a double-double on the season.

• The Ragin' Cajuns +9.9 rebounding margin paces the Sun Belt Conference and is 20th among Division I programs.

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Players Mentioned

Shawn Long

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