MBB Game 27 Preview: at South Alabama

MOBILE, Ala. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team will wrap up its 2015-16 road schedule on Saturday when it faces South Alabama in a Sun Belt Conference game at the Mitchell Center.

Tipoff is set for 4:05 p.m. and will follow the women's game that begins at 2. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9-FM and on the internet at RaginCajuns.com.

Louisiana (15-11, 11-6 SBC) snapped a three-game losing streak as it rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit and earned a 73-63 win at Troy on Thursday. Shawn Long recorded season-highs in both scoring (29) and rebounds (20) to notch his 20th double-double of the season and 72nd of his career, tying him with Bill Walton (UCLA) and Don May (Dayton) for 14th place on the all-time NCAA Division I list.

Tiremone Williams and Steven Wronkoski each scored 10 points to help the Ragin' Cajuns claim their seventh straight win over the Trojans. Louisiana outscored Troy, 46-24, in the second half while holding the Trojans to 7-for-34 (20.6 percent) from the floor in the second half.

Long, who blocked five shots to become the school's all-time leader with 260, leads Louisiana in both scoring (19.2) and rebounds (13.2). Kasey Shepherd averages 10.8 points off the bench for the Ragin' Cajuns, who lead the Sun Belt Conference in both scoring offense (80.1 ppg.) and rebound margin (+7.8).

Johnathan Stove (8.9), Jay Wright (8.9) and Bryce Washington (7.8) are next in scoring for Louisiana.

GAME 27: Louisiana (15-11, 11-6 Sun Belt) at South Alabama (12-16, 7-10 Sun Belt)
February 27, 2016 | 4:05 p.m. | Mobile, Ala. | Mitchell Center (10,200)
TV/Web: None
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM | Talent: Jay Walker (PBP)
Video: RaginCajuns.com
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @Cajunbasketball; @ULRaginCajuns
Series: Series tied, 26-26 | In Lafayette: UL leads, 13-12 | In Mobile: USA leads, 12-11

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 451-253 (23rd season), Record at UL: 103-88 (6th season)

SOUTH ALABAMA
Head Coach: Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Career Record: 35-57 (3rd season), Record at USA: Same

STORY LINES
• Louisiana's 11 wins in Sun Belt Conference play is tied for the sixth-best total in school history. The Ragin' Cajuns won a school-record 13 SBC games three times in school history (1999-00, 1993-94, 2014-15).

• Shawn Long has recorded nine games this season with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds. Long is fifth nationally with 20 double-doubles on the season.

• Long's 344 rebounds in 2015-16 are the seventh-highest total in school history and nine shy of his career-high (353) set in 2013-14.

THE SERIES
• The series between Louisiana and South Alabama is tied, 26-26, with the Jaguars winning six of the last eight meetings and three straight in Mobile. The Ragin's Cajuns are 11-12 against USA in games played in Mobile with their last win coming on Jan. 30, 2011 (76-70).

• Louisiana earned a hard-fought 92-82 win over South Alabama in the previous meeting between the schools in Lafayette and will look for its first regular-season sweep since the 2004-05 campaign.

THE OPPONENT
• South Alabama (12-16, 7-10 SBC) dropped a 66-59 contest to ULM on Thursday after rallying from a 15-point deficit in the first half and taking the lead midway through the second. Ken Williams led the Jaguars with 14 points with Georgi Boyanov adding 13 and Don MuepoKelly 12.

• Williams, a preseason All-SBC selection, leads the Jaguars in scoring (15.2) with Boyanov averaging 11.1 points and a team-high 8.0 boards per game.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana will wrap up its regular-season at home next week with games against Georgia State (March 3) and Georgia Southern (March 5).

QUICK HITS
• Shawn Long is tied with Bill Walton and Don May for 14th all-time in NCAA Division I history in double-doubles (72).

• Louisiana is 11-2 overall this season when holding its opponent to under 70 points per game.

• Long's 29-point, 20-rebound contest was his second career 20-20 game. Long scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds against South Alabama (1/17/15) last season at the Cajundome.

• Louisiana rallied from its largest deficit of the year (12 points) in claiming a 73-63 win at Troy on Thursday. The Ragin' Cajuns trailed 39-27 at halftime and outscored the Trojans, 46-24, in the second half.

• Kasey Shepherd was held scoreless for the first time since playing two minutes against Milwaukee last season (a span of 58 games) in the MGM Grand Event.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Shawn Long

Kasey Shepherd

Johnathan Stove

Bryce Washington

Tiremone Williams

Jay Wright

Steven Wronkoski

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