MBB Game 21 Preview: Little Rock

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team opens a two-game homestand on Saturday when it plays host to defending Sun Belt Conference champion Little Rock at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., and is the nightcap of a doubleheader that begins with the Louisiana-Little Rock women's game at 5 p.m. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on both KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420 AM, along with on the internet via the Radio Pup app.

Louisiana (13-7, 3-4 SBC) looks to rebound from a disappointing 108-71 loss at UT Arlington last Monday. Bryce Washington continued his stellar season for the Ragin' Cajuns, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season.

Frank Bartley paces Louisiana in scoring at 15.1 points per game with Jay Wright (14.6), Washington (14.2) and Justin Miller (10.5) next in the scoring column. Washington, who is second in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.45), leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 12.0 rebounds per game.

The Ragin' Cajuns defeated Little Rock (12-8, 3-4 SBC), 69-52, in the previous meeting between the schools on Jan. 2 in Little Rock. Miller scored 15 points to lead Louisiana in the win with Washington posting a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

GAME 21: Louisiana (13-7, 3-4 SBC) vs. Little Rock (12-8, 3-4 SBC)
Date / Time: January 28, 2017 / 7:15 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)

Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

Video: RaginCajuns.com
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB

Series: Louisiana leads, 26-21
At Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 15-6
At Little Rock: Little Rock leads, 14-9
At Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 2-1

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 468-265 (24th season), Record at Louisiana: 120-99 (7th season)

LITTLE ROCK
Head Coach: Wes Flanigan (Auburn, 1997)
Career Record: 12-8 (first season), Record at Little Rock: Same

STORY LINES
• Louisiana leads the all-time series against Little Rock, 26-21, and is 15-6 overall in games played in Lafayette. The Ragin' Cajuns claimed a 69-52 victory over the Trojans in the first meeting between the schools on Jan. 2 in Little Rock.

• Louisiana leads the Sun Belt Conference in scoring offense (82.4), rebound margin (+6.4) and offensive rebounds (14.1).

• The Ragin' Cajuns rank 11th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (14.05), is 25th in scoring offense (82.4), 28th in free throw attempts (517) and 29th in rebound margin (+6.4).

• Jay Wright is currently ninth in school history with 320 assists. The senior is 10 shy of tying Carl Jordan (330, 1978-80) for eighth place in the Ragin' Cajuns record books.

QUICK HITS
• Bryce Washington has recorded 16 of his 19 career double-doubles this season.

• Washington is second behind Purdue's Caleb Swanigan for the national lead in double-doubles with 16. The junior is second in the nation behind Seton Hall's Angel Delgado (4.50) in offensive rebounds per game (4.45) and is fourth nationally in rebounds per game (12.0) .

• Jay Wright and Frank Bartley have each recorded five 20-point games this season for the Ragin' Cajuns.

• Louisiana posted season-highs in both 3-point field goal percentage (.538) and free throw percentage (.870) in its win at Texas State. The Ragin' Cajuns 48 field goal attempts and 13 3-point field goal tries marked season-lows.

• Bryce Washington's 21-rebound performance against ULM on Jan. 7 was tied with Reginald Poole (at Hawai'i, 12/27/98), Dion Brown (vs. McNeese State, 2/6/82) and Roy Ebron (vs. UT Arlington, 1/13/73) for the eighth-best total in school history.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• Little Rock has dropped four of its six games during the month of January, beginning with a 69-52 loss to Louisiana on Jan. 2 in Little Rock.

• Marcus Johnson, Jr., leads Little Rock in scoring (14.4) with Jalen Jackson (10.4) and Lis Shoshi (10.3) both averaging in double figures.

• Shoshi pulls down a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game for the Trojans with Johnson dishing out a team-best 54 assists.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana closes out its homestand on Monday (Jan. 30) when it faces Arkansas State at 7 p.m.

• The Ragin' Cajuns will then head to the state of Georgia for two games beginning Saturday (Feb. 4) at Georgia State in a 1:15 p.m. CST contest before heading to Statesboro to face Georgia Southern on Monday (Feb. 6) in a 6 p.m. game.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

Justin Miller

Bryce Washington

Jay Wright

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