MBB Game 13 Preview: at Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team will wrap up its non-conference schedule on Friday when it visits Atlantic Coast Conference member Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CST. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9 FM and ESPN 1420 AM, and is also available worldwide on the ESPN 1420 app. Louisiana's first-ever meeting against Clemson (10-1) will be streamed on-line at ACC Network Extra.

Louisiana wrapped up its non-conference home schedule on Tuesday with a come-from-behind 82-74 win over Southeastern Louisiana at the Cajundome. JaKeenan Gant scored 14 points to lead six players in double figures as the Ragin' Cajuns used a 17-0 run late in the first half to erase a 13-point deficit.

GAME 13: Louisiana (10-2) at Clemson (10-1)
Date / Time: December 22, 2017 / 3 p.m. EST
Site: Clemson, S.C.
Arena: Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000)
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)
TV/Internet: ACC Network Extra
Talent: Pete Yanity (pxp), Jim Davis (color)
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB
Series: First meeting

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 138-106 (eighth season), Career Record: 486-272 (25th season)

CLEMSON
Head Coach: Brad Brownwell (DePauw University, 1991)
Record at Clemson: 134-104 (eighth season), Career Record: 300-189 (16th season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana wraps up its non-conference slate today as it faces Atlantic Coast Conference member Clemson for the first time.
• Junior point guard Marcus Stroman (Columbia, S.C.) returns to the Palmetto State after playing his first two seasons at South Carolina.
• Stroman sat out the 2016-17 season after transferring from South Carolina.
• Today's meeting against Clemson is first for the Ragin' Cajuns against a current member of the ACC since facing Miami on Nov. 16, 2015.
• Against the current membership of the ACC, Louisiana is 1-23 overall, earning a 66-60 win over Miami on Dec. 20, 1999 in the San Juan Shootout.
• Louisiana's 10-2 start to the season is its best since posting an identical record in 1993-94.
• The Cajuns 10 wins before the Christmas holiday marks the second consecutive year to reach double-digit wins before the holidays.
• Louisiana is 11-2 overall in games in the month of December during the past two seasons.
• Bryce Washington continues his climb up the Louisiana scoring charts with 1,090 points. He is 18 points shy of tying former Ragin' Cajuns standout Cedric Hill (1981-86) for 35th-place on the school's all-time list.
• Washington is fourth among active Division I players in total rebounds (868) and tied for seventh in career double-doubles (30).

QUICK HITS
• Johnathan Stove, who scored a career-high 23 points at Nicholls on Dec. 1, is 134 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point mark.
• Louisiana is the only Division I school in the country ranked in the top-20 nationally in scoring offense (13th, 88.6), assists per game (9th, 19.1), and offensive rebounds per game (19th, 13.67).
• Louisiana has surpassed the 100-point mark three times in 2017-18 - its best total since recording four 100-point games during the 2013-14 season.
• The Ragin' Cajuns 105 points at Nicholls was the first 100-point game on the road for Louisiana since Jan. 29, 2004 at Western Kentucky (W, 110-102).
• Louisiana has won 20 or more games in three of the past four seasons.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• Clemson, fresh off a 64-48 win over in-state archrival South Carolina, received 35 votes in this week's AP Top 25 poll (ranked 28th). The Tigers received 10 votes in the USA Today coaches poll. Clemson's RPI checks in at 24th nationally.
• Marcquise Reed is one of just 15 players in the country to average at least 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.
• Elijah Thomas is one of only seven players in the country currently averaging at least 11.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
• Donte Grantham (991) is just nine points shy of becoming the 39th 1,000-point scorer in Clemson history.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana will take off for the Christmas holiday before officially opening Sun Belt Conference play with games at Little Rock (Dec. 29) and Arkansas State (Dec. 31).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

JaKeenan Gant

Johnathan Stove

Marcus Stroman

Bryce Washington

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