MBB Game 15 Preview: at Arkansas State

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team closes out the 2017 portion of its schedule on Sunday when it visits Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference matchup at First National Bank Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9 FM and ESPN 1420 AM, and worldwide on the ESPN 1420 app. The game will also be streamed, courtesy of Arkansas State, with availability at RaginCajuns.com.

Louisiana (11-3, 1-0 SBC) opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 77-63 win over Little Rock on Friday as JaKeenan Gant scored 20 points to lead three players in double figures. Frank Bartley added 16 points for the Ragin' Cajuns with Bryce Washington scoring 15 points and grabbing a season-high 19 rebounds.

Arkansas State (6-8, 1-0 SBC) rallied from an 11-point deficit late in the first half to defeat ULM, 75-64, in its SBC opener on Friday. Grantham Gillard scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures for the Red Wolves with Deven Simms adding 17, Ty Cockfield 15 and Tamas Bruce 10.

The Red Wolves swept the 2016-17 season series against the Ragin' Cajuns, beginning with a 74-71 win in a New Year's Eve battle in Jonesboro.

GAME 15: Louisiana (11-3, 1-0 SBC) at Arkansas State (6-8, 1-0 SBC)
Date / Time: December 31, 2017 / 3:30 p.m. CST
Site: Jonesboro, Ark
Arena: First National Bank Arena (10,475)
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

TV/Internet: AStateRedWolves.com
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB

Series: Louisiana leads, 49-26
At Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 28-9
At Jonesboro: Louisiana leads, 19-17
At Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 2-0
Streak: Arkansas State +2

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 139-107 (eighth season), Career Record: 487-273 (25th season)

LITTLE ROCK
Head Coach: Mike Balado (St. Thomas [Fla.], 1998)
Career Record: 6-8 (first season), Record at A-State: Same

STORY LINES
• Louisiana closes out the 2017 portion of its schedule with a New Year's Eve battle against Arkansas State.
• Sunday's contest marks the second straight New Year's Eve battle for the Ragin' Cajuns against A-State in Jonesboro. The Red Wolves claimed a 74-71 decision in last year's contest.
• A win by Louisiana would mark the first sweep of its Arkansas rivals on the same roadtrip since 2000.
• Louisiana opens its SBC schedule for the second consecutive year in the state of Arkansas after opening the 2016-17 slate at Arkansas State.
• Louisiana's 11 wins before New Year's Day are the most in school history, bettering last year's year 10.
• The Cajuns 10 wins before the Christmas holiday marked the second consecutive year to reach double-digit wins before the holidays.
• Louisiana is 12-3 overall in games in the month of December during the past two seasons.
• Bryce Washington continues his climb up the Louisiana scoring charts with 1,109 points. His 15 points against Little Rock moved him past former Ragin' Cajuns standout Cedric Hill (1981-86) for 35th-place on the school's all-time list.
• Washington is nine points shy of tying Tony Moore (1990-94) for 34th-place on the Ragin' Cajuns all-time scoring list and is 21 points from tying Brad Boyd (2000-04) for 33rd.
• Washington is fourth among active Division I players in total rebounds (890) and ninth in career double-doubles (31).

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana's 77-63 win at Little Rock on Friday improved the Ragin' Cajuns record to 3-5 in SBC openers under Bob Marlin.
• In the past two games, Louisiana has gone 42-for-47 (.893) from the free throw line. The Ragin' Cajuns were 22-for-23 at Clemson on Dec. 22 and opened SBC play on Friday 20-for-24 at Little Rock.
• With one game remaining during the month of December, Louisiana has a chance to reach the seven-win mark during the month for the first time since 1989-90. The Ragin' Cajuns have won seven or more games during the month of December five times in school history (8 in 1970-71, 1982-83; 7 in 1967-68, 1983-84, 1989-90).
• Louisiana has won 20 or more games in three of the past four seasons.

SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
• Arkansas State, under first-year coach Mike Balado, won its second straight game for the first time this season after rallying to defeat ULM, 75-64, on Friday. The Red Wolves earned a 99-68 win over Culver-Stockton College on Dec. 22.
• Deven Simms leads A-State in both scoring (16.7 ppg.) and rebounds (5.9 rpg.) with Ty Cockfield averaging 14.6 points and Tamas Bruce 9.9.
• A-State's win over ULM improved its record to 5-1 overall at First National Bank Arena that includes victories against Abilene Christian (83-69), Howard (92-78) and Henderson State (90-76).

UP NEXT
• Louisiana returns home to the Cajundome to open the 2018 portion of its schedule beginning Thursday (Jan. 4) at 7:15 p.m. against Appalachian State in the nightcap of a doubleheader. The Ragin' Cajuns will close out the weekend on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. against Coastal Carolina.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

JaKeenan Gant

Bryce Washington

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