MBB Game 26 Preview: South Alabama

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team returns to action on Monday when it plays host to Sun Belt Conference rival South Alabama at the Cajundome.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., with a live stream available for free on RaginCajuns.com. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on both KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420 AM, along with access to the internet via the Radio Pup app.

Louisiana (14-11, 4-8 SBC) dropped a 100-88 decision to Troy on Saturday despite 26 points from Jay Wright. The senior guard buried a career-high seven 3-pointers in the contest and moved to within six points of becoming the 44th player in Ragin' Cajuns history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Frank Bartley scored 17 points for Louisiana on 6 of 11 shooting for Louisiana while freshman Justin Miller added 16 points and Bryce Washington 14.

Bartley leads the Ragin' Cajuns in scoring at 16.0 points per game with Wright (15.2), Washington (13.7) and Miller (11.0) following. Washington leads the SBC, and is fifth nationally, in rebounds per game (11.5) with Wright averaging a team-high 4.1 assists.

GAME 25: Louisiana (14-11, 4-8 SBC) vs. South Alabama (12-12, 5-6 SBC)
Date / Time: February 13, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)

Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)

Video: RaginCajuns.com (free stream)
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB

Series History: Tied, 27-27
At Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 13-12
At Mobile: South Alabama leads, 13-11
At Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 3-2
Current Streak: Louisiana +1

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 469-269 (24th season), Record at Louisiana: 121-103 (7th season)

SOUTH ALABAMA
Head Coach: Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Career Record: 49-72 (4th season), Record at USA: Same

STORY LINES
• Jay Wright is currently eighth in school history with 345 assists. The senior has scored 994 points and is six shy of becoming the 44th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career.

• Louisiana is 45-28 overall in games played during the months of February and March under head coach Bob Marlin.

• The Ragin' Cajuns rank 12th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (13.72), 24th in scoring offense (81.8), 26th in free throw attempts (626), 26th in rebound margin (+6.0) and 37th in turnovers forced (15.40).

• Louisiana is 4-5 this season in games decided by six points or less. In 2015-16, the Ragin' Cajuns were 0-6 and are overall 38-41 under Bob Marlin.

QUICK HITS
• Bryce Washington has recorded 18 of his 21 career double-doubles this season. His career .570 percentage from the floor is currently the fourth-best in school history ahead of Bobby Cutrer (.569, 1964-66).

• Washington is third in the nation in double-doubles (18), trailing Purdue's Caleb Swanigan (21) and Seton Hall's Angel Delgado (19). The junior is fifth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.16), total rebounds (287) and rebounds per game (11.5).

• Frank Bartley and Jay Wright have each has produced seven 20-point games during the 2016-17 season.

• Louisiana leads the Sun Belt Conference in scoring offense (81.0), rebound margin (+6.0) and offensive rebounds (13.7).

• 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 JAGUARS
• South Alabama snapped a seven-game losing streak to ULM on Saturday, earning a 66-63 victory at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

• ULM led by as many as 10 in the first half – even after falling behind 10-0 to start the contest – thanks to a 17-3 run, but USA finished the half strong, outscoring the Warhawks, 13-2, in the final 3:04 to take a one-point lead into the break. Senior Ken Williams hit two 3-pointers in that stretch, including one in the final 10 seconds.

• Williams led all scorers with 21 points, pouring in 12 in the second half alone. He went 4 for 6 from 3-point land, setting a new season high for made 3s in the process.

• Freshman Josh Ajayi recorded his third double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and senior Don MuepoKelly had 11 points and a career-high five blocks.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana embarks on its final roadtrip of the season beginning on Saturday (Feb. 18) when it faces ULM in Monroe. The Ragin' Cajuns will then travel to face SBC opponents Coastal Carolina (Feb. 25) and Appalachian State (Feb. 27).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Frank Bartley

Justin Miller

Bryce Washington

Jay Wright

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