MBB Game 33 Preview: vs. Georgia State

NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team returns to action on Friday as it faces familiar foe Georgia State in quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championships at Lakefront Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN3 with Matt Stewart (pxp), Bob Donewald (color) and Kristen Bedard (sideline) on the call. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on KHXT 107.9-FM and ESPN 1420 AM, along with worldwide on the RadioPup app. Live video and statistics will be available at RaginCajuns.com.

Louisiana (21-11), the No. 7 seed in the tournament, increased its current winning streak to seven games after rallying past defending league and tournament champion Little Rock, 78-71, on Wednesday. Jay Wright scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as Louisiana made 32 of 38 free throws in the game, including 15 of 16 in the final three minutes.

Justin Miller scored 20 points for Louisiana with Bryce Washington adding 12 points and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Johnathan Stove added 11 points for the Ragin' Cajuns, including going 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

No. 2-seeded Georgia State (19-11) swept the season series against Louisiana, including an 85-82 win on Feb. 4 in Atlanta. Friday's meeting marks the third between the schools in the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championships in the past four years.

The winner will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m., and will face the winner of No. 3-seeded Georgia State and No. 6 Troy.

GAME 32: Louisiana (21-11) vs. Georgia State (19-11)
Date / Time: March 10, 2017 / 5 p.m.
Site: New Orleans, La.
Arena: Lakefront Arena (10,000)

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

TV/Web: ESPN3
Talent: Matt Stewart (pxp), Bob Donewald (color), Kristen Bedard (sideline)

Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB

Series History: Georgia State leads, 9-5
In Lafayette: Tied, 3-3
In Atlanta: Georgia State leads, 5-1
In New Orleans: Tied, 1-1
Current streak: Georgia State +3

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 476-269 (24th season), Record at Louisiana: 128-103 (7th season)

GEORGIA STATE
Head Coach: Ron Hunter (Miami [Ohio], 1986)
Career Record: 396-282 (23rd season), Record at GSU: 122-72 (6th season)

STORY LINES
• Louisiana is 53-28 overall in games played during the months of February and March under head coach Bob Marlin.

• Louisiana and Georgia State meet in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for third time in the last four years (2014 Championship game, 2015 Semifinals).

• The Ragin' Cajuns secured their third 20-win season for Louisiana in the past four years. Louisiana's 85 wins since the 2013-14 season are the most by the Ragin' Cajuns since winning 86 games between 1981-85.

• Bryce Washington has recorded 22 of his 25 career double-doubles this season. His career .580 percentage from the floor is currently the third-best in school history ahead of Roy Ebron (.579, 1970-73) and Bobby Cutrer (.569, 1964-66).

• Washington is fourth in the nation in double-doubles (22), with Purdue's Caleb Swanigan (25) and Seton Hall's Angel Delgado (25) leading all Division I players. The junior is fifth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.16), fifth in rebounds per game (11.5) and fourth in total rebounds (357).

QUICK HITS
• Jay Wright is currently eighth in school history with 370 assists and is two shy of passing Michael Allen (1991-94) for seventh place. The senior has scored 1,121 points and is 10 points shy of passing Brad Boyd (1,130, 2000-04) for 32nd-place on the Ragin' Cajuns all-time list.

• Louisiana is 7-5 this season in games decided by six points or less. In 2015-16, the Ragin' Cajuns were 0-6 in close games and are 41-41 overall under Bob Marlin.

• Bryce Washington is 51 points shy of becoming the 45th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

• With 743 career rebounds, Washington is four rebounds shy of passing Randal Smith (746, 1985-88) for ninth place in Ragin' Cajuns history and is seven from passing Dion Rainey (749, 1977-80) for eighth.

MORE QUICK HITS
• In Louisiana's 78-71 win over Little Rock on Wednesday, the Ragin' Cajuns finished 32-for-38 (84.2 percent) from the free throw line and was 15-for-16 in the final three minutes.

• The Ragin' Cajuns went 1-for-7 from the floor after Justin Miller's 3-pointer with 10:22 remaining in the game.

• Jay Wright's 12-for-13 performance from the free throw line matched his career high in both categories set earlier this year at McNeese State.

• Louisiana's 44 field goal attempts against Little Rock were the fewest this season (previous 47 at Little Rock, 1/2/17).

UP NEXT
• Today's winner advances to the semifinals on Saturday (2 p.m.) to face the winner of the Troy-Georgia Southern contest.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Miller

Johnathan Stove

Bryce Washington

Jay Wright

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