LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Men’s Basketball team closes out a season-high, four-game homestand on Saturday when it face Marshall in a battle of two of the top three teams in the Sun Belt Conference at the Cajundome.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Prior to the game, Louisiana’s Senior Class will be recognized.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (pxp) and Eric Mouton (color) providing the commentary. Fans can listen to the game on KPEL-FM (96.5) and the Varsity Network with Jay Walker calling the action. Live results will be available at CajunStats.com.
The game will also mark the return, for one night only, of the Fabulous Cajun Chicken with special ticket deals in place by visiting RaginCajuns.com/chicken [ragincajuns.com].
Louisiana (19-4, 9-2 Sun Belt) ran its win streak to nine games after an 82-63 win over Texas State on Thursday.
Greg Williams, Jr., scored a game-high 23 points – his fourth straight 20-point game – to lead four players in double figures as Louisiana shot 57 percent from the field and earned the regular-season sweep over the Bobcats.
Jordan Brown added 16 points for Louisiana, which remained tied with Southern Miss for the SBC lead, with Themus Fulks nearly missing a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Terence Lewis II chipped in with 10 points for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Kentrell Garnett adding nine and Joe Charles eight.
Brown leads Louisiana, and is second in the SBC, in scoring at 19.6 points per game. Williams, who scored his 1,000th career point on Thursday, follows at 14.5 points per game with Lewis averaging 11.9 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game.
Fulks, who is third among active NCAA Division I players in career assists per game (6.52), averages 8.9 points and a SBC-best 6.5 assists per game with Garnett averaging 8.0 points while leading all Division I active players in 3-point field goal percentage (.452).
Marshall (19-5, 8-3 Sun Belt) earned a 66-58 win at App State on Thursday for its eighth victory in its last nine games. The Thundering Herd produce two of the top three scorers in the Sun Belt Conference with Taevion Kinsey leading the league at 21.1 points per game with Andrew Taylor third at 19.3.
Kinsey ranks second among active NCAA Division I players in both career points (2,441) and made field goals (942) with Kamdyn Kurfman fourth among active NCAA players in 3-point field goals made per game (3.08) and fifth in 3-point field goals (351).
Single-game tickets are available by visiting the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome, purchasing by visiting Account Manager. For more information call the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome at (337) 265-2104.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here [apps.apple.com] for iOS/Apple platforms and here [play.google.com] for Android platforms.
For the latest on Louisiana Men's Basketball, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB).
GAME 24 PREVIEW – Louisiana (19-4, 9-2 SBC) vs. Marshall (19-5, 8-3 SBC)
Date / Time: February 4, 2023 / 7 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)
RADIO/TV
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Dan McDonald (pxp), Eric Mouton (color)
Radio: KPEL-FM 96.5 / The Varsity Network
Talent: Jay Walker (pxp)
LIVE STATS/SOCIAL MEDIA
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB | #GeauxCajuns
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Marshall leads, 4-3
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 2-1
In Huntington: Marshall leads, 3-0
At Neutral Sites: Louisiana leads, 1-0
Streak: Marshall +3
Last meeting: Marshall, 92-73 (11/23/22 at Huntington, W.Va.)
THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 240-171 (13th season); Division I Record: 465-302 (25th season);
Career Record: 588-337 (30th season)
MARSHALL
Head Coach: Dan D’Antoni (Marshall, 1970)
Record at Marshall: 159-120 (ninth season), Career Record: Same
STORY LINES
• Louisiana closes out a four-game homestand on Saturday as it welcomes Sun Belt Conference opponent Marshall to the Cajundome.
• Saturday’s game features the SBC’s top three scorers: Marshall’s Taevion Kinsey (21.1), Louisiana’s Jordan Brown (19.6) and Marshall’s Andrew Taylor (19.3).
• Louisiana’s Kentrell Garnett leads all active Division I players in career 3-point percentage (.452) with Themus Fulks third among active players in career assists (6.52).
• Kinsey is ranked second among active players in scoring (2,441) and field goals made (942) and is third in field goal attempts (1,870).
• Marshall’s Kamdyn Curfman is fourth among active Division I players in 3-pointers made per game (3.08) and fifth in 3-point field goals (351).
• Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin was an assistant on Dana Altman’s staff at Marshall during the 1989-90 season.
• Louisiana and Marshall combine to lead the Sun Belt Conference in 11 statistical categories.
• In SBC games only, Louisiana and Marshall rank 1-2 in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, assists and assist/turnover ratio.
• Louisiana has won its last 11 games at home dating back to last season - tied for the 16th-longest in Division I.
• Louisiana’s nine-game Sun Belt Conference win streak - its third in league play - is currently tied for the third-longest in school history and equaling the mark last set in 2016. The Ragin’ Cajuns can match the second-best mark set from Jan. 22,-Feb. 26, 2011 with a win.
QUICK HITS
• Louisiana’s victory over Georgia Southern on Jan. 28, where it trailed by 19 points at the half (49-30), marked the largest comeback win in the Bob Marlin era and the largest since rallying from 20 points (73-53) down with 12 minutes remaining to defeat South Alabama in overtime, 102-97, on Jan. 26, 1992.
• With the 94-87 win, Marlin moved past J.C. “Dutch” Reinhardt (1932-57) into sole possession for second place on the school’s career win list at 239.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns 8-0 record in January was the first time since 2017-18 (7-0) the team was unbeaten in the first month of the calendar year.
• Greg Williams, Jr., recorded his fourth straight 20-point game and reached the 1,000-point mark in his career (St. John’s/Louisiana) after a 23-point performance on Thursday against Texas State.
• Louisiana enters the game second among 352 Division I ranked programs in 3-point field goal percentage (.400), ninth in field goal percentage (.493) and 13th in effective field goal percentage (.559).
• Louisiana leads the Sun Belt Conference and is 22nd nationally in rebound margin (+6.0), 22nd in scoring offense (80.4) and 37th in assists per game (15.7).
• Louisiana has led wire-to-wire in eight games this season, including three of the last six.
• Kentrell Garnett enters the game percentage points ahead of Pacific’s Luke Avdalovic as the NCAA active career leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.452).
• Louisiana’s nine wins away (7 road, 2 neutral site) from the Cajundome are tied for second nationally behind Purdue and North Texas (10).
• Jordan Brown has scored 845 points in a Louisiana uniform and has 1,189 in his collegiate career.
• Brown is 14th nationally in free throw attempts (155), 27th in points per game (19.6) and 46th in free throws made (101).
• Brown is one of five players to average 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a block per game, joining Drew Timme (Gonzaga), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Jake Stephens (Chattanooga) and Drew Pember (UNC Asheville).
• Louisiana’s Themus Fulks is fifth among Division I players in total assists (150) and sixth in assists per game (6.5).
• Eight of Louisiana’s 14 players on the 2022-23 roster are in-state products.
• Louisiana’s four-game, road sweep last month was its first in conference play and its first since going unbeaten on a five-game trip in 1976-77.
• Louisiana’s four-game win streak on the road is currently tied for 12th-best among NCAA Division I schools.
• Terence Lewis II is fifth in the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage (.621).
• In a 94-88 win over in-state rival Louisiana Tech on Nov. 17, Marlin earned his 450th career win at the Division I level in 25 seasons.
• Marlin was 123-35 in five seasons (1990-95) at Pensacola Junior College, leading the team to the 1993 NJCAA National Championship.
• Marlin is the all-time leader in Sun Belt Conference victories with a 135-93 record.
• Brown is 14th nationally in free throw attempts (147) and 39th in free throws made (99).
• The Ragin’ Cajuns are 16-8 overall in one-point games under head coach Bob Marlin and 60-53 overall in school history.
• Six of the 14 players on the 2022-23 roster are first-year players.
THE FABULOUS CAJUN CHICKEN RETURNS ON SATURDAY
• The fowlest of the fowl is back, for a one-night roost at the Cajundome.
• For nearly two decades, the Fabulous Cajun Chicken delighted Ragin' Cajun athletic audiences with his unique brand of comedy, his never-ending list of characters and the level of zaniness he brought to his sideline and on-court antics.
• On Saturday, Feb. 4, when UL's basketball squad takes on Marshall at 7 p.m. in a key Sun Belt Conference game, the Chicken will make a one-night return to the court. It's a good bet that mayhem will result.
• That night is also Senior Night, when UL coach Bob Marlin and the Cajun program honors the senior members of the 2022-23 basketball squad. For the Fabulous Cajun Chicken, that's almost fitting.
• In addition to the festivities of Senior Night, UL will also have special ticket deals in place for the Feb. 4 game. Visit RaginCajuns.com/chicken [ragincajuns.com] for ticket information.
UP NEXT
• Louisiana heads east for its next two games beginning on Thursday with a SBC showdown against Southern Miss at Reed Green Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns will close out their roadtrip on Saturday (Feb. 11) when it battles Troy in a 4 p.m. contest at Trojan Arena.
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