LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Men's Basketball will return to the Cajundome at 7 p.m. Saturday to face Troy in the second leg of the teams four-game homestand. The contest will be available to be streamed live on ESPN+.
Louisiana (8-8, 3-3) is looking to bounce back after a narrow loss to South Alabama on Thursday.
The weekday matchup marked the first time this season that the Ragin' Cajuns had their full complement of players available.
Jordan Brown and Theo Akwuba are poised to continue to lead the offensive efforts for Louisiana. Individually, the paint pairing are both averaging 10+ points on the season and each recorded a double-double on Thursday.
Brown notched 21 points and added 11 rebounds, while Akwuba scored 12 and grabbed 10 boards.
Earlier this season, the duo made Louisiana just one of two teams in the country with multiple 15+ point and 15 rebound performers on the year.
Redshirt-freshman Kobe Julien is looking to rebound from an off shooting night against the Jaguars. The Baton Rouge, La. native had scored 16 or more points in four straight games before totaling seven two days ago.
Louisiana has dominated opponents around the basket this season. The Ragin' Cajuns have scored 30+ points in the paint 11 times this season including 40+ on four occasions.
SERIES NOTES
Saturday will mark the 27th meeting between the two programs as Louisiana leads the all-time series 19-6. The Ragin' Cajuns have won the five matchups.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Troy
Troy enters Saturday with a 13-5 record overall and a 4-1 mark in Sun Belt play following a 73-65 victory over ULM on Thursday. The Trojans are led by junior forward Efe Odigie who is averaging a team-high 11.2 points per game this season.
SCHOLARSHIP EARNED
On Jan. 10, second-year guard Kentrell Garnett was awarded a scholarship. Garnett has started nine games this season and is averaging 7.4 points per game. The Donaldsonville, La. native has been a reliable 3-point threat throughout the season and ranks sixth in the Sun Belt Conference with 2.1 makes per game this season.
PLAYER TO WATCH: TRAJAN WESLEY
After missing the entire 2020-21 campaign with an injury, junior guard Trajan Wesley has worked his way into the lineup and has made starts in Louisiana's last 10 contests. Wesley is averaging a team-high 2.3 assists this season to go along with 5.4 points.
LOUISIANA LEGACY
Louisiana's 2021-22 roster features two second-generation talents in Julien and Brown. Julien's father Wayne was with the program from 1976-81 and was a member of 1977 Southland Conference championship team.
Dion Brown lettered for the Ragin' Cajuns from 1980-84 and finished his career as one of the top scorers and rebounders in school history. Brown, a 1984 graduate of UL, earned All-Southland Conference honors in 1982 and was a two-time All-Louisiana selection.
He finished his career with 1,412 points and 926 rebounds (then second in school history) and helped then-USL to the championship of the 1982 Great Alaskan Shootout where he was named to the All-Tournament team.
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