THE MATCHUP
Teams: ULM (6-9, 0-2 SBC)
Louisiana (11-4, 1-1 SBC)
Location: Cajun Dome/Lafayette, La.
Time: 7:15 p.m. CST
MONROE, La. – The ULM men's basketball team finishes its three-game road trip when the Warhawks travel to Lafayette to battle the Ragin Cajuns at 7:15 p.m. Saturday night. Saturday night's game will also be available on the Warhawk Radio Network and on Ragin Cajuns All-Access. The Warhawks enter this tilt with a 6-9 mark, coming off of a tough performance at Arkansas State on Monday night, while Louisiana is 11-4, coming off of a win over Little Rock Monday night in Little Rock.
NOTABLES
Last Time Out: ULM could not overcome a 31.6 percent shooting night as Arkansas State raced past the Warhawks on Monday night with a 76-45 victory inside the Convocation Center.
Head-to-Head: The Warhawks and Ragin Cajuns meet for the 74th time on Saturday in Lafayette. In Lafayette the Cajuns have dominated the series winning 29 of the 35 all-time meetings even though the Warhawks have taken three of the past four from Louisiana. Overall the Ragin Cajuns have a 47-26 advantage in the series.
Assist Mark: Senior Nick Coppola currently sits with 485 assists over his three-plus seasons with the Warhawks. He is just 15 assists away from becoming just the sixth active NCAA Division I player to have 1,000 points and 500 assists in his career. He eclipsed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season when he scored a season high 23 points vs Jacksonville State on December 10.
Sun Belt Leaders: Following the opening weekend of SBC games, sophomore Travis Munnings currently sits in seccond place among all Sun Belt Conference players with 8.7 rebounds per game so far this season. Senior Nick Coppola is currently third in the SBC with 5.1 assists per game while he also sits in first with an 3.5 assist to turnover ratio. Coppola also leads the conference with 35.7 minutes per game so far this year. Marvin Jean-Pierre sits in seventh in the conference with his 55.3 field goal percentage. As a team the Warhawks are fourth in the conference with a 67.5 percent at the free throw line and are also fourth in three point field goal percentage with a 35.4 percent average from beyond the arc. In conference-only games, sophomore Travis Munnings is fourth in points per game with 20.5 while hitting 68.4 percent of his field goals so far which ranks fourth in the SBC.
Scouting the Cajuns: Louisiana is led by Frank Bartley IV, who averages 16.6 points per game, with Jay Wright closely behind with 14.9 points per game. The Ragin Cajuns also carry the best rebounder so far this season in the SBC as Bryce Washington is averaging 11.8 rebounds per game.
Sharing the Basketball: The Warhawks have 211 assists on 382 made baskets so far this season. Nick Coppola leads the way with 76 assists, while Travis Munnings has 31 assists so far this season and Jordon Harris has 28 assists on the season. As a team, the Warhawks have assisted on 55.2 percent of their made baskets this season. They also rank third in the Sun Belt with their 211 assists behind UT-Arlington with 232 assists and Louisiana with 214 assists.
UP NEXT
-Following Saturday night's contest, the Warhawks return home for the first time in 2017 next Saturday to battle Georgia State inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Tipoff will be at 4:00 p.m. next Saturday following the ULM women's game, also against the Panthers.
