** Privateers Plan to Bring Mardi Gras Spirit to St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis **
University of New Orleans Privateers (16-12) vs No. 11 Christian Brothers Bucs (19-5)
Wednesday, Feb. 22 • 7 p.m. CST • Canale Arena (Memphis, Tenn.)
Live Video • Live Audio • Live Stats
University of New Orleans Privateers (TBD) vs Delta State Statesmen (5-19)
Thursday, Feb. 23 • 8 p.m. CST • Sillers Arena (Cleveland, Miss.)
Live Audio
MEMPHIS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will play the backend of a pair of an in-season home-and-home series as they visit No. 11 Christian Brothers and Delta State this week.
UNO (16-12) will face the nationally-ranked CBU (19-5) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before challenging DSU (5-19) on Thursday at 8 p.m.
Both games will have coverage available through each school's respective athletics web site.
A victory in any of the remaining four contests will allow the Privateers to have a winning record for a second straight season, while also surpassing the 16 wins accomplished by the 2010-11 squad a year prior. The school has not had back-to-back winning seasons since a four-year run from 2000-2004.
In 13 road games this season, UNO has posted a 4-9 record with victories at Dillard, Concordia-Selma, Florida Christian and Southern-New Orleans. All four road successes have featured double-double efforts by
Antonio Wertz, who is averaging 20 points and 12.3 rebounds.
The four double-doubles by Wertz are the only such performances by a member of the Privateer roster this year. On the season, the senior forward is averaging 11.1 points to go along with team-highs in rebounds (7.3) and blocks (28).
The second-leading scorer behind
Lovell Cook (14.1), Wertz missed the previous encounter against CBU on Dec. 31, 2011.
In the contest, UNO posted the most points scored against the Bucs in a first half since 2005 before a 26.7 percent clip from the field in the final 20 minutes allowed the visiting CBU to post a 78-68 win. Scott Dennis scored 20 points for the Bucs and enters the week with a 16.5 points per game average.
Since the contests, the Bucs have continued their success and were recently ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II South Region rankings for the first time in school history. CBU is 9-2 at home with their lone defeats to No. 15 Arkansas Tech on Nov. 29 and No. 6 Alabama-Huntsville on Feb. 19.
DSU lost 81-59 on Jan. 16 at Lakefront Arena against UNO, part of what became a 13-game losing streak. The Statesmen snapped the skid with a 72-70 win over West Florida on Feb. 4 and have since lost four straight.
Cook scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Privateers, who shot 54.8 percent in the victory. The shooting percentage ranks as the second-highest this season for UNO, who added a team-best seven blocks.
Terry Leake leads the Statesmen with 14.4 points a contest including 14 in the previous meeting.
Following the two-game swing, the Privateers will play their final home game of the season at 2 p.m. on Saturday against Champion Baptist. The contest will be held at the Human Performance Center.
