NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers basketball teams return off a five-game road trip for the annual Homecoming game as both teams will take on the Nicholls State Colonels on Thursday at Lakefront Arena. The women start off the festivities with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
The Privateers men (9-10, 6-5 Southland) are coming off an impressive road swing by going 4-1 with the only loss of the trip coming at Oral Roberts. In the last outing, New Orleans defeated Central Arkansas 88-79 as four Privateers scored in double figures led by senior
Cory Dixon's 20 points.
Where the Privateers have been especially strong is on the glass. New Orleans out-rebounded Central Arkansas 44-32 on Saturday. Currently, the Privateers sit third in the Southland with a rebounding margin of + 2.8. Dixon continues to lead the conference in rebounding with 8.2 boards per game.
Sophomore forward,
Kevin Hill continues to be a strong defensive presence entering play. Hill has registered a block in four straight games, including a career-high seven block performance at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Hill has also pulled down at least eight boards in five of the Privateers' last eight games.
The last time the Privateers and Colonels met, a school-record 104 free throws were attempted between both sides in an 88-83 Nicholls victory. New Orleans leads the overall series 13-6, but Nicholls has taken four of the last five contests dating back to the 2007-08 season.
The Colonels (10-10, 7-4 Southland) hit a snag last weekend in two road games against strong conference opponents. Nicholls fell 93-64 to conference leader, Stephen F. Austin and dropped an 86-73 decision at Northwestern State. This season, Nicholls is 3-9 on the road.
Offensively, Nicholls is led by Dantrell Thomas who is averaging 17.0 points per game, fifth-highest in the league. In six games since being held to just seven points against Houston Baptist, Thomas has been on a tear averaging 21.7 points per contest and has three double-doubles. Thomas was named Southland Player of the Week on Feb. 3.
Jeremy Smith is second on the Colonels at 13.4 points per game. Smith was held to just eight points at Northwestern State, but had been hot from the field in five games prior. Smith was shooting 69.2 percent from the field (36-of-52).
The Privateers women (0-22, 0-11 Southland) are coming off their lowest point total of the season in a 62-30 loss at Central Arkansas. It was the fewest points scored in a game since Nov. 29, 2010 when the Privateers were held to 27 points in a loss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette.
Freshman guard
Octavia Wilson checks in as the team's leading scorer at 9.0 points per game. However, Wilson had a rough road trip that concluded with one point scored at Central Arkansas. It was the first time in 15 games since being inserted into the starting lineup that Wilson was held without a field goal. In the last four games, Wilson shot 20.6 percent from the field (7-of-34).
The Privateers women lead the all-time series 22-13, but have lost three straight to the Colonels. It's the first time New Orleans has dropped at least three straight since 1976-77 when the Privateers dropped four straight.
Nicholls (12-10, 7-4 Southland) is led offensively by Emani White who averages 18.9 points per game. White scored 30 points in a double-overtime victory at Stephen F. Austin last Thursday and has scored double figures in all but one game this season.
KK Babin is leading the conference in playing time, averaging 39.0 minutes per game. Babin has played 369 out of a possible 370 minutes over the Colonels' last nine games including all 50 minutes of the double-overtime win at Stephen F. Austin.
The doubleheader starts with the women's game tipping at 5:30 p.m. Both contests will be available in HD video on UNO Showcase.
Emmanuel Pepis will call the women's game with pregame starting at 5:20. Radio coverage of the men's contest with Jude Young will begin 15 minutes after the conclusion of the women's contest, on WGSO 990 AM, WGSO.com and on the TuneIn App.
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