NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 12, when the squad plays host to Williams Baptist in a Privateers double-header highlighted by an attempt to set a world record for largest gathering of holiday-outfit wearers in Lakefront Arena.
A member of the Guinness Book of World Records staff will be on hand to get an official count and all fans who don a holiday outfit are eligible to purchase tickets for $5. The men's game, which is slated to tipoff at 6:15 p.m., is the second half of a UNO hoops doubleheader as the women's team will square off with Jackson State starting at 4 p.m. Live audio and video streaming for both contests is available on UNOPrivateers.com via the UNO Showcase.
The Privateers enter the weekend 2-5 on the year and looking to snap a three-game skid after dropping consecutive road contests to Northwestern (90-63 on Nov. 28), Tulane (64-62 on Dec. 2) and Ball State (66-52 on Dec. 5). As a team, New Orleans is averaging 67.3 points, 37.7 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 7.9 steals and 2.1 blocks per game.
Junior guard Christavious Gill the Privateer offense with 12.1 points per game followed by junior guard Nate Frye, sophomore wing Michael Zeno and junior forward Erik Thomas with respective scoring averages of 9.9, 9.3 and 7.7. Senior forward Kevin Hill paces the team with 7.3 rebounds per game and sophomore Travin Thibodeaux headlines the defense with six blocked shots. Frye leads UNO with 3.0 assists per outing and Gill has a team-best 2.4 steals per contest average.
New Orleans is connecting at a .383 clip from the field, hitting 155-of-405 shots from the floor and 37-of-98 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.378) while allowing opponents to shoot .447 overall (169-of-378) and .305 from 3-point land (47-of-154). Privateer foes are averaging 71.7 points, 37.4 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 7.4 steals and 5.6 blocks so far in 2015-16.
Williams Baptist, an NAIA program out of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, comes to town 3-3 in official contests on the season and, including exhibition contests, looking to halt a four-game slide after falling 94-68 at Southern Arkansas on Nov. 23, 84-76 at Bethel University on Nov. 24, 80-73 at Southwest Baptist on Nov. 30 and 82-77 at Hannibal-LaGrange on Dec. 3.
As a team, the Eagles are averaging 78.2 points, 39.2 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 11.7 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. E.J. Rucker leads three Williams Baptist players averaging double figures offensively with 14.0 points per game while Tony Jeffries has 12.6 and Stanley Malcom follows with 10.5. Jeffries paces the team with 7.0 rebounds per game shares team-high block honors with Tevin Howard at three apiece. Malcom headlines the squad with 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.
Williams Baptist is hitting 42.5 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 178-of-419 field goal attempts, including a 47-of-145 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.324). The Eagle defense has allowed opponents to post a 45.2 shooting percentage (159-of-352) and a 32.7 clip from 3-point land (36-of-110). Williams Baptist opponents are averaging 75.7 points, 41.2 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 7.3 steals and 3.2 blocks per game.
Following the game against the Eagles, UNO will head to Amherst, Massachusetts, for a showdown with UMass on Wednesday, Dec. 16, before playing at Louisiana-Lafayette on Monday, Dec. 21. From there, the Privateers will play their final non-conference contest on Tuesday, Dec. 29 against Blue Mountain College in Lakefront Arena. Tipoff for that game is slated for 5:30 p.m.
Tickets to that contest and future Privateer sporting events can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263).
