Men's Hoops To Face Incarnate Word On Monday In Lakefront Arena

UNO NOTES | INCARNATE WORD NOTES

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will play its first Southland Conference home game of the 2015-16 season on Monday, Jan. 11, when the Privateers play host to the Incarnate Word Cardinals at 7 p.m. (CST) in Lakefront Arena.
 
UNO is still looking for its first-ever win over UIC after dropping the first two head-to-head meetings between the schools, and hopes that the home court advantage, plus a year of overall experience, can help the Privateers tally their first victory of the series. Mondays game will be broadcast live on the UNO Showcase with a free audio option and a video option that comes with a paid membership.
 
"To think we've only been home three times is wild and it has been tough," head coach Mark Slessinger said. "It is what it is and we know these road games will help us in the long run, but it will be nice to sleep in our own beds on campus and hopefully get some students, faculty, staff, alumni and our fans out there to support us."
 
New Orleans enters Monday's matchup 5-8 on the year, 1-1 in Southland Conference action and looking to bounce back from a hard-fought 73-70 loss to Sam Houston State on Saturday evening in Huntsville, Texas.
 
As a team, the Privateers are averaging 73.1 points, 38.6 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 9.4 steals and 2.8 blocks per game. Junior guard Christavious Gill leads three UNO players averaging double figures offensively with 14.4 points per game while junior point guard Nate Frye and junior forward Erik Thomas follow with respective scoring averages of 10.6 and 10.0. Thomas paces the team with 6.9 rebounds per game and sophomore Travin Thibodeaux headlines the defense with 0.8 blocked shot per outing. Frye leads the Privateers with 3.8 assists per game and Gill has a team-best 2.1 steals-per-contest average.
 
New Orleans is connecting at a .405 clip from the field, hitting 314-of-775 shots from the floor and 73-of-198 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.369), while allowing opponents to shoot .426 overall (314-of-737) and .300 from 3-point land (85-of-283). Privateer foes are averaging 72.9 points, 39.2 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 8.4 steals and 5.2 blocks so far in 2015-16.
 
Incarnate Word, meanwhile, heads to the Crescent City 6-7 on the year, 1-1 in SLC play and winners of three of its last five contests. The last time out, UIW defeated Northwestern State, 70-56, on Saturday in San Antonio, Texas.
 
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 75.1 points, 33.8 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 9.4 steals and 2.7 blocks per game. Kyle Hittle leads Incarnate Word offensively with 15.5 points per game, followed by Jontrell Walker at 15.2, Derail Green at 11.5 and Shawn Johnson at 9.6. Johnson paces the team with 7.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Hittle and Walker share team-high assist honors with 30 apiece and Mitchell Badillo headlines the defense with 2.2 steals per game.
 
Incarnate Word is hitting 42.8 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 336-of-785 field goal attempts, including a 108-of-294 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.367). The Cardinals' defense has allowed opponents to post a 45.1 shooting percentage (343-of-761) and a 35.4 clip from 3-point land (97-of-274). UIW opponents are averaging 73.1 points, 40.0 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.3 blocks per game.
 
Monday's game against Incarnate Word is the first of three consecutive homes games as the Privateers will play host to Houston Baptist on Saturday, Jan. 16, and Stephen F. Austin on Monday, Jan. 18. Tickets to those contests and future Privateer sporting events can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263).

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