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NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will look to build on the momentum of a 94-83, come-from-behind victory when the Privateers take on Southland Conference foe McNeese State as part of Homecoming 2016 on Saturday, Jan. 30, in Lakefront Arena.
The showdown with the Cowboys is slated to tipoff at approximately 6:15 and follows the UNO women's game against McNeese State as well. That game will begin at 4 p.m. and the presentation of the homecoming court and the coronation of the king and queen will take place between the two contests.
While the Privateers rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to win by a dozen on Monday night against Central Arkansas and the expected crowd will give the team a true home-court advantage, New Orleans head coach
Mark Slessinger was quick to point out that his team has a long way to go and there is a lot at stake when the game begins.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Slessinger said. "We go up against McNeese on Saturday, who is coached by Dave Simmons. He and I sat next to each other on the bench and coached together for six years at Northwestern State. We were roommates on the road and we recruited together for six years, so nobody knows me as well as him and [NSU head] Coach [Mike] McConathy. I know we've got our work cut out for us. They're a very, very explosive and dangerous offensive team. We've been hot and cold over the last three games, so we've got to get better and get ready."
New Orleans enters Saturday's matchup 6-12 on the year and 2-5 in Southland Conference action. As a team, the Privateers are averaging 73.1 points, 38.2 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 8.6 steals and 2.9 blocks per game.
Junior guard
Christavious Gill leads a balanced UNO offense with 13.2 points per game while junior forward
Erik Thomas, junior point guard
Nate Frye and senior forward
Kevin Hill follow with respective scoring averages of 10.6, 9.9 and 9.7. Thomas paces the team with 7.3 rebounds per game and sophomore forward
Travin Thibodeaux headlines the defense with 0.7 blocked shot per outing. Frye leads the Privateers with 3.3 assists per game and Gill has a team-best 1.9 steals-per-contest average.
New Orleans is connecting at a .408 clip from the field, hitting 439-of-1075 shots from the floor and 95-of-275 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.345), while allowing opponents to shoot .438 overall (449-of-1026) and .337 from 3-point land (131-of-389). Privateer foes are averaging 75.2 points, 38.6 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 7.9 steals and 4.9 blocks so far in 2015-16.
McNeese State, meanwhile, comes to town 5-12 on the year, 3-4 in Southland Conference play and winners of three of its last four outings, including home victories over Northwestern State (85-74 on Jan. 23) and Incarnate Word (79-76 in overtime on Jan. 25).
As a team, the Cowboys are averaging 68.3 points, 36.8 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 5.5 steals and 4.9 blocks per game. Jamaya Burr is the lone McNeese State player to average double figures offensively with a 15.2 point-per-game clip, while Craig McFerrin follows at 9.5, Jarren Greenwood chips in with 8.6 and James Harvey adds 8.0 points per outing. McFerrin averages a team-high 7.5 rebounds per outing and Austin Lewis paces the Cowboys with 1.4 blocked shots per contest. In addition to leading the team in scoring, Burr also paces the squad with 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per outing.
McNeese State is hitting 39.5 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 403-of-1021 field goal attempts, including a 119-of-363 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.328). The Cowboys' defense has allowed opponents to post a 45.0 shooting percentage (480-of-1067) and a 36.2 clip from 3-point land (122-of-337). McNeese State opponents are averaging 78.9 points, 40.5 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 7.1 steals and 3.1 blocks per game.
Saturday's game between New Orleans and McNeese State marks the 15th meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the Privateers hold a slight 8-6 advantage in the all-time series. UNO is 1-3 against the Cowboys since joining the Southland Conference for the 2013-14 season and the lone win in league play came in the most recent meeting as the Privateers posted an 81-71 victory last Feb. 9 in Lakefront Arena.
The home court has been a true advantage for New Orleans when playing McNeese State as teh Privateers are 6-2 in the Crescent City with a 2-1 mark against the Cowboys in the Human Performance Center and 3-1 in Lakefront Arena. Prior to the aforementioned 81-71 win, the Cowboys had won the previous three head-to-head meetings 82-69 on Jan. 4, 2014, in Lake Charles, 72-69 on Feb. 16, 2014, in Lakefront Arena and 68-61 on Jan. 31, 2015, in Bartow Arena.
The game against the Cowboys is the second of a three-game homestand for UNO as the Privateers will take on Nicholls on Monday, Feb. 1, in Lakefront Arena. Tipoff for that contest is slated for 7 p.m. Tickets to the upcoming games and future Privateer sporting events can be purchased by clicking
HERE or by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263).
--www.UNOPrivateers.com--
