Men's Basketball To Play At Southern Cal On Tuesday

LOS ANGELES – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will wrap up a three-game road swing on Tuesday, Nov. 22, when the Privateers take on the Trojans of Southern California at 8 p.m. (CST) in the Galen Center. The game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
UNO heads to the West Coast 1-2 on the year and looking to snap a two-game skid after dropping a 117-72 decision at Oklahoma State on Nov. 16 and falling 77-68 on Nov. 19 at Tulsa. USC appears to be a tough team to bounce back against, though, as the Trojans enter the ballgame a perfect 3-0 with home wins over Montana (75-61 on Nov. 11) and Omaha (82-72 on Nov. 13) and a road win at Texas A&M (65-63 on Nov. 18) to their credit to date.
 
"They had a good win over Texas A&M [on Friday]," head coach Mark Slessinger said of the Trojans. "We know they're very, very long. They're big and very athletic. They're playing at a good rate right now. They got some guys back that had been out in the preseason, so they're going to be a talented group. We're going to go out and figure out a way go at them. We're going to attack it, get out there and try and shake the tree."
 
As a team, New Orleans is averaging 81.0 points, 35.0 rebounds, 15.7 assists, 9.3 steals and 3.7 blocks per game. Senior forward Erik Thomas (IDS/Business) leads the Privateers offensively with 23.0 points per game, followed by senior guard Christavious Gill (IDS/Behavioral Studies) and junior guard Jorge Rosa (IDS/Behavioral Studies) with respective averages of 15.3 and 8.7.
 
Thomas also paces the team with 7.3 rebounds per game and shares the team lead in steals with Gill, Rosa and senior guard Tevin Broyles (IDS/Health Studies) at five apiece. Junior forward Makur Puou (Political Science) headlines the defense with 2.0 blocked shots per outing. Gill, meanwhile, leads the Privateers with 3.3 assists per contest.
 
New Orleans is connecting at a .445 clip from the field, hitting 85-of-191 shots from the floor and 20-of-55 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.364), while allowing opponents to shoot .479 overall (92-of-192) and .338 from 3-point land (23-of-68). Privateer foes are averaging 87.0 points, 41.7 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 7.3 steals and 4.7 blocks so far in 2015-16.
 
The Trojans, meanwhile, are averaging 74.0 points, 45.7 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 7.0 steals and 6.0 blocks per game. Elijah Stewart is one of four USC players to average double figures offensively and leads the team with 17.3 points per game. Chimezie Metu is next with 14.3 points per outing, followed by Shaqquan Aaron at 12.3 and Jordan McLaughlin at 10.7.
 
Metu paces the team with 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game with McLaughlin leading the way in assists with 4.0 dimes per outing and De'Anthony Melton headlining the defense with 2.7 steals per contest.
 
USC is hitting 38.0 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 73-of-192 field goal attempts, including an 18-of-70 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.257). The Trojan defense has allowed opponents to post a 37.6 shooting percentage (71-of-188) and a 32.0 clip from 3-point land (24-of-75). Southern Cal opponents are averaging 65.3 points, 39.3 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.3 blocks per game.
 
Tuesday's game between New Orleans and Southern California marks just the second time the two teams will meet on the hardwood, and the Privateers took the only previous showdown with an 85-67 victory on Nov. 28, 1986, in Lakefront Arena.
 
The Privateers are 4-10 against team's currently in the Pac-12 Conference, including a 2-7 mark when playing that league's opponents on their own court. In addition to the 1-0 showing against USC, UNO is 1-1 vs Colorado, 1-2 vs Arizona State, 1-4 vs Oregon State and 0-3 vs Arizona.
 
The Privateers return to action on Friday, Nov. 25, when they play host to Florida College at 7 p.m. in Lakefront Arena. For tickets to that game, and future Privateer Athletics events, contact the UNO Athletics Ticket Office over the phone at (504) 280-GAME (4263) or via the Internet by clicking HERE.