Men's Hoops Opens 4-Game Road Swing Saturday At Northwestern State

GAME NOTES

NEW ORLEANS – As each regular season nears its conclusion, the pressure to win increases. When playing on the road, it can be difficult to emerge with a victory. The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will get a dose of both as the Privateers head up I-49 to take on Southland Conference foe Northwestern State on Saturday, Feb. 20, in Prather Coliseum.

Tipoff against the Demons is tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m. and is part of a double-header as both school's women's programs will tipoff at 1 p.m. The game at Northwestern State is the first of four consecutive road contests for UNO's men's team as the Privateers will play at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 23, at Abilene Christian on Feb. 27 and at Nicholls on Feb. 29.

"It's a huge stretch for us and it's got huge tournament implications," UNO head coach Mark Slessinger said. "We've got Northwestern State twice. We've got Southeastern Louisiana twice.  We've got Nicholls again and then we've got to go to Abilene. This is a huge stretch where we have to play at a high level and win on the road if we wanted to head into the conference tournament on a good note."

New Orleans heads to Natchitoches 8-15 on the year, 4-8 in Southland Conference action and looking to snap a three-game skid after falling 112-77 at Central Arkansas on Feb. 6, dropping an 87-76 decision at McNeese State on Feb. 11 and coming up short at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 15, 65-57.

As a team, the Privateers are averaging 72.8 points, 38.2 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 8.3 steals and 2.7 blocks per game. Junior guard Christavious Gill leads a balanced UNO offense with 13.5 points per game while junior forward Erik Thomas, senior forward Kevin Hill and junior guard Nate Frye follow with respective scoring averages of 11.2, 9.3 and 9.2. Thomas paces the team with 7.0 rebounds per game and Hill headlines the defense with 0.7 blocked shots per outing. Frye leads the Privateers with 3.3 assists per game and Gill has a team-best 2.0 steals-per-contest average.

New Orleans is connecting at a .412 clip from the field, hitting 568-of-1380 shots from the floor and at a .342 mark from beyond the 3-point arc (118-of-345), while allowing opponents to shoot .442 overall (582-of-1318) and .333 from 3-point land (163-of-489). Privateer foes are averaging 75.4 points, 37.8 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 8.1 steals and 5.0 blocks so far in 2015-16.

Northwestern State, meanwhile, enters Saturday's contest 7-16 on the year, 4-9 in Southland Conference play and looking to bounce back from a 107-94 shootout loss to Central Arkansas on Monday night in Conway, Arkansas.

As a team, the Demons are averaging 79.2 points, 33.0 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 5.5 steals and 3.5 blocks per game. Zeek Woodley is one of four Northwestern State players to average double figures offensively, leading the team with a 22.6 point-per-game clip, followed by Sabri Thompson at 12.6, Ishmael Lane at 11.5 and Devonte Hall at 10.6. Lane paces the squad with 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Hall headlines the squad with 6.6 assists and 1.4 steals per outing.

Northwestern State is hitting 45.7 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 634-of-1386 field goal attempts, including a 176-of-488 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.361). The Demons' defense has allowed opponents to post a 47.8 shooting percentage (710-of-1486) and a 33.2 clip from 3-point land (161-of-485). Northwestern State opponents are averaging 85.6 points, 39.7 rebounds, 17.0 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.4 blocks per game.

Saturday's game between New Orleans and Northwestern State marks the eighth meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the Demons hold a slight 4-3 advantage in the all-time series. UNO has lost the last three games to Northwestern State, each of which came since the Privateers joined the Southland Conference prior to the 2013-14 season.

The Privateers are 1-1 against the Demons in Prather Coliseum, posting a 72-66 victory on Nov. 14, 2007, and falling 88-78 on March 7, 2015 - the last time the two teams squared off. The other two league games were 84-71 on March 1, 2014 and 87-84 on Feb. 21, 2015, in Lakefront Arena.

Following the four-game road swing, UNO returns to Lakefront Arena on March 3 when the Privateers play host to Southeastern Louisiana and will close out the regular season at home on March 5 against Northwestern State. Tickets to those 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).