NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will be playing for a lot more than pride and defense of its home court on Saturday evening when the Privateers take on Southland Conference foe Northwestern State in the regular-season finale at Lakefront Arena – it will be playing for its postseason life.
The men's game against Northwestern State, which is tentatively scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. (CST) is the second half of a UNO basketball doubleheader as both schools' women's teams will play at 4 p.m. A win over the Demons – a team the Privateers defeated 102-99 back on Feb. 20 in Natchitoches, Louisiana – will clinch a spot for Privateers in the SLC Tournament, which is slated to begin on Wednesday, March 9, in Katy, Texas.
UNO could still sneak into the tourney with a loss, but would need some help from Southeastern Louisiana. If the Lions defeat host Nicholls on Saturday in a game scheduled to tipoff at 3:30 p.m., the Privateers are in the SLC no matter what the outcome of the New Orleans/Northwestern State contest.
"We know our backs are against the wall going into Saturday against Northwestern State," UNO head coach
Mark Slessinger said. "We know it. The team knows it. We'll keep working out and working at it to try and find a way to get into that tournament. We all know what's at stake. We're going to bring our game and play our tails off for 40 minutes. Hopefully that will be enough to get us in."
New Orleans enter the regular-season finale 9-19 on the year, 5-12 in Southland Conference action and looking to snap a four-game losing skid dating back to a 93-81 loss at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 24. The last time out, UNO fell to the very same Lions, 61-60, on Thursday night in Lakefront Arena.
As a team, the Privateers are averaging 74.2 points, 38.2 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 8.5 steals and 2.6 blocks per game. Junior guard
Christavious Gill leads a balanced UNO offense with 13.9 points per game while junior forward
Erik Thomas, junior guard
Nate Frye and senior forward
Kevin Hill follow with respective scoring averages of 11.8, 10.0 and 9.7. Thomas paces the team with 6.7 rebounds per game and sophomore wing
Michael Zeno headlines the defense with 0.6 blocked shots 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 .414 clip from the field, hitting 705-of-1704 shots from the floor and at a .327 mark from beyond the 3-point arc (140-of-428), while allowing opponents to shoot .452 overall (727-of-1609) and .353 from 3-point land (207-of-587). Privateer foes are averaging 77.0 points, 37.4 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 8.1 steals and 4.9 blocks so far in 2015-16.
Northwestern State, meanwhile, comes to town 8-19 on the year, 5-12 in Southland Conference play and on a two-game skid after falling at Southeastern Louisiana, 84-82 on Feb. 29, and dropping a 95-55 contest at home to Stephen F. Austin on March 3.
As a team, the Demons are averaging 79.2 points, 33.0 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.3 blocks per game. Zeek Woodley is one of four Northwestern State players to average double figures offensively, leading the team with a 22.1 point-per-game clip, Sabri Thompson is next at 12.6 followed by Ishmael Lane at 11.6 and Devonte Hall at 10.7. Lane paces the squad with 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game. Hall headlines the squad with 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per outing.
Northwestern State is hitting 45.5 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 743-of-1633 field goal attempts, including a 199-of-557 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.357). The Demons' defense has allowed opponents to post a 48.1 shooting percentage (836-of-1738) and a 34.3 clip from 3-point land (192-of-559). Northwestern State opponents are averaging 85.8 points, 39.6 rebounds, 16.9 assists, 8.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game.
Saturday's game between New Orleans and Northwestern State marks the ninth meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the all-time series is deadlocked at 4-4. UNO lost the first three games against Northwestern State since the Privateers joined the Demons in the Southland Conference for the 2013-14 season, but New Orleans halted the skid with the 102-99 victory earlier this season in Prather Coliseum.
The Privateers are 2-3 against the Demons when playing in the Crescent City, including an 0-2 mark in Lakefront Arena. The series dates back to Jan. 6, 1973, when New Orleans earned a 101-87 victory in the Human Performance Center. UNO won a 71-57 contest on Dec. 19, 1986, in Baton Rouge before dropping a 71-67 game on Nov. 25, 2006, in the HPC. The two games in Lakefront Arena were NSU wins of 84-71 on March 1, 2014 and 87-84 on Feb. 21, 2015.
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