Men's Basketball To Host Preseason SLC Favorite Sam Houston State On Thursday

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NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will look to extend its winning streak and remain undefeated in Southland Conference action when the Privateers play host to Sam Houston State on Thursday in Lakefront Arena. The game is the second half of a UNO hoops doubleheader as both school's women's teams will take the court at 5:30 p.m. (CST) with the men's game slated to begin at 7:45 p.m.

The showdown between the Privateers and the Bearkats features a matchup between the conference leader and the preseason favorite to take home the league title. UNO enters the game 9-6 on the year, 4-0 in SLC play and riding the crest of a five-game winning streak. Sam Houston State, which comes to town with a league-best 11-6 overall record and a 2-2 showing in conference action, was picked to win the 2016-17 Southland title by a vote of both league coaches and media relations contacts.

"This is a really big game for us," UNO head coach Mark Slessinger said. "We're playing the preseason favorite in Sam Houston State. They're a team that is very well coached, they do a great job and they have been at the top of our league for several years. It's one that we know we're going to have to play nearly perfect, we have to be great defensively and we have to keep them off the offensive glass. We're also going to have to execute offensively against a very good defensive team."

Fresh off a two-game road sweep of Lamar and Incarnate Word, New Orleans is averaging 73.9 points, 36.3 rebounds, 16.5 assists, 7.8 steals and 3.6 blocks per game. Senior forward Erik Thomas leads the Privateers offensively with 20.3 points per game, followed by senior guards Christavious Gill with an average of 12.5 and Nate Frey with a mark of 11.3. Thomas also paces the team with 7.9 rebounds a night with junior forward Travin Thibodeaux leading the squad with 3.7 assists per game. Thomas and Gill share team-high steal honors with 1.8 thefts per outing, and junior forward Makur Puou headlines the defense with 1.4 blocked shots per contest.

New Orleans is connecting at a .468 clip from the field, hitting 403-of-861 shots from the floor and 66-of-210 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.314), while allowing opponents to shoot .450 overall (391-of-869) and .314 from 3-point land (100-of-318). Privateer foes are averaging 73.7 points, 33.1 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 8.9 steals and 3.4 blocks so far in 2016-17.

"They're playing really hard and very unselfishly on the offensive end, and they need to continue to be," Slessinger said of his squad. "We've had different guys step up each night. We've had some guys step up and both make great defensive efforts and offensive efforts. It's been a total team effort both in training and in practice, and on the floor. I'm so proud of their attitudes and how they've worked to get us back in this position. This is where we've always envisioned the program to be, and I know the people who have come here before us with our great tradition and our alumni expect us to be as well. Hopefully we can continue to work and in the mix."

Sam Houston State, meanwhile, is looking to build on the momentum of consecutive league wins with a 74-67 win at McNeese on Jan. 5 and a 74-61 home victory over Nicholls on Jan. 7. As a team, SHSU are averaging 77.2 points, 39.4 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 7.9 steals and 2.9 blocks per game. Dakarai Henderson leads a balanced Sam Houston offense with a 10.9 point-per-game average while Aurimas Majauskas, Chris Galbreath, Jr., Torry Butler and John Dewey, III, follow with respective scoring marks of 9.4, 9.3, 8.6 and 8.2. Butler leads the squad in rebounding and blocked shots with 7.2 boards and 0.8 swats per outing with Dewey pacing the unit in assists and steals with 5.1 dimes and 1.6 thefts per contest.

The Bearkats are hitting 44.1 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 478-of-1085 attempts, including a 100-of-342 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.292). The Sam Houston State defense has allowed opponents to post a 41.4 shooting percentage (386-of-933) and a 34.7 clip from 3-point land (132-of-380) and their foes are averaging 72.5 points, 35.5 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.2 blocks per game.

"They're extremely well coached," Slessinger added. "Jason Hooten and I have gone against each other as assistants and head coaches in this league for probably 13 or 14 years now. I think they're very good. They've got incredible depth. They'll go 12 guys deep. Their guard play is good. They've got forwards that will score. They're about as total a package as a team as there is in this league. Our work is going to be cut out for us."

Thursday's game between New Orleans and Sam Houston State marks the ninth meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the Privateers trail in the all-time series, 2-6. Since joining the Southland Conference for the 2013-14 campaign, UNO is 0-4 against the Bearkats with the last two gamed being decided by a total of just nine points.

The Privateers won the first two head-to-head matchups with a 98-85 victory on Dec. 1, 1970, in the Human Performance Center and a 99-67 decision on Jan. 15, 1987, in New Orleans' current facility. It's been all Sam Houston State since then, however, as the Bearkats hold a 3-1 overall mark in Lakefront Arena.

Sam Houston State swept a pair of games in 2013-14 with a 77-70 win on Jan. 18 in New Orleans and an 80-61 victory on March 8 in Huntsville. Two seasons ago, the Bearkats escaped Lakefront Arena with a 68-62 win on Jan. 10, 2015, and came away with a 73-70 victory last Jan. 9 in Bernard Johnson Coliseum.

The game against the Bearkats is the first of a two-game homestand for New Orleans as the Privateers will enjoy a weekend off before returning to action on Thursday, Jan. 19, against Houston Baptist in Lakefront Arena. For tickets to that game, as well as 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.