Men's Basketball To Play At Northwestern State On Saturday

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NEW ORLEANS – In what has been a season of resurgence for the Privateers, the University of New Orleans men's basketball team can claim at least a share of the Southland Conference regular-season championship on Saturday, Feb. 25, when they travel to Natchitoches, La., to take on Northwestern State in Prather Coliseum.

The game is the second half of a doubleheader as the women's teams from both schools will open the day with a 1 p.m. contest and the men slated to start a 3 p.m. While the Privateers can clinch their first conference title since winning a share of the Sun Belt crown in 1997, the game will be an emotional one for UNO head coach Mark Slessinger as he returns to face a team he was an assistant coach for from 2000-11.

"It's my former place of employment," Slessinger said in a moment of reflection. "It's a place I was at for 11 years. It's a hard place to win and we'll be going against a guy in Mike McConathy who is the reason for where I am today because he gave me an opportunity. He's Louisiana's all-time college wins coach. It's going to be a big night and a hard game for us."

The Privateers head to Natchitoches 17-9 on the year, 12-3 in Southland Conference play and riding the crest of a five-game winning streak, including an 82-65 win over four-time defending SLC champion Stephen F. Austin on Thursday night in Lakefront Arena.

As a team, New Orleans is averaging 73.4 points, 35.8 rebounds, 16.2 assists, 8.1 steals and 3.2 blocks per game. Senior forward Erik Thomas leads the Privateers offensively with 19.9 points per game, followed by senior guards Christavious Gill at 11.7 and Nate Frye with a mark of 10.7. Thomas also paces the team with 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals a night with junior forward Travin Thibodeaux leading the squad with 3.5 assists per game. Junior forward Makur Puou headlines the defense with 1.4 blocked shots per contest.

New Orleans is connecting at a .473 clip from the field, hitting 677-of-1432 shots from the floor and 119-of-354 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.336), while allowing opponents to shoot .445 overall (653-of-1469) and .312 from 3-point land (166-of-532). Privateer foes are averaging 69.6 points, 32.0 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.1 blocks so far in 2016-17.

Northwestern State, meanwhile, enters the weekend 10-16 on the season, 4-11 in Southland action and looking to bounce back from an 88-68 loss to Lamar on Wednesday night in Prather Coliseum.

As a team, the Demons are averaging 75.1 points, 36.3 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.8 blocks per game. Zeek Woodley, who missed 25 games due to injury, leads the offense with 17.5 points per game while Sabri Thompson, Ishmael Lane and Devonte Hall follow with respective scoring averages of 13.3, 10.8 and 1.0. Lane paces the squad in rebounds and blocked shots with 6.2 boards and 0.8 swats per outing, and Hall headlines the club in assists and steal with 4.9 dimes and 1.4 thefts per contest.

Northwestern State is hitting 43.6 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 665-of-1524 attempts, including a 175-of-486 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.360). The Demon defense has allowed opponents to post a 47.4 shooting percentage (734-of-1550) and a 38.4 clip from 3-point land (210-of-547) and their foes are averaging 79.6 points, 36.9 rebounds, 16.6 assists, 7.0 steals and 3.3 blocks per game.

Saturday's game between New Orleans and Northwestern State marks the 10th meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the Privateers hold a slight 5-4 advantage in the all-time series. Since joining the Southland Conference for the 2013-14 campaign, and UNO is 2-3 against the Demons with both wins coming last season.

All told, UNO is 2-1 against Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La., 2-3 in New Orleans and 1-0 on a neutral court.

Following the game against the Demons, UNO will close out the home portion of the 2016-17 schedule on March 2 against Southeastern Louisiana before wrapping up the regular season on March 4 at Nicholls. For tickets to Privateers' game against the Lions, as well as future New Orleans Athletics events, contact the UNO Athletics Ticket Office over the phone at (504) 280-GAME (4263) or via the Internet by clicking HERE.