Men's Basketball To Face Nicholls On Saturday In Homecoming 2017 Contest

SCHEDULE OF HOMECOMING FESTIVITIES
NEW ORLEANS NOTES | NICHOLLS NOTES
LIVE STATS | LISTEN LIVE | WATCH LIVE

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans will look to return to its winning ways and get healthy off a little home cooking as the Privateers play host to Southland Conference foe Nicholls in a Homecoming 2017 contest on Saturday, Feb. 4, in Lakefront Arena. The contest is tentatively slated to tipoff at 6:15 p.m.

The game between UNO and Nicholls is the second half of a doubleheader as both school's women's programs will play at 2 p.m. and the men's showdown will be preceded by the presentation of the Homecoming Court. The 2017 king and queen will be crowned at halftime of Saturday's nightcap.

In addition to the festivities, the men's contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and re-aired locally on WHNO-TV on Saturday at 11 p.m. and again on Monday at 4 p.m.

"It's great to be home," UNO head coach Mark Slessinger said. "This is a key stretch where we don't get to play home much, but it's a big one against a big rival in Nicholls. They're a team that is very, very good this year. They're playing well and have some senior guys in [JáDanté] Frye and [Liam] Thomas that have been really good throughout the year, and throughout their careers.

"We know we'll have our work cut out for us, but there's a ton of stuff happening with everybody on campus. We know it's going to be a fun day for everybody coming back and all of the student activities involved. It's going to be a huge night."

The Privateers enter the weekend 12-9 on the year, 7-3 in Southland Conference play and looking to snap a two-game skid after dropping road contests to Stephen F. Austin, 71-61 on Jan. 28, and Abilene Christian, 70-69 in overtime on Feb. 1.

As a team, New Orleans is averaging 73.1 points, 35.7 rebounds, 16.5 assists, 7.9 steals and 3.2 blocks per game. Senior forward Erik Thomas leads the Privateers offensively with 19.8 points per game, followed by senior guards Christavious Gill at 11.9 and Nate Frye with a mark of 10.5. Thomas also paces the team with 7.6 rebounds a night with junior forward Travin Thibodeaux leading the squad with 3.8 assists per game. Gill and Thomas share team-high steal honors with 1.5 thefts per outing each and junior forward Makur Puou headlines the defense with 1.3 blocked shots per contest.

New Orleans is connecting at a .475 clip from the field, hitting 555-of-1168 shots from the floor and 89-of-274 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.325), while allowing opponents to shoot .449 overall (535-of-1191) and .320 from 3-point land (137-of-428). Privateer foes are averaging 71.4 points, 32.0 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 8.8 steals and 3.0 blocks so far in 2016-17.

Nicholls, meanwhile, comes to town 11-12 on the season, 4-6 in Southland action and looking to bounce back from a 72-44 loss at Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday night.

As a team, the Colonels are averaging 73.8 points, 32.5 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 8.1 steals and 6.0 blocks per game. JáDanté Frye leads three Nicholls student-athletes averaging double figures offensively with a 15.2 point-per-game average while Johnathan Bell and Lafayette Rutledge follow with respective scoring marks of 13.5 and 10.1. Frye also paces the team in rebounds with 6.2 boards per outing and Liam Thomas leads the way in blocked shots with 3.9 swats per contest. Jahvaughn Powell headlines the squad in assists and steals with 4.0 dimes and 2.2 thefts per outing.

Nicholls is hitting 42.3 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 566-of-1339 attempts, including a 191-of-573 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.333). The Colonel defense has allowed opponents to post a 47.5 shooting percentage (657-of-1382) and a 39.2 clip from 3-point land (184-of-469) and their foes are averaging 78.7 points, 40.2 rebounds, 15.7 assists, 6.2 steals and 3.7 blocks per game.

Saturday's game between New Orleans and Nicholls marks the 26th meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the Privateers hold a 16-9 advantage in the all-time series. Since joining the Southland Conference for the 2013-14 season, UNO is 3-4 against the Colonels with one of those wins coming in the 2015 SLC Tournament.

The series with Nicholls dates back to the first season of UNO basketball as the Privateers dropped an 82-80 road overtime decision on Dec. 6, 1969. From there, New Orleans sandwiched a pair of six-game winning streaks around a single Colonel win from 1970 through 2001. Since then, however, Nicholls has emerged victorious in seven of the last 11 meetings.

Home court advantage has played a major role in the series to date as UNO is 10-2 against Nicholls in New Orleans while the Colonels hold a 7-4 edge in contests played in Thibodaux. The Privateers have won the only two neutral-site games between the two programs.

Following the game against Nicholls, UNO will play at McNeese on Thursday, Feb. 9, and at Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, Feb. 11, before returning to the Crescent City to take on Central Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 18, in Lakefront Arena. For tickets to that game, 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.