NACOGDOCHES, Texas – William R. Johnson Coliseum is the site for the most anticipated matchup of date in the Southland Conference as the University of New Orleans (7-8, 4-0 Southland) visits SFA (13-3, 3-1 Southland) Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Privateers are atop the conference standings with a half-game lead over Southeastern Louisiana University. The defending champs were picked to finish sixth in the Southland Conference Preseason Poll while the Lumberjacks were the preseason favorites.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Game Notes:
http://unoprivateers.com/sports/2017/11/6/mens-basketball-game-notes.aspx
Live Stats:
http://sidearmstats.com/uno/mbball/
Listen (
Jude Young):
http://unoprivateers.com/watch/?Live=1189&type=Live
Watch:
http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3244857/new-orleans-vs-stephen-f-austin-m-basketball
Social Media
Twitter:
@PrivateersMBB
Instagram:
@PrivateersMBB
Facebook:
/PrivateersMBB
PLAYER OF THE WEEK… X2
Bryson Robinson was named Southland Conference and College Sports Madness Player of the Week after averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists. The Mesquite native connected on nine triples.
In Saturday's overtime victory at McNeese State University, Robinson went off to a tune of 31 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 7-of-8 from three-point range, eight rebounds and four assists.
The 31 points were the most since
Erik Thomas, last season's Southland Conference Player of the Year, poured in 31 in the opening victory versus LaGrange College (Nov. 11). The seven threes were the most since
Christavious Gill drained eight versus Northwestern State University March 5, 2016.
In the 72-62 win over Lamar Wednesday, BRob finished with 12 points, a career-high eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. Robinson went 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
TIP-OFF
• It's the most anticipated matchup thus far in the Southland Conference as the defending champions and 4-0 Privateers take on preseason favorite SFA at William R. Johnson Coliseum Wednesday at 7 p.m.
• The Lumberjacks are 9-0 at home this season and 2-0 when hosting New Orleans in the brief series history.
• A WIN WOULD...
- Give the Privateers a 5-0 start for the first time since 1992-93, when New Orleans went 18-0 en route to the Sun Belt Conference championship.
- Be the 85th career victory for head coach
Mark Slessinger, giving him sole possession of third place on the all-time wins list in program history.
- The win would be the 110th career head coaching victory for Slessinger, including his two-year stint at Northwest Pioneer.
- give UNO a five-game win streak for the first time since Feb. 4-Feb. 23 of last season, a streak that was capped by the 82-65 victory over SFA.
•
Ezekiel Charles leads the league in three-point shooting, connecting on 52.4 percent of his shots behind-the-arc.
ABOUT NEW ORLEANS
Many Southland Conference fans will be tuning into Wednesday's matchup between the Privateers and Lumberjacks as the defending champion and undefeated New Orleans squad invades William R. Johnson Coliseum to take on preseason favorite SFA at 7 p.m.
The game will be the fourth TV game for New Orleans this season and first since #RV SMU Dec. 13.
The Privateers are led by
Travin Thibodeaux's 15.8 points on 55.0 percent shooting, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks. His 2.9 assists rank second on the club.
A win would give UNO its first 5-0 start since the 1992-93 season.
On the year, BRob is averaging 8.7 points, tied with
Makur Puou for second most on the team and his 3.3 assists per game are tops.
Troy Green adds 8.1 points, 2.9 assists and 3.0 rebounds.
ABOUT SFA
Perfect at home (9-0), SFA's swarming defense leads the nation in turnovers forced and ranks second in total steals and steals per game. The relentless trap leads to 11.8 steals per game and the 6.3 turnover margin is No. 3 in the country, despite having zero players in the top 40 in the category. The Jacks are No. 11 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
Three players average double figures, led by Kevon Harris' 16.9 points. TJ Holyfield follows at 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds (tops) and Shannon Bogues comes off the bench with 14.0. All three are shooting 50.0 percent+.
After falling to Southeastern Louisiana - also undefeated but a half game behind the Privateers - in the Southland Conference opener, SFA defeated Nicholls at home 81-64 and upended Northwestern State 64-56 Saturday.
The Jacks lead the league in field goal percentage (49.1),
THE SERIES
The brief series began in 2014 with SFA taking the first four matchups between the two programs. However, the Privateers defeated the Lumberjacks 82-65 the last time they met (Feb. 23), a game that saw
Michael Zeno come off the bench with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
Date H/A/N W/L Score
Overall (1-4) | Home (1-2) | Away (0-2) | OT (0-0) | Southland (1-4)
| 2/27/14 * |
H |
L |
63-103 |
| 1/19/15 * |
A |
L |
54-79 |
| 1/18/16 * |
H |
L |
58-82 |
| 1/28/17 * |
A |
L |
61-71 |
| 2/23/17 * |
H |
W |
82-65 |
* - denotes Southland Conference
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
The Privateers began the calendar year with back-to-back College Sports Madness Players of the Week as
Bryson Robinson followed
Travin Thibodeaux as POW. Last week, Thibs also received Louisiana Sportswriters Association Player of the Week and this week, BRob was named Southland Conference POW.
HISTORY AWAITS
Should the Privateers defeat preseason favorite SFA Wednesday, they would hand the Lumberjacks their first home loss of the season and improve to 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 1992-93. That year's squad went 18-0 in Sun Belt play en route to the conference championship and March Madness appearance.
NEXT UP
The Privateers begin a three-game homestand with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday at 4:15 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow
@UNOPrivateers on Twitter,
@UNOPrivateers on Instagram, like
/UNOPrivateers on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
