NEW ORLEANS – Join us for postseason basketball at Lakefront Arena for the first time since March 16, 1994 (NIT vs. Texas A&M) as the University of New Orleans (15-16) welcomes the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (15-17) Wednesday at 7 p.m. for round one of the College Basketball Invitational.
The game will be streamed on
UNOPrivateers.com and
SouthlandDigitalNetwork.com. Tickets are available for as low as $5 and all UNO students with valid ID receive free admission. There will be a shuttle bus from dorms as well.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Game Notes:
http://unoprivateers.com/sports/2017/11/6/mens-basketball-game-notes.aspx
Live Stats:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/uno/mbball/
Listen:
http://unoprivateers.com/watch/
Watch:
SouthlandDigitalNetwork.com
Tickets:
https://tkt.xosn.com//tickets/EventsCentral.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=34300
Social Media
Twitter:
@PrivateersMBB
Instagram:
@PrivateersMBB
Facebook:
/PrivateersMBB
TIP-OFF
• Back-to-back postseason berths for New Orleans features the first CBI appearance for UNO with the Privateers hosting UTRGV Wednesday at 7 p.m.
• It is the 12th postseason appearance for UNO.
• The Privateers are 350-117 all-time at Lakefront Arena.
•
Makur Puou swatted four shots and added seven rebounds and 11 points in the quarterfinals game versus No. 4 Sam Houston State.
•
Ezekiel Charles led the club with 12 points and
Lamont Berzat came off the bench with nine points and two steals.
• Puou is averaging 8.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks.
• The freshmen class has stepped up with starters
Troy Green (7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists),
Damion Rosser (4.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists) and reserve Berzat (3.8 points, 1.5 assists).
•
Next up: A victory would see UNO travel to the winner of Campbell/Miami (Ohio) Monday, March 19.
• New Orleans fell to Mount St. Mary's 67-66 in the NCAA First Four matchup last season.
• The game will be streamed on Southland Digital Network.
• The Privateers dominated the all-time series, leading 28-10 versus the former UT Pan American Broncs, now UTRGV Vaqueros.
•
Tickets: Purchase your tickets today by visiting
UNOPrivateers.com/CBI.
ABOUT THE PRIVATEERS
Back-to-back postseason appearances lead the Privateers into the first round of the 2018 College Basketball Invitational. New Orleans is 9-3 at Lakefront Arena in 2017-18 and 61-28 at home overall under head coach
Mark Slessinger (seventh season).
The Privateers were led by
Ezekiel Charles' 12 points and
Makur Puou added 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks but the highlight of last week's quarterfinals appearance versus Sam Houston State came postgame when freshman
Lamont Berzat addressed media in the press conference.
"New Orleans is the best city in the world. There's nowhere else better than here." The Privateers look to defend homecourt opening the CBI versus UTRGV Wednesday at 7 p.m.
UNO is No. 22 nationally in turnovers forced (15.45). The Privateers are 8-5 versus Texas schools in 2017-18.
ABOUT THE VAQUEROS
Spanish for cowboy, the UTRGV (formerly UT Pan American) Vaqueros compete in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Vaqueros are led by second-year head coach Lew Hill, who joined the South Texas program after a five-year stint as assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma.
One of the most aggressive teams in the country, UTRGV heads to the line at will, with 818 attempts this season (seventh most in NCAA Division I), draining 604 (sixth). Also aggressive defensively, the Vaqueros force 15.75 turnovers per game (17th), rank 27th in steals per game (7.7), 39th in total steals (245), 44th in turnover margin (2.3).
Nick Dixon is one of the nation's top scorers, averaging 20.6 points per game and his 219 free throws made are third most. He is one free throw away from tying for the school mark.
Wednesday marks the second postseason appearance since UTRGV made the move to Division I and first since 1981.
THE SERIES
New Orleans leads the all-time series 28-10 and 15-3 when hosting UTRGV.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
Overall 28-10
Home: 15-3 | Away: 12-7 | Neutral: 1-0 | Streak: L1
01/31/81 H L 56-66
02/16/81 A L 65-75
01/30/82 H W 77-56
02/20/82 A W 88-68
01/17/83 A W 69-59
02/03/83 H W 71-63
02/13/84 A W 62-56
03/10/84 H W 73-67
02/11/85 A W 93-76
03/09/85 H W 70-66
01/29/86 A W 72-70
03/08/86 H L 54-58
02/21/87 A W 73-72
02/06/88 H W 69-48
02/27/88 A L 86-91
01/19/89 H L 51-52
02/09/89 A L 51-66
01/27/90 A W 74-69
02/17/90 H W 78-68
03/04/90 N/1 W 48-44
01/19/91 H W 72-54
02/16/91 A L 67-73
01/04/92 H W 56-49
03/01/92 A W 69-57
01/11/93 H W 83-62
02/11/93 A W 81-63
01/17/94 A L 56-59
02/19/94 H W 74-64
12/30/94 A L 64-72
01/07/95 H W 67-46
01/04/96 A W 69-50
01/27/96 H W 58-54
01/11/97 H W 89-44
02/06/97 A W 76-60
01/29/98 H W 75-62
02/21/98 A W 88-78
02/06/13 H W 75-73 (ot)
03/03/13 A L 57-71
1 – American South Conference Tournament (Jonesboro, Ark.)
OUT OF RETIREMENT
Beginning his career as a student manager,
Matthew Jiles was a conference and tournament champion, member of an NCAA postseason season and became a walk-on co-captain. A four-year member of the New Orleans team, his retirement was shorter than a week's time as the guard will participate in the College Basketball Invitational, beginning Wednesday. No press conference necessary for MJ. Be sure to find him on Madden - the self-proclaimed Madden King of the team.
SOUTHLAND DIGITAL NETWORK
Wednesday's game will be streamed for free on the Southland Digital Network and UNOPrivateers.com. For full coverage, be sure to follow @PrivateersMBB on Twitter and Instagram and like /PrivateersMBB on Facebook.
LONE WOLF
Makur Puou is the only starter from the 2017-18 team on the tournament roster, providing the veteran leadership alongside
Michael Zeno to a young group. In fact, seven of the nine players that saw action in Wednesday's win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi made their Southland Conference Tournament debut.
ZEKE WITH THE PUNCH
In his postseason debut,
Ezekiel Charles reached double figures in back-to-back Southland Conference Tournament games with 15 points in Wednesday's win over the Islanders and a team-high 12 points Thursday against the Bearkats. Zeke's 15 points tied a career-high, mark he set three times this season.
FROM THE GAZELLE GROUP
PRINCETON, N.J. – The 16-team field for the 2018 College Basketball Invitational is finalized. The 11th annual CBI will begin with one eight First Round game on Tuesday, March 13, and seven First Round games on Wednesday, March 14.
—- FIRST ROUND —- All times ET
March 13 – Eastern Washington at Utah Valley, 9pm
March 14 – Colgate at San Francisco, 10pm
March 14 – Miami (Ohio) at Campbell, 7pm
March 14 – UTRGV at New Orleans, 8pm
March 14 – North Texas at South Dakota, 8pm
March 14 – Mercer at Grand Canyon, 10pm
March 14 – Central Arkansas at Seattle, 10pm
March 14 – Jacksonville State at Canisius, 7pm
The CBI is a single-elimination tournament up until the best-of-three Finals, with all games played at campus sites. After the First Round games, the Quarterfinal Round will take place on Monday, March 19, followed by the Semifinal Round on Wednesday, March 21. Prior to the semifinals, the remaining teams will be re-bracketed. The Finals series is a best-of-three in which one team will host two of the three games. Those games will be played on March 26, March 28, and March 30.
Past CBI champions include Tulsa, Oregon State, VCU, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Santa Clara, Siena, Loyola Chicago, Nevada, and Wyoming. Teams from nearly every conference have participated in the event. Twenty-eight teams have used the CBI to springboard to the NCAA Tournament the following year, while another 18 have gone on to the NIT.
ESPN is again the official television home of the CBI. ESPNU will televise each game of the best-of-three Championship Series. Roy Philpott and Jason Capel will serve as the broadcast team.
The College Basketball Invitational is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, Legends Classic, and the Gotham Classic. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.
ENERGY FROM CHAMP
Diontae Champion scored a season-high 16 points off the bench in the regular season finale against regular season champions Southeastern Louisiana.
PASS THE ROCK
The offense clicked at a crucial time Feb. 17 with New Orleans picking up 27 assists in the 90-74 victory over McNeese. It was the most since 2013 when the Privateers tallied 27 in a win over Champions Baptist.
SLESS REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
Head coach
Mark Slessinger is just eight wins away from 100 in his Privateer career. He looks to become the third coach in program history to reach the century mark.
RECORD BOOK CHANGES
Privateer faithful have seen
Mark Slessinger move up the ranks this season with the seventh-year coach now second on the most games coached, five behind Ron Greene.
Most Games
211, Ron Greene, 1969-77
206,
Mark Slessinger, 2011-Present
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE POSTSEASON RECORD
A record seven teams received postseason nods this season. Stephen F. Austin earned the March Madness bid, winning the Southland Conference Tournament. A No. 14 seed in the East Region, the 'Jacks take on Texas Tech Thursday in Dallas at 6:27 p.m. CT on TruTV.
Southeastern Louisiana are the No. 8 seed in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and head to No. 1 St. Mary's for a 9 p.m. tip Tuesday on ESPNU.
New Orleans and Central Arkansas will compete in the College Basketball Invitational. The Privateers host UTRGV Wednesday at 7 p.m. and UCA heads to Seattle Wednesday at 9 p.m. It's a battle of Southland vs. WAC programs.
Abilene Christian, Lamar and Sam Houston State earned spots in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). ACU fell to Drake in overtime Monday 80-73 on CBS Sports Network. Lamar will face UTSA Wednesday at a site to be determined and Sam Houston State earned a first-round bye and will await a winner from Monday's first four games.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow
@PrivateersMBB on Twitter,
@PrivateersMBB on Instagram, like
/PrivateersMBB on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
