THIBODAUX, La. – No. 3 New Orleans (16-11, 11-5 Southland) visits No. 11 Nicholls (12-16, 5-10 Southland) Saturday looking to avenge a one-point loss to the Colonels earlier in the year. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. from Stopher Gymnasium.
It's not necessarily a must-win scenario for the Privateers, but a victory for UNO and a loss by Abilene Christian would move New Orleans back to No. 2. The top two teams in the Southland Conference receive a double-bye and advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament. Seeds No. 3 and 4 receive a bye and take on the winners of Wednesday's contests on Thursday. Nicholls, on the other hand, needs to win its final three games of the regular season to return to Katy as the Colonels are currently ranked 11
th in the league.
TIP OFF
• With two regular season games remaining before the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, New Orleans (currently No. 3 in the league) visits Nicholls (tied for 11th).
• The Privateers are pushing for a double-bye spot, just one game behind Abilene Christian in the loss column. The top two seeds in the Southland advance to the semifinals of the tournament, with No. 3 (currently UNO) and No. 4 earning a single bye to face the winners of Wednesday's contests.
• Nicholls will likely need to win all three of its regular season meetings to earn a spot in the tournament.
• The Privateers are 5-8 away from Lakefront Arena, while the Colonels are 7-3 on Broussard Court in Stopher Gymnasium.
• Following the one-point setback to Nicholls in early February, UNO won three consecutive games to clinch its spot in the SLC Tourney in two weeks.
• The starting lineup of
Bryson Robinson,
Jorge Rosa,
Damion Rosser,
Gerrale Gates and
Scott Plaisance Jr. is 3-1 this season.
• Plaisance Jr. tallied a career-high five blocks in Wednesday's setback to No. 1 Sam Houston State. The senior has swatted 11 shots in the last five games.
• Robinson paces the club with 11.3 points and 2.7 assists and Rosser adds over two assists and 1.6 steals/game.
• The forward duo (Gates and Plaisance Jr.) combine for 18.0 points and 10 rebounds
HOW TO FOLLOW
Game Notes:
http://unoprivateers.com/sports/2017/11/6/mens-basketball-game-notes.aspx
Live Stats:
https://unoprivateers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Audio:
http://unoprivateers.com/watch/
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/user/nichollsathletics/live
Social Media
Twitter:
@PrivateersMBB
Instagram:
@PrivateersMBB
Facebook:
PrivateersMBB
ABOUT THE PRIVATEERS
The Privateers are on the road for the remainder of the regular season and look to earn the second seed in the upcoming Southland Tournament. New Orleans is currently a game back in the loss column to Abilene Christian, though the Wildcats have one more regular season game left to play.
In the previous meeting with the Colonels,
Scott Plaisance Jr. posted his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with his three blocks. It was the final game for
Ezekiel Charles, who chipped in 14 points and eight boards.
Gerrale Gates added 15 points and eight rebounds.
ABOUT THE COLONELS
In a must-win position, Nicholls looks to defend its home floor and bounce back from a home loss Wednesday to McNeese. Led by Jeremiah Jefferson, who enters the weekend sixth in the league with 16.3 points per game, Nicholls has attempted 808 three-pointers on the year. Against the Cowboys, Jefferson finished with 26 points. Gavin Peppers is averaging 14.3 points per game.
A three-pointer by Danny Garrick gave the Colonels the one-point victory over the Privateers in the first meeting this season.
THE SERIES
New Orleans and Nicholls will meet for the 31st time Saturday. The Privateers are 18-12 all-time versus the Colonels.
WINS BY LOUISIANA SCHOOLS
New Orleans ranks fourth in the state in wins (Division I programs). Below is the breakdown
LSU, 23
Louisiana Tech, 18
Louisiana, 17
New Orleans, 16
ULM, 15
Southeastern Louisiana, 14
Grambling State, 13
Nicholls , 12
Northwestern State, 11
McNeese, 9
Southern, 5
Tulane, 4
BACK-TO-BACK
The 16 overall wins and 11 conference victories matched last season's totals.
SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE
Purchase your tickets to the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas March 13-16 by visiting UNOPrivateers.com/SLC. Full books for all sessions are just $80. Currently in third, the Privateers would not participate until day two, having earned a single bye.
UNDER SLESS
Since joining the Southland Conference, the Privateers are 55-51 in league play.
JAHMEL VS THE COWBOYS
In his freshman season, it seems
Jahmel Myers found a favorite opponent as the forward scored 15 points in each of the wins over McNeese. Jah continues to be pivotal on the frontcourt for UNO and his shot has improved as the lefty enters the weekend shooting 44.6 percent on the year. From downtown, he is 4-of-8 and at times, has stepped back in crucial moments to drain a triple.
BERZAT IS BACK
Lamont Berzat made his return to the Privateers February 20 in the win over Southeastern Louisiana. Berzat missed two months due to injury and returned in limited minutes for UNO.
DAME
Damion Rosser dished out six assists and added two blocked shots. The sophomore is averaging 8.4 points on 49.4 percent shooting, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
SCOTTIE NO NO NO
Scott Plaisance Jr. is swatting away shots at will inside, with 17 blocks in the last eight games, including five in Wednesday's setback to Sam Houston State (Feb. 27). The senior posted his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in Feb. 9's loss to Saturday's opponent Nicholls.
HIP HIP JORGE
Reinserted into the starting lineup Saturday, senior
Jorge Rosa will look to provide perimeter offense for the Privateers. In his second start of the season, Rosa drained two triples in 19 minutes of action. In Feb. 20 win over the Lions, Rosa drained six triples for 18 points.
FREE THROW IMPROVEMENT
In the victory vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 16), the Privateers connected on 20-of-24 from the line, making 20+ free throws for the seventh time this season. In Saturday's win at McNeese, UNO went 14-of-17 from the charity stripe.
SWARMING DEFENSE
With a defense in the top five nationally in steals and turnovers, UNO has forced 15+ turnovers 19 times this season and 20+ seven times. The Privateers have collected 10+ steals 12 times. UNO is 13-6 when forcing 15-plus miscues.
WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN
Head coach
Mark Slessinger said the club is as balanced offensively as any team in the conference. New Orleans is 9-0 when four or more players reached double figures.
REACH 70? IT'S ALL UNO
New Orleans will look to continue to surpass the 70-point plateau. When the Privateers score 70 or more points, they are 12-2.
PRIVATEERS IN DOUBLEHEADERS
Men's basketball is 6-2 in 2018-19 when playing immediately after the women.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow
@PrivateersMBB on Twitter,
@PrivateersMBB on Instagram, like
/PrivateersMBB on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
