NEW ORLEANS – Join us for postseason basketball at Lakefront Arena as the University of New Orleans (19-13) hosts Texas Southern University (21-13) Wednesday at 7 p.m.
It's the third consecutive postseason appearance for the Privateers, following the 2017 NCAA Tournament and 2018 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
Fans can follow live stats and audio on
UNOPrivateers.com. Video will be streamed for free on
WatchCIT.com.
The Privateers advanced to the championship of the 2019 Southland Tournament, while the Tigers appeared in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
TIP-OFF
• New Orleans hosts round one of the CIT Wednesday, welcoming Texas Southern to Lakefront Arena.
• The Privateers are 12-2 at Lakefront Arena this season.
• UNO won its postseason opener last season, also at home, upending UTRGV in round one of the CBI.
• The starting lineup of
Bryson Robinson,
Jorge Rosa,
Damion Rosser,
Gerrale Gates and
Scott Plaisance Jr. are 5-3.
• New Orleans is 3-0 all-time versus Texas Southern, but haven't played since 1993.
• The Privateers and Tigers both advanced to the championship game of their respective conferences.
• New Orleans is holding opponents to 32.0 percent shooting from behind-the-arc.
• The Privateers rank in the top 10 nationally in steals and turnovers forced.
• In the championship game,
Bryson Robinson posted 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range, and
Scott Plaisance Jr. went 5-of-9 for 13 points. The senior added eight rebounds.
•
Jahmel Myers and
Troy Green came off the bench with nine points apiece.
•
Jorge Rosa scored eight points.
• New Orleans has eight wins against Texas schools this season
• The Privateers have not played a SWAC program since November 27, 2011. UNO defeated Alcorn State 63-56.
ABOUT THE PRIVATEERS
For the second consecutive season, New Orleans will host a postseason game as the Privateers take on Texas Southern Wednesday at 7 p.m. on WatchCIT.com.
Seniors
Scott Plaisance Jr. and
Jorge Rosa paced the Privateers to a championship appearance in the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament, the second time in three years. Plaisance Jr. received all-tournament honors after posting 13 points and eight rebounds in the championship game. In the win over Lamar, Scottie P finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
UNO had the toughest route to the championship game, eliminating the hottest team in the Southland in Lamar and the regular season champion in Sam Houston State. The Cardinals won nine in a row headed to their matchup vs. the Privateers, while the Bearkats defeated UNO by 10 in the lone regular season meeting.
Jorge Rosa posted 11 three-pointers in the tournament, including a 4-for-4 performance vs. the Bearkats. Rosa went 7-for-7 with 18 points in the semifinals win.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
With 10 NCAA Division I transfers on the roster under first-year coach Johnny Jones, Texas Southern advanced to the championship game of the SWAC Tournament. Jones was the head coach for LSU for five seasons.
LSU transfer Jeremy Combs was named the SWAC Player of the Year after leading the Tigers to a 14-4 conference mark.
Combs added 9.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
THE SERIES
The Privateers are 3-0 versus the Tigers, though the programs haven't met since the 1993-94 campaign.
ABOUT THE CIT
Much like the old NIT model, there are no seeds or brackets in the CIT. After the first round, matchups for the second round will be released on CollegeInsider.com following the conclusion of the last first round game. Below are the matchups and results.
The 2019 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (All Times EST)
First Round
MONDAY, MARCH 18
NJIT 92, Quinnipiac 81
TUESDAY, MARCH 19
Cornell (15-15) vs. Robert Morris (17-16) 7:00 pm
IUPUI (16-16) vs. Marshall (19-14) 7:00 pm
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20
Green Bay (17-16) vs. ETSU (24-9) 7:00 pm
Texas Southern (21-13) vs. New Orleans (19-13) 8:00 pm
Grambling (17-16) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley (19-16) 8:00 pm
Presbyterian (18-15) vs. Seattle (18-14) 10:00 pm
THURSDAY, MARCH 21
FAU (17-15) vs. Charleston Southern (17-15) 7:00 pm
Saint Francis Brooklyn (17-15) vs. Hampton (16-17) 7:00 pm
CSU Bakersfield (16-15) vs. Cal State Fullerton (16-17) 10:00 pm
Kent State (22-10) vs. UL Monroe (18-15) 8:00 pm
FRIDAY, MARCH 22
Drake (24-9) vs. Southern Utah (16-16) 8:30 pm
SATURDAY, MARCH 23
FIU (19-13) vs. Texas State (24-9) 7:00 pm
Second Round - NOTE: Top 3 seeds will get a bye after first round
Quarterfinals- March 27-31
Semifinals - April 2
Championship - April 4
AROUND THE STATE
New Orleans is tied for third in the state in wins (Division I programs). The Privateers, ULM and Grambling State are competing in the CIT, while LSU will take on Yale in the NCAA Tournament Thursday at 11 a.m.
YOU WON 100? HEY SO DID I!!!
Saturday's meeting between good friends
Mark Slessinger and Joe Golding draws a lot of similarities as the two coaches earned their 100th career victory on the same night (Jan. 9). New Orleans hosts the first round of the CIT, while the Wildcats drew a No. 15 seed in the tournament and take on No. 2 Kentucky.
TEAM EFFORT
Head coach
Mark Slessinger has always said the MVP of the team is the team. It showed throughout the regular season and tournament and UNO looks to continues its selflessness during the CIT push.
EL DOMINICANO
Jorge Rosa for three!!!!
Jorge Rosa for three!!!
Jorge Rosa for three!!! Privateer fans have gotten used to hearing that since the graduate student returned to the starting lineup following the season-ending injury to all-conference guard
Ezekiel Charles. Rosa matched his career-high with 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting.
He posted 13 points in the round two win vs. No. 5 Lamar.
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.
SWARMING DEFENSE
With a defense in the top five nationally in steals and turnovers, UNO has forced 15+ turnovers 20 times this season and 20+ seven times. The Privateers have collected 10+ steals 12 times. UNO is 14-6 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 11-0 when four or more players reached double figures, including Friday's win over the Bearkats.
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 15-2 following the 76-72 win over No. 5 Lamar Thursday and the 79-76 triumph vs. No. 1 Sam Houston State Friday.
ALL CONFERENCE
Gerrale Gates made history Monday when the Charlotte native received Southland Freshman of the Year honors.
Gates became the third Privateer to earn conference freshman of the year honors joining Tory Walker (1998) and Bo McCalebb (2004). It is the third individual award for the Privateers following the 2017 Southland Player of the Year and Coach of the Year accolades for Erik Thomas and
Mark Slessinger, respectively.
Ezekiel Charles received third-team honors after leading the team in scoring and rebounding before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season and
Scott Plaisance Jr. received all-tournament honors.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow
@PrivateersMBB on Twitter,
@PrivateersMBB on Instagram, like
/PrivateersMBB on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
