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GAME NOTES: UNO | BAYLOR | SOUTHLAND
NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team (2-4) are traveling to Waco, Texas – home of the No. 17 Baylor Bears (4-2) – for a Wednesday afternoon contest at newly built Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.
UNO is coming off an upset victory Friday over the Tulane Green Wave. Meeting for the first time in almost eight years, the Privateers — an 18-point underdog — dominated the first half of the Crosstown Rivalry, racing out to a 39-27 halftime lead.
The Privateers maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half, with a 72-60 advantage after a
James White layup with 2:03 remaining. Tulane gradually found its way back into the contest, and a pair of late fouls by the Privateers — the first leading to a four-point play with 19 seconds left and the second resulting in three game-tying free throws with 0.9 seconds to play — forced an unlikely overtime.
Tulane took its second lead of the contest early in overtime when Asher Woods found Gregg Glenn III in the paint to make the score 82-81. White responded for the Privateers, knocking down a three-pointer to give New Orleans a lead they did not relinquish. A dunk by
Jah Short and a layup from White sealed the deal for New Orleans, which won 93-87 after outscoring Tulane 14-8 in overtime.
White scored a career-high 31 points for the Privateers, becoming the first player to reach the 30-point mark for New Orleans since
Jordan Johnson against HCU last season. He currently leads the Southland in scoring average (20.7), rebounding average (8.5), minutes per game (35.6) and double figure scoring games (4). The Conyers, Ga native has scored 20+ points in four of UNO's last five outings.
On the defensive side of the floor UNO has made a habit of taking the ball away from everyone they've played early this season. The Privateers currently rank No. 3 in the Southland (and No. 33 in the NCAA) at 9.67 steals per game. KenPom has UNO's Steal% at 13.1 - No. 32 in the NCAA.
Jah Short leads the way defensively for UNO ranking first in the Southland with 2.50 swipes a game and 19th in the entire NCAA with 37 total steals. Short has had at least one steal in five of six contests this year and two games with four steals - Troy and Lindenwood.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
The Bears enter Wednesday's contest coming off a defeat in the Baha Mar Championship finals. Senior forward Norchad Omeir averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds during the three games of the tournament and is the current Big 12 Player of the Week.
The big man from Bluefields, Nicaragua, now has 72 double-doubles in his career, the most among active NCAA student-athletes. Omeir is currently 19th in the NCAA with 10.0 rebounds per game and 25th with 3.67 offensive boards per game.
Baylor was picked fourth in the Big 12's preseason poll. Omeir and Jeremy Roach were named to the Second Team All-Conference, with Roach also being named Preseason Co-Newcomer of the Year. The Bears opened the season with a defeat at No. 6 Gonzaga before picking up wins over No. 16 Arkansas, Sam Houston State, Tarleton, and No. 22 St. John's. No. 11 Tennessee beat Baylor in the championship game of the Baha Mar Championships.
COVERAGE
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CST, and the game will be aired on ESPN+. Fans can also listen the action locally or online on
The Ticket 106. FM. Updates will be available @PrivateerHoops on
X, and live stats will be available here.
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