TV: B1G Network | RADIO: The Ticket 106.1 FM | LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES: UNO | IOWA | SOUTHLAND | B1G
NEW ORLEANS – After dropping a hard-fought conference opener last Saturday it's back to nonconference play for the University of New Orleans men's basketball team (2-6, 0-1 Southland) with a trip to Iowa City, Iowa for matchup with Iowa Hawkeyes (7-3, 1-1 B1G) on Sunday afternoon.
Trailing by as many as 12 points midway through the second half in their Southland Conference opener at Nicholls, Saturday,
Stacy Hollowell's Privateers mounted a comeback that fell just short. With 23 seconds remaining and New Orleans down by just three, a play that appeared to be a held ball between UNO's
MJ Thomas and Nicholls' Meki Collins was ruled a foul on Thomas. Collins missed the first free throw of the one-and-one but secured his own rebound, allowing the Colonels make free throws down the stretch and hold on for a 73-70 victory.
Four Privateers scored in double figures that afternoon at Stopher Gymnasium:
MJ Thomas contributed 16 points and 9 rebounds,
James White added 15 points and 5 rebounds, while
Jah Short and
JR Jacobs each scored 12 points.
James White continues to lead the Privateers in scoring (18.5) and rebounding (7.5). Those totals are first and second in the Southland Conference. White's 6.5 defensive rebounds per game are also tops in the league.
MJ Thomas ranks No. 5 in the league in rebounding (6.5), and No. in offensive boards per game (2.9).
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
Iowa enters Sunday's contest with a 7-3 record, including a 1-1 mark in conference play. The Hawkeyes currently sit in ninth place in the Big Ten, two spots higher than their preseason projection of 11th. They are coming off an 89-80 loss to Iowa State in their most recent game.
Iowa boasts an efficient offense, ranking ninth in the NCAA in assists per game (19.2), 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83), and 15th in turnover margin (5.6). The Hawkeyes average 85.5 points per game, good for 24th in the NCAA.
Defensively, they rank 22nd in the country in turnovers forced per game (16.1). Drew Thelwell is ninth in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio and has the fifth-most steals among active Big Ten student-athletes in his career.
Owen Freeman leads the Hawkeyes in scoring (16.8), field goal percentage (.644), rebounds (7.0), and offensive rebounds (2.3).
While it's the first meeting between the two schools, the Privateers have played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena twice before. UNO dropped a pair of games in the 2001 Guardians Classic – first to
Boston University 69-63, and then to
Maryland Eastern Shore 48-45.
COVERAGE
Sunday afternoon's game is set to tip off at 1 p.m. and with air on the B1G Network for cable subscribers. It will also be streamed live on both
FoxSports.com and the
Fox Sports Mobile App. Radio coverage will be available on The Ticket 106.1 FM with Jude Young describing the action.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Keep up to date with everything New Orleans Privateers Men's Basketball. Follow @PrivateersHoops on both
Twitter/X, and
Instagram, like /
PrivateersHoops on Facebook and subscribe to the
UNOPrivateers YouTube channel.
