HOUSTON, Texas – The New Orleans Privateers will face their final non-conference challenge of the season when they battle the #7 Houston Cougars on Saturday at the Fertitta Center. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Privateers (3-7) outlasted UIW 84-83 on Monday night to move to 1-1 in conference play. Four Privateers finished in double figures.
TJ Cope led the way in points for New Orleans with 19 while adding five rebounds and two blocks.
Jakevion Buckley finished with 18 points and seven assists.
MJ Thomas added 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Panagiotis Pagonis had 14 points on 5-of-6 from the field.
So far this season, the Privateers are 5th in the Southland and 104th nationally in blocked shots per game at 4.0. Last year, the Privateers finished 10th in the Southland and 285th overall at 2.6 rejections per game.
Churchill Abass is 4th in the Southland in blocks per game at 1.4.
TJ Cope has put forth a 21-point performance against Memphis and had a 19-point effort against UIW. He has gone from 4.6 points per game to 7.8 in the last three contests. Monday was also the first time Cope led the team in minutes this season as he logged 35.
The Privateers are playing their second ranked opponent this season when they take on Houston. They also faced Texas Tech when the Red Raiders were #20. Currently, Houston sits at #7 in the latest AP poll. This will be the fifth top 10 opponent the Privateers have played since 2000.
Houston and New Orleans have played five times with the Cougars having won four of the five meetings. The only Privateers win was in 1988.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Houston (9-1) was the national runner-up last season. Kelvin Sampson is in his 12
th year at Houston and has won 78.4 percent of his games. Sampson is also 18-1 all-time against current Southland schools.
The Cougars are 11
th in the nation in opponent field goal percentage. They've allowed opponents to shoot just 37.1 percent from the field. Three Cougars average double figures led by Emanuel Sharp who scores 18.1 points per game. Kingston Flemings is at 14.8 points per game and Milos Uzan averages 11.6.
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