NEW ORLEANS – On what will be a special night honoring a program legend, the New Orleans Privateers men's basketball team will open their Southland slate as they take on the HCU Huskies at Lakefront Arena. Tip is scheduled for 5 p.m. That is followed by a 7 p.m. contest on Mondy against the UIW Cardinals.
Bo McCalebb will be the third Privateer to have their jersey retired in a ceremony during halftime of the game against HCU. McCalebb played from 2003-08 and remains in the top 25 in the NCAA and first in the Sun Belt in career points. McCalebb won 13 league championships and cups as a professional. He joins Ervin Johnson (#40) and Sandra Hodge (#44) in the lore of retired Privateer basketball numbers.
The Privateers (2-6) had four players reach double-figures in points, but Memphis shot 59 percent in the first half and made 8-of-16 three-pointers to defeat New Orleans 86-70 on Wednesday.
Jakevion Buckley recorded his eighth straight game in double figures as a Privateer, finishing with 14 points. After a first half that saw him make just one field goal, Buckley came out and hit 4-of-6 shots in the second half.
TJ Cope had four dunks in a game for the second time this year. The first was in their exhibition win against Sacramento State. Cope also set a new mark with 21 points on 7-of-10 from the field against Memphis. Cope has two of four games by a Privateer with two or more dunks this year.
Churchill Abass and
Mathok Majok each have one.
Through eight games, the Privateers have been on the road for all of them. They've seen an average of just over 5,500 fans per game. The Privateers have seen the fifth average away crowd in the Southland and the most total fans (44,215). This is the longest in history the Privateers have waited to play their home regular season opener, topping the 1994-95 season when they were on for the first six games.
New Orleans is 17-10 all-time against HCU but the Huskies swept the season series in 2024-25. The Privateers have never lost more than two straight games in the all-time series. The Privateers are 9-9 all-time against UIW. The Cardinals have won the last three meetings.
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HCU (4-4) is coming in off a 77-75 loss at North Texas on Tuesday. The Huskies shot 48 percent but the Mean Green converted at a 61.8 percent clip from the field and out-rebounded the Huskies 35-24.
This season, HCU is fourth in the Southland in field goal percentage at 46.5. They are also fourth in turnover margin. Kylin Green is averaging 13.4 points per game, which leads the team and ranks 13
th in the conference.
UIW (5-3, 1-0) won their Southland opener against defending Southland champion, McNeese on Monday. The Cardinals were boosted by Davion Bailey's 29-point performance that included seven three-pointers.
Bailey is the leading scorer in the conference at 21.3 points per game. As a team, UIW is averaging 86.6 points per game, second most in the conference. They also lead the league in three-pointers made as a team with 80.
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