LAFAYETTE (Press Release) – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team begins its quest in defending its Sun Belt Conference regular-season title on Thursday when it opens league play against visiting Arkansas State at the Cajundome.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (pxp) and Eric Mouton (color) on the call. Fans can listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KHXT-FM (107.9) and worldwide on RaginCajuns.com with Jay Walker (PxP) and Ross Cook (color) providing the commentary.
Louisiana (9-4), which won nine or more non-conference games for the third straight season, closed out the 2018 portion of its schedule with a 73-72 win at Southeastern Louisiana. The Ragin’ Cajuns have won 18 of their 27 SBC openers, including three of the last four. Louisiana claimed the 2018 SBC regular-season title after posting a 27-7 overall record and 16-2 mark in league play.
JaKeenan Gant (16.3 ppg.), Marcus Stroman (12.3) and Justin Miller (10.2) are the top scorers for Louisiana with Gant pulling down a team-high 7.6 rebounds per contest.
Arkansas State (6-7) has won three of its last four games heading into its SBC opener, including an 87-62 win over Harding on Dec. 29. Ty Cockfield paces the Red Wolves in scoring at 20.7 points per game with Marquis Eaton averaging 10.6.
Louisiana leads the all-time series against A-State, 51-24, and have won 10 of the last 11 meetings at the Cajundome. The Ragin’ Cajuns swept the season series in 2017-18, earning an 88-78 win in Jonesboro on Dec. 31, 2017, and an 85-74 victory on March 1, 2018 at the Cajundome.
