The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Men's Basketball team makes its long-awaited home debut on Saturday when it entertains in-state foe LSU Shreveport at the Cajundome.
Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game can be heard in the Lafayette area on both KPEL 96.5 FM and ESPN 1420 AM. Live stats will be available at CajunStats.com.
The meeting against LSU-S, currently 8-0 on the season and averaging 109.4 points per game, will be the first between the schools on the hardwood.
Louisiana (1-1), which earned a 66-63 win at New Orleans on Wednesday, had scheduled home games against Xavier of New Orleans and Loyola of New Orleans canceled due to COVID-19 concerns before re-arranging its schedule with a 2020-21 season debut against No. 1-ranked Baylor last week in Las Vegas.
The game against LSU-S marks the first of a scheduled eight home games in a nine-game span for Louisiana, which will also host LSU Alexandria (Dec. 8), Louisiana Tech (Dec. 12), New Orleans (Dec. 15), Texas State (Jan. 1-2) and Little Rock (Jan. 8-9).
Season-ticket holders can download their tickets through mobile ticketing from Ticketmaster. Fans can download the #GeauxCajuns app to their smart phone to begin the process. Season-ticket holders who are unable to download tickets or wish to have printed can visit the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the Cajundome to have them printed.
Single-game tickets for the game will be made available on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.
For more information on Men's Basketball tickets, fans can call the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2170.
The Cajundome will operate at a significantly reduced capacity for the 2020-21 season (unless state COVID-19 policy changes during the season). This will allow for fans and University students to be accommodated this season. The Department of Athletics will quickly communicate any schedule adjustments or changes to attendance protocols through its social media channels and RaginCajuns.com.
In the interest of public safety and following the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) Best Practices Guide, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Athletics Department is implementing a clear bag policy at all venues that host ticketed events effective with the 2020-21 competition season. Information about the clear bag policy can be found by visiting www.RaginCajuns.com/clearbag.
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsMBB), Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsMBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Men's Basketball.
GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (1-1) vs. LSU SHREVEPORT (8-0)
Date / Time: December 5, 2020 / 4 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)
RADIO/TV
Radio: KPEL 96.5 / ESPN 1420 AM
Talent: Jay Walker (PxP)
Live Stream: None
LIVE STATS/SOCIAL MEDIA
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB | #GeauxCajuns
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: First meeting
THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 189-144 (11th season), Career Record: 537-309 (28th season)
LSU SHREVEPORT
Head Coach: Kyle Blankenship (Tulsa, 2006)
Record at LSU-S: 197-70 (ninth season), Career Record: Same
STORY LINES
• Louisiana officially opens a fluid 2020-21 home schedule on Saturday when it entertains in-state program LSU Shreveport to the Cajundome.
• The game is the first between the schools on the hardwood.
• The game marks a stretch for Louisiana in which eight of the next nine scheduled games will be played at the Cajundome.
• Louisiana is 28-7 all-time in season openers at the Cajundome, winning its last nine contests.
• The game is the first of two straight for Louisiana against members of the LSU System with the Ragin' Cajuns set to host LSU Alexandria on Tuesday.
• Cedric Russell became the 49th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark after scoring 12 points on Wednesday at New Orleans.
• The senior is five 3-pointers shy of becoming the sixth player in school history to reach 200 in a career.
• Current Pilot senior guard Kadavion Evans was a member of the Ragin' Cajuns Basketball program from 2015-18.
QUICK HITS
• Louisiana is 47-10 in non-conference games at home in the Bob Marlin era including a 20-2 mark since the beginning of the 2016-17 season.
• Against in-state, non-conference opponents played at home under Marlin, Louisiana is 28-1 overall.
• Since the 2013-14 season, Louisiana is fifth among Division I programs scoring 80 points or more (119 games).
• Mylik Wilson's 21-point performance at New Orleans on Wednesday was the second 20-point game of his career.
• Theo Akwuba opened the season making his first 11 shots from the field before missing a contested jumper in the first half on Wednesday at New Orleans.
• Akwuba is the only player in the Sun Belt Conference averaging a double-double (19.0 points, 11.5 rebounds) during the early part of the 2020-21 season.
• A win would give Louisiana its 350th overall victory at the Cajundome since the facility opened in 1985.
• Over the past five seasons, Louisiana has averaged 20 wins (101-66 record).