Troy University Athletics
Saturday, February 11
Troy, Ala.
4 p.m.
Troy University
vs
Louisiana
Troy Ends Homestand with SBC Throwdown Against Louisiana
2/10/2023 12:55:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – Red hot from its comeback victory over in-state rival South Alabama, Troy gets ready for another Sun Belt showdown on Saturday at 4 p.m. with Louisiana in Trojan Arena.
Saturday concludes the Trojans' (15-11, 7-6 SBC) longest homestand of four games, while the Ragin' Cajuns (20-5, 10-3 SBC) finish their two-game road trip after falling to second in the SBC standings following a loss to Southern Miss.
Trojan Mardi Gras and Letterwinners Day headline Saturday, when the 1993 (National Championship appearance) and 2003 (first D-I team in Troy's history to advance to the NCAA Tournament) teams will be honored at halftime. All returning men's basketball letterwinners are asked to RSVP to Stephen Brown (rsbrown@troy.edu) to reserve their tickets for the game. In honor of those teams, the first 1,500 fans will receive a throwback Troy State t-shirt and can indulge in some Conecuh sausage dogs. Tickets will be buy one, get one free for reserved tickets, while kids 12 and under receive a free general admission ticket. Lastly, to honor Trojan Mardi Gras, all fans are invited to join the concourse for free food samples from our revered sponsors.
Game Information
Location: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena
The Matchup: Troy (15-11, 7-6 SBC) vs. Louisiana (20-5, 10-3 SBC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 11 – 4:00 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Comeback Over South
Troy wouldn't go away, sticking within 10 points throughout the ballgame against South Alabama. With 9:11 remaining, down by nine, the Trojans mounted their comeback when Zay Williams launched a 6-0 run when he scored off the Darius McNeill assist, 50-43.
Nelson Phillips kept the run going, scoring back-to-back buckets in 30 seconds to cut the deficit to three, 50-47. But he wasn't finished, drilling the deep shot to tie the ballgame after a South Alabama timeout with 4:49 left, 52-52.
South Alabama regained the lead as Punter and Phillips cut it back to one, 57-56. Tyrell Jones tried to turn off the inbound, only to be met by Phillips, who swiped the ball and drove inside to take the lead, 58-57, with 0:45 on the clock.
A miss by Kevin Samuel forced USA to play the foul game where the Trojans shot 3-of-6 from the stripe. Meanwhile, South Alabama shot 0-of-2 from the field as Punter, Aamer Muhammad and Christian Turner iced the game, 61-57.
Dang, That's Spicey
Louisiana fell from its throne of the number one spot in the Sun Belt Conference on Thursday night, losing to Southern Miss, 82-71, to end a 10-game win streak.
Louisiana led 38-33 through the first 20 minutes. Then, the Golden Eagles, led by Felipe Haase with all 17 of his points, mounted the comeback on 61.5 percent shooting. Louisiana went cold in the second half, shooting 28.6 percent from the field and 0-of-10 from deep to crumble for the first time in 2023.
The last time Troy faced off against ULL, the Trojans trailed by as much as 26 in the first half before battling back within 14 with 3:45 remaining. However, even without Jordan Brown, Louisiana shot 48.3 percent from the field, 46.7 from deep and 81.8 from the charity stripe to defeat Troy, 72-57.
The Ragin' Cajuns' offense is elite through 2022-23, with the third-highest scoring offense in the SBC at 79.9 points per game on a conference-best 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 39.1 from three. Combine that with the highest rebounding margin of plus-6.7 with 30.2 defensive rebounds per game, and one gets the second team to accumulate 20 wins in the conference.
Jordan Brown isn't expected to miss Saturday's matchup, meaning the Trojans must match up against the three-time Sun Belt Player of the Week. Brown is one of two players in the league to average 20-plus points (20.1) while averaging a sixth-best 8.2 rebounds on a seventh-best 56.5 field goal percentage – only player in SBC to average above 12 points and eight rebounds. Greg Williams Jr. is the perimeter threat for ULL, shooting 42.6 percent from deep since conference play started for 15.3 points.
Spicey Statistics
• The Trojans ride a two-game win streak into Saturday. Over the last two games, Troy has outrebounded its opponent 77-70 – Trojans are 3-1 when outrebounding an SBC opponent.
• Troy's last eight matchups against Louisiana have favored ULL, with the team's last win coming 100-88 on Feb. 11, 2017.
• Phillips returned to the top of the scoring charts with 16 points for the first time since Old Dominion on Jan. 5 – led the team in scoring five times this season.
• With his 10th multi-steal game of the season (4), Phillips tied Darius McNeill for the most multi-steal games in a career at 38.
• The last time these teams squared off, three Trojans ended the night in double-figures, with Punter leading the way with 16 points.
• For the first time since Georgia State on Jan. 12, the Trojans accumulated double-digit steals – forced 10-plus steals in seven total games, three in SBC play.
• Senior Williams achieves a historic mark when he enters the court on Saturday for his 89th career start. But, more importantly, he surpasses Jordan Varnado for the most games played in Troy program history. Through five seasons, Williams will have played 131 games.
• Williams has played 130 games in his five-year career at Troy. In that time, the senior has averaged 5.8 rebounds, with 6.6 averaged in 2022-23. With six games left, Williams must collect 65 rebounds to surpass Jordon Varnado for first in career rebounds in Troy D-I history.
• The Trojans found themselves down at the half for the 10th time this season, forcing them to come back for the 61-57 victory. The deficit through the first 20 minutes didn't matter as Troy improved its record when trailing at the half to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in SBC.
• Three free throws stand between Zay Williams and Antoine Myers (2012-14) in career free throws made. However, if Williams can hit those on Thursday, he will move past Myers for sixth in Troy Division-I history. With 319 total attempts, the senior shoot 66.1 percent.
• Phillips returned to his defensive form in the win over USA, leading the way with four steals and bringing his totals on the season to 48. With 48 steals through 25 games, the guard ranks 76th in the nation in steals per game at 1.85.
• After two straight games allowing above 50 percent shooting, Troy has limited Texas State to 42.3 percent and USA to 34.9. With wins in both games, the Trojans' record when limiting their opponent to under 50 percent from the field is 15-6 - 0-5 when allowing above 50.
Saturday concludes the Trojans' (15-11, 7-6 SBC) longest homestand of four games, while the Ragin' Cajuns (20-5, 10-3 SBC) finish their two-game road trip after falling to second in the SBC standings following a loss to Southern Miss.
Trojan Mardi Gras and Letterwinners Day headline Saturday, when the 1993 (National Championship appearance) and 2003 (first D-I team in Troy's history to advance to the NCAA Tournament) teams will be honored at halftime. All returning men's basketball letterwinners are asked to RSVP to Stephen Brown (rsbrown@troy.edu) to reserve their tickets for the game. In honor of those teams, the first 1,500 fans will receive a throwback Troy State t-shirt and can indulge in some Conecuh sausage dogs. Tickets will be buy one, get one free for reserved tickets, while kids 12 and under receive a free general admission ticket. Lastly, to honor Trojan Mardi Gras, all fans are invited to join the concourse for free food samples from our revered sponsors.
Game Information
Location: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena
The Matchup: Troy (15-11, 7-6 SBC) vs. Louisiana (20-5, 10-3 SBC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 11 – 4:00 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Comeback Over South
Troy wouldn't go away, sticking within 10 points throughout the ballgame against South Alabama. With 9:11 remaining, down by nine, the Trojans mounted their comeback when Zay Williams launched a 6-0 run when he scored off the Darius McNeill assist, 50-43.
Nelson Phillips kept the run going, scoring back-to-back buckets in 30 seconds to cut the deficit to three, 50-47. But he wasn't finished, drilling the deep shot to tie the ballgame after a South Alabama timeout with 4:49 left, 52-52.
South Alabama regained the lead as Punter and Phillips cut it back to one, 57-56. Tyrell Jones tried to turn off the inbound, only to be met by Phillips, who swiped the ball and drove inside to take the lead, 58-57, with 0:45 on the clock.
A miss by Kevin Samuel forced USA to play the foul game where the Trojans shot 3-of-6 from the stripe. Meanwhile, South Alabama shot 0-of-2 from the field as Punter, Aamer Muhammad and Christian Turner iced the game, 61-57.
Dang, That's Spicey
Louisiana fell from its throne of the number one spot in the Sun Belt Conference on Thursday night, losing to Southern Miss, 82-71, to end a 10-game win streak.
Louisiana led 38-33 through the first 20 minutes. Then, the Golden Eagles, led by Felipe Haase with all 17 of his points, mounted the comeback on 61.5 percent shooting. Louisiana went cold in the second half, shooting 28.6 percent from the field and 0-of-10 from deep to crumble for the first time in 2023.
The last time Troy faced off against ULL, the Trojans trailed by as much as 26 in the first half before battling back within 14 with 3:45 remaining. However, even without Jordan Brown, Louisiana shot 48.3 percent from the field, 46.7 from deep and 81.8 from the charity stripe to defeat Troy, 72-57.
The Ragin' Cajuns' offense is elite through 2022-23, with the third-highest scoring offense in the SBC at 79.9 points per game on a conference-best 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 39.1 from three. Combine that with the highest rebounding margin of plus-6.7 with 30.2 defensive rebounds per game, and one gets the second team to accumulate 20 wins in the conference.
Jordan Brown isn't expected to miss Saturday's matchup, meaning the Trojans must match up against the three-time Sun Belt Player of the Week. Brown is one of two players in the league to average 20-plus points (20.1) while averaging a sixth-best 8.2 rebounds on a seventh-best 56.5 field goal percentage – only player in SBC to average above 12 points and eight rebounds. Greg Williams Jr. is the perimeter threat for ULL, shooting 42.6 percent from deep since conference play started for 15.3 points.
Spicey Statistics
• The Trojans ride a two-game win streak into Saturday. Over the last two games, Troy has outrebounded its opponent 77-70 – Trojans are 3-1 when outrebounding an SBC opponent.
• Troy's last eight matchups against Louisiana have favored ULL, with the team's last win coming 100-88 on Feb. 11, 2017.
• Phillips returned to the top of the scoring charts with 16 points for the first time since Old Dominion on Jan. 5 – led the team in scoring five times this season.
• With his 10th multi-steal game of the season (4), Phillips tied Darius McNeill for the most multi-steal games in a career at 38.
• The last time these teams squared off, three Trojans ended the night in double-figures, with Punter leading the way with 16 points.
• For the first time since Georgia State on Jan. 12, the Trojans accumulated double-digit steals – forced 10-plus steals in seven total games, three in SBC play.
• Senior Williams achieves a historic mark when he enters the court on Saturday for his 89th career start. But, more importantly, he surpasses Jordan Varnado for the most games played in Troy program history. Through five seasons, Williams will have played 131 games.
• Williams has played 130 games in his five-year career at Troy. In that time, the senior has averaged 5.8 rebounds, with 6.6 averaged in 2022-23. With six games left, Williams must collect 65 rebounds to surpass Jordon Varnado for first in career rebounds in Troy D-I history.
• The Trojans found themselves down at the half for the 10th time this season, forcing them to come back for the 61-57 victory. The deficit through the first 20 minutes didn't matter as Troy improved its record when trailing at the half to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in SBC.
• Three free throws stand between Zay Williams and Antoine Myers (2012-14) in career free throws made. However, if Williams can hit those on Thursday, he will move past Myers for sixth in Troy Division-I history. With 319 total attempts, the senior shoot 66.1 percent.
• Phillips returned to his defensive form in the win over USA, leading the way with four steals and bringing his totals on the season to 48. With 48 steals through 25 games, the guard ranks 76th in the nation in steals per game at 1.85.
• After two straight games allowing above 50 percent shooting, Troy has limited Texas State to 42.3 percent and USA to 34.9. With wins in both games, the Trojans' record when limiting their opponent to under 50 percent from the field is 15-6 - 0-5 when allowing above 50.
Players Mentioned
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