Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Louisiana
Men’s Basketball Opens Final Week of Regular Season at Louisiana
2/27/2024 10:17:00 AM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – The final week of the regular season is here as the Troy men's basketball team heads to Louisiana for a mid-week showdown at the CAJUNDOME on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
There is still much at stake for the Trojans during the final week of play, who will finalize their seeding in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament set to get underway in Pensacola next week. Troy secured a top-4 seed with its win on Saturday and Louisiana's loss to Southern Miss and can fall as low as the No. 4 seed and be as high as the No. 1 seed.
Currently, Troy occupies third place in the standings and sits one game behind James Madison for second place and two games behind App State for the top spot.
The Trojans picked up a much-needed road win on Saturday against ULM at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum after falling to Arkansas State on Thursday night in Jonesboro.
Louisiana, who is still fighting for a double-bye and the No. 4 seed, has lost three straight games entering Wednesday night's battle. The Ragin' Cajuns lead the all-time series 22-8, but Troy has won two consecutive games and looks to go for the season sweep after defeating Louisiana 79-73 in Trojan Arena on Jan. 10.
Game Information
The Matchup: Troy (19-10, 12-4 SBC) at Louisiana (17-12, 9-7 SBC)
When: Wednesday, February 28, 2024 – 7 p.m.
Where: Lafayette, La. – CAJUNDOME (12,068)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Finish Strong
The Trojans look to head to Pensacola on a high note, and there's no better way to do that than when it's the final three games of the regular season. Troy has won eight of its last ten games, and much of that can be credited to the high-flying offense that is averaging 79.6 points per game – second in the conference and 52nd nationally.
Leading the charge offensively have been a number of players, most notably Christyon Eugene and Myles Rigsby. Eugene is leading the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game, which is good for sixth in the SBC. The senior guard is also just 27 points shy of the 1,000 career points, all of which would come as a Trojan.
Rigsby sits second on the team at 11.7 points after putting together a 19-point outing on Saturday in Monroe. The freshman forward has been a force on defense and offense and, during conference play, is averaging 13.9 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, 51.6 percent from 3-point range and 88.6 percent from the free-throw line.
As good as the offensive display has been, the defensive performance of the Trojans has been equally impressive. Troy has continued to create chaos on the defensive end of the court and leads the conference in turnovers forced per game at 15.1, good for 20th nationally. The Trojans also average 10.0 steals per game, a mark that is ninth nationally and first in the conference. Tayton Conerway ranks 42nd nationally in total steals this season with 55.
Flashback to Jan. 10
The last time these two teams faced off, Troy used a 50 percent shooting performance to propel itself to victory. Eugene had an impressive 22 points on 7-9 shooting while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.
Troy forced Louisiana into 20 turnovers and held them to under 50 percent shooting and 29.4 percent from distance.
Scouting Louisiana
The Ragin' Cajuns' last win came on Feb. 15 against Old Dominion. Last week, Louisiana fell on the road to ULM and Southern Miss.
Leading the way has been forward Kobe Julien and his team-high 17.3 points. Not only is he leading the team in scoring, but he is also leading the conference in points. Julien has won Sun Belt Player of the Week twice this season and is one of the most dynamic players in the SBC.
Also putting together an impressive season has been Joe Charles. He's averaging nearly a double-double with 11.7 points and 9.7 rebounds.
Conference Notables and Tidbits
• With a victory on Wednesday, Troy would move to 20 wins on the season. The Trojans would be the only team in the SBC with 20 or more wins in each of the last three seasons, and it would be the first time in the Trojan's D-I history that they have won 20 games in three consecutive seasons.
• Christyon Eugene is 27 points shy of 1,000 career points.
• Myles Rigsby has scored double-figure points in ten straight games and is averaging 13.9 points during conference play.
• With a win on Wednesday, Troy could fall no lower than the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.
• Going into Wednesday's game, Troy sits at 140 in the NET Rankings – fourth in the SBC. In the KenPom Ratings, the Trojans are sitting at 129 – third in the Sun Belt.
• According to KenPom.com, Troy is the youngest team in the Sun Belt and the 20th youngest team in the country.
• Troy has 85 combined starts by players who had not started a D-I game prior to this season.
