Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Louisiana
Men’s Basketball Welcomes Louisiana to Open Final Homestand
2/19/2025 4:01:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – After one of the biggest wins in the Scott Cross era last Saturday, the Troy men's basketball team is tied for first in the Sun Belt standings and welcomes Louisiana to Trojan Arena on Thursday night to open its final homestand of the year.
Troy (17-9, 10-4 SBC) is currently in a four-way tie for the top spot in the Sun Belt with four games left to play before the conference tournament. The Trojans defeated Arkansas State on the road this past Saturday, 71-70, in front of a national audience. Jackson Fields proved to the be the difference maker in the game and helped Troy complete its second undefeated conference road trip this season.
The win also gave the Trojans 10 conference victories on the season, the fourth straight year they have accomplished that feat.
Louisiana (9-18, 6-8 SBC) is coming off a big home win over Marshall on Saturday, as it looks to continue to work its way up the standings in the final two weeks.
Game Information
The Matchup: Louisiana at Troy
When: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 | 6 p.m.
Where: Troy, Ala. | Trojan Arena (5,200)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Media Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Tickets: TroyTrojans.com/tickets
Saturday night in Jonesboro was the Fields show, as the big man from Missouri City, Texas, unloaded for a career-high 20 points, while grabbing eight rebounds and three steals. A bulk of his points came from behind the arc, as he drained a career-high five threes on seven attempts. With the Trojans trailing the Red Wolves by one with two minutes to go, Fields buried a go-ahead three and Troy held onto the lead for the rest of the game.
It was the seventh 20-point performance by a Trojan this year, as Tayton Conerway has done it four times and Myles Rigsby twice.
In addition to Fields remarkable offensive output, Troy was able to put the game with a suffocating defense that held Arkansas State to 38.5 percent from the field. This season, Troy is 10-0 (7-0 SBC) when limiting opponents to a sub-40 percent shooting line. The Trojans are limiting their opponents to 41.1 percent from the field in 2024-25, which is the 50th lowest mark in the country and fourth in the Sun Belt.
A pair of players who have been crucial to the success of Troy's ferocious defense has been Conerway and Rigsby. According to KenPom.com, Conerway's steal percentage of 5.8 percent is the second highest in the country. Rigsby held Arkansas State start Taryn Todd to just 14 points on 6-17 shooting in Saturday's win.
Scouting Louisiana
The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off a 1-1 week that included a loss to Troy last Wednesday in Lafayette. On Saturday, Louisiana knocked off Marshall in the Cajundome, 79-68. Mostapha El Moutaouakkil continues to lead the way with his 13.8 points, including 23 against Marshall.
Rigsby and Thomas Dowd combined for 38 points – 19 each – in Troy's win last week. Dowd also added 12 rebounds to record his third career double-double and first of the season.
Troy shot the ball well in the win, going 26-56 (46.4 percent), while holding Louisiana to 40.8 percent. The Trojans dominated the paint battle, grabbing 42 rebounds compared to the Ragin' Cajuns 20. Troy also outscored Louisiana 36-28 in the paint.
Notables
• Scott Cross is in his sixth season at the helm for Troy men's basketball, and his 18th as a Division I men's basketball head coach. While at Troy he has put together a 97-85 record, which includes three straight seasons of 20 or more wins. The Trojans have also won 10 or more conference games in each of the last four years, including 2024-25.
• In arguably the biggest game in the Sun Belt this season, Troy went into Jonesboro, Ark., and stunned Arkansas State on national television 71-70.
• Jackson Fields had a career-high 20 points and five made threes, while the Trojan defense stepped up big and held the Red Wolves to 38.5 percent shooting.
• The win moved Troy into a four-way tie for first place in the SBC.
• The Trojans defeated the Ragin' Cajun last Wednesday night in Lafayette 74-56. The game marked Troy's fourth straight win over the Louisiana.
• Thomas Dowd recorded his first double-double of the year with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Myles Rigsby had 19 points.
• Conerway has scored in double-digits in all 13 of 14 conference games this year and has ten games of 15-plus points.
• Conerway's career-high 32 points against Arkansas State on Jan. 11 was the first time a Trojan has scored 30-plus points since 2019.
• Against ULM on Jan. 15, Conerway had the first double-double of his career with 10 points and a career-high 12 assists.
• The Trojans entered 2024-25 picked to finish third in the Sun Belt Coaches Preseason Poll, which is the highest it had been selected to finish since the start of the 2017-18 season. Troy received one first-place vote.
• Troy's last regular season conference title came during the 2008-09 season.
• Scott Cross has started 21 of 26 games this season with the same starting lineup (Rigsby Jr., Conerway, Rigsby, Dowd and Fields).
