CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will tip-off Sun Belt Conference action Thursday, Dec. 29, when the Chanticleers host Louisiana at 7 p.m. ET at the HTC Center.
 
The Chants (6-5) enter their seventh season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference by hosting one of the top mid-major teams in the nation. Louisiana (10-2), which was the preseason pick to win the Sun Belt Conference in the preseason coaches poll, is ranked sixth in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25, one of four Sun Belt teams to be ranked in the latest poll.
 
There could be a lot of scoring in Thursday's action as Louisiana is one of three teams in the conference averaging over 80 points per game as the Ragin' Cajuns are third in scoring averaging 83.4 points per game, while CCU is averaging 78.6 points per outing.
 
The two teams have only faced each other on the hardcourt seven times with Louisiana holding a 6-1 lead in the series. Among those wins was a 65-64 win in Conway last season on a three-pointer at the final horn. CCU's lone win in the series came back during the 2019 season, a 96-79 home win.
 
CCU will enter the conference season with four players averaging double-digits points led by Jomaru Brown and his 15.3 points per game. He is tied for eighth in the conference in scoring and is one of four Chanticleers among the top-30 scorers in the Sun Belt Conference scorers.
 
Essam Mostafa continues to add to his already impressive career with a 14.2 points per game scoring average to go along with his 10.5 rebounds per game average. He is 10th in the conference in scoring and second in rebounding. He leads the conference and is third nationally with eight double-doubles on the season and has 30 for his career. Mostafa also enters the conference portion of the schedule needing only 98 points to become the 24th player in CCU history to score 1,000 career points.
 
Sophomore Josh Uduje has become a solid scorer for the Chants this season, averaging 11.6 points per game. He is coming off a 19-point performance against the College of Charleston. He is also averaging 3.6 rebounds per game, is second on the team with 18 steals, and third with eight blocks.
 
Linton Brown has become one of the top bench players in the conference. He has come off the bench and provided immediate scoring prowess for the Chants, averaging 11.5 points per game. He has a team-high 22 three-point field goals this season and is knocking down over 42 percent of his three-point attempts.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns boast one of the top players in the Sun Belt in Jordan Brown. The 6'11" forward is second in the Sun Belt in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game. He is also averaging 6.8 rebounds per game and has been named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week in two of the last four weeks.
 
UL's Brown is getting plenty of scoring help from Terence Lewis and Greg Williams, both of which are averaging 13.2 points per game.
 
The game can be heard on WRNN Hot Talk 99.5 FM and can be watched live on ESPN+. Links for both along with live stats can be found at www.GoCCUSports.com.
 
For complete coverage of CCU men's basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUSports.com.