CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball program will take to the road for its first Sun Belt Conference road trip when they play at Texas State, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m. ET, and at Louisiana, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m. ET.
After playing 11 of its first 12 games at home, this will be the first back-to-back road contests of the season for CCU.
LAST TIME OUT
CCU fell in another close game, 72-65 to Troy to open Sun Belt Conference action.
Kylan Blackmon led CCU with 15 points, while
Jacob Meyer scored 14 and
John Ojiako finished with 10.
THE SERIES
vs. Texas State
These programs have met 12 times on the hardcourt with the Bobcats holding a 10-2 lead in the series, including winning seven consecutive heading into Thursday's action.
CCU's two wins in the series came on the Bobcats' homecourt, a 56-54 overtime win in 2018, and a 60-53 win in 2017, CCU's first win as a Sun Belt Conference member.
It has been a series of close games as nine of the 12 games have been won by eight points or less, with three of those being one possession finishes and two coming in overtime.
There has been one blowout in the series and if you remove that score the average winning margin has been 6.5 points.
vs. Louisiana
The Ragin' Cajuns hold a 6-2 edge in the series, but the Chants opened Sun Belt action last season with a 77-76 win in Conway. It's another series that has seen its share of close finishes. Five of the eight games have been decided by seven points or less, with two of those decided by one point.
ABOUT THE CHANTS
CCU enters the game with a 3-9 record overall and 0-1 in Sun Belt Conference action.
Blackmon and Meyer are leading the team in scoring with each averaging 13.3 points per game. Blackmon's 26 three-point field goals leads CCU while Meyer is shooting a 41.7 percent beyond the three-point line.
Ojiako continues to average a double-double with 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He leads the Sun Belt and is second nationally shooting 70.2 percent from the field.
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
The Bobcats enter today's game 6-7 overall and 0-1 in Sun Belt Conference action and average 69.6 points per game, and as usual has one of the top scoring defenses' in the conference, only allowing 69.7 points per game, second in the Sun Belt.
The Bobcats do have four players averaging in double figures. Jordan Mason leads the team averaging 14.4 points per game...He is shooting 47 percent from the field and 75 percent at the free throw line...He is second on the team with 26 assists and has a team-leading 14 steals.
Tyrel Morgan averages 14.0 points per game, but has only played in two games this season, while Brandon Love as started all 13 games for TSU and is averaging 10.7 points per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field and averaging 5.5 rebounds per game. He has also scored a team-best 139 points on the season.
The fourth player averaging in double figures is Kaden Gumbs at 10.2 points per game...He leads the offense with 50 assists and has 11 steals.
ABOUT LOUISIANA
Louisiana enters the week with a 7-6 overall record and 0-1 in Sun Belt play after losing 75-61 at Marshall to open Sun Belt play. The Ragin' Cajuns will host No. 19 James Madison on Thursday night before hosting the Chants on Saturday evening.
Kobe Julien leads a trio of Cajuns in double-digit scoring at 18.6 points per game, which leads the Sunbelt. Themus Fulks is averaging 11.3 points per game, while Joe Charles averages 11.2 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game, which is third in the conference.
CCU games at Texas State and Louisiana 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 goccusports.com.
