KATY, Texas – Fresh off their thrilling two-point victory over Houston Baptist in the opening round of the Southland Conference Championship tournament, the Lamar University Cardinals (20-12) return to the court 24 hours later to face No. 5 overall seed New Orleans Thursday afternoon. The Cardinals advanced to the second round after recording an 81-79 victory over eighth-seeded Houston Baptist in Wednesday's opening round. The Privateers (17-12) qualified for the second round by earning a first-round bye after recording the league's No. 4 overall seed.
 
The Cardinals and UNO finished the regular season in a tie for third place in the Southland standings, but UNO had the higher seed based on the tiebreakers. The Cardinals are 7-28 (.200) all-time against New Orleans. Big Red has dropped five straight, and nine of the last 10 meetings in the series, including a six-point overtime loss earlier this season at home. The Cardinals have never faced UNO in the Southland tournament.
 
The owners of the Southland's longest current win streak (9), the Cardinals are going in search of win No. 21 on the season. In the previous two seasons the Cardinals came up just short in their pursuit of win No. 20 – finishing the year with 19 both times. With LU's victory over Houston Baptist in the opening round of the tournament it recorded its 20th victory of the season. It's the first 20-win season since the 2011-12 campaign – the last time LU went to the NCAA Championships. It's also the 13th time in program history that LU has recorded at least 20 wins in a season.
 
Thursday's game will tip off at 5 p.m. from the Merrell Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI. Tickets for Thursday's game can be purchased through the LU Ticket kiosk located at the entrance to the Merrell Center.