With an impressive victory at New Orleans, one which saw the Cardinals shoot better than 50 percent for the game and outrebound the Privateers by 20, LU will now look to close out the current road swing with consecutive wins. The Cardinals (14-11/8-4 SLC) win, along with Nicholls' loss has moved the Cardinals back into a three-way tie for second in the conference standings. Lamar enters the Monday contest a half game up on Southeastern Louisiana in the standings, but 3.5 games back of McNeese for the overall lead. Since defeating McNeese, Southeastern Louisiana has become the hottest team in the league. The Lions (13-13/8-5 SLC) have won six consecutive games to move within striking distance of second place. The Lions last setback came at the hands of the Cardinals to the tune of a 74-64 decision in Beaumont last month. Monday's game is slated for a 6 p.m. tip off and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
LU vs. Lions
Lamar University leads the all-time series against Southeastern Lousiana by three, 28-25 (.528). It originally began during the 1958-59 season. The Cardinals have faced their fair share of disappointments in Hammond posting an 8-14 (.363) record on the road. Lamar has won three of the previous five in the series but is looking for its first win in Hammond since the 2011-12 season.
LU in February
The Cardinals are 289-290 (.499) all-time in the month of February. Big Red has produced above .500 records in the month 28 times in program history, which includes four perfect months (1960-61, 1963-64, 1983-84 and 2007-08). The Cardinals posted a school record 10 wins in the month twice (1960-61 and 1983-84). The February record jumps to 188-109 (.632) all-time in home games.
Cardinals' Magic Number
With Lamar's victory at New Orleans Saturday, the Cardinals magic number is down to just one. The Cards need one more win or a Texas A&M-Commerce loss to secure a spot in the Southland Conference Championships. With LU's victory at UNO Saturday the Cardinals have the tiebreaker on New Orleans, and still have one more game remaining with A&M-Commerce. The Cardinals are seeking their first postseason berth since the 2020-21 campaign.
Double-Double
Junior Terry Anderson scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds at New Orleans to record his fifth double-double of the season. It is also the ninth time this season that a Cardinal has recorded a double-double.
Need ASSISTance
Senior Chris Pryor recorded a career-high 10 assists at New Orleans, becoming the first Cardinal since Ellis Jefferson in 2020-21 to record double-figure assists in a game. The Cardinals are currently tied for 19th nationally in assists (with Stanford and Indiana State).
Depth Off the Bench
Lamar continues to have one of the nation's deepest benches. The Cardinals currently rank 28th in the nation in bench points per game (27.88 ppg).
The Cardinal Rule
Lamar University has been one of the Southland Conference's more dominant teams. LU has won 52 percent of the league games and has more NCAA tournament appearances than any of the current SLC schools (6), and their five NIT berths are also tops in the league. LU had 82 players earn All-SLC honors, including 32 first-team selections. Six players were named league newcomer of the year, five SLC tournament MVPs, four SLC Players of the Year, two freshmen of the year and a defensive player of the year.
