Louisiana Lafayette vs. Georgia State: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

The Ragin’ Cajuns are the last unbeaten Sun Belt team. Will they survive their toughest road test to date?

TV schedule: Thursday, February 8, 7:15 p.m. ET. ESPN3

Arena: GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, Georgia

At the beginning of the season, UT-Arlington was supposed to be the best team in the Sun Belt Conference. But despite having two of the very best players in the league, combined with the fact that almost all of their rotation players are seniors, the Mavericks have been a .500 team.

Louisiana Lafayette 20-3 (12-0) has taken complete advantage, with a two game lead in the loss column over the next best team in the standings. They’ve been on a roll, winning 10 games in a row and 18 of the last 19.

The offense for the Ragin’ Cajuns are at the top of the conference, but the shocking turn of events has been their defense, also ranked at the top of the standings. It’s a reversal from a year ago, where the defensive issues cost them games a year ago.

They’re led by the duo of Frank Bartley (16.5 ppg) and Bryce Washington (10.3 ppg and 10.8 rpg). Jakeenan Gant has also been a huge contributor this season, averaging 15.2 ppg. They’ll all need to play well against this next opponent.

Georgia State 18-6 (9-2) lost the team’s first two games of conference play, but have since ran off nine straight wins, with the latest coming in a 30 point road win at Arkansas-Little Rock. Devin Mitchell had a career-high 38 points in the game, with D’Marcus Simonds, the Sun Belt’s leading scorer having 12 points and eight assists.

Both teams are ranked in the top-25 nationally in defensive rating, and have superior athletes to the other teams in the league. One potential difference could be free throw shooting, with Georgia State’s 66% one of the worst teams in the country.

Next: In-depth look at Louisana Lafayette

Louisiana is No. 50 at 75%, and it’s help them blow teams out to this point. The Ragin’ Cajuns have yet to have a game in single-digits, but that’s likely to change in this game. Still, Georgia State doesn’t have enough offense to pull this out, in a close contest.

Prediction: Louisiana Lafayette 68 – Georgia State 66