Troy University’s men’s basketball team will begin its final homestand of the regular season by hosting Louisiana on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game will be available for viewing on ESPN+ and broadcast on the Troy Sports Media Network.
This matchup is the first of two important home games that conclude Troy’s 18-game Sun Belt Conference schedule. If Troy wins both games this week, it can secure at least a share of the regular-season title. After facing Louisiana, Troy will host ULM on Friday evening.
Heading into the week, Troy joins App State, South Alabama, and Marshall in the top four positions of the Sun Belt standings.
Troy currently holds an 18–11 overall record and is 10–6 in conference play. In their last outing, they lost to South Alabama with a score of 65–54. The team struggled offensively in that game, recording its lowest field-goal percentage of the season at 24.5 percent and going without a made field goal for the final seven minutes.
Despite the defeat, Cooper Campbell had one of his best performances this year by scoring 26 points and making a career-high seven three-pointers.
Louisiana enters Tuesday’s contest with a record of 10-19 overall and 7-9 in conference play. The Ragin’ Cajuns ended Texas State’s seven-game winning streak last Saturday with a 67-54 victory. Dorian Finister led Louisiana with 15 points, five assists, and five rebounds in that win.
Historically, Troy has an all-time record of 11-23 against Louisiana.
Thomas Dowd played every minute against South Alabama last Saturday. According to KenPom data, Dowd ranks among national leaders for time spent on court this season.
Victor Valdes is approaching a school milestone for free throws made in a single season; he has made 148 so far—nine short of Terry McCord’s record set during the 1992-93 season.
Louisiana has improved recently after starting Sun Belt play with just two wins in their first seven games; they have gone 5-4 over their last nine conference matchups. Dorian Finister leads his team in scoring at an average of 14.5 points per game while also contributing nearly five rebounds per contest. Following Tuesday’s matchup against Troy, Louisiana will finish its regular season at Arkansas State on Friday.
Troy will remain at home to close out its regular season against ULM on Friday night when it honors seniors Jerrell Bellamy, Corbin Green, Kam Mitchell, and Theo Seng before tip-off.
Scott Cross is now in his seventh year as head coach for Troy men’s basketball and holds a cumulative record of 121-98 during his tenure. Over each of the past four seasons under Cross’s leadership, Troy has won more than twenty games—including double-digit victories within Sun Belt competition each year.
Earlier this season on January 10th, Troy defeated Louisiana by twenty points (90–70) in Lafayette; six Trojans scored double figures as they outrebounded their opponent significantly and maintained control throughout most of that game.
After completing these final regular-season contests this week, attention will shift to the upcoming Sun Belt Championship scheduled from March 3rd through March 9th in Pensacola where Troy aims to defend its title and become back-to-back tournament champions—a feat not achieved since Georgia State did so in consecutive years (2018–2019).
Valdes and Dowd have led Troy’s offense this year averaging over fifteen and fourteen points per game respectively; Dowd also leads all players in rebounding within conference play while Campbell stands as third-leading scorer for his team.
