Who’s Playing

James Madison Dukes @ Louisiana Ragin Cajuns

Current Records: James Madison 13-0, Louisiana 7-6

How To Watch

What to Know

We’ve got another exciting Sun Belt matchup on schedule as the James Madison Dukes and the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns are set to tip at 8:00 p.m. ET on January 4th at Cajundome. James Madison will be coming into the match with an undefeated record on the line.

Last Saturday, the Dukes wrapped up 2023 with a 82-65 victory over the Bobcats.

James Madison can attribute much of their success to Terrence Edwards Jr., who scored 17 points along with five rebounds and three steals, and T.J. Bickerstaff, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten rebounds.

Meanwhile, it’s hard to win when you don’t work as a unit and post 11 fewer assists than your opponent, a fact Louisiana found out the hard way on Saturday. They fell 75-61 to the Thundering Herd. The result shouldn’t come as a shock considering that’s the fewest points Louisiana has scored all season.

Louisiana struggled to work together and finished the game with only six assists. That’s the fewest assists they’ve managed all season.

The Dukes’ win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-0. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 93.3 points per game. As for the Ragin Cajuns, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-6.

Thursday’s matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: James Madison have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 40.2 rebounds per game. It’s a different story for Louisiana, though, as they’ve been averaging only 33.3 rebounds per game. Given James Madison’s sizeable advantage in that area, Louisiana will need to find a way to close that gap.

As for their next game, James Madison is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 5.5 points. This contest will be their sixth straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 4-1 against the spread).

Odds

James Madison is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Louisiana, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Dukes as a 6-point favorite.

The over/under is set at 157 points.

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Series History

Louisiana and James Madison both have 1 win in their last 2 games.

• Feb 18, 2023 – James Madison 74 vs. Louisiana 68
• Nov 23, 2016 – Louisiana 82 vs. James Madison 70