Coastal Carolina basketball returns to Sun Belt play at Louisiana with momentum and milestones in sight
Coastal Carolina heads to Lafayette for an 8 p.m. ET tip on Feb. 12, looking to extend a midseason surge and rewrite several program marks in a tightly bunched Sun Belt race. The Chanticleers meet a Louisiana side carrying a four-game winning streak as both teams jockey for seeding down the stretch.
Stakes rise in a crowded conference table
The Chanticleers enter at 15-11 overall and 7-5 in league play, having won six of their last eight conference games after a 1-4 start. Louisiana sits at 9-16 and 6-6, with six teams in the league currently parked on six conference losses—a sign of just how compressed the standings are heading into the final weeks. A Coastal victory would deliver an eighth Sun Belt win, matching the program’s best since 2021-22, and set a program record with a fifth conference road triumph.
Louisiana’s recent form amplifies the stakes. The hosts have stacked four straight wins and lean on a defense allowing 69.0 points per game, third-best in the league. With margins thin across the conference, this matchup doubles as a valuable tiebreaker and a tone-setter for the stretch run.
Three-headed scoring engine drives Coastal
Coastal’s turnaround has been powered by one of the league’s most balanced scoring trios. Guards Joshua Beadle and AJ Dancler, along with wing Rasheed Jones, each average more than 15 points per game and all rank among the Sun Belt’s top-15 scorers—making the Chanticleers the lone team with three players in that tier. Together they combine for 46.4 points per night, the highest trio output in the conference, and have cracked 60 combined points five times, including a 73-point eruption in the team’s latest win.
That latest result—a 94-91 marathon over UMass in the MAC-SBC Challenge—showed the group’s late-game mettle. Beadle buried the go-ahead three with 1.4 seconds left in the third overtime, while Dancler extended the night with a buzzer-beating triple at the end of the first overtime. The Chanticleers flipped an 11-point halftime deficit by catching fire after the break, a snapshot of their offensive ceiling when rhythm shooters find space.
Perimeter surge and a flair for the finish
Coastal has rediscovered range at the right time, hitting at least 10 threes in five straight games. When the offense crests 70 points, the path to victory has been clear: the Chanticleers are 12-4 in those contests. That said, it has rarely been comfortable. Twelve of their last 14 games have been decided by six points or fewer, underscoring how frequently this group has navigated clutch minutes. The combination of spread scoring and late-game composure has become the team’s calling card in conference play.
Scouting Louisiana: defense, balance, and home-court hopes
Louisiana’s identity begins at the defensive end, where disciplined half-court coverage has kept opponents in check. Guard Dorian Finister leads the scoring at 14.1 points per game, with Jaxon Olvera adding 11.3 and a team-high 43 made threes. The hosts have claimed the last three meetings in the series and hold a 9-2 all-time edge. Coastal has yet to win at the Cajundome, entering at 0-4 in the building, a trend the visitors aim to break as they chase a statement road result.
For Louisiana, protecting the ball and controlling pace will be central. The visitors prefer to spread the floor and hunt rhythm threes; denying clean catch-and-shoot looks and winning the glass will be priorities for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Numbers to know and what to watch
– Line and total watch: Coastal opens as a slight road favorite, around 1.5 points, with a total near 130.5. Some predictive models lean the other way, giving Louisiana a modest edge in win probability—another sign that oddsmakers anticipate a possession game.
– Against the number: Coastal is 13-10 this season against the spread, while Louisiana sits at 13-12.
– Swing factor: If the Chanticleers reach double digits in made threes again, the hosts may need an above-average night offensively to keep pace. Conversely, if Louisiana’s defense flattens ball screens and runs shooters off the arc, the game likely drifts into its preferred tempo.
Path to a pivotal win
For Coastal, the formula starts with the trusted trio. Beadle’s shot creation, Dancler’s clutch perimeter punch, and Jones’s two-way activity give the visitors multiple endgame options. Add another night of confident spacing and the Chanticleers can tilt the math from deep—especially if they get to 70+. For Louisiana, maintaining defensive discipline, limiting second chances, and forcing Coastal to beat single coverage inside could neutralize the visitors’ perimeter edge.
With postseason positioning tightening, this matchup offers more than a mid-February measuring stick. It’s a chance for Coastal to claim a meaningful road scalp, snap a building-specific skid, and secure a milestone eighth league win—all while keeping momentum rolling into the final stretch.
