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Louisiana Monroe will be up against a stiff challenge to open the 2022-23 season when it faces Texas A&M on Monday night. The Warhawks struggled during conference play last year, going 5-13. Texas A&M put together a strong finish to last year, narrowly missing out on an NCAA Tournament berth.
Louisiana Monroe is coming off yet another disappointing campaign, finishing the year on a six-game losing skid. The Warhawks went 5-8 to open conference play, but all five of those wins came against bad teams. They finished next-to-last in the Sun Belt and have not had a winning record since the 2018-19 season. Head coach Keith Richard was tasked with replacing multiple key players during the offseason, including top scorer Andre Jones, who graduated after averaging 15.6 points per game last year. The Warhawks also lost second-leading scorer Russell Harrison (13.1 ppg) after he decided to transfer to Oklahoma State.
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— ULM Men's Basketball (@ULM_MBB) November 7, 2022
Richard went to work in the transfer portal though, adding five players to the roster. He picked up 6-10 center Victor Bafutto from Mercer, guard Devon Hancock from Milwaukee, guard Jamari Blackmon from North Alabama, forward AD Diedhiou from UAB and forward Savion Gallion from South Plains College. Richard told reporters that he was really excited about the class, “especially in terms of adding more scoring options to the playing rotation.” KenPom is not sold on those moves though, listed Louisiana Monroe at No. 251 out of 363 Division I teams in offensive efficiency. The Warhawks are expected to be slightly better on defense, ranked No. 238.