Louisiana basketball’s nonconference game against UNC Wilmington has been postponed due to a severe lack of available student-athletes. The school announced the decision Thursday, citing an ongoing wave of injuries, concussions, and a spreading illness within the Ragin’ Cajuns locker room.
The matchup was originally scheduled for Saturday. University officials confirmed they intend to work with UNC Wilmington to find a mutually agreeable date to reschedule the contest later in the season.
Head coach Quannas White’s squad faced severe roster constraints earlier in the week. The Ragin’ Cajuns suited up just nine available players during a narrow 56-39 victory over Southern New Orleans on Monday.
Tyshawn Duncan, Deion Ware, and Todd Jones are currently dealing with injuries and have not logged any playing time during the current campaign.
Illness sweeps through roster
The situation worsened when an acute illness began moving rapidly through the team. Forward Dani Pounds, a 6-foot-8 junior who tallied 15 points during the opening-night 75-61 loss to Akron, missed Monday’s game after falling sick.
Athletic department officials said that the exact same illness quickly spread through the remainder of the locker room. That rapid transmission left the program with an insufficient number of healthy players to safely field a competitive lineup for the weekend.
The postponement leaves Louisiana with a 1-2 record early in the schedule. The team opened with the defeat against Akron, followed by a 67-60 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before bouncing back against Southern New Orleans.
Rebuilding under White
The current season marks the second year at the helm for White. He arrived in Louisiana after spending nearly a decade as one of Kelvin Sampson’s top-shelf assistants at Houston.
Last year, the Ragin’ Cajuns struggled through an 11-22 campaign, including a 7-11 mark in Sun Belt Conference play. Despite those struggles, program observers anticipated a bounceback performance this winter.
Louisiana was picked to finish sixth in the 2026-27 Sun Belt preseason poll.
Athletic administrators discuss makeup window for postponed fixture
Athletic administrators have not yet announced a new date for the postponed fixture. University spokespersons said that athletic departments are still discussing a makeup window.
Medical staff continue to monitor the recovering players as the team awaits clearance to resume normal practice sessions.
