One Shining Privateer

The "One Shining Moment" montage at the end of each NCAA basketball national championship game is now an institution.

But did you know there's brief Privateer representation in the very first one, from 1987?  It was the tournament in which UNO scored the only NCAA tourny win in school history. The clip, though, quite obviously came from New Orleans' 101-76 loss to Alabama in Round 2.

Spot it, and win free season tickets for this upcoming season!  Just kidding, do we look rich?  But you WILL win the title of "Super Bestest Privateer Fan," and that plus 4 bucks will get you a cup of coffee.

We've Had a Facelift

Privateer Island has been spruced up a bit.

And as you can see, some choices have definitely been made. It's not that the term "LSU-New Orleans" will never be used, or the purple and gold logo will never be displayed, but this site has always given a special nod to tradition and nostalgia. That is the spirit behind the heavily blue color scheme that we've totally doubled down on.

Further, some recent frustrations with Tapatalk have convinced me that we need to be hosting our own forum on our own server. It has always been my vision to heavily tie the forum to the main site, but the rather rigid structure of Tapatalk (and, to be fair, other forum hosts) made that unworkable. I think what is launching today is as close as we're gonna get to that -- one reasonably unified Privateer Island.

For those disillusioned with the LSU stuff -- and you should be -- please stop by from time to time and join the message board discussion anyway. And keep an eye on the main site for occasional blasts from the past. Privateer athletics isn't just a 2026 thing; here, its entire history is celebrated.

Even the history of Privateer Island itself.

SLU Denies UNO a Tourney Bye

Playing its final home game in silver and blue, the New Orleans Privateers laid an egg at Lakefront Arena, falling to Southeastern Louisiana 82-78.

Only needing a win to secure a bye in the upcoming Southland Conference tournament, the Privateers (14-17, 12-10) were outhustled throughout the first half, falling behind 40-32. While New Orleans came out of the locker room more energized, they could never pull away from the last-place Lions, who surged ahead in the final two minutes to steal a win.

Jay Buckley, who was an all-conference guard for SLU last season, scored 28 points and dished 13 assists against his former team to lead the Privateers. Coleton Benson added 21 despite struggling again from the field.

UNO will play in Lake Charles next week in the first round of the league tournament.

Tough Day on the Lakefront

A day of struggles for UNO concluded with a men's basketball loss at the hands of McNeese State, 66-63.

New Orleans (14-16, 12-9) appeared ready to go but just could not keep pace with the visiting Cowboys early. In particular, they could not contain McNeese's Larry Johnson, who led all scorers with 16  points in the first half. He would only score 1 in the second half, however, as the Privateers rallied.

UNO hung around and hung around and finally overtook McNeese in the stretch run, taking a 56-52 lead on a Kedrick Osby three. UNO led 63-60 with just a minute left, but the Cowboys scored the final six points of the game, including a Tyshawn Archie leaner to put McNeese up with 2.6 seconds left.

Osby led New Orleans with 16 points. Coleton Benson was the only other Privateer in double digits, but he struggled terribly from the field, shooting just 3-for-14 and 0-for-5 from deep. UNO as a team shot just 3-for-21 from three. McNeese was not much better at 4-for-22.

UNO will need to defeat Southeastern Louisiana on Monday night on the lakefront in order to secure a single bye in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament in Lake Charles.

Earlier in the day, the women's basketball team fell to McNeese despite Lauren Banks' 20 points. And before that, Stephen F. Austin's baseball team defeated UNO 3-1 at Maestri Field to drop the Privateers to 0-2 on the young Southland season.

Privateers Get Stunner at SFA

New Orleans broke Stephen F. Austin's 13-game winning streak, pulling a 77-73 upset in Nacogdoches on Monday night.

Led by Coleton Benson's 30-point night as well as M.J. Thomas' gutty 18-point, 10-rebound effort, UNO (14-15, 12-8) clinched a winning record in the Southland and bolstered their chances of securing a single bye in the SLC Tournament.

The Privateers jumped out to a 14-4 lead and maintained their edge throughout the first half, leading 31-23 at the break. Like they did in their five-point win at Lakefront Arena earlier this season, SFA came out of the locker room strong, surging ahead briefly before New Orleans' poise helped them regain the lead, which grew as large as 58-45 before a late Lumberjacks surge.

At 69-67, the Privateers missed two shots, but Panagiotis Pagonis rebounded both of them to keep the possession alive, then converted two free throws to extend the lead and help secure the win.

T.J. Cope added 11 points for New Orleans, and Jay Buckley struggled with his shot but contributed 11 assists.

UNO will return home with confidence to face McNeese on Saturday.