MONROE, La. (Interstat) — A Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball matchup Wednesday pits teams heading in opposite directions, as the Troy Trojans visit the struggling Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Troy (17-10) enters the contest looking to rebound from a 65-69 road loss at Southern Mississippi on Saturday. Despite the defeat, the Trojans had won four of their previous six games. A key to their success has been forward Thomas Dowd, who is coming off a 13-point, 3-block performance against Southern Miss. Over his last eight games, Dowd has averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds, including a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double in a win at Georgia Southern on Jan. 24. Louisiana-Monroe (4-23) seeks to halt a two-game skid after falling 84-95 at Texas State on Saturday. The Warhawks’ season has been defined by offensive struggles and defensive lapses, but they have a dynamic scorer in guard Lavell Brodnex. He erupted for a career-high 31 points against Texas State and has averaged 20.5 points over his last four contests, including 21 points in a road win at Old Dominion on Feb. 4. The teams’ records paint a stark contrast. Troy sits firmly in the upper half of the conference standings, while ULM anchors the bottom with just one win in its last 11 outings. The Warhawks have particularly struggled at home, losing nine of their last ten games in Monroe. For Troy, maintaining focus against a lower-ranked opponent will be critical as they jockey for postseason positioning. Containing Brodnex will be a primary defensive objective. For Louisiana-Monroe, the challenge is to build on Brodnex’s offensive outburst and find consistent support to pull off a conference upset. This is the first of two scheduled meetings between the schools this month. They are set to meet again at Troy on Feb. 27. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST Wednesday.