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DENTON, Texas - That adage about having bad luck as opposed to no luck at all?
It's still hanging there, hovering like a cloud over UL's Athletic Department every time the Cajuns prepare to host one of the Sun Belt Conference's major events.
The Sun Belt Conference Torunament begins Saturday at the Cajundome. UL's men won't be taking part, courtesy of the Cajuns' 93-78 loss to North Texas here Wednesday.
It's what most fans feared, but expected, most of the season, UL's late-season improvement notwithstanding. The fear became a reality midway through Wednesday's first half when UNT's Kendrick Davis realized who the guys were in the red jerseys.
Davis, a Cajun killer for the last two seasons, had 18 points in the game's first 15 minutes and the rest of the Mean Green followed his lead on the way to a 50-point first half.
It didn't help much that game officials Kelly Self, Brad Ferrie and Jeff Malham let the game sink to NBA levels for a five-minute period in the first half. Traveling became non-existent - one replay showed a full three steps on Michael Sturns' fake-behind-the-back layup - and one "continuation" three-point play would have made "Magic" Johnson proud.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301/SPORTS/703010328/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theavertiser.com
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That played into the hands of the Mean Green, easily the most athletic team in the Western Division and probably in the entire league. The Cajuns, desperate to keep the pace of the game under control, had no chance to keep that pace up for 40 minutes.
UL did get within nine at halftime and cut the margin to four points in the first three minutes after halftime, in part because North Texas reverted to its defense-challenged roots. From that point on, though, UNT turned the inside game on both ends into a combination of volleyball and rugby -lots of players above the rim and lots of players scrumming down low for loose balls, most of which the hosts controlled.
That athleticism bodes well for the Mean Green in the tournament draw, especially if the tournament games as normal turn into physical contests.
In Sunday's quarterfinals, UNT will face a struggling UL Monroe team that will also be at a significant athletic deficit. After that, it's likely South Alabama - losers of its last two games - in the semifinals.
UNT's chances for success won't be much consolation to Cajun fans, a group that's getting used to hosting events without their favorites in the field.
It was in 2001 that UL last hosted one of the Sun Belt's premier events, that being the baseball championship at Moore Field. That year, the Cajuns were coming off their best-ever season, one that included a first-ever appearance in the College World Series and an eventual tie for third nationally.
So, what happened? The Cajuns didn't even make the eight-team field for the conference meet, and the UL players were reduced to shagging foul balls and dragging the infield.
UL's men's players won't be mopping the court this weekend, but that doesn't mean the disappointment will be any less.
What will be less is tournament attendance. Don't expect any decent crowds, unless a lot of locals suddenly realize that UL's women's basketball squad is among the league's best and among the league's most entertaining.
Again, that's small consolation.
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