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As a longsuffering Saints fan,I can handle this. The years have trained me well.Quote:
Originally posted by RaginFan
:mad: why am i not surprised the cajuns are out of the conference. ousted by denver no less. typical.
As a suffering fan of the Ragin Cajuns this one hurts because I know how good they could have been.
I agree with you somehow I am not surprised. Still I am not ready for the season to end.
IF ONLY Brad Boyd had shot 4 of 15 (27%) from 3 point land, instead of his 3-15(20%)
And IF ONLY Bridges had shot 2 of 9 (22%) instead of his 1-9 (11%)
Louisiana would have won.
Actually if either one had made that one extra shot, at any time in the game the Cajuns could have played for the last shot instead of having to foul.
That is why I can't blame Jessie for this loss, or simular losses.
I don't think its over, i'm still betting on an NIT bid. I just home someone can light a fire under their @$$es.
<blockquote><p align=justify>Western Kentucky, Middle Tenn. to play for automatic NCAA berth
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Patrick Sparks had 28 points and seven rebounds as Western Kentucky defeated New Mexico State 78-59 Monday night in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
Western, the two-time defending conference champion, will play Middle Tennessee Tuesday night for the conference crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
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Leading by eight at the break, the Hilltoppers (23-8) went on a 14-4 run to take a 62-45 lead with 7:57 left in the game.
David Boyden, who had 11 points for Western, scored six points during the decisive run.
Less than a minute later, two Sparks free throws extended the lead to 19, 64-45, and the Aggies (20-9) never threatened again.
James Moore, the conference player of the year, was held to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Point guard Jason Fontenet led New Mexico State with 16 points.-->
<blockquote><p align=justify>BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Tommy Gunn scored 19 points and John Humphrey added 15 as Middle Tennessee defeated Denver 83-59 Monday night in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
Middle Tennessee (16-13) advanced to play Western Kentucky, a 78-59 semifinal winner over New Mexico State Monday night, in the conference championship Tuesday night. The winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
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The Blue Raiders had runs of 14-6 and 12-4 to go up 73-47 with 6:36 remaining.
Gunn and Humphrey were too quick for Denver’s defense, regularly slashing to the paint for easy layups or kicking out to teammates for open jumpers.
Middle Tennessee reeled off a 15-5 run almost from the opening tip. A William Pippen 3-pointer with 11:26 left in the first half put the Blue Raiders up 20-8.
Denver could manage only two field goals in the first 8:32. B.J. Pratt, who averaged almost 30 points in Denver’s two tournament wins, didn’t score until the last five minutes of the first half.
Pratt finished with eight points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. Zupic Zeljko led the Pioneers with 14 points and 15 rebounds. -->
<i><center>Hilltoppers capture titles in men’s, women’s finals. </i></center><blockquote><p align=justify>BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Mike Wells had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Western Kentucky beat Middle Tennessee 64-52 Tuesday night to win the Sun Belt Conference tournament and an automatic bid to the NCAAs.
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Patrick Sparks bounced back from a poor first half to score 12 points and hand out seven assists for the Hilltoppers (24-8). His five steals started the fastbreaks that allowed Western Kentucky to pull away.
The Hilltoppers broke a 23-all halftime tie with 7-0 and 11-2 runs to take a 43-29 lead with just more than 11 minutes left. The Blue Raiders (16-14) never recovered.
After shooting 43.5 percent in the first half, Middle Tennessee struggled through scoreless droughts of 6:58, 3:10 and 3:05 in the second half.
Tommy Gunn, who scored 19 points against Denver in Monday night’s semifinal, had just 11 on 4-for-10 shooting this time.
William Pippen led the Blue Raiders with 12 points.
Middle Tennessee shot better from the floor than Western Kentucky, 41.5 percent (22-of-53) to 40 percent (20-of-50), but the Blue Raiders went to the foul line just 11 times — making six.
The Hilltoppers were 18-of-24 from the line.
WKU 86, Middle Tennessee 83
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Leslie Logsdon scored a career-high 32 points as Western Kentucky defeated Middle Tennessee 86-83 Tuesday to win the Sun Belt Conference tournament and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Logsdon, who broke her previous career best of 23 points with a 30-point first half, was 8-of-13 from 3-point range, also a career best.
With Middle Tennessee (18-12) trailing 86-83 with four seconds left, a 3-point attempt by Patrice Holmes was partially blocked by Tiffany Porter-Talbert. Western (22-8) rebounded the errant shot.
Tia Stovall led Middle Tennessee with 22 points. Holmes had 19 points.
Western Kentucky led by 10 points at the break, but Middle Tennessee used a 17-7 run to go ahead 61-60 with just over 10 minutes left.
The teams went virtually traded baskets for the remainder of the game until a layup by Shala Reese put Western up 80-75 with just over two minutes left.
Reese had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Western.
Western, which will return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000, advanced to the NCAA championship game in 1992, but lost to Stanford 78-62.
Western has eight conference titles in 21 tournaments.
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<table width=525 cellspacing=4><TR ALIGN=CENTER><td class="s2"><b>End of Regular Season Ranking</b></TR></TABLE></CENTER><P><TABLE border=1 cellPadding=2 cellSpacing=1 width=525><TBODY><TR ALIGN=CENTER><td class="s2"><b>Rank</b></TD><TD><b>Previous</b></TD><TD><b>Team (1st place votes)</b></TD><TD><b>Record</b></TD><TD><b>Points</b></TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> Butler (15)</TD><TD>25-4</TD><TD>757</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD> Southern Illinois (7)</TD><TD>24-5</TD><TD>740</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD> Creighton (7)</TD><TD>28-4</TD><TD>739</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>4</TD><TD>4</TD><TD> Weber State (2)</TD><TD>24-5</TD><TD>702</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>5</TD><TD>5</TD><TD> Gonzaga</TD><TD>23-7</TD><TD>641</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>6</TD><TD>7</TD><TD> Wisconsin-Milwaukee</TD><TD>23-7</TD><TD>623</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>7</TD><TD>8</TD><TD> UNC-Wilmington</TD><TD>22-6</TD><TD>579</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>8</TD><TD>9</TD><TD> Manhattan</TD><TD>22-6</TD><TD>562</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>9</TD><TD>10</TD><TD> Western Kentucky</TD><TD>22-8</TD><TD>510</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>10</TD><TD>6</TD><TD> College of Charleston</TD><TD>24-7</TD><TD>491</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>11</TD><TD>11</TD><TD> Troy State</TD><TD>26-5</TD><TD>458</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>12</TD><TD>12</TD><TD> Central Michigan</TD><TD>21-6</TD><TD>436</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>13</TD><TD>14</TD><TD> Holy Cross</TD><TD>25-4</TD><TD>409</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>14</TD><TD>15</TD><TD> Pennsylvania</TD><TD>21-5</TD><TD>351</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>15</TD><TD>16</TD><TD> Utah State</TD><TD>21-8</TD><TD>317</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><b>16</TD><TD><b>13</TD><TD><b> Louisiana</TD><TD><b>20-9</TD><TD><b>272</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>17</TD><TD>18</TD><TD> Kent State</TD><TD>19-8</TD><TD>263</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>18</TD><TD>21</TD><TD> UC Irvine</TD><TD>19-8</TD><TD>219</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>19</TD><TD>17</TD><TD> Illinois-Chicago</TD><TD>21-8</TD><TD>174</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>20</TD><TD>22</TD><TD> Sam Houston State</TD><TD>21-6</TD><TD>164</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>21</TD><TD>NR</TD><TD> East Tennessee State</TD><TD>20-10</TD><TD>158</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>22</TD><TD>24</TD><TD> Valparaiso</TD><TD>19-9</TD><TD>108</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>23</TD><TD>NR</TD><TD> Austin Peay</TD><TD>23-7</TD><TD>91</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>24</TD><TD>NR</TD><TD> New Mexico State</TD><TD>21-8</TD><TD>49</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD>25</TD><TD>23</TD><TD> Mercer</TD><TD>23-6</TD><TD>40</TD></TR></TABLE><center><p><a href="http://www.collegeinsider.com/mmpoll/">Source</a>
I know UL had a disappointing end in the SBC tourney, and it has left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth, but the bottomline is we still have another chance. I am personally excited for postseason play, and I hope we have a chance at a home game. I think our guys will be ready, and I personally have been waiting all week to see who we hopefully play. I know we will come out fired up, and I am ready. I hope you guys are ready, and I hope we all back them up as we make another postseason push.
When will we find out if the Cajuns make the NIT?
I checked the NIT website but they had no info on it.
I don't know when but it seemed last year it forever before it was announced and their website was not updated very quickly. :(
I think our guys will be ready too. Mentally anyway but 1 game in 20 days scares the chances.
The Ice Gators have the Cajun Dome booked on the twenty-first and twenty-second and 30th. UL will play UAB at UAB. I bet UAB will be out to avenge the shutout loss in football.
<blockquote><p align=justify> LAFAYETTE — For the third time in four years, Louisiana’s men’s basketball team has wrapped up Selection Sunday with a berth in a national postseason tournament.
The Ragin’ Cajuns were extended an invitation to play in the National Invitation Tournament at approximately 8 p.m. Sunday, and a couple of hours later they found out their opponent.
The Cajuns (20-9) are bound for Birmingham for a first-round matchup with UAB, scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at 8,500-seat Bartow Arena against a 19-12 Blazer team that fell to Louisville in the finals of the Conference USA Tournament.
“I wish we were playing them at home,” said Cajun head coach Jessie Evans, “but we certainly know a lot about them, and they know a lot about us. Both teams have some tradition. It’s going to be fun.”
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com <!--
The Cajuns, who were knocked out in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament, are 2-0 against C-USA teams this year with both wins coming in road games at Houston (72-56) and Charlotte (68-47).
The Cajuns will be making their fifth appearance in the NIT since 1980 and their second straight appearance, falling in the first round 83-63 to Louisiana Tech in Ruston last March 13. Louisiana is the only state team and the only Sun Belt Conference team in the NIT.
LSU, the No. 8 seed in the NCAA’s South Region and facing Purdue in that tournament Friday in Birmingham, is the only other state team in postseason play. Western Kentucky is the only other Sun Belt team in the postseason, with the Hilltoppers the No. 13 seed in the NCAA’s West Region and facing Illinois on Thursday in Indianapolis.
The Cajuns are 3-1 in NIT first-round play, advancing to the quarterfinals in 1980 and the second round in 1985 after reaching the NIT Final Four in New York in 1984.
Ironically, the first NIT game Louisiana ever participated in came against UAB, with the Cajuns hosting the Blazers in the tournament’s first round in 1980 and taking a last-second 74-72 win on Dion Rainey’s buzzer-beating jumper. The Cajuns reached the quarterfinals that year.
The teams have met on only one other occasion, that coming in the Great Alaska Shootout in Evans’ first year in the program in 1997. UAB took a 75-67 win in the consolation semifinals.
Evans said this year’s task could be even tougher.
“Any team that gets to the Conference USA finals and has a chance to beat Louisville is a good team,” he said. “They’re not very big, but they press a lot. They’ve got some big wins under their belts.”
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Yes and for those out-of-staters, Jay has assured me that all games will be on the KPEL web as long as the team is playing.
GEAUX LOUISIANA'S RAGIN CAJUNS
<a href="https://forumeus.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1759">Thanks Trigger74</a>Quote:
Originally posted by Trigger74
Yes and for those out-of-staters, Jay has assured me that all games will be on the KPEL web as long as the team is playing.
GEAUX LOUISIANA'S RAGIN CAJUNS
I'm glad our season isn't over yet.
I'll go ahead and warn you; UAB is HOT right now. Their win over Marquette (C-USA regular season champs and No. 8 in the nation) wasn't a fluke, they took it to them.
UL is definitely capable of beating them, but y'all need to be clicking when you hit Birmingham.
Best of luck.
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — The last time Louisiana was in the National Invitation Tournament, the Ragin’ Cajuns played like they didn’t care about the outcome. The result was predictable, an 83-63 loss at Louisiana Tech in 2002 shortly after the Cajuns had lost to Western Kentucky in the finals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Coach Jessie Evans is hoping for a better performance on Wednesday when his 20-9 team travels to face 19-12 Alabama-Birmingham in the NIT.
“Last year, the (Sun Belt) tournament was closer to the invitation to the NIT,” Evans said Monday. “We were still recovering from the loss in the finals.
“We’re a little more mature this year, and we’ve had a little more time to get over it.”
The Cajuns suffered an unexpectedly early loss in the Sun Belt quarterfinals, falling 72-68 to Denver for the first time in school history, and have been inactive since March 8.
“It’s given us the opportunity to heal,” Evans said. “Laurie (team MVP Laurie Bridges) was about 60-70 percent in the Sun Belt Tournanent with a deep thigh bruise.
“And, (senior) Anthony Johnson is feeling a lot better with his lower leg injury. They’re all able to practice this year.”
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com <!--
Louisiana averaged 5,670 fans per game in the Cajundome during the season, and the Cajuns had hoped to land a home game to start the NIT. But they instead were assigned a road trip out of the gate.
“That does not faze our basketball team at all,” said Evans, whose squad was 10-8 away from home. “We know the routine. That will not change. The stakes are just higher now.
“It’s only fitting that we go on the road, with as many games as we’ve played there this year. I knew we would probably go on the road, and that’s fine with us _ just as long as we get to play.”
Evans’ Cajuns, who leave for Birmingham today, suffered a 92-86 loss at Birmingham Southern in the third game of the campaign in a previous visit this season.
UAB, a surprise finalist in the Conference USA Tournament where it lost 83-78 to Louisville, whipped Birmingham Southern 71-53. In two previous games this year against C-USA teams, the Cajuns are 2-0 with wins at Charlotte (68-47) and at Houston (72-56).
“Louisiana's a very good basketball team,” UAB coach Mike Anderson said. “I got a chance to watch the Charlotte game (UAB split two meetings with Charlotte).
“Jessie, I know him personally as a friend and he does a good job. He has the big (Michael) Southall kid and they have big guards, and I just remember that they have a very athletic team and they play up-tempo.
“When you get to tournament play, every team is going to be good. They didn’t win 20 games just by winning 20 games. They beat Mississippi State at Mississippi State, and that’s very impressive. We have our work cut out for us.”
The Blazers are in a similar position to the Cajuns of 2002, except that they can play at home after losing a chance at the NCAA Tournament with a loss in their conference finals.
“As far as a letdown,” Anderson said, “that’s something that concerns you as a coach.”At the same time, I think our guys just want to continue to play basketball. We have two seniors that just want to continue to play, and now they have another opportunity to play another game at Bartow (Arena).
“Our goal was to get to the NCAA, no question about that, but our guys will
be ready to play. I won’t let them have a letdown.”
“I know Mike from when I was an assistant at Arizona and he was at Arkansas,” Evans said. “He’s a disciple of Nolan Richardson, so we know they’ll press for 40 minutes. We’ve got to be able to handle the pressure. “We’re excited about playing. It’s a credit to our program that we’ve been in postseason for three of the last four years. “We need to play well, obviously. We must go over there and play well. We need to make the tournament work for us.”
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<blockquote><p align=justify>BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — For four days last week, Alabama-Birmingham’s basketball team was the talk of the Conference USA Tournament.
The Blazers wore the Cinderella slipper with three wins in three days to reach that league’s final, including upsets along the way over No. 8-ranked Marquette and a higher-seeded Saint Louis team.
Even though the glass slipper cracked in an 83-78 loss to Louisville in the finals, it was a memorable week for UAB head coach Mike Anderson.
“That was an opportunity for our team and our program to show people around the country that we had progressed tremendously,” he said. “We were progressing pretty nicely.”
Anderson will be hoping his 19-12 Blazers can sustain that hot stretch when they welcome Louisiana's Ragin’ Cajuns in the first round of the NIT Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
That is, if his team can reach the emotional pitch that it used to get within five points of a seemingly-impossible NCAA berth.
“That’s something that does concern you as a coach,” Anderson said. “At the same time, I think our guys just want to continue to play basketball. We’ve got two seniors that just want to continue to play, and now they have another opportunity to play another game at Bartow.
“Our goal was to get to the NCAA, no doubt about that, but our guys will be ready to play. I won’t let them have a letdown.”
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com <!--
UAB had to play four games in four days in the C-USA meet, and still led Louisville at halftime and were within one point and had possession in the final 30 seconds against the Cardinals.
“We were shooting at the NCAA Tournament,” Anderson said, “and our way to get there was through the conference tournament. When you get on a roll like that, things happen. Our defense was the best it had been all season long.
“Eric Bush and Mo Finley took charge of the team, and the other guys just followed suit.”
Bush and Morris Finley, at 5-foot-10 and 5-foot-11, had been providing a spark for the Blazers even before the league tournament. Finley ranked among C-USA’s leading scorers with an 18.3 average and Bush, one of only two seniors on the Blazer roster, averaged nine points and 3.7 assists along with ranking in the nation’s top five in steals (3.2/game).
UAB, in fact, averaged an incredible 11.9 steals per game during the season and forced an average of 22 turnovers an outing.
“We really have to take care of the ball against these guys,” said Louisiana head coach Jessie Evans. “With Bush and Finley, it’s like playing against two Kenneth Lawrences out there. They do a great job of forcing you into turnovers.”
The Blazers are making their eighth NIT appearance and their first since 1998, and are among three C-USA teams in the NIT this year.
UAB had won three in a row before a stretch going into the league tournament that included road rosses at Marquette and Cincinnati and a home loss to Memphis. All three wound up as top-eight NCAA seeds.
“We were playing pretty good basketball down the stretch,” Anderson said. “For people just looking at the scores and the standings, we lost three in a row, but look at the schedule. We were playing good people.”
Anderson said that the same will be true on Wednesday when he plays against a familiar coaching acquaintance.
“I got a chance to watch their game with Charlotte when they won by 21 points,” Anderson said of Louisiana. “I know Jessie pretty well and I know he has a good team. They’re very athletic and they play up tempo. They didn’t win 20 games just by accident. We have our work cut out for us.”
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I will be shocked, stunned and stupefied should the Cajuns win on Wednesday.
Blazers up early 4-0
Jay says the Cajuns are playing hard.
16-15 UAB
21-16 Louisiana
Th defense is on fire.
Nice job right there on D