UL - Sun Belt West Division co-champion Louisiana will host one of first Sun Belt Conference Championship first round games as the Ragin’ Cajuns face the 12th-seeded Troy Trojans Wednesday at 8:05 p.m...
Louisiana’s West Division title was its first since the 2002-03 season when the Cajuns won a share of the division crowd with a 12-3 record...
Louisiana enters Wednesday’s game having lost its last two games in the Sun Belt Conference Championship. The Cajuns’ last tournament victory was March 5, 2006, against, ironically, Troy - a 62-59 overtime decision...The winner of Wednesday’s Louisiana-Troy game will face the winner of No. 4 Middle Tennessee-No. 13 ULM on Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m...The Ragin’ Cajuns have won five of the last six games (3-1 at home) and seven of the last 10...
Louisiana is now one of three schools in NCAA Division I (347 members) with no players averaging double fi gures in scoring, joining Savannah State and fellow Sun Belt West Division co-leader UALR...
Nearly eighty-three (82.8) percent of Louisiana’s offense this season comes from freshman or sophomores - the most of any Division I school in the nation. Of the Cajuns’ 1,891 points this season, only 325 of those come from seniors (Dees, Milson and Barksdale)...
On Saturday, Louisiana was whistled for a season-low eight fouls - the lowest of the Robert Lee era. It was also the first time the Cajuns committed less than 10 fouls since being called for nine fouls on Nov. 18, 2003 at Georgia Tech...
If the season ended today, newcomers Chris Gradnigo (43.6%) and Randell Daigle (39.0%) would rank in the single-season top 10 for three-point field goal percentage.
Troy Preview. Since starting the regular season 8-6, Troy (11-18) has lost 12 of its last 15 games, including an 87-66 loss to Louisiana on Jan. 27, 2008, in Troy, Ala. Nine of the Trojans’ 11 victories this season have come at Trojan Arena, while posting a 2-12 record away from Troy...
O’Darien Bassett leads all Trojans with 18.3 points per game, including a 42-point performance against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 27. Bassett has led the Trojans in scoring in 16 of 29 games this season, while posting 20 or more points nine times...Troy has scored 80 or more points 12 times this season, while Louisiana has scored 80 or more just once (against Troy).
A Win by Louisiana...would advance the Ragin’ Cajuns to the Quarterfinal Round of the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. Louisiana would face the winner of No. 4 Middle Tennessee-No. 13 ULM on Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m.
A Loss by Louisiana...would end the Ragin’ Cajuns’ season at 15-15 overall.
Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament...Louisiana is 18-11 in the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament since its first season in the league (1991-92)...The Ragin’ Cajuns are 2-2 all-time in four Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament games at the CAJUNDOME. Louisiana has not won a SBC Tournament game at the CAJUNDOME since March 1, 1998 - an 81-65 win over Lamar.
Cajuns Clinch First Division Crown Since 2002-03...With the Sun Belt Conference West Division championship on the line, Louisiana avenged one of its worst losses last month with a 58-51 victory over the Denver Pioneers Saturday night...Louisiana’s victory guaranteed the Cajuns a share of the Sun Belt West Division title - the Cajuns’ first division title since finishing 12-3 with a share of the West Division title in 2002-03.
Gradnigo Steals the Show on Senior Night...In what has been the theme all season long, it was a freshman that stole the show on Senior Night Saturday. Freshman forward Chris Gradnigo scored a game-high 24 points, falling one point shy of his career high. Gradnigo connected on a career-high-tying 9-of-13 shots and 4-of-6 from three-point range.
Daigle Does It Again...In a reversal of recent series misfortunes, sophomore Randell Daigle torched North Texas for a career-high-tying 17 points again as the Ragin’ Cajuns kept their hopes for a Sun Belt Conference West Division title alive with a 63-58 victory Thursday night at the CAJUNDOME...In the January meeting between the teams in Denton, Daigle also scored 17 points, including five three-point field goals, but fouled out in the game’s last four minutes...The win snapped Louisiana’s four-game losing streak to North Texas. The Cajuns lost all three series meetings last season.
Whistling Victory...On Saturday, Louisiana was whistled for a season-low eight fouls - the lowest of the Robert Lee era. It was also the first the Cajuns committed less than 10 fouls since being called for nine fouls on Nov. 18, 2003 at Georgia Tech.
Interestingly Enough...In Thursday night’s game, North Texas had 14 deadball rebounds - the most of any Louisiana opponent this season. The Mean Green went 14-for-31 from the free throw line in Thursday’s loss. Fourteen (14) of those 17 misses were deadball rebounds.
Triple Happy...If the season ended today, newcomers Chris Gradnigo (43.6%) and Randell Daigle (39.0%) would rank in the single-season top 10 for three-point field goal percentage.
Select Company...Louisiana is now one of three schools in NCAA Division I (347 members) with no players averaging double figures in scoring, joining Savannah State and fellow Sun Belt West Division co-leader UALR.
Fountain of Youth...Nearly eighty-three (82.8) percent of Louisiana’s offense this season comes from freshman or sophomores - the most of any Division I school in the nation. Of the Cajuns’ 1,891 points this season, only 325 of those come from seniors (Dees, Milson and Barksdale).
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