Ragin' Cajuns look for more inside play

[NewsCopy]

  It’s the final non-conference game of the 2008-09 season on Monday, Jan. 19 in Birmingham when Louisiana meets UAB at Bartow Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 3-7 in non-conference play; UAB is 9-5.

● Louisiana has alternated wins and losses in the last four games since the turn of the calendar year. UL lost to UALR in overtime by a 79-71 count in the last outing.
● The Cajuns are back in Alabama for the third time this season and second time in the last nine days. On Saturday, Jan. 10 UL visited Troy (W, 83-81). In December, Louisiana faced the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa (L, 44-61).
● Louisiana and UAB have one common opponent – Troy. UAB swept the Trojans in a home-and-home series (87-66 on Nov. 15 in Troy; 73-68 on Dec. 20 in Birmingham).
● Louisiana great Andrew Toney is the father of UAB senior guard Channing Toney. The elder Toney, ranks second in UL history with 2,526 career points.
● The Cajuns’ perimeter game has heated up since the return of Randell Daigle. Louisiana has made 60 triples over six games (10.0 per game). Prior to his return, the Cajuns had made 58 triples in the season’s first 10 games (5.8 per game).
● Chris Gradnigo has seen consistent success in four games this New Year. He set a season-high with 14 points vs. Denver (1/3) and tied that mark at New Orleans. For the third time in less than two weeks he set a season-high, scoring 20 vs. UALR (1/15).

GRADNIGO IN A GROOVE
● In the last four games Chris Gradnigo is shooting 26-of-49 (53 percent) and has made at least six field goals in each game.
● On the UNO-Troy road trip, he averaged 16 points per game in only 20.5 minutes played per game. Gradnigo shot 12-of-21 from the floor (57 percent) and 6-of-7 (86 percent) from three-point range.
● Against UALR, Gradnigo scored 16 in the first half en route to establishing his season-high of 20. He also made a season-high eight field goals (8-of-15).

CLOSE CALLS...FANTASTIC FINISHES
● The Cajuns have been involved in close calls as of late – four of the last five games have been decided by three points or less. The UALR game was a one-point contest for the final 3:15 of regulation.
● Each game has gone down to the wire as well. The Denver game was a double OT thriller. At UNO, the Cajuns cut the lead to one and had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left. At Troy, UL made four free throws in the final 36 seconds to seal the win. UL and UALR swapped the lead three times in the final 1:45 of regulation and the Cajuns had a chance to win the game at the free throw line with four seconds on the clock.
● The Cajuns are 2-3 during the stretch (wins: DU & Troy/losses: LSU, UNO & UALR).

THE SHARPSHOOTERS
● The Cajuns have three players shooting above 40 percent from three-point range – Ryan McCoy (54%), Randell Daigle (46%) and Travis Bureau (43%)

EXTRA BASKETBALL
● UL played its third overtime affair of the season last Thursday vs. UALR.
● The last time the Cajuns had three OT games – 2005-06.
● The Cajuns have played 10 OT games under Robert Lee (5-5 record).
● When’s the last time a Cajuns team had four OT games in a season? 1991-92.
“RADAR” DIALS ‘EM HOME
● Randell Daigle is shooting 21-of-45 from three-point range (46.7%) in six games since returning from injury. Shot 9-of-14 from three-point land in UT and LSU games combined.
● Daigle is averaging 3.5 triples per game and has made at least four in four games.

THE TRIPLE THREAT
● The combination of Travis Bureau, Randell Daigle and Chris Gradnigo fuel the Louisiana offense.
● They combine to average 43.2 points of the Cajuns’ 66.8 average (65%).
● They combine for 79 three-point field goals made out of UL’s 118 (67%).
● Overall shooting percentages: Bureau (48.7%), Daigle (46.5%), Gradnigo (45.7%)

THE LEADS THAT SLIPPED AWAY
● Louisiana’s record could be reversed. Four times a lead of eight points or better in the second half slipped away. Each time, UL had a chance to win in the final seconds.
● La. Tech (41-31), Sam Houston St. (34-24), New Orleans (51-43) and UALR (58-48).

UALR LEFTOVERS
● Louisiana lost its fourth straight game to UALR and saw its series lead lowered to 18-12. UL is now 9-4 vs. UALR in the CAJUNDOME (10-4 in Lafayette).
● The loss puts the Cajuns two games back of UALR in the SBC West standings with one-third of the league’s slate complete.
● Louisiana shot 13-of-24 (54.2%) in the first half, but only 12-of-37 (32.4%) in the final 25 minutes. Conversely, UALR shot 16-of-23 (69.6%) after halftime.
● La’Ryan Gary set season-highs and career-highs in steals (3) and blocks (3).
● Tyren Johnson blocked two shots, upping his season total to 28. He’s now two shy of tying his personal season-best, 30, set last season.
● Emmanuel Adeife was in the starting lineup for the first time this season.
● Colby Batiste blocked one shot to reach 20 for the season. He also had four rebounds in only nine minutes of action.
● Randell Daigle hit four 3-pointers, moving over 80 in his brief career.
● After Tyren Johnson fouled out with 6:08 remaining, the Cajuns were outscored 11-3 allowing UALR for force overtime.

LAST TIME VS. UAB
(Nov. 27, 2008 in CAJUNDOME – UAB won 78-72 in OT)
● Louisiana closed out the first half on a 6-2 run to take a 37-32 lead into the locker room.
● The Cajuns’ lead would reach 40-34 early on in the second stanza, but an 8-3 UAB run pulled the visitors within one, 43-42, with 16:42 remaining in regulation.
● After a 30-second timeout, Elijah Millsap hit three straight jumpers, while David Dees added a free throw to aid the Cajuns on an 7-2 run to take a 50-44 lead at 13:41.
● UAB held the lead for the first time since the 7:11 mark of the first half when it took a 61-60 edge with 4:02 remaining in the second half. That lead lasted just 29 seconds before Chris Gradnigo drained a triple from the corner, giving the Cajuns a 63-61 lead.
● UL led 69-66 after a Dees free throw with 43 seconds remaining, but three turnovers down the stretch allowed UAB to rally and force overtime.
● Randell Daigle pulled UL into a 72-all tie with 1:50 left in overtime. The Blazers then made 6-of-8 free throws over the final 1:40 to hold on for the win.

LAST TIME IN BARTOW ARENA
(March 19, 2003 – UAB won 82-80 in NIT)
● UAB’s Eric Bush drained a 17-footer with 11 seconds left that provided the winning margin as the Blazers held on for the 82-80 win in the 2003 NIT first round game.
● The highly physical and tightly contested matchup didn’t end without dramatic flair. UAB’s Brandon Tobias was hit with a technical foul with three seconds remaining.
● UL’s Brad Boyd made the first freebie to cut the UAB lead to 82-80. Boyd, though, would miss the second freebie. On the ensuing inbounds pass, the Cajuns were unable to field the ball cleanly and the clock expired.
● UL ended the night 14-of-26 from the charity stripe for a 54 percent clip – a stat which would come back to haunt them. After hitting 75 percent of their freebies in the first half, the Ragin’ Cajuns made only 8-of-18 in the second half (44 percent).

LOUISIANA VS. STATE OF ALABAMA
● Louisiana is 36-35 all-time against NCAA Division I members and 64-56 all-time against schools from the Yellowhammer State.

SERIES HISTORY
(UAB leads 3-1 overall; UAB leads 1-0 in Birmingham)
● Tonight’s meeting is the third regular season meeting, overall, and first-ever at Bartow Arena.
● The Blazers have won the last three meetings in this brief series (four all-time meetings). The streak began with a 75-67 win in the 1997 Great Alaska Shootout.
● Last season, UAB escaped the CAJUNDOME with a 78-72 victory in overtime.
● In the last meeting in Birmingham (March 19, 2003), UAB’s Eric Bush hit a jumper with 11 seconds remaining to help the Blazers defeat the Ragin’ Cajuns 82-80 in the first round of the 2003 NIT. That game was also Louisiana’s last postseason appearance.
● In the first-ever meeting between the schools, Louisiana defeated the Blazers 74-72 in the first round of the 1980 NIT at Blackham Coliseum.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA

Louisiana spends the day in Birmingham on Tuesday and leaves for Bowling Green, Ky., on Wednesday. The Cajuns return to Sun Belt action on Thursday, Jan. 22 against WKU (12-6, 6-1 Sun Belt) in a 7 p.m., contest at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The meeting with the Hilltoppers marks the first of five straight games against Sun Belt East Division teams. Following the game, UL travels home on Friday to prepare for a meeting with South Alabama on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the CAJUNDOME.

RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

  The last two times UL and UAB met on the basketball court, the Cajuns came up short in a tight game.

In the most recent meeting, UL led by three points with 43 seconds last season. But three turnovers down the stretch helped UAB rally and send it into overtime. The Blazers pulled away for a 78-72 win in the extra session with six free throws in the final two minutes.

Now the Cajuns (6-10 overall) play their final non-conference game of the season at 7 tonight against UAB (10-7) in Birmingham, Ala. In the previous meeting at Bartlow Arena, UL lost 82-80 on a last-second shot in the opening round of the 2003 NIT.

The rest of the story

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • January 19, 2009

[MetryCajun]

_ Prediction on tonights game... I think we will probably lose by less than 14, i hope... The spread is 14.5) We have to really jump on them early... The team that plays the hardest usually get majority of the calls, hope they dont want it more than us... _

I predict we will play well in the first half and carry an 8 point lead with 10 minutes left. We will then slow it down and go on a 6-8 minute dry spell. We will then make a series of errors down the stretch and lose by 3. Lee will blame the players post game.

Actually I hope I am wrong. A win against UAB would give us some hope.

[bballholic]

Isn't Mike Davis the coach at UAB? It appears he's done a nice job of keeping up the program after Anderson's departure. I haven't seen them play since Anderson left, and I wonder if Davis has kept it pretty uptempo since he took over. I'll never forget traveling to Boise, Idaho only to see LSU get throttled by UAB's 40 minutes of hell. Everybody knew what was coming but apparently Brady and his staff didn't get the memo. I've seen a lot of basketball, but I'ver never seen a team look so unprepared. Good luck tonight, I'm hoping the Cajuns can pull things together to make a run in the conference tourney. I love the seasons when Louisiana has several teams in the Big Dance.

[Cajunsmike]

_ I predict we will play well in the first half and carry an 8 point lead with 10 minutes left. We will then slow it down and go on a 6-8 minute dry spell. We will then make a series of errors down the stretch and lose by 3. Lee will blame the players post game.

Actually I hope I am wrong. A win against UAB would give us some hope. _

I don't think we purposely slow the game down late. I think other teams make adjustments defensively taking away our 1st and 2nd options. We then have to reset and struggle doing so.

[NewsCopy]

 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB built a 10-point lead in the first three minutes of the game and never looked back, defeating Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns by a final score of 97-62 here Monday night in Bartow Arena.

The Cajuns played without leading scorer Travis Bureau, who is nursing a groin injury, and struggled shooting the ball. UL made only seven shots in the first half, connecting at 25 percent. Meanwhile, UAB shot 66.7 percent (22-of-33) in the opening 20 minutes to take a 31-point lead at the break.

As his father did many nights for the Cajuns, Channing Toney (son of Andrew Toney) was on fire from the floor. Toney hit his first eight shots, scoring 18 points to go with six rebounds.

Six Blazers scored in double figures, led by 21 points from Robert Vaden. Lawrence Kinnard and Cameron Moore each recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.

UL (6-11) was led by 14 points from Chris Gradnigo, all in the second half. Tyren Johnson added 12 points, while Corey Bloom finished with 10 points.

With the loss, Louisiana completes non-conference play with a 3-8 mark. UAB collected its fourth straight win over UL and now leads the all-time series 5-1.

Monday night's game marked the first-ever regular season meeting between the two programs in Bartow Arena.

The Blazers (11-7) converted four Cajuns turnovers into eight points in the first three minutes of the game en route to a 13-3 edge.

The Cajuns were looking for offense down 24-14 eight minutes into the contest, as only Johnson and Bloom had made field goals.

As the Cajuns went 7:42 without a field goal, UAB used a 15-1 run to increase its lead to 39-15 with less than five minutes to play in the first half. After a short jumper by Courtney Wallace broke the Cajuns drought, the Blazers scored four straight baskets to build a 30-point lead, 47-17, with 1:09 left in the first half.

UAB did most of its damage in the first half in the paint, scoring 34 points in the lane. The Blazers also capitalized on Cajuns’ miscues, scoring 21 points off 11 first half turnovers.

UL tried to make a comeback early in the second half, hitting four straight triples in the first four minutes, but the red-hot Blazers countered with three triples over the same span.

Eventually the UAB lead crept over 40 points, 79-38, midway through the second half.

The Cajuns road trip continues on Thursday at Western Kentucky before returning home to face South Alabama on Saturday night at the Cajundome.

RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Robert Vaden scored 21 points and Channing Toney added 18 as Alabama-Birmingham placed six players in double figures to beat Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns 97-62 on Monday night.

UAB (11-7) led 51-20 at halftime and built the margin to as many as 41 points in the second half.

The rest of the story

AP

[Pup]

apathy yes apathy i had no interest in the game last night sad to say i was rewarded



Posted via Mobile Device

[CajunZ1]

_ apathy yes apathy i had no interest in the game last night sad to say i was rewarded

What's worse than a fan's apathy?

Players', then coach's apathy. Hopefully that won't happen.

There are no positives to take from last night's game, other than that it's one game closer to baseball season.

[jllanclos]

_ What's worse than a fan's apathy?

Players', then coach's apathy. Hopefully that won't happen.

There are no positives to take from last night's game, other than that it's one game closer to baseball season. _

I will never question Robert Lee's heart and desire to win. I truly believe he is passionate about seeing Louisiana basketball succeed. But after hearing the post-game interview on Thursday, it seems to me that apathy has already started among the players, and I'd be suprised to win 4 more games this year, to be honest. I hope I'm wrong, because I truly appreciate Robert Lee's loyalty and passion for UL and I want so badly to see him succeed here.