Louisiana seeks to even its Sun Belt Conference record on Saturday, Jan. 31 as the Ragin’ Cajuns meet Florida Atlantic at FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Fla. UL is also attempting to end a three-game road losing streak.

● The game with Florida Atlantic wraps up January and concludes a stretch where the Cajuns will have played eight out of 11 games on the road since Dec. 29. UL is 3-7 thus far during the road-laden schedule.

● Louisiana is now in the second half of the Sun Belt slate. UL went 4-5 during the first half of league play.

● Chris Gradnigo needs one (1) point to reach his 500th career point.

● Looking for offense in the post, the Cajuns went with a Jeremy Barr-Courtney Wallace combination at Middle Tennessee. It worked, with the duo combining for 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting.

● UL seems to have corrected its recent rebounding woes, outboarding the opposition the last two games after getting beat by an average of 15 per game the previous three.

● The Cajuns are currently seventh in the race for Sun Belt Tournament seeding. Louisiana trails North Texas (5-4) and Arkansas State (5-4) by one game for fifth place.

● The Cajuns are playing the fourth of five straight games against Sun Belt East teams. Louisiana is 2-2 this season vs. the SBC East.

THE STRETCH RUN STARTS SATURDAY
● The Ragin’ Cajuns are halfway through the 2008-09 Sun Belt Conference schedule. The game with FAU is the 10th SBC game of the season (out of 18).

● Louisiana went 4-5 in the first half of this season’s league schedule.

HOME-AWAY BALANCE EVENS OUT IN FEBRUARY
● After playing eight of the last 11 games on the road (including this game), Louisiana has an even split between home and away in February.

● In February, UL plays eight games total with four each at home and on the road.

CLOSE CALLS
● Both Louisiana (nine times) and FAU (eight times) had have their fair share of close games in games decided by five points or less.

● In games decided by five points or less UL is 4-5 while FAU is 2-6.

THREE IS BETTER THAN ONE
● UL has had at least three players score in double figures in the last seven games.

THE TRIPLE THREAT
● The combination of Travis Bureau, Randell Daigle and Chris Gradnigo fuel the Louisiana offense.

● They combine to average 39.3 points of the Cajuns’ 67.1 average (59%).

● They combine for 99 three-point field goals made out of UL’s 147 (67%).

● Overall shooting percentages: Bureau (46.6%), Gradnigo (45.5%), Daigle (39.8%).

MAKING A MOVE IN FEBRUARY
● February is right around the corner, a month UL has excelled in the past three seasons.

● Since 2005-06, the Cajuns are 16-7 in the season’s final month.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE LEFTOVERS
● UL lost its third straight in the Murphy Center & fell to 1-4 all-time vs. MT in the facility.

● The Blue Raiders cashed in off 18 Louisiana turnovers, scoring 23 points in return.

● The Cajuns’ inside game saw a boost as Jeremy Barr & Courtney Wallace combined for 23 points – most points from the post since 21 points vs. La. College (Dec. 13).

● Courtney Wallace set a career-high with 15 points. He scored 10 in the first half which included six of the team’s final eight points.

● Lamar Roberson set season-and career-high marks in steals (3) and blocks (4).

● Wallace shot 6-of-6 from the floor, setting his career-high in field goals made.

● La’Ryan Gary pulled down a season-high nine rebounds.

● The “Triple Threat” of Bureau, Daigle and Gradnigo finished the game a combined

9-of-29 (31%), 5-of-16 (31%) from three-point range and 27 points (36%).

LAST TIME VS. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Dec. 29, 2007 in CAJUNDOME – UL won 71-52)
● Louisiana posted its most dominant performance of the season as the Ragin’ Cajuns easily put away the Owls 71-52.

● After FAU cut the Louisiana lead to three, 15-12, with 10:23 left in the first half, the Cajuns embarked on a 16-5 run to take a 31-17 edge.

● FAU wouldn’t get any closer than 10 points, 31-21, before Louisiana closed the door on the Owls. The Cajuns used an emphatic 15-2 run during the last 4:51 to enter the locker room with a 46-23 lead.

● The Cajuns’ stranglehold on the Owls continued in the second half as Louisiana built its largest lead of the game, 52-23, with 17:24 remaining. Louisiana’s lead remained 20 or more until the game’s final minute.

● Courtney Wallace led Louisiana with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting with five rebounds in 23 minutes. The Cajuns’ bench outscored the Owls 30-11.

LAST TIME VS. FAU IN BOCA RATON
(Jan. 24, 2007 – FAU won 75-72)

● FAU got off to a good start in the early minutes, building a 9-2 lead at the 16:44 mark. The Cajuns came back with a jumper by Ross Mouton and a three-point play from David Dees to trim their deficit to two points, 9-7, at 14:47.

● After Derek Gray’s three-point play brought the Cajuns within one point, 13-12, FAU used a 12-2 run to build a 25-14 advantage.

● The Cajuns clawed their way within two points, 66-64, thanks to a 10-4 run after FAU had just taken an eight-point lead at the 7:17 mark of the second half.

● The Owls scored five quick points to provide a seven-point cushion at the 2:22 mark, but a basket by Mouton and two free throws over two possessions by Dees made it a one-possession game with 1:12 remaining.

● After the teams traded two points, a big steal by Elijah Millsap gave the Cajuns a chance to tie, but Millsap converted just one of two free throws. Dees’ last-second baseline triple was offline.

● Florida Atlantic hit on 55 percent of its shots overall and 57 percent in the second half.

SERIES HISTORY
(Tied 1-1; FAU leads 1-0 in Boca Raton and FAU Arena)

● Series started when Florida Atlantic joined the Sun Belt Conference in the 2006-07 season.

● Game is the third meeting in this young series and second at FAU Arena.

● The home team won the previous two meetings. In 2006-07, Florida Atlantic edged the Ragin’ Cajuns 75-72 in Boca Raton. Last season, Louisiana built up a 23-point halftime lead and rolled to a 71-52 victory in the CAJUNDOME.

● This is the youngest series for the Ragin’ Cajuns against any Sun Belt opponent (only the third meeting). The Troy series is the second youngest (seven meetings).

● The Owls were coached by Rex Walters in the first meeting held at FAU Arena. Current FAU coach Mike Jarvis meets Louisiana for the first time in his 20-year coaching career.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns return to the CAJUNDOME on Thursday, Feb. 5 to host FIU at 7:05 p.m. It's the last of five straight games against the Sun Belt East Division. Louisiana has won the last five meetings at the CAJUNDOME and leads the overall series 12-4.

Following the FIU game, Louisiana starts the second half of round robin play within the SBC West. The Cajuns visit North Texas on Saturday, Feb. 7 for a meeting in The Super Pit.

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