Final: Louisiana (94) vs La. Tech (86)

[BirdofParadise]

I agree on Wright. The first game I watched him play I thought he could be a big difference maker for us. Also, Jay, what happened with Vieux the other night? The guy was balling and has been getting a little more time lately. Is he coming along now and likely to keep seeing more minutes?

Vieux works hard and is one of the most likable guys on the team. His increased minutes are due to Davenport's injury. Washington is the first option off the bench up front.

[Cajunsmike]

Of course I give sports illustrated zero credibility. Predictions are just that, and my prediction is LTUR will not be in the NCAA, and we actually have a better chance.

Try as you might the LTUR fans have come to the reality, their team is OK, hardly comparable to the great teams we played in the Marty era under Eagles, and that is just the way it is.

And before you tell me once again that mid majors have problems, there are several mid majors every year who seem to have zero problems. I know it is tough to catch lightning in a bottle, but you gotta have a bottle to catch the lighting.

There are several good mid-majors every year. However less than 5 get at large bids and last year the no. was much fewer. As far as the Tech teams of the 90's go, none of them went to the NCAA's. Jay told us last year when was the last time Tech went to the tournament and it was a long time ago. This group of Tech seniors has a chance to have one of the outstanding overall records in their school history as they won well over 20 in both their sophomore and junior years. Tale for this season remains to be told and you may be right in that their problems inside may be their downfall.

[CrazyCajun]

There are several good mid-majors every year. However less than 5 get at large bids and last year the no. was much fewer. As far as the Tech teams of the 90's go, none of them went to the NCAA's. Jay told us last year when was the last time Tech went to the tournament and it was a long time ago. This group of Tech seniors has a chance to have one of the outstanding overall records in their school history as they won well over 20 in both their sophomore and junior years. Tale for this season remains to be told and you may be right in that their problems inside may be their downfall.

1991 I believe

[Cajunsmike]

By the way, I never said it was "impossible" for mid majors to get at large bids, only extremely difficult. There are over 250 mid majors and last year the no. of at large bids amongst those ranks was something like 2. Granted, most of the top mid majors win their tournament.

[Cajunsmike]

And we should have expected that type of inconsistency. We are starting three guys who weren't here last year. Our center missed two games with injury. We needed to find out our point guard situation.

Things are settling in better now. Rotations seem to be more consistent and with that should come more on court consistency.

And, look, Jay Wright's injury isn't an excuse but with him we whip McNeese. Right now he's our most indispensable player.

Three news guys Jay is talking about are Wright, Walker, and Williams. In addition to that, two of our top reserves are freshman in Stove and Washington. As much as this has been an issue, I believe the injury to Long has been the main factor. He is just starting to move well now. We also have been without our back up center from last year for most games as JJ Davenport has played little due to injury. Rimmer has also been injured some and he could be a key for the Cajuns to play at a higher level. Bottom line is that there are reasons for inconsistency. However, conference play is now 2 1/2 weeks away and it is time for efforts like we saw on Wednesday night to become more of a regular thing.

[BirdofParadise]

1991 is right. I actually thought it was 1985. But 91 was the only year the American South had an auto bid, I believe. Tech won the tournament in New Orleans over UNO.

[Cajunsmike]

1991 is right. I actually thought it was 1985. But 91 was the only year the American South had an auto bid, I believe. Tech won the tournament in New Orleans over UNO.

1991 was the senior year of Aaron Mitchell and Kevin Brooks. We lost in the semifinals to UNO that year. In the quarter finals, Brooks poured in 40 against Lamar. The semifinal game went down to the wire and we fell just short against the Privateers. We may have taken a lot out of UNO which affected their effort against Tech the following night. Were we in CUSA, we would once again have the pleasure of going against Coach Tim Floyd as he is now at UTEP. Would not quite be the same intensity I imagine as the competition would not involve two state schools.