Cajuns get nod for SBC West title

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NEW ORLEANS -- The University of Louisiana has been picked to win the Sun Belt Conference East Division, according to a preseason poll of the men's basketball coaches announced Tuesday afternoon at the annual Sun Belt Conference Media Days.

Meanwhile, Western Kentucky, which has won three straight SBC tournament titles, received 8 of the 11 basketball coaches' first-place votes to receive the nod in the East Division.

According to a conference news release, ULL received seven first-place votes to narrowly edge second-place New Mexico State in the West Division rankings.

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Cajun men favored again

NEW ORLEANS — Sun Belt Conference coaches have fitted Jessie Evans with a bull’s eye again this year.

Evans’ Louisiana squad won the West Division the last two years with back-to-back 20-win seasons and NIT berths, and his fellow coaches have tabbed the Ragin’ Cajuns to enjoy similar success in 2004.

“I know it will be extremely difficult to do it again,” Evans said Wednesday at Sun Belt Media Days, “but with every challenge comes opportunity.”

For now, Evans is sifting a talented roster for the right combinations on and off the floor.

“Our theme this year is ‘the fastest game in town,” Evans said. "In the first few practices, we’ve seen that we have guys who are pretty fast. Now all we have to do it learn how to dribble, pass the ball and catch a pass."

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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<>Senior guard Brad Boyd garners preseason First Team honors

NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team was picked to defend its back-to-back Sun Belt Conference West Division titles according to the preseason coaches poll released here Tuesday at the annual Sun Belt basketball media days.

The Cajuns received seven-first place votes to edge out New Mexico State's four first-place votes as the favorite in the West.

Louisiana has won the SBC West the past two seasons and since the league split into divisions prior to the 2000-01 season has claimed two of the three championships. The Cajuns enter the 2003-04 season having won 23 of their last 30 SBC games.

In the Sun Belt East, three-time defending champion Western Kentucky was the front-runner with eight of 11 first-place votes.

Senior guard Brad Boyd (Opelousas, La. - St. Thomas More HS) represented the Cajuns on the preseason team, earning first team honors. It marks the first time in his career that the Opelousas native received such honor.

Boyd's pick comes as no surprise since he is coming off a career year in which he led the team in scoring with a 16.8 points per game average and ranked fourth in the nation in three-pointers per game with 3.9. He made a personal single-season best 104 three-point baskets last season and scored in double-digits in 23 of 27 games played.

Boyd enters the 2003-04 season needing just 214 points to become the 35th player in school history to reach 1,000 points in a career.

New Mexico State's James Moore was tabbed the Sun Belt's Preseason Player of the Year.

South Alabama led all teams with two players being named to the preseason team, Malerick Bedden and Chris Young, while Florida International and North Texas did not have a representative.

The two division favorites will meet on Thursday, Jan. 29 in Bowling Green, Ky., as UL visits Western Kentucky for a 7 p.m. tilt in E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Cajuns meet division rival NMSU on Thursday, Jan. 22 in Lafayette and Wednesday, Feb. 18 in Las Cruces, N.M.

Fans will have an opportunity to see the Cajuns for the first time on Thursday, Nov. 6 as UL Lafayette hosts an exhibition game against Delta State in the Cajundome.

The Cajuns will hold intrasquad scrimmages each Saturday, leading up to the season opener on Nov. 18, beginning Saturday, Oct. 25 at Blackham Coliseum.

Louisiana-Lafayette, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Jessie Evans, will open the 2003-04 season Tuesday, Nov. 18 at Georgia Tech in the opening round of the Owen's Corning Preseason NIT. The UL-GTU matchup will be televised live nationally on ESPN beginning at 6 p.m. (CDT).

The first regular season home game is slated for Monday, Nov. 24 at 7:05 p.m. against Loyola-New Orleans.

Fans can purchase season tickets by visiting the Cajundome Ticket Office, located at 444 Cajundome Blvd., or by calling the office directly at (337) 265-2100.

LOUISIANA SI

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2003-04 SUN BELT CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON TEAM

1ST TEAM
**James Moore, New Mexico State
Brad Boyd, Louisiana-Lafayette
Tommy Gunn, Middle Tennessee
Brett Starkey, Denver
Mike Wells, Western Kentucky

2ND TEAM
Malerick Bedden, South Alabama
Johnell Smith, New Orleans
Tevoris Thompson, Arkansas State
Chris Young, South Alabama
Nick Zachery, Arkansas-Little Rock

** -- PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR

LOUISIANA SI

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2003-04 SUN BELT CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL

WEST

1. Louisiana-Lafayette  (7)            62

2. New Mexico State (4)                58

T3 .Denver                             32

T3. South Alabama                      32

5. North Texas                         25

6. New Orleans                         22

 

EAST

1. Western Kentucky (8)                51

2. Middle Tennessee (3)                45

3. Arkansas-Little Rock                32

4. Arkansas State                      21

5. Florida International               17

LOUISIANA SI