LOUISIANA la. -- The improvement is obvious. Now all the University of Louisiana at Lafayette basketball team needs is a signature victory to continue the progress.
ULL gets that chance at 7:05 p.m. tonight at the Cajundome against Houston. The Cajuns (4-4) have lost three of the last five games, but those defeats have come on the road against Dayton (66-59), Xavier (78-74) and No. 4 Arizona (72-69).
Such close defeats away from the Cajundome have ULL coach Jessie Evans encouraged after the Cajuns started the season with a 67-45 loss at now No. 3 Georgia Tech.
"We've let three close games against quality opponents get away from us," Evans said. "Now we have a fourth one coming up. Have we gotten better since Georgia Tech? You bet. Now we need to get over that hump against a good team."
Houston (6-3) is on its first five-game winning streak since the 1997-98 season when the Cougars started 7-0. The Cougars lost three of the first four, but since Dec. 17 Houston has beaten Bethune Cookman (56-45), Washington (79-64), Chicago State (71-65) in overtime, Texas A&M (70-61) and LSU (60-52) on Tuesday night.
Houston has played eight of its nine games at home, including LSU.
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By BOBBY ARDOIN
Special to The Advocate