A season-long four-game win streak will be on the line, and wrapping up an impressive three-game road swing will be on the minds of University of Louisiana’s men’s basketball squad tonight.

And maybe the Ragin’ Cajuns won’t get bottles thrown at them this time.

The Cajuns, 10-5 overall and a league-leading 5-1 in the Sun Belt Conference West Division, will meet former East Division leader Middle Tennessee (11-7, 3-2) at 7 p.m. in MTSU’s Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Louisiana made the short trip to Murfreesboro from Bowling Green, Ky., on Friday, one day after its shootout 110-102 victory over Western Kentucky. In the win, one that snapped a five-game loss streak against WKU, the Cajuns scored their second-most points ever in a Sun Belt game and the most against a Division I team since the 112-66 win over former league member Texas-Pan American in 1998.

It was also the most points ever allowed by the Hilltoppers in a Sun Belt game, part of the reason that the squad’s post-game huddle was the target of several plastic promotional water bottles thrown from the Diddle Arena stands.

“We enjoy that,” said Cajun coach Jessie Evans. “My team responds to that. I look at it as respect. If you’re really getting on us, that means you respect us and my basketball program. I have no problem with that.”

The Cajun squad hasn’t had many problems, winning its last four by an average of 16 points per contest after the surprising 76-73 home loss to South Alabama back on Jan. 15.

Maybe home losses shouldn’t be a surprise. Every one of the 11 Sun Belt teams has a home loss this year, and home teams have lost 18 times.

Middle Tennessee has been a home victim in each of its last two Murphy Center outings, including an 81-76 loss to New Mexico State on Thursday night when the Blue Raiders shot only 40 percent from the floor and allowed the Aggies to shoot over 60 percent in each half.


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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com