LOUISIANA La. — It took a long time to learn their pairing and location, but Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns and their fans like their assignment in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Coach Jessie Evans’ 20-8 Sun Belt Conference champions are a No. 14 seeds and will meet No. 3-seeded North Carolina State (20-9) of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday in Orlando.

As each matchup was announced on CBS’s tournament show, the team and its backers who gathered in the Student Union tried to guess a seeding and whether they had to go as far as Buffalo, N.Y., or Seattle, or whether they would be closer to home.

The N.C. State-UL game and a first-rounder in Orlando between No. 6 Vanderbilt and No. 11 Western Michigan (with that winner meeting the UL-N.C. State victor on Sunday) were the last two contests revealed.

“The wait built up a lot of anxiety, excitement and suspense,” said senior guard Antoine Landry. “Almost everyone was named before us.

“There were a couple of times I thought it would be us, and I started to jump out of my seat, and then felt the energy back down.”

Evans had a good feeling about the situation, even though the CBS show took its time with the announcement.

“No one knows,” Evans said, “but I thought all along it would be Orlando. We won our league, won the conference tournament and I know how the NCAA people put the tournament together. I thought they would try to keep us in the South.

“Then, late yesterday, I suspected we would play Illinois, N.C. State, Wake Forest or Texas. I got one out of four. But it does not matter who you play at this stage. Everybody is good.”

“It’s the best feeling,” said senior Laurie Bridges. “I’ve been waiting three years for this, and we’ve been working since October to be here. I’m happy.

“We’ll find out a lot about N.C. State on Monday, but that doesn’t matter right now. I just can’t wait to play this game.”

N.C. State was the regular-season runner-up in the ACC, then defeated Florida State and lost to eventual champion Maryland in the ACC Tournament.

“I think we got a great spot,” senior Brad Boyd said. “I think we’re capable of beating them. They’re from the ACC, and I know they play tough competition, but everybody is tough now.”

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com