Pack ready for what's-their-name

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ORLANDO -- Marcus Melvin wanted to make sure that nobody thinks N.C. State is going to overlook its first-round NCAA Tournament opponent.

His little speech would have been a bit more convincing if the senior co-captain hadn't so obviously forgotten the name of the school the Pack is playing today at the T.D. Waterhouse Centre.

"We're going to do a good job scouting and just focus on one game at a time," Melvin said confidently. "We did our homework on ..."

And as Melvin faltered at the podium, teammate Julius Hodge sat next to him, struggling to keep a straight face.

Melvin plunged on, trying to cover his momentary brain lock by concluding ... "the university that we're playing against."

The university that N.C. State is playing against happens to be the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the champions of the Sun Belt Conference. The No. 15 Wolfpack (20-9) will meet the unranked Ragin' Cajuns (20-8) today at 12:15 p.m.

Hodge jumped in to make the case that N.C. State is taking the No. 14 seed in the Phoenix Regional serious.

"We're not going into this game cocky or overconfident," Hodge said. "We're going to be ready to play.

"From watching tape, I've noticed that they're very athletic, very quick to the ball on defense. And if we're not ready to play, they're going to be ready to step on us and get a win. We're focused on the game. No one's overlooking anything."

Both Louisiana coach Jesse Evans and his players are anxious to take on an opponent from a major conference -- one that gets far more television exposure than their mid-major program.

"It's not like we're scared," ULL senior Brad Boyd said. "We know we're facing a good team, but I think we match up with N.C. State very well."

Evans tried to prepare this team for a postseason test by scheduling several strong opponents back in December. The first of those games was at Georgia Tech and proved to be a disaster for ULL.

"It was a rocky start, a rocky middle and a rocky finish," Boyd said. "Of course, we only had six players then. We were a little undermanned."

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BY AL FEATHERSTON
The Herald-Sun

afeatherston@heraldsun.com

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Delhomme says Wolfpack will lose

Jake Delhomme is picking Louisiana-Lafayette to upset N.C. State this afternoon in the NCAA Tournament, but not just because he's a ULL alumnus.

"I'm all about the underdog, you know," Delhomme said earlier this week. "I always go for the underdog."

Delhomme, who was the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl, is one of ULL's most famous athletes. He was a four-year starter from 1993 through 1996, when the school was known as Southwestern Louisiana, and remains the school's all-time passing leader.

He played high-school football in Lafayette and lives in nearby Breaux Bridge, La., during the off-season.

"I didn't get to see the selection show, so when I got home I got on the Internet to see the pairings," Delhomme said. "When I saw we were playing N.C. State, I knew right away I was going to hear from a lot of guys in the front office. There are a lot of N.C. State fans in our organization.

"It's going to be a fun game. I think it's going to be very competitive. I haven't gotten to go to as many games as I've wanted to because the off-season has been so busy, but I've tried to follow them as much as I can, and I know they're pretty good."

Delhomme was honored at a game last month for his heroics with the Panthers this season. He was already a member of the ULL sports Hall of Fame, along with Dwight "Bo" Lamar, Ron Guidry, Andrew Toney and Brian Mitchell.

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John Delong