Not even a sudden downpour could sour the mood for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns on Wednesday as they made a triumphant return from the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament.

Head coach Robert Lee was first off the team bus when it arrived at University of Louisiana's athletic complex. He waved, smiled and acknowledged the cheers of a small crowd of supporters, and then immediately began unloading luggage from the team bus.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Lee's Cajuns defeated Denver 88-69 in the Sun Belt championship game to successfully repeat as conference champions and earn a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Assistant coach Carlin Hartman stepped off the bus with the team's Sun Belt championship trophy, while senior Dwayne Mitchell wore around his neck the net he cut down Tuesday night.

The Cajuns' first-round NCAA opponent and location for regional play will be announced Sunday on CBS. That game will occur either March 17 or 18.

"The satisfaction is just great," said senior center Chris Cameron, who said after Monday's semifinals that he welcomed a chance to play Denver again after losing twice to the Pioneers in the regular season.

"And, to have the opportunity to go back-to-back, that doesn't happen very often," he added. "I know our winning means a lot to the students, to our fans and to the school. That's the best part about it."

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com