University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns at Dayton Pre-Game Notes
12/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Cajuns at
Dayton Pre-Game Notes
Sunday, Dec. 7, 2003
Game Information
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2003
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Time: 7 p.m. (CT)
Arena: University of Dayton Arena (13,266)
The Teams: Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (1-1,
0-0 Sun Belt), Dayton Flyers (6-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
The Coaches: Louisiana-Lafayette - Jessie Evans
(113-73, 7th season at UL Lafayette and overall); Dayton -
Brian Gregory (6-0, 1st season at Dayton and
overall)
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM and 107.9 KRKA-FM (live
Internet streaming available at
www.ragincajuns.com)
- Jay Walker play-by-play
The Series: Cajuns lead 2-0
Last Meeting: Cajuns 54-52 on Jan. 26, 1977 in Dayton
Cajuns Most Recently: Defeated to Loyola-NO 89-57
(11/24/03)
Dayton Most Recently: Defeated Wagner
67-65 (12/6/03)
Updated stats for Dayton available at:
http://www.daytonflyers.com/mens_basketball/teamstats0304.htmlCajuns Return From Two-Week Break
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team (1-1) takes the hardcourt for the first time in 15 days on Tuesday, Dec. 9, in a 7 p.m. (CT) game against Dayton (6-0) at the University of Dayton Arena...UL Lafayette will be playing for the first time since Nov. 24 when the Cajuns knocked off Loyola-New Orleans 89-57 in the regular season home opener...The Cajuns took the rest of the week off following the Loyola game and then went through fall semester final exams last week... Dayton, champions of the Maui Invitational and undefeated will be playing its seventh game of the season and third of a current five-game homestand...Tuesday's game will mark the first of two trips to Ohio for the Cajuns this month – UL Lafayette returns on Dec. 20 for a matchup with Xavier in Cincinnati.
The Site: UD Arena (capacity: 13, 266)
The University of Dayton Arena was built in 1969 for approximately $4.5 million without the use of public funds ...This season marks the 35th year of play...The Flyers are 408-162 all-time (.716 win percentage) at UD Arena and have won 19 of the last 20 games on their home floor...In November 2002, the UD Arena re-opened after undergoing a major renovation – additions to the arena included suites, loge seats and the new Time Warner Cable Flight Deck which all overlook Blackburn Court...Nationally, the Arena is better known as a host to 17 of the last 34 NCAA Tournaments covering 64 games which is fourth all-time behind Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium, New York's Madison Square Garden and Salt Lake City's Huntsman Center...Serves as host to the annual NCAA men's basketball Opening-Round game (64 vs. 65) until 2006.
The Series – Cajuns lead 2-0
Louisiana-Lafayette holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with Dayton...The two teams are meeting for the first time in over 26 years having last met on Jan. 26, 1977 in Dayton with the Cajuns posting a 54-52 win...The first meeting occurred on Feb. 26, 1972, in Dayton with then-USL claiming a 103-86 victory...Tuesday's game will be the third meeting all-time between the two schools overall and in Dayton.
The Tentative Starters
Louisiana-Lafayette (2003-04
record: 1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
G- 4 Antoine Landry (5-11,
170, Sr., New Orleans, La.)
G- 3 Brad Boyd (6-6, 195, Sr., Opelousas, La.)
Season Stats: 13.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 36.0% FG, 37.5% 3FG, 75.0% FT
G- 21 Laurie Bridges (6-4, 206, Sr., New Orleans, La.)
Season Stats: 10.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 37.5% FG, 10 assists, 6 steals
F- 45 Brian Hamilton (6-6, 186, Jr., Missouri City, Texas)
Season Stats: 7.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 50.0% FG, 33.3% FT, 7 off rebs, 7 steals
C- 11 Chris Cameron (6-11, 256, So., Melbourne, Australia)
Season Stats: 12.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 40.0% FG, 64.3% FT, 9/14 FT, 7 off rebs
Dayton (2003-04 record: 6-0, 0-0
A-10)
G- 3 Ramod Marshall (6-2, 180,
Sr., Charlotte, N.C.)
G- 14 Mark Jones (6-1, 180, Jr., Taftville, Conn.)
Season Stats: 10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 45.5% FG, 34.8% 3FG, 66.7% FT
F- 1 Monty Scott (6-6, 226, Sr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio)
Season Stats: 8.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 44.7% FG, 31.3% 3FG, 75.0% FT, 13 off rebs
F- 45 Keith Waleskowski (6-8, 231, Sr., Dayton, Ohio)
Season Stats: 14.3 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 48.4% FG, 83.3% FT, 20/24 FT, 47 def/12 off rebs
C- 54 Sean Finn (7-0, 240, Sr., Hays, Kan.)
Season Stats: 14.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 75.6% FG, 31/41 FG, 68.6% FT, 5 blocks
The UL Lafayette Head Coach – Jessie Evans
Native of Lebanon, Tenn., and graduate of Eastern Michigan University…In his seventh year at Louisiana-Lafayette…113-73 in Cajun Country and overall…Led the Cajuns to a 20-10 record last season and their third postseason appearance in last four years with a berth in the 2003 NIT…His teams have collected 20 wins the past two seasons marking the first back-to-back 20-win campaigns since 1991-92/1992-93....Guided the Cajuns to a 25-9 record in 1999-00 and a berth in the NCAA Tournament…During each of his previous six seasons, has guided the Cajuns to no worse than a No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament…Has appeared in the Sun Belt championship game three times out of six seasons…Has led UL Lafayette to 10-plus conference victories in five of six seasons and four straight …Served as an assistant coach at Arizona under the legendary Lute Olsen from 1988-97, winning a national championship in 1997…Was named to the UL Lafayette post on March 14, 1997, and had a national championship when he officially took over the Cajuns program in April 1997…Evans helped tutor a total of 14 Arizona players that have played in the NBA, including Mike Bibby of the Sacramento Kings.
Evans Year-By-Year
1997-98 – 18-13 (12-6 Sun
Belt)
1998-99 – 13-16 (7-7 Sun Belt)
1999-00 – 25-9 (13-3 Sun Belt) NCAA Tournament
2000-01 – 16-13 (10-6 Sun Belt)
2001-02 – 20-11 (11-4 Sun Belt) Owens Corning NIT
2002-03 – 20-10 (12-3 Sun Belt) Owens Corning NIT
2003-04 – 1-1 (0-0 Sun Belt)
Overall – 113-73 (65-29 Sun Belt)
On the Air
Tuesday evening's game against Dayton can be heard locally on the UL Lafayette Sports Network through its flagship stations SportsRadio ESPN 1420 KPEL-AM and KRKA 107.9 FM in Lafayette. The game will also be available via live Internet streaming at
www.ragincajuns.com. Jay Walker, in his 12th season covering the Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball program, will provide all of the play-by-play action live from the the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, on the University of Dayton campus.Coaches vs. the Opposition
Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Jessie Evans meets Dayton for the first time in his career...Dayton head coach Brian Gregory, in his first season as a head coach after serving the past three seasons as the associate head coach at Michigan State under Tom Izzo, will be facing the Cajuns for the first time in his career.
Cajuns In December
Tuesday's game with Dayton marks the first of six games in the month of December...UL Lafayette is 22-23 in December under head coach Jessie Evans...UL Lafayette will play four of the six games away from the Cajundome visiting Xavier Dec. 20 and playing two games at the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Ariz., at the end of the month, in addition to Tuesday's game with Dayton...Home games are with McNeese State (Dec. 15) and Mobile (Dec. 17)...The Cajuns have won 10 of the last 16 December games under Evans.
UL Lafayette Update
Louisiana-Lafayette enters Tuesday's game at Dayton with a 1-1 record after picking up its first win of the season in its last outing on Monday, Nov. 24 (89-57 win over Loyola-New Orleans)...Tuesday's game will be the Cajuns first in 15 days – the longest gap between two games this season...UL Lafayette is 0-1 on the road this season having lost to Georgia Tech 79-45 in the season opener in Atlanta in the Pre-Season NIT...Senior Brad Boyd leads the team in scoring with a 13.5 points per game average...Chris Cameron and Brian Hamilton share team-high honors with 6.5 rebounds per game...The Cajuns sport a +8.0 turnover margin and collect an average of 12.0 steals per game.
Dayton Update
Dayton is off to its best start since the 1999-2000 season at 6-0 entering Tuesday's game with UL Lafayette...The Flyers claimed the Maui Invitational title Thanksgiving week and opened its current five-game homestand on Wednesday with a 67-61 win over Miami (Ohio) followed by Saturday's 67-65 win over Wagner...UD is averaging 77.3 points per game and is shooting 49.5 percent from the floor...Four starters average double-digits led by Ramod Marshall's 16.7 ppg...The Flyers are shooting 73.4 percent at the free throw line and make on average 19 per game...UD features a dominant inside tandem with center Sean Finn and forward Keith Waleskowski...Waleskowski averages near to a double-double (14.3 ppg, 9.8 rpg) while Finn makes 76 percent of his shots (31-of-41).
Non-Conference Notes
The Cajuns are 40-36 in non-conference play (24-5 home, 16-31 away) under head coach Jessie Evans....UL Lafayette has had a winning non-conference record in each of the last two seasons marking the first back-to-back non-conference winning records since 1992-93/1993-94...In each season that the Cajuns have posted a winning non-conference record under Evans they have advanced to postseason play (2000 NCAA, 2002 NIT, 2003 NIT).
Regular Season Non-Conference
Year-By-Year Under Evans
1997-98 – 4-6 (3-2 home, 1-4 away)
1998-99 – 6-8 (4-0 home, 2-8 away)
1999-00 – 9-5 (5-1 home, 4-4 away)
2000-01 – 5-6 (3-1 home, 2-5 away)
2001-02 – 7-5 (5-1 home, 2-4 away)
2002-03 – 8-5 (3-0 home, 5-5 away)
2003-04 – 1-1 (1-0 home, 0-1 away)
Overall – 40-36 (24-5 home, 16-31 away)
Last Time Out...Nov. 24, 2003 vs. Loyola-New Orleans
LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team, charged by a 20-point outburst in the final six minutes of the first half, blew open an eight-point contest en route to a 89-57 win over Loyola-New Orleans at the Cajundome in the regular season home opener Monday, Nov. 24. With the win UL Lafayette won its seventh straight home opener. The Cajuns also extended their non-conference home winning streak to eight games. Sparked by three consecutive three-point baskets, one from Antoine Landry and two straight from Brad Boyd, the Cajuns stretched a 24-16 margin at the 6:11 mark of the first half into a 33-16 advantage with 3:54 remaining in the half, prompting a timeout from the Wolfpack. Baskets from Laurie Bridges, Brian Hamilton and then Boyd once more stretched the lead to 20 at 39-19 – the exact margin the Cajuns brought into the locker room ahead 44-24. Boyd, last season's leading scorer who was held to six points in the season opener at Georgia Tech, bounced back with 21 points off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting making four 3-point baskets. The Cajuns defense forced the Wolfpack into 30 turnovers and limited Loyola to just 19 first-half shots. UL Lafayette ended the game shooting 47 percent (35-for-73), rebounding from a 27-percent outing at Georgia Tech. Loyola struggled from the floor making just 34 percent of its shots (18-for-52). The second half began much as the first did with the Cajuns sprinting out to a 13-2 run come the first media timeout at the 15:29 mark to open up a 57-26 advantage and the outcome was never in doubt. UL Lafayette's lead grew to as many as 38 points at the 10:34 mark of the second half when Brad Boyd tipped in a missed layup by Landry for a 71-33 lead.
Last Time vs. Dayton...Jan. 26, 1977
The last time the Cajuns ventured to the UD Arena to face Dayton freshman Andrew Toney, a future NBA star with the Philadelphia 76ers, led the Cajuns with 17 points as then-Southwestern Louisiana rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to post a 54-52 victory over the host-Flyers...The Cajuns trailed 28-23 at the break and by as many as 12 (40-28) with 11:43 left to play before outscoring the Flyers 26-12 the rest of the way...The Cajuns scored the final four points of the game in the final 30 seconds ...The Cajuns got the win despite committing 30 turnovers...The Cajuns made 43 percent of their second-half shots while UD struggled at 26 percent...Cordy Glenn led the Cajuns with a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with 11 points.
Boyd Chasing the Trifecta Record
Senior guard Brad Boyd, coming off a season in which he drained 104 three-pointers, entered the 2003-04 season needing just 76 three-point baskets to break Sydney Grider's career record of 253 three-point field goals made...Boyd has made six 3-point baskets so far this season moving him to 184 for his career and 70 away from breaking the record.
Fixture in the Lineup
With a start against Loyola-New Orleans, Laurie Bridges extended his streak of consecutive games started to 23 - the longest current streak of any Cajuns player...The New Orleans native broke into the starting lineup Dec. 28 of last season against Loyola-Chicago and remained a starter for the final 21 games of the season.
Boyd's Three Streak Continues
With his three-point basket at the 3:54 mark of the first half Monday, Nov. 24 against Loyola-New Orleans, Brad Boyd extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal made to 20 straight games...The last time Boyd failed to make at least one 3-pointer came on Dec. 27, 2002 against Colorado in the Pepsi Classic in Charlotte.
Another Three-Point Streak
As a team, UL Lafayette has made at least one 3-point field goal in 50 straight contests dating back to the 2001-02 season...The last time the Cajuns failed to make at least one three-point field goal occurred on Jan. 3, 2002 in the Cajundome against South Alabama (0-for-6).
Toeing the Line
After not attempting a free throw in the last seven games last season, sophomore Chris Cameron has attempted a team-high 14 freebies so far this season...In the season opener at Georgia Tech, Cameron attempted 12 free throws...The Melbourne, Australia, native made eight of those attempts to set a new personal career-high for free throws made.
It's Worth Mentioning
There might be a silver lining behind the Cajuns 34-point loss to Georgia Tech in the season opener...In the 1999-2000 season, the Cajuns opened with an 82-48 loss to Texas in the season opener only to end the season with 25 wins, a Sun Belt Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Semester Break
The Cajuns were off for 14 days following their last outing on Nov. 24 against Loyola-New Orleans taking time off for the annual fall semester break...UL Lafayette took a break from action for the Fall 2003 semester final exams which began on Monday, Dec. 1 and ended Saturday, Dec. 6.
Dishing It Out
While senior guard Laurie Bridges takes his own fair share of the shots he doesn't mind sharing the basket and lending a helping hand...Bridges leads the Cajuns with 10 assists this season after turning in a season-high six against Loyola-New Orleans...The six assists tied his career-best set last season Dec. 21 at Cal...Bridges is on pace to set a personal single-season best for assists which currently is 59 set last season.
Turning 'Em Over
UL Lafayette forced a season-high 30 turnovers Monday, Nov. 24 against Loyola-New Orleans (19 in the first half)…Meanwhile, the Cajuns limited their turnovers to just 11 after committing 19 in the season opener at Georgia Tech...The Cajuns have induced 46 turnovers from their opponents in two games (23 turnovers per game)…The Cajuns sport a +8.0 turnover margin this season.
Playing the Percentages
The Cajuns held Loyola-New Orleans to 34 percent shooting from the field marking the Cajuns 18th straight victory when the opposition shoots below 40 percent...The last time the Cajuns lost when holding an opponent under 40 percent was Feb. 4, 2002, when New Orleans shot 33 percent (18/54) and won 63-61...The Cajuns have won 45 of their last 50 games in which the opponent shot below 40 percent.
Keep 'Em Under 70
The Cajuns are 74-20 (.787) under head coach Jessie Evans when holding opponents below 70 points...Loyola-New Orleans became the first team this season that the Cajuns held below 70.
Closing In On A Milestone
Senior guard Brad Boyd is close to joining an elite group...Boyd, a 6-6 guard and last season's leading scorer, enters Tuesday's game at Dayton with 813 career points – leaving him just 187 points shy of 1,000 in his career...Boyd is averaging 13.5 points so far this season...At his current pace Boyd would cross the 1,000-point barrier on Jan. 31 at Middle Tennessee...Once he hits the 1,000-point mark, he will be the 35th player in UL Lafayette history to reach 1,000 points in a career...Should Boyd reach the milestone it would mark the second straight season that a Cajuns player broke 1,000 in a career – Anthony Johnson did so last season. – and would mark the fifth occurrence under Jessie Evans' tenure (Chris Manuel '97-98, Lonnie Thomas '00-01, Blane Harmon '00-01 and Anthony Johnson '02-03).
Fastbreak Points
>Brad Boyd has scored in double-figures in 24 of his last 29 outings and has made at least one three-point basket in 20 straight games.
>UL Lafayette is 4-3 all-time against Atlantic 10 Conference teams (2-0 vs. Dayton, 0-3 vs. UMass, 1-0 vs. Rhode Island, 1-0 vs. St. Joe's). Tuesday's game will be the first of two games this season for the Cajuns against A-10 teams (UL Lafayette visits Xaiver Dec. 20).
>The last time the Cajuns played a game in the state of Ohio was Dec. 12, 1998 at Cincinnati (L, 65-91). The Cajuns are 2-4 all-time in games played in the state of Ohio with both wins coming at Dayton.
>The Cajuns have forced 23.0 turnovers per game and sport a +8.0 turnover margin; Dayton has forced just 11.2 turnovers per game and has a -1.8 turnover margin. UL Lafayette is averaging 12.0 steals per game while UD is collecting just 4.8 steals per game.
>Dayton's opponents have just nine (9) blocks through six games while the Flyers have stuffed opponents 25 times.
>The last time the Cajuns allowed an opponent to score over 100 points was Dec. 6, 1997 at Texas Tech – a span of 179 straight games. In fact, opponents have hit the century mark just three times in the last 10 years.
>Dayton (NCAA) is the second of five postseason teams which the Cajuns are guaranteed to face this season...The Cajuns have already faced this year's Pre-Season NIT champion Georgia Tech and also play Xavier (NCAA), Valparaiso (NIT) and Western Kentucky (NCAA) later this season. The Cajuns also have the possiblity of facing Arizona (NCAA) at the Fiesta Bowl Classic.
A Cajuns Win Would...
Give the Cajuns their first road victory of the season and improve their record to 2-1....Mark the third straight win over Dayton and give the Cajuns a 3-0 lead in the series...Snap the Cajuns three-game losing streak in road games and be the first road win since an 85-81 win at Arkansas-Little Rock on Feb. 22, 2003...Give the program its 1,180th all-time win...Make the Cajuns the first non-conference team to win in Dayton since Dec. 19, 2000 when Old Dominion posted an 81-76 win...Improve the Cajuns to 5-3 all-time versus Atlantic 10 Conference teams...Hand Dayton its first loss of the season.
A Cajuns Loss Would...
Drop them to 1-2 after three games for the third straight season and fifth time in head coach Jessie Evans' seven-year tenure...Mark the Cajuns second road loss of the season and fourth straight dating back to last season...Be UL Lafayette's first-ever loss to Dayton, making the all-time series 2-1 in the Cajuns favor...Make UL Lafayette 4-4 all-time against Atlantic 10 Conference teams.
Next on the Schedule...
The Cajuns return home for the first of two home games in December on Monday, Dec. 15 against in-state rival McNeese State for a 7:05 p.m. tipoff.
Homegrown Talent
Of the 14 rostered players for Louisiana-Lafayette this season, seven (7) hail from the Bayou State...The Cajuns have two Lafayette natives in freshmen Adam James and Ross Mouton while Opelousas native Brad Boyd gives Louisiana-Lafayette three players from the Acadiana area...The Cajuns list of Louisiana natives includes: Brad Boyd (Opelousas), Laurie Bridges (New Orleans), Chris Cucchiara (Covington), Adam James (Lafayette), Antoine Landry (New Orleans), Dwayne Mitchell (New Orleans) and Ross Mouton (Lafayette).
Cajuns Picked To Defend Sun Belt Crown
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team was picked to defend its back-to-back Sun Belt Conference West Division titles according to the preseason coaches poll released at the conclusion of the annual Sun Belt basketball media days. The Cajuns received seven-first place votes to edge out New Mexico State's four first-place votes as the favorite in the West. In the Sun Belt East, three-time defending champion Western Kentucky was the front-runner with eight of 11 first-place votes. Louisiana-Lafayette has won the SBC West the past two seasons and since the league split into divisions prior to the 2000-01 season has claimed two of the three championships. The Cajuns enter the 2003-04 season having won 23 of their last 30 SBC games.
Boyd Earns Pre-Season Sun Belt Honor
Senior guard Brad Boyd (Opelousas, La. - St. Thomas More HS) represented the Cajuns on the 2003-04 All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team, earning first team honors. It marks the first time in his career that the Opelousas native received such honor. Boyd's pick comes as no surprise as he is coming off a career year in which he led the team in scoring with a 16.8 points per game average and ranked fourth in the nation in three-pointers per game with 3.9. He made a personal single-season best 104 three-point baskets last season and scored in double-digits in 23 of 27 games played...Boyd was a member of the 2002-03 All-Sun Belt Team.
Cajuns Selected To Participate In Bracket Buster
ESPN announced in September the field of 46 teams which will participate in the second annual Bracket Buster Saturday men's college basketball extravaganza to be held on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette men's basketball program was one of the 46 teams chosen for the event as one of three representatives from the Sun Belt Conference. UL Lafayette will face an opponent, to be announced on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2004, on Saturday, Feb. 21. As part of the agreement, the Cajuns will host a “return” game at the Cajundome against their Bracket Buster Saturday opponent in November or December of the 2004-05 season. Ten of the 23 match-ups pitting potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other will be televised nationally, highlighted by five games on ESPN or ESPN2. The other five televised games will be produced and distributed in the markets of the competing teams through ESPN Regional Television and will be available nationally on ESPN FULL COURT, an out-of-market pay-per-view service.
In A League of Their Own
Louisiana-Lafayette is the only team in the Sun Belt to win at least 10 conference games in each of the last four years...The Cajuns are 65-29 under head coach Jessie Evans in Sun Belt play and have won double-digit league games in five of six seasons under his direction.
Year-By-Year Sun Belt Record Under
Evans
1997-98 – 12-6
1998-99 – 7-7
1999-00 – 13-3
2000-01 – 10-6
2001-02 – 11-4
2002-03 – 12-3
2003-04 - 0-0
Overall Record – 65-29
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
