University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns vs. North Texas Game Notes
2/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Cajuns vs.
North Texas Game Notes
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004
Game Information
Date: Thursday, Feb. 5, 2004
Location: Lafayette, La.
Time: 7:05 p.m. (CT)
Arena: Cajundome (11,700)
The Teams: Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (11-5,
6-1 Sun Belt), North Texas Mean Green (10-9, 5-2 Sun Belt)
The Coaches: Louisiana-Lafayette - Jessie Evans
(123-77, 7th season at UL Lafayette and overall); North
Texas - Johnny Jones (32-44, 3rd season at NT; 47-60,
4th season overall)
TV: NONE
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM and 107.9 KRKA-FM (live
Internet streaming available at
www.ragincajuns.com
and www.weareradio.com)
- Jay Walker play-by-play. Pre-game show begins 30 minutes
prior to tip-off.
The Series: Cajuns lead 10-5
Last Season: UL Lafayette 89-58 (1/30/03 at NT)
UL Lafayette 94-60 (2/24/03 at UL)
Current Streak: UL Lafayette - 2 wins
Cajuns Most Recently: Defeated Middle Tennessee 74-64
(1/31/04)
Mean Green Most Recently: Defeated to South Alabama
85-77 (1/31/04)
Updated stats for North Texas available at:
http://www.unt.edu/mgathletics/Athletics/m_bball/stories/03_04/03_04stats/teamcume.htm
Updated Sun Belt standings
available at:
http://basketball.sunbeltsports.org/x/M/standings
Updated Sun Belt stats
available at:
Red-Hot Cajuns Return Home To Face North
Texas
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team (11-5, 6-1 Sun Belt), the front-runner in the race for the 2003-04 Sun Belt regular season title, returns home for two games this week at the Cajundome...Louisiana-Lafayette opens a brief two-game homestand Thursday, Feb. 5, at 7:05 p.m., against its nearest competition in the Sun Belt standings – North Texas (10-9, 5-2 Sun Belt)...UL Lafayette is currently first in the Sun Belt West while NT sits in second place one game back... The Cajuns enter the contest winners of a season-high five straight games and are coming off of a 3-0 road trip which included a sweep of Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee last weekend...North Texas is off to its best start since joining the Sun Belt at 5-2 in league play and is 2-0 on the road in SBC play after sweeping the Arkansas road swing Jan. 22-24.
The Site: Cajundome (capacity: 11,700)
Opened in time for the 1985-86 season…First game was played Nov. 22, 1985 against Georgia (lost 75-78)…Replaced Blackham Coliseum, which served as the home of Ragin' Cajuns basketball from 1950-1984…This season marks the 19th season of play at the Cajundome…UL Lafayette has posted a 199-71 record (.737) within the friendly confines…The Cajuns are 71-15 (.826) under head coach Jessie Evans in the 'Dome with wins over Ohio State, Texas Tech, Southern Mississippi and East Carolina…Played host to the 1998 and 1999 Sun Belt Tournaments…UL Lafayette has won 28 of the last 31 games contested in the Cajundome and 18 of the last 20 Sun Belt games.
The Series – Cajuns Lead 10-5
Thursday's game marks the 16th meeting all-time between the Ragin' Cajuns and Mean Green and is the first of two this season between the two Sun Belt West Division rivals…The two teams will meet again on Monday, Feb. 23 in Denton, Texas, at the Super Pit…Louisiana-Lafayette has won nine of the last 10 games in the series and 5-of-6 since NT joined the 'Belt in 2001-02…North Texas snapped the Cajuns seven game win streak in the series with a 78-59 win on Feb. 11, 2002 in the Super Pit…Louisiana-Lafayette leads the series 5-0 in the Cajundome and 6-2 in the city of Lafayette...The Cajuns won 94-60 in the last meeting played in the Cajundome on Feb. 24, 2003...The last four meetings have been decided by 18 points or more – the Cajuns won both meetings last season by 30-plus (89-58 in Denton; 94-60 in Lafayette).
The Tentative Starters
Louisiana-Lafayette (2003-04 record:
11-5, 6-1 Sun Belt)
F- 45 Brian Hamilton (6-6, 186, Jr., Missouri City, Texas)
C- 11 Chris Cameron (6-11, 256, So., Melbourne, Australia)
Season Stats: 7.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 46.4% FG, 80.0% FT, 33 off rebs, 14 turnovers
G- 21 Laurie Bridges (6-4, 206, Sr., New Orleans, La.)
Season Stats: 10.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 43.0% FG, 81.5% FT, 55 assists, 27 steals
G- 3 Brad Boyd (6-6, 195, Sr., Opelousas, La.)
Season Stats: 13.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 36.2% FG, 35.5% 3FG, 80.0% FT, 57 assists
G- 4 Antoine Landry (5-11, 170, Sr., New Orleans, La.)
Season Stats: 14.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.0 apg, 46.1% FG, 43.4% 3FG, 75.0% FT, 46 3FG
North Texas (2003-04 record: 10-9, 5-2
Sun Belt)
F- 51 Shawnson Johnson (6-9, 250, Sr.-TR, Shreveport, La.)
F- 42 Michael DeGrate (6-8, 220, Sr., McGregor, Texas)
Season Stats: 9.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 55.6% FG, 33.3% 3FG, 86.7%FT
G- 33 Calvin Watkins (6-5, 198, Fr., Houston, Texas)
Season Stats: 8.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 48.1% FG, 41.4% 3FG, 37.5% FT
G- 22 Leonard Hopkins (6-3, 190, Jr., Dallas, Texas)
Season Stats: 11.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 36.1% FG, 32.5% 3FG, 82.4% FT, 20 steals
G- 2 Jerome Rogers (5-10, Sr., Dallas, Texas)
Season Stats: 10.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 43.8% FG, 36.9% 3FG, 72.5%FT, 49 assists
The UL Lafayette Head Coach – Jessie Evans
Native of Lebanon, Tenn., and graduate of Eastern Michigan University…In his seventh year at Louisiana-Lafayette…123-77 in Cajun Country and overall…With the Cajuns win over Western Kentucky on Jan. 29, Evans surpassed former South Alabama head coach Ronnie Arrow into second place on the Sun Belt Conference all-time conference-coaching victories list with his 70th SBC win....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…Was named the 2002-03 NABC District 8 Coach of the Year...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 the last four…Served as an assistant coach at Arizona under the legendary Lute Olson 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 – 11-5 (6-1 Sun Belt)
Overall – 123-77 (71-30 Sun Belt)
On the Air
Thursday evening's game against North Texas can be heard locally on the UL Lafayette Sports Radio Network through its flagship stations SportsRadio ESPN 1420 KPEL-AM and KRKA 107.9 FM in Lafayette. Nationwide, the game will be available via live Internet streaming at www.ragincajuns.com or www.weareradio.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 Cajundome in Lafayette, La., on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus. The pre-game show begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off. On Monday's of each week, fans can tune into the “Jessie Evans Show” live on KLAF (channel 17) at 10:30 p.m., for the latest happenings within the UL basketball program.
Louisiana-Lafayette Update
The Cajuns extended their season-high win streak to five games with Saturday's 74-64 win at Middle Tennessee...It was UL Lafayette's fourth straight road win in Sun Belt play, keeping them undefeated on the road in league games (4-0)...The MT win capped off a 7-1 record in the month of January...Every player who took the floor at MT scored at least six points...Laurie Bridges scored 12 points, all in the second half, inluding nine of the Cajuns final 12 vs. MT; Bridges ended a streak of four straight games in single-digits...Brian Hamilton shot 3-of-10 (30 percent), snapping streak of 12 straight games shooting above 50 percent – he is still shooting a team-best 62.1 percent (72-of-116)...Brad Boyd scored eight at MT and is now just one point away from becoming the 35th 1,000-point scorer in school history...The 10-point win over Middle Tennessee was the fourth doube-digit victory in the last five games...Orien Greene had three steals against MT and has led the Cajuns in steals each game since he was declared eligible to play...The Cajuns are 5-0 with Greene on the court...Greene scored a team-high 13 points at MT marking the fifth straight game that a different player led the Cajuns in scoring...Five players are averaging double-digits scoring while seven average at least 9.0 ppg...Antoine Landry and Brad Boyd have combined for 101 of the Cajuns 131 three-pointers...Three starters are now shooting above 80 percent at the free throw line (Boyd - 80%, Bridges 82%, Cameron 80%)...UL Lafayette is shooting 74.5% at the charity stripe in Sun Belt games (111-of-149) and has made 47-of-59 (79.7%) in its last two games including a season-high 81.5% against Middle Tennessee (22-of-27).
North Texas Update
North Texas begins a stretch in which will play six of its final eight Sun Belt games on the road Thursday in the Cajundome..The Mean Green had a four-game win streak halted last Thursday against New Orleans (L, 76-77 in OT), but rebounded Saturday with an 85-77 win over South Alabama...The 5-2 Sun Belt record is tied with the 2001-02 team for the best start in the Sun Belt through seven games...Last season, North Texas finished just 2-13 in SBC action...NT has scored at least 80 points in three of its last four outings, making five times this season it has scored 80-plus; the Mean Green is 5-0 this season when it scores above 80 points and 18-4 all-time under head coach Johnny Jones...NT has used nine different starting lineups and no player has started every game – but NT has used the same starting five the last five games...Shreveport native and LSU transfer Shawnson Johnson leads the squad averaging a team-best 13.1 points and 9.0 rebounds...Johnson has 38 blocks...Johnson has posted a double-double in four games and has been no more than two rebounds shy of having a double-double in six other games...All 10 wins have come when the Mean Green shot better than its opponent...Junior guard Leonard Hopkins has connected on his last 35 free throw attempts including a 10-for-10 performance against South Alabama on Saturday...NT leads the Sun Belt in blocks per game at 4.79 (91 blocks in 19 games).
Coaches vs. the Opposition
Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Jessie Evans meets North Texas for the 8th time in his career and is 6-1 all-time against the Mean Green...North Texas head coach Johnny Jones, in his third season at NT, is meeting Louisiana-Lafayette for the fifth time in his career and is 1-3 vs. the Cajuns.
Cajuns In February
Thursday's game against North Texas will be Louisiana-Lafayette's first in the month of February this season...UL Lafayette is 33-17 overall in February under Jessie Evans which includes a 19-5 record in the Cajundome...The month begins with a two-game homestand this week followed by a five-game road trip Feb. 12-23...The road trip takes the Cajuns to South Alabama (Feb. 12), New Orleans (Feb. 14), New Mexico State (Feb. 18) and North Texas (Feb. 23) in Sun Belt play...An appearance in ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday event on Feb. 21, breaks up the NMSU-NT swing...Following the NT game, the Cajuns finish the month and regular season with home games against Arkansas State (Feb. 26) and Arkansas-Little Rock (Feb. 28).
February Record Year-By-Year Under
Evans
1997-98 – 7-1 (5-0 home, 2-1
away)
1998-99 – 2-5 (1-2 home, 1-3 away)
1999-00 – 6-3 (3-1 home, 3-2 away)
2000-01 – 5-4 (2-1 home, 3-3 away)
2001-02 – 6-2 (4-0 home, 2-2 away)
2002-03 – 7-2 (4-1 home, 3-1 away)
2003-04 – 0-0 (0-0 home, 0-0 away)
Overall – 33-17 (19-5 home, 14-12 away)
Last Time Out...Jan. 31, 2004 at Middle Tennessee
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team capped off a three-game road trip with its third win in as many tries, posting a 74-64 victory over Middle Tennessee here Saturday at the Murphy Center. Laurie Bridges, who had a quiet first half with no points, scored all 12 of his points in the second half including nine of the Cajuns final 12 points as Louisiana-Lafayette extended its season-long win streak to five games and finished its current road trip 3-0. After the Cajuns had built up a 12-point lead halfway through the second half, MT would rally to close the gap to four at 62-58 with 3:25 left to play. Bridges would then nail a crucial three-pointer at the 2:32 mark to stretch the lead to 65-58. From that point, the Cajuns defense clamped down and Bridges made six consecutive free throws to help the Cajuns open a 71-62 lead with 52 seconds left. With the win, UL Lafayette (11-5, 6-1 Sun Belt) remained undefeated on the road in Sun Belt play at 4-0. It also marked the first win by a road team in the series since MT joined the Sun Belt in 2000-01. Two nights removed from allowing 102 points and 59 percent field goal percentage to Western Kentucky, the Cajuns defense rebounded by holding the Blue Raiders to 34 percent shooting (22-of-64) which included just 5-of-20 from three-point range. Orien Greene paced the Cajuns with 13 points and finished tied with Hamilton for team honors in rebounding with seven boards. Hamilton scored 10 to give UL Lafayette three scorers in double-figures. UL Lafayette had eight players each score at least six points. The Cajuns led 32-26 at the half, but saw that lead evaporate after MT opened the second half with a 7-0 run to take a 33-32 lead. With the game tied 36-36 at the 17:15 mark, Bridges scored his first three points of the game on a three-point basket at 16:31 to put the Cajuns on top 39-36 - a lead they would not relinquish.
Last Time vs. North Texas...Feb. 24, 2003
LAFAYETTE – The Ragin' Cajuns shot above 50 percent in each half and used an 11-0 run in the opening minutes to pull away from North Texas and post a 94-60 win…UL Lafayette extended its Cajundome-record winning streak to 21 games and Sun Belt home win streak to 16…Louisiana-Lafayette won its 20th game of the season giving them back-to-back 20-plus win seasons, a first under head coach Jessie Evans…A total of 14 players saw action for the Cajuns with Kenneth Lawrence logging the most minutes – 21…Brad Boyd led the Cajuns with 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range…Four Cajuns scored in double figures…UL Lafayette had 22 assists with 10 players combining for the assists total…The Cajuns outrebounded the Mean Green 46-28…The Cajuns led 49-24 at the half and the lead never fell below 23 points in the second half.
It's Official: Cajuns at Rice In ESPN Bracket Buster
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team will be headed to Houston for the 2004 ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday event. ESPN announced on Monday that the Ragin' Cajuns will face Rice in a Noon game on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Autry Court on the Rice University campus. The matchup will televised live on ESPN FULL COURT, an out-of-market pay-per-view service. Anyone with the ESPN FULL COURT package will be able to pick up the game. Cox Sports (channel 27 in Lafayette) will carry the game on tape-delay basis at a time to be announced. As part of the agreement, Rice will play a “return” game at the Cajundome in November or December of next season. Fans interested in attending the game should call the Rice Ticket Office at (713) 348-4068.
Closing In On A Milestone
Senior guard Brad Boyd is one basket away from joining an elite group...Boyd, a 6-6 guard and last season's leading scorer, enters Thursday's game against North Texas with 999 career points – leaving him just one (1) point shy of 1,000 in his career...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...When Boyd reaches 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).
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 55 three-point baskets so far this season moving him to 233 for his career and 21 away from breaking the record.
Three-Point Streak Continues
As a team, UL Lafayette has made at least one 3-point field goal in 64 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).
Fixture in the Lineup
With a start against Middle Tennessee, Laurie Bridges extended his streak of consecutive games started to 37 – 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.
Dishing It Out
The Cajuns have three of the Sun Belt's Top 10 assists men – Dwayne Mitchell (3.69 apg), Brad Boyd (3.56 apg) and Laurie Bridges (3.44)...The trio ranks fifth through seventh in the SBC rankings...Boyd leads the way with 57 total assists and is joined by Bridges (55) with 50-plus assists...Dwayne Mitchell has 48 assists through 13 games having played three fewer games than Boyd and Bridges...Bridges is just four assists away from tying his personal single-season best of 59 set last season...As a team, the Cajuns average a SBC-best 16.9 apg.
Turning 'Em Over
UL Lafayette has had a decisive advantage in the turnover department this season...The Cajuns have induced 291 turnovers from their opponents in 16 games (18.2 per game) while committing only 227 (14.2 per game)…The Cajuns sport a +4.0 turnover margin...UL Lafayette is 8-2 this season when committing fewer turnovers and 2-3 when committing more turnovers...The Cajuns have forced 20-plus turnovers turnovers six times including 23 at then-No. 4 Arizona...In Sun Belt games, Louisiana-Lafayette is forcing on average 18.3 turnovers through seven games (128 total).
Playing the Percentages
The Cajuns have won 21 straight games in which 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 48 of their last 53 games in which the opponent shot below 40 percent...Four times this season, and three of the last four games, an opponent has shot below 40 percent (Loyola-New Orleans, 34.6%, New Mexico State, 38.1%, FIU 38.9% and Middle Tennessee 34.4%).
Coming Out Strong
The Cajuns have led at the half in 13 of the last 15 outings since trailing Georgia Tech in the season opener...UL Lafayette is 11-2 this season when ahead at halftime and 0-3 when trailing...In Sun Belt play, South Alabama is the only team to lead the Cajuns at the half (38-35 on Jan. 15 in the 'Dome).
Keep 'Em Under 70
The Cajuns are 80-21 (.792) under head coach Jessie Evans when holding opponents below 70 points...UL Lafayette is 7-1 this season when the opponent scores below 70.
Nearing a Cajundome Milestone
Louisiana-Lafayette enters Thursday's contest with North Texas just one (1) win shy of 200 at the Cajundome...Since the facility opened in 1985 the Cajuns have rolled off 199 wins in 19 years...The Cajuns have four (4) more games this season within the friendly confines including the North Texas contest to accomplish the feat...Should the Cajuns win their next home outing they would reach the 200th win on Thursday, Feb. 5 against North Texas.
Valuing the Ball
Through 16 games, Louisiana-Lafayette has a 1.2 assist:turnover ratio as a team – a figure which is tops in the Sun Belt Conference...For the season the Cajuns have 271 assists to 227 turnovers making them the only Sun Belt team with more assists than turnovers...Six (6) Cajuns sport a positive assist:turnover ratio...Orien Greene leads the way with a 1.8 ratio (14 assists, 8 turnovers)...As a team, Louisiana-Lafayette has had a positive assist:turnover ratio in all but five games this season (5 assists:19 turnovers at Ga. Tech; 15 assists:18 turnovers vs. McNeese; 18 assists:20 turnovers vs. South Alabama; 13 assists:14 turnovers vs. UNO; 15 assists, 20 turnovers at Middle Tennessee).
Balanced Attack
For the season, the Cajuns have five (5) players averaging double-figures scoring...The players averaging double-figures include: Antoine Landry (14.4), Brad Boyd (13.3), Brian Hamilton (11.9), Orien Greene (11.0) and Laurie Bridges (10.9)...Seven players are averaging at least nine points...UL Lafayette has had at least three players score in double-figures the last 13 games.
Quick Hands
The Cajuns recorded 10 steals Saturday at Middle Tennessee, marking the 12th time this season (out of 16 games total) that the team collected at least seven (7) steals in a game...Six (6) times UL Lafayette has reached double-figures in steals including tying a season-high with 16 against then-No. 4 Arizona at the Fiesta Bowl Classic...The Cajuns lead the Sun Belt Conference in steals averaging 9.1 picks per game...Brian Hamilton leads the Cajuns with 32 steals (2.0 per game) and ranks second in the SBC for steals per game...Seven out of the eight players in the rotation have double-digit steals...As a team, Louisiana-Lafayette has 146 steals to just 86 for the opponent.
80-plus = Done Deal
UL Lafayette is undefeated (7-0) when scoring at least 80 points...The Cajuns have broken 80 points in four of the last eight games.
Deja' Vu
Last season the Cajuns began the Sun Belt season 1-1 with the first loss coming at the hands of South Alabama...UL Lafayette would then reel of a school-record nine consecutive SBC wins en route to its second straight Sun Belt West Division title...This season, the Cajuns began 1-1 with the loss coming to South Alabama once more...Since the USA loss, the Cajuns have won the last five games to improve to 6-1 in league play for the second straight season.
Winning Big
Of the Cajuns 11 victories this season, eight (8) have come by double-digit margins...The lone single-digit wins were against Western Kentucky (110-102), Denver (83-81) and McNeese State (76-70)...Louisiana-Lafayette's average win margin this season is 17.8 (11 wins, 196 points).
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...Louisiana-Lafayette is on pace to make it five straight years with double-digit league wins and has eight more games to pick up four more wins to get them to 10...The Cajuns are 71-30 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 (7-2 home, 5-4 away)
1998-99 – 7-7 (6-1 home, 1-6 away)
1999-00 – 13-3 (7-1 home, 6-2 away)
2000-01 – 10-6 (6-2 home, 4-4 away)
2001-02 – 11-4 (7-0 home, 4-4 away)
2002-03 – 12-3 (7-1 home, 5-2 away)
2003-04 – 6-1 (2-1 home, 4-0 away)
Seven-Year Record – 71-30 (.703)
Boyd Moving Up Sun Belt Charts
Senior guard Brad Boyd is just three 3-pointers away from moving into the Top 5 all-time in the Sun Belt Conference record book...Boyd currently has 233 career three-point baskets which ranks him seventh (7th) – the highest among any Cajuns player ever to play in the Sun Belt and three from tying Arkansas-Little Rock's Nick Zachery for fifth all-time in SBC history...Earlier in the season Boyd passed Blane Harmon (212) for the most three-pointers by a Cajuns player in the Sun Belt era...Boyd and Western Kentucky's Mike Wells are the only two active players in the league that are in the Top 25.
Winning on the Road in the 'Belt
Louisiana-Lafayette has begun Sun Belt Conference play with four straight road wins...The Cajuns are one of three Sun Belt schools undefeated on the road in league play being joined by North Texas and Middle Tennessee (both 2-0)...Dating back to last season, the Ragin' Cajuns have won nine of their last 11 Sun Belt regular season road outings and the last five overall...Louisiana-Lafayette ended with a 5-2 Sun Belt Conference road record in 2002-03…UL Lafayette finished the season with wins in five of its last six Sun Belt road outings.
Did You Know???
UL Lafayette has won 16 straight games in which it has held the opposition below 60 points, last losing to Northwestern 52-51 on Dec. 28, 2001 in Tempe, Ariz., at the azcentral.com Holiday Classic…The Cajuns are 38-5 (.884) under head coach Jessie Evans when holding the opposition below 60 points...Louisiana-Lafayette is 3-0 this season when the opponent scores less than 60.
Milestone Game
Saturday's game at Middle Tennessee marked the 200th in the coaching career of head coach Jessie Evans – making him one of only five coaches in program history to coach over 200 games.
Did You Know???
The 110 points scored at Western Kentucky last Thursday were the most against the Toppers in the all-time series and most against a Division I team since topping Texas-Pan American 112-66 on Jan. 17, 1998.
Chairman of the Boards
Junior transfer Brian Hamilton (Missouri City, Texas) continues to be the driving force behind the Cajuns rebounding efforts...Last Thursday at Western Kentucky he grabbed 10 boards for his second double-digit rebounding game in the last three outings...He leads the squad with a 7.2 rebounds per game average...He has had at least seven rebounds in 10 games this season...Hamilton pulls his weight on both ends of the floor – of his 116 total rebounds he has 54 offensive and 62 defensive...In his final season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, he led the Islanders with 6.9 rebounds per game and had seven (7) double-digit rebounding games.
Record Through 16
Louisiana-Lafayette, now 11-5, has its best overall record through 16 games since it was 11-5 in 1999-2000...It's tied for the best start in the Evans era...The 1999-2000 season also happened to be the last time the Cajuns advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Leaders of the Pack
The Cajuns lead the Sun Belt in seven different statistical categories: scoring, scoring margin, 3-point field goals made, steals, assists, turnover margin and assists:turnover ratio.
Climbing the Charts
Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Jessie Evans enters Thursday's game with 71 Sun Belt victories through 101 games...He is currently in second place all-time on the conference-coaching victories list trailing only the legendary Gene Bartow (111 wins at UAB)...Both Evans and Bartow are the only coaches to amass 70 Sun Belt wins in a career...Evans' career Sun Belt winning percentage of .703 (71-30) ranks as the highest amongst the league's current coaches and is in the Top 10 in conference history.
Fastbreak Points
>Orien Greene has led the Cajuns in steals in each of his five games since being declared eligible to play. Greene collected a season-high four swipes at FIU.
>Laurie Bridges needs four assists to tie his single-season best set last season.
>The Cajuns have shot above 40 percent in all but four games this season.
>UL Lafayette has limited three of its last four opponents (NMSU, FIU, MT) to below 40 percent shooting. On Saturday, the Cajuns defense held Middle Tennessee to an opponent season-low 34.4 percent (22-of-64).
>Following the Denver game this Saturday, the Cajuns will embark on a five game road trip Feb. 12-23 that includes four Sun Belt matchups.
>UL Lafayette is 10-2 this season when putting up at least 70 points and 1-3 when scoring fewer than 70.
>Both the Cajuns and North Texas are undefeated this season when scoring 80 or more.
>UL Lafayette has kept all but two of its opponents below 80 points this season. Denver scored 81 points to become the first opponent to reach 80 on the Cajuns this season. Western Kentucky became the second last Thursday when the Hilltoppers reached 102.
>Louisiana-Lafayette has made at least 70 percent of its free throws in 10 of the last 13 games. UL Lafayette is shooting 74.5% at the charity stripe in Sun Belt games (111-of-149) and has made 47-of-59 (79.7%) in its last two games including a season-high 81.5% against Middle Tennessee (22-of-27).
>The Cajuns are shooting 71.8 percent for the season at the free throw line – a total which would be the highest in the Evans era if the season ended today (highest under Evans is 66.5 percent in 1997-98). The last time the Cajuns shot above 70 percent at the charity stripe for the season was 1993-94 (71.6 percent).
>Western Kentucky became the first team to score 100 points against the Cajuns since Dec. 6, 1997 at Texas Tech – a span of 191 straight games. In fact, opponents have hit the century mark just four times in the last 10 years and twice in the Evans era. The last time a Sun Belt team scored 100 was Feb. 1, 1997, when UNO posted a 100-76 win in New Orleans.
>The Cajuns are 4-2 in overtime games under head coach Jessie Evans and have won the last three. The last time the Cajuns went into overtime was Feb. 11, 2003 in the Cajundome against Denver (W, 72-69).
>The Cajuns have faced six (6) teams this season that advanced to the 2003 postseason...UL Lafayette has faced this year's Pre-Season NIT champion Georgia Tech (NIT), Dayton (NCAA), Xavier (NCAA), Valparaiso (NIT) and Arizona (NCAA)...Western Kentucky (NCAA) became the sixth postseason team that the Cajuns faced this season.
A Cajuns Win Would...
Mark the sixth straight win – extending the longest win streak of the season...Give the Cajuns a two-game lead over North Texas in the Sun Belt West standings and a two-game lead over the rest of the league...Be the third straight victory in the Cajundome since the South Alabama loss Jan. 15...Mark the 200th victory all-time in the Cajundome...Be the Cajuns third straight win over NT and keep the Mean Green winless all-time in the Cajundome.
A Cajuns Loss Would...
Snap a season-high, five-game win streak...Be the first loss to North Texas in the Cajundome...Snap a two-game win streak against the Mean Green...Create a first-place tie in the Sun Belt West and overall league standings between the Cajuns and Mean Green.
Next on the Schedule...
Louisiana-Lafayette concludes its current two-game homestand Saturday, Feb. 7, in a 7:05 p.m., game against Denver at the Cajundome.
Home Cooking – Cajuns Style
Over the last six-plus years opponents have not had much success playing in the Cajundome...Since Jessie Evans took over the Cajuns program in 1997-98, UL Lafayette has won 71-of-86 games played at the Cajundome…The Cajuns have won 28 of the last 31 games the past three seasons...UL Lafayette is 44-6 over the last 50 contests within the friendly confines...Last season the Cajuns went 10-1 at home in the Cajundome and extended their Cajundome-record win streak to 21 games before losing to Western Kentucky in the home finale on Feb. 26… The previous record was set Feb. 4, 1993-Feb. 5, 1994 a span of 14 games…The Cajuns set the record with their 81-74 victory over New Mexico State on Jan. 2.
Year-By-Year at Home Under Evans
1997-98 – 12-5 (7-2 Sun Belt)
1998-99 – 10-2 (6-1 Sun Belt)
1999-00 – 12-2 (7-1 Sun Belt)
2000-01 – 9-3 (6-2 Sun Belt)
2001-02 – 12-1 (7-0 Sun Belt)
2002-03 – 10-1 (7-1 Sun Belt)
2003-04 – 6-1 (2-1 Sun Belt)
Overall – 71-15 (42-8 Sun Belt)
Consistent Winner
Since Jessie Evans took over as head coach of the Cajuns in the 1997-98 season, Louisiana-Lafayette has been one of the more consistent teams among the Sun Belt Conference's current membership...UL Lafayette has won 123 games – a total second only to New Mexico State's 125...The Cajuns have had just one losing season during Evans tenure...Of the members of the SBC when the Cajuns joined in 1991-92 (ASU, UALR, UNO, USA & WKU), Louisiana-Lafayette has the most wins, ahead of Western Kentucky's 119.
Homegrown Talent
Of the 13 rostered players for Louisiana-Lafayette this season, eight (8) 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), Rhett Hebert (Erath) Adam James (Lafayette), Antoine Landry (New Orleans), Dwayne Mitchell (New Orleans), Ross Mouton (Lafayette) and Alphonso Williams (Cecilia).
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.
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 he 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.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
