University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Storied Rivals To Meet In Sun Belt Championship Game on ESPN2
3/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Storied
Rivals To Meet In Sun Belt Championship Game on ESPN2
Monday, March 7, 2004
The
top-seeded Ragin' Cajuns (19-8) will face long-time and
in-state rival New Orleans (17-13) in Tuesday's 8 p.m.,
championship game which will be aired live on ESPN2.
The third-seeded Privateers made their way to the championship game with an 80-65 semifinal win over Arkansas-Little Rock.
UL Lafayette is making its sixth championship game appearance and fourth under head coach Jessie Evans. The Cajuns last won the title in 2000 when they defeated South Alabama in Little Rock.
The last time the Cajuns played in a championship game at Diddle Arena was 1994 when then-Southwestern Louisiana defeated Western Kentucky for the crown.
UNO
is playing for an NCAA Tournament berth for the first
time under head coach Monte Towe and first since the
1996 season when the Privateers topped UALR 57-56 in
Little Rock.
Louisiana-Lafayette has had the upper-hand in the series under Evans. Since 1997-98, the Cajuns have won 12-of-16 meetings against UNO.
The two teams split the regular season series with the home team winning each time. The Cajuns routed the Privateers 85-64 in Lafayette on Jan. 15 and then UNO returned the favor on Valentine's Day with a 68-54 win.
The last time these two teams met in the SBC Tournament was the 2000 event in Little Rock when the Cajuns picked up a 55-35 quarterfinals victory.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
