University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Open NCAA Tournament Play Friday Looking to Make Some Noise
3/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Cajuns Open
NCAA Tournament Play Friday Looking to Make Some Noise
13th-seeded
Louisiana-Lafayette seeking its first NCAA Tournament
victory since the 1992 appearance
Sunday, March 13, 2005
“It's an unbelievable opportunity for us,” said Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Robert Lee. “I feel we have the type of team that is capable of pulling off this upset. I really believe it can take our program to an entirely different level.”
Lee, the first coach in the history of the program to win 20 games and take the team to postseason in a debut campaign, will look to guide the Ragin' Cajuns – seeded 13th in the Albuquerque Region – to their first NCAA Tournament win since the 1992 appearance which saw then-Southwestern Louisiana topped fourth seed Oklahoma 87-83 on March 20, 1992.
Just as Louisville, Lee believes his team has something to prove in its opening round contest.
“They're (Louisville) going to show that they're committed; they're going to show the country that they didn't deserve a four seed,” Lee said. “Our mindset is the same also. I don't feel this basketball team – my basketball team – deserves a number 13 seed. We've played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country.”
For the Ragin' Cajuns players, Friday's meeting with Louisville gives them a chance to show the nation what they already know.
“It's good to be back here,” said senior guard Orien Greene. “This is a chance to put ourselves on the map and we're going to try to do that.”
“This is a great chance against a legendary program and a legendary coach,” said junior wingman and Albuquerque Region leading scorer Tiras Wade. “We want to put our stamp on this program and let people know what kind of program Louisiana-Lafayette is.”
Brian Hamilton, the Ragin' Cajuns blue-collar worker who transferred from Texas A&M Corpus Christi for the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, is also the opportunity for him to seize a win for the first time. He knows his team will be the underdog, but it's a role he believes the Ragin' Cajuns will no doubt enjoy in trying to make a name for themselves.
“Last year (vs. N.C. State in Orlando) we were pretty much in the same predicament,” Hamilton said. “And this is a great opportunity to be in the same situation. We just have to seize the moment.”
Two teams with similar styles will take the floor at GEC. Both the Cajuns and Cardinals would like to see an up-tempo game and both can succeed at it. The Cajuns perimeter defense will take a test against a Louisville squad that has made 317 triples and is currently shooting 40.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Cajuns defense allowed non-conference foes to shoot above 40 percent from three-point range, but has improved since Sun Belt play started.
The key matchup fans will watch is Louisiana-Lafayette's Tiras Wade and Louisville's Francisco Garcia. Garcia leads the Cardinals averaging 15.4 points per game while Wade tops the Cajuns with a 20.4 per game clip.
Wade feels that the game will be more than a scoring war between the two.
“I don't look at it as a key matchup,” Wade mentioned. “I've seen him play and the type of player he is, is like me. He'll do anything to get the win for his team and that's the way I'm going out there and I'm sure he'll have the same thought on his mind.
Louisiana-Lafayette took in a 50 minute practice on Thursday evening getting the chance to become acclimated to the environment in the GEC.
Louisiana-Lafayette's task is to snap its own postseason drought, but also carry the Sun Belt Conference flag and bring the league a win in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1995 season when Western Kentucky topped Michigan.
The Cajuns enter the game on a three-game winning streak. Louisville brings a nine-game win streak to the table.
Louisiana-Lafayette will enjoy the experience factor this season. In the 2004 appearance in Orlando, the Cajuns had just one player on the entire team had NCAA Tournament experience in Orien Greene. Now, the Cajuns have four of their five starters with NCAA experience plus the addition of Wade only makes that stronger.
When asked in a pre-practice press conference which player would have an impact on his team's success, Lee was quick to point to Greene.
“Orien brings a sense of stability to our basketball team,” Lee said. “When he is on the floor, he gives us so much more confidence. He gets the ball to the right people at the right time.”
If Lee's Cajuns can keep their turnovers to a minimum, stay away from foul trouble and defend the perimeter like they did in Sun Belt Conference play then Friday evening in Nashville could be a special moment in time for both him and the program.
“We expect to win,” Lee said. “Louisville – they're players expect to win. We expect to win also…This is something I've really expected from day one.”
Friday's NCAA Tournament game will be televised live on CBS Sports with Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery calling all of the action. The game is also available on the radio via SportsRadio ESPN 1420-KPEL AM in Lafayette as Jay Walker brings the action over the airwaves back to fans in Lafayette.
.-Ragin' Cajuns-
