University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts McNeese State Thursday
12/13/2007 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME CENTER
Date: Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007
Opponent: McNeese State Cowboys (4-3)
Site: CAJUNDOME (11,550); Lafayette, La.
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
Television: None
Radio: Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network
Local Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL), 107.9 FM (KRKA)
Radio Talent: Jay Walker (P-by-P)
Click Here for Complete Game Day Notebook Package
Game Night Story Lines: In the midst of its grueling road non-conference schedule, Louisiana returns to the CAJUNDOME court to host regional rival McNeese State in its final out-of-conference home game of 2007...Louisiana (1-5), which has lost its last five games since a 79-67 season-opening win over North Alabama, will face a confident McNeese State (4-3) squad that is victorious in four of its last five contests...McNeese State will be making its first appearance in the CAJUNDOME since 2003. McNeese faced UL at Blackham Coliseum in December 2005 while the CAJUNDOME was out of commission because of Hurricane Katrina. During that meeting in 2005, McNeese State left its road uniforms in Lake Charles and were forced to wear Louisiana's practice jerseys for the game...Louisiana holds a 51-30 all-time series lead over McNeese State and has won 11 of the last 13 meetings...The Ragin' Cajuns are 8-0 all-time at the CAJUNDOME against the McNeese State Cowboys. UL holds a 30-12 series advantage in Lafayette, winning the last nine games at home (including 2005's meeting at Blackham Coliseum)...Tonight's game marks the 10th consecutive season that these two former Southland Conference rivals have meet. Their game in 1998 renewed an old rivalry that was dormant for six seasons...Prior to last season's 68-63 loss in Lake Charles, UL had posted 14 straight games of at least 70 points against the Cowboys...Louisiana is 212-82 (.721) all-time at the CAJUNDOME in 22-plus seasons. Eighteen (18) of the last 27 games in the CAJUNDOME have been decided by 10 points or less, including 10 by five points or less.
McNeese State Preview. The McNeese State Cowboys claimed an 87-53 decision over Dillard with four players scoring in double figures. Jarvis Bradley had 16 points and Diego Kapelan 15, while Kleon Penn added five blocked shots and nine rebounds...McNeese outrebounded Dillard 48-22. Cowboys also shot 57.1 percent from the floor (32-of-56) and 60 percent from three point range (9-of-15). McNeese enters tonight's game on a two game winning streak and is over the .500 mark for the first time this season...A key to the Cowboys record has been their tight defense, rebounding and three point shooting.....In all four wins this season, the Cowboys have held opponents under 60 points....McNeese State is outrebounding opponents by an average of 8.1 rebounds per game......the Cowboys lead the Southland Conference with a .375 three point shooting percentage...Jarvis Bradley had the Cowboys first double double of the season in the victory over UT Tyler....he scored 14 points and pulled 12 rebounds...John Ford now has 105 career three point shots...that puts him in a 9th place tie with former standout Tierre Brown....he also has 309 career assists (8th on the all-time list) and 151 steals (tied for 5th on the all-time chart).
Uniform Malfunction. McNeese State returns to Lafayette after visiting the Ragin' Cajuns at Blackham Coliseum in 2005. Tonight's game also marks the Cowboys' first visit to the CAJUNDOME since 2003. In their last visit to Lafayette, the Cowboys left their jerseys in Lake Charles and were forced to wear the Cajuns' practice jerseys for the game. The result? Louisiana defeated McNeese 89-77, rebounding from a four-point halftime deficit for the victory...Senior guard Maurice Barksdale is the only player remaining from that team. He finished the game with nine points, five rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes.
Other Notables. Louisiana has now controlled the game's opening tip in every game this season...Louisiana's loss to UCF Tuesday night was its first to the Knights in nine series meetings...Elijah Millsap set a career-best at the free throw Tuesday night, going 13-of-14 from the charity stripe. He sunk 9-of-10 shots in the first half alone. Millsap's 13 free throws are the most by a Cajun since Anthony Johnson made 15 at New Orleans on Jan. 11, 2003...Millsap didn't make a field goal Tuesday night, marking just the second occurrence in his career. The first was his Ragin' Cajuns debut against Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 9, 2006, when he went 0-for-5 (He also went 0-for-5 Tuesday night)...Louisiana has lost eight straight games against nationally ranked opponents, falling to 8-27 all-time vs. Top 25 opponents since becoming an NCAA Division I member in 1971-72.
Frequent Flyer Miles. After tonight's game, Louisiana will embark on 9,204-mile round-trip excursion in eight days, beginning Sunday when the Cajuns head north to face ULM. In their previous four road trips this season, Louisiana has travelled 4,425 miles round-trip. Alone, Louisiana's flight to Honolulu on Monday will take 4,417 miles.
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