UL Hosts Troy For SBC Home Opener

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team (2-11, 0-2 Sun Belt) looks to continue its nine-game winning streak against Sun Belt opponents at the Cajundome as Troy (2-11, 0-1 Sun Belt) comes to town on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. CT.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns (2-11, 0-2 Sun Belt)
vs. Troy Trojans (2-11, 0-1 Sun Belt)
When: Thursday, Jan. 6
Time: 7:05 p.m. CT
Where: Cajundome (11,550) | Lafayette, La.
TV: None
Radio: KPEL ESPN 1420 AM / KHXT 107.9 FM
Live Stats/Video: www.ragincajuns.com

Gameday Storylines

The Cajuns (2-11, 0-2 SBC) look to snap a three-game losing streak as they return to the Cajundome on Thursday to host Troy (2-11, 0-1 SBC).
UL leads the all-time series with the Trojans, 5-4. Last season, the Cajuns defeated the Trojans, 69-54, at the Cajundome.
The Cajuns are 13-6 all-time in Sun Belt home openers and have won the league home opener the past three seasons. .
Last season, UL finished undefeated at the Cajundome in Sun Belt play with a 9-0 mark. Only once before has UL posted a perfect record at the 'Dome in the SBC (7-0 in 2001-02).
Last season during the 9-0 run, the Cajuns outscored league opponents by an average of 10.8 ppg (638-541).
Two newcomers are currently averaging double-figures in SBC play. Junior Josh Brown leads the squad with 13.5 ppg against Sun Belt opponents. Freshman Bryant Mbamalu is averaging 10.5 ppg in league games.

Notes and Trends
Scouting the TROJANS

The Trojans are currently 2-11 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Trojans have not played since Dec. 23, 2010 after dropping a 39-80 decision at Utah State. With no Trojans in double-figures, Troy failed to have a player score 10-plus points for the first time since November 15, 1997 against Baylor.
After winning the season opener against Huntingdon, Troy dropped nine straight. Currently the Trojans are on a two-game skid.
The Trojans have played in the three overtime games this season with a record of 1-2 in those games.
Four players average double-figures with Vernon Taylor leading the way at 15.3 ppg. Bernard Toombs is the squad's leading rebounder with 8.5 rpg while chipping in 10.3 ppg.

NO PLACE LIKE THE 'DOME

Last season the Ragin' Cajuns posted a 10-4 record in the Cajundome - the 15th consecutive season with a .500 mark or better.
UL finished undefeated at the Cajundome in Sun Belt play with a 9-0 mark last season. Only once before has UL posted a perfect record at the 'Dome in the SBC (7-0 in 2001-02).
In 23 of the previous 25 seasons, the Cajuns have recorded a winning record.
Since the 2000-01 season, UL's on-court record at the 'Dome is 93-39 (.705)

COMEBACK CAJUNS

In six games this season the Cajuns have overcome a double-digit deficit to make it a one-possession game. The Cajuns are 1-5 in these games.
Most recently at Denver, the Cajuns trailed by 14 before cutting the lead to two points midway through the second half.
Against Cleveland State, UL tied the game at 43-43 after being down by as much as 18.
At Tulane, the Cajuns pulled to within one point, 42-43, after trailing by 10.
At UCF, the Knight led by as much as 18 points, before UL came charging back to make it 27-30.
Versus Lamar, UL fell behind by 11 points before tying the game at 33-33 and went on to claim the win.
At New Mexico State, the Cajuns fell behind 11 in the first half before making it a one-point game at the break, 35-36. In the second half, the Aggies were as up by as much as 10, before the Cajuns built a four-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.

SILENT M

Freshman Bryant Mbamalu has slowly worked himself into the starting rotation and is making the most of his increase minutes.
At New Mexico State, he led UL with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in a season-high 30 minutes.
Against Lamar, Mbamalu led the squad with 11 rebounds, his first double-digit effort of the season.

FAR FROM FAIR

Scottie Farrington has done well in his first year at UL. Currently he is averaging 6.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg and tops the squad with a .571 shooting percentage (32-56).
At UCF, the Bahamian native, led UL with 12 points and six rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. He was 5-of-6 from the floor.
He currently leads the Cajuns with 23 blocks.

HOLDING COURT

Courtney Wallace put together a sold stat line against New Mexico State., scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds after coming off the bench.
It was his best showing of the season since scoring 8 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 2 steals at Creighton.
With the effort against the Aggies, he tied his career record for assists in a game.

DOWNTOWN BROWN

After missing the previous four games due to injury, Josh Brown scored 20 points off the bench in the comeback win against Lamar.
He was 8-of-14 from the floor, scoring 11 in the second half.
He did not pick up a personal foul or commit a turnover in 29 minutes of play.
From the charity stripe, Brown was 3-for-3 and had one assist, one block and two steals.

DOUBLE J

J.J. Thomas posted his first career double-double against Texas College.
The freshman guard scored 15 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes of action.
All of his 15 points came in the second half where he was 5-for-8 from the floor

GLASS CLEANERS

In four games this season, UL has racked up at least 45 rebounds.
At New Mexico State, the Cajuns dominated the glass outrebounding the Aggies, 48-23. On the offensive glass, UL pulled down 23 boards - the same number as the Aggies' entire rebounding effort.
Versus Texas College, UL recorded a season-high 49 rebounds compared to the Steers' 29, including a 23-3 edge on the offensive glass
At Creighton, UL pulled down 45 boards compared to the Jays' 46
Against Louisiana College, UL grabbed 46 boards, outrebounding Wildcats by 15

DOUBLE DOWN

Travis Bureau tallied his second career double-double at McNeese after scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Bureau posted his first career double-double in the win over Louisiana College (11/15). He also set a new career-best for rebounds in the 16-point, 14-board performance.

SECOND HALF STRUGGLES

In the games against Houston and McNeese, UL took a double-digit lead into the half only to see it not hold up to a second half comeback from the opponent.
Against Houston, UL was up 38-26 but ultimately fell, 65-78.
At McNeese, the Cajuns were up 43-25 before the Cowboys rattled off a 25-5 run in the second half.

BLOCK PARTY

Scottie Farrington swatted a team-high eight shots in the loss to Cleveland State.
It was the first time a player has posted at least eight blocks since Michael Southall had 11 against North Texas in the 2005-06 season.

FEELING FINE

After sitting out all last season due to a gruesome injury suffered in the final game of the 2008-09 season, La'Ryan Gary has begun to make a significant impact
This season he is averaging 7.0 ppg compared to his 6.9 ppg average from 2008-09
Against Cleveland State, Gary led UL with 19 point, six rebounds and four steals

ALL OVER THE RADAR

Randell Daigle put together a career-night in the loss to Creighton. He was 9-of-17 from the floor including 7-for-13 from three-point range. He set new career records in points (25), FG's made (9), rebounds (9) and three's made (7).
His scoring effort was the most since his freshman season when he scored 24 against LSU in 2008-09.

DOUBLE DIGIT DEBUTS

Two newcomers scored in double digits in their UL debut.
Josh Brown and David Perez both scored 16 points in the season-opener against New Mexico State.
Brown was 8-of-21 with four rebounds.
Perez was 6-of-9 from the floor, including a 4-of-5 showing from three-point range.

BOUNCING BACK

Three players - Travis Bureau, La'Ryan Gary and Courtney Wallace - all return for 2010-11 after recovering from injuries.
Bureau was hampered most of last season with a nagging hip injury, Gary missed all last season after having surgery and Wallace saw limited action after suffering multiple injuries.

HE'S BACK

La'Ryan Gary returned to the court for the Cajuns for the first time since suffering an injury during the opening game of the 2008-09 Sun Belt Conference.
Against New Mexico State, the senior scored six points and had three rebounds in 16 minutes of action.

A NEW ERA BEGINS

Louisiana named Bob Marlin the 13th head men's basketball coach at the University of Louisiana on Monday, March 29, 2010.
Marlin comes to Louisiana after serving in the same capacity at Sam Houston State since 1998.
In 12 seasons with the Bearkats, Marlin produced an overall record of 225 victories and 131 losses -- more victories than any other Southland Conference member during that time span.
His best overall season with the Bearkats came in 2009-10, as he led SHSU to a 25-8 mark, including a 14-2 record in conference play and a 13-1 mark at home. He was named as 2010 Southland Conference Coach of the Year after capturing the Southland regular season and tournament championship. It was the third time that the Southland bestowed him as its Coach of the Year ('00, '03 '10).
His last eight seasons at SHSU produced a combined record of 163-81 for an average record of 20-10 each season. That stretch included five 20-plus win seasons, two conference championships and two NCAA Tournament berths. Sam Houston is one of only 52 Division I men's basketball teams to post four 20-victory seasons in the last five years.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

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