Louisiana Battles Sun Belt West Leader in Little Rock Thursday

Game Notes

GAME CENTER
Date: Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012
Location: Little Rock, Ark.
Opponent: UALR (8-11, 5-0 Sun Belt)
Site: Jack Stephens Center (5,600)
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL), 107.9 FM (KHXT) – Jay Walker, play-by-play
Live Stats/Video: www.UALRTrojans.com

LOUISIANA-UALR SERIES
The Series: Louisiana leads 20-15
In Little Rock: UALR leads 11-6
Jack Stephens Center: UALR leads 4-1
Streak: Louisiana - won 1
Last Meeting: Louisiana 67, UALR 66 (Cajundome // Feb. 5, 2011)
Noteworthy: The home team has won the past five meetings in the Cajuns-Trojans series. The last visiting team to post a win was UALR on Jan. 15, 2009, a 79-71 overtime victory at the Cajundome.

LOUISIANA
11-12 Record____________________     9-10
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________       3-2
Last Game______________________     Jan. 14, 2012
                                                                             vs. FIU W, 87-81 (OT)
Head Coach____________________       Bob Marlin
   UL Record____________________       23-25 (2^nd Season)
   Career Record_________________     371-191 (19^th Season)
   Marlin vs. UALR_______________         1-1
Web Site_______________________     www.RaginCajuns.com

UALR
11-12 Record____________________     8-11
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________      5-0
Last Game______________________     Jan. 14, 2012
                                                                             at Arkansas State W, 63-62
Head Coach____________________       Steve Shields
   UALR Record__________________      140-123 (9^th Season)
   Career Record_________________      216-173 (13^th Season)
   Shields vs. UL_________________       8-4
Web Site_______________________     www.UALRTrojans.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team opens the Arkansas road swing on Thursday in Little Rock facing UALR at the Jack Stephens Center. Louisiana enters the contest trailing the Sun Belt West leading Trojans (5-0 SBC) by two games.
>>> Thursday night's game is the Cajuns' first SBC West division game of the season. UL began SBC play with five straight games against SBC East foes, the last coming on Saturday against FIU (W, 87-81 in OT).
>>> The UALR game starts a stretch in which 10 of the final 11 games are against SBC West foes.
>>> The Cajuns conclude the Arkansas road swing on Saturday in Jonesboro. UL was swept on the Arkansas road swing last January in Bob Marlin's inaugural season, with a loss at UALR being the final defeat before the season-ending 11-game win streak.
>>> A Cajuns win would improve the squad to 4-2 in Sun Belt play which would mark the best mark through six games since the 2007-08 season. UL was in the same position in 2008-09 and 2009-10, only to have UALR post a win and drop the team to 3-3 in SBC play.
>>> Josh Brown averaged 18 points per game on the USA-FIU homestand, upping his season average to a team-best 10.6 points per game. Brown has scored double figures in nine of the last 12 games (four of first five Sun Belt games).
>>> In SBC play, the Cajuns have held opponents 38.2% shooting including a meager 25.0% (17-of-68) from 3-point range.
>>> UALR has been equally impressive in Sun Belt play, holding opponents to 38.4% shooting (29.3% three-point range) and 55.2 points per game.
>>> The Cajuns have shot the ball well this season, shooting 40 percent or higher in 13 of 19 contests. All nine wins have come when shooting above 40 percent.
>>> The magic number for UL so far this year is 70. When scoring above 70 the Cajuns are 7-1. When scoring below 70 the squad is 2-9.
ANOTHER SHOT AT A DIVISION LEADER
>>> Louisiana gets its second chance at handing a Sun Belt division leader its first loss of the season.
>>> Two weeks ago, the Cajuns met Sun Belt East leader Middle Tennessee and were within one point, 49-48, with six minutes remaining before the Blue Raiders pulled away for a 65-53 victory.

THE THREE HORSEMEN
>>> Josh Brown (13.4 ppg), Darshawn McClellan (12.0 ppg) and J.J. Thomas (10.0) have combined to average 35.4 points per game in Sun Belt play.

TIES THAT BIND
>>> A familiar face will be on the UALR bench in Thursday's matchup. Former Ragin' Cajuns head coach Robert Lee is in his first season as an assistant on Steve Shields' staff.
>>> Lee, who counting time as an assistant spent 14 total seasons in Cajun Country, served as Louisiana's head coach from the 2004-05 through 2009-10 season.

A BOOST OFF THE BENCH
>>> Since returning to the court on Dec. 21 after missing six games with lingering effects from an off-season knee injury, J.J. Thomas has come off the bench and provided Louisiana with average of 10.3 points per game in an average of 22-plus minutes of action.

COLEBY IN CHARGE
>>> Kadeem Coleby leads the Cajuns having reached double figures scoring in 10 games. Coleby leads the Sun Belt in field goal percentage (57.9%).

A CONSISTENT THREAT FROM THREE
>>> Darshawn McClellan, who averaged 17 points per game on the USA-FIU homestand, ranks Top 10 in the SBC in three-point field goal percentage (41.7%).

ANDREWS ON PACE FOR CAREER NUMBERS
>>> Raymone Andrews has already made a personal-best 22 three-point field goals, topping his previous high of 14 set last season.
>>> The junior guard is five field goal makes from besting his current single-season best (39 in 2010-11) and 23 points from eclipsing his current season-best of 148 set in 2010-11.

LAST TIME VS. UALR IN JACK STEPHENS CENTER (Jan. 15, 2011 – UALR won 73-68)
>>> Five players reached double figures, including a double-double from J.J. Thomas (11 pts, 16 rebs), but it was not enough as UALR won 73-68.
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns put together a 10-0 run near the start of the second half to reclaim the lead, 48-45, with 15:08 left to play.
>>> J.J. Thomas put UL ahead 63-59 at 6:58 with a free throw. But after a 6-0 run from the home team, UL found itself behind, 65-63, with under five minutes to go.
>>> UL pulled within a single point, 66-65, off a bucket by Travis Bureau with 1:42 left to play, but Solomon Bozeman's three-pointer and Chuck Guy's steal allowed UALR to push the lead to 71-65 with 26 seconds remaining.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
>>> Louisiana held Florida Atlantic to 55 points and limited a squad that was averaging 8.5 three-point field goal makes per game to just two in the SBC opener.
>>> At WKU, the Cajuns held the Hilltoppers below 40 percent shooting the entire evening and limited them to a 33.3 percent clip (25-of-75).
>>> At Middle Tennessee, UL held the Blue Raiders to 36 percent shooting. MT entered the game Top 10 nationally in field goal percentage at 50 percent.

GETTING DEFENSIVE, PART TWO
>>> Louisiana has held the opposition to 70 points or less in regulation eight of the last nine games.

A SPECIAL WEAPON
>>> The UL bench has outscored the opponents bench in all but six games this season.
>>> UL's bench has reached 40 points three times (at San Francisco, vs. Nicholls State, vs. Dillard). The bench provided a season-high 52 points in the 102-38 win over Dillard.
>>> On average, the Cajuns bench is outscoring the opposition's bench 27.3 to 23.6.

SERIES HISTORY (Louisiana leads 20-15, overall; UALR leads 11-6 in Little Rock)
>>> Thursday's game marks the sixth meeting at the Jack Stephens Center. UL won the first meeting, 69-59 on Feb. 25, 2006. UALR has claimed the last four contests at the facility, including a 73-68 win last season (1/15/11) in UL's first visit under the direction of Bob Marlin.
>>> In the Steve Shields era, UALR has won eight of the 12 meetings.
>>> Since 2000, the teams have split 18 meetings.
>>> The home team has won the past five meetings. The last visiting team to post a win was UALR on Jan. 15, 2009, a 79-71 overtime victory at the Cajundome.
>>> UL won eight of 10 meetings from 1998-99 through 2005-06 to lay claim to a commanding 18-8 series lead. UALR has won seven of the last nine meetings since then, cutting the Cajuns series advantage down to 20-15.
>>> The first-ever meeting took place on Jan. 4, 1978 at Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette. The series became a regular one when both programs joined the Sun Belt in time for the 1991-92 season.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> The Cajuns close out the Arkansas road swing on Saturday in Jonesboro against Arkansas State at the Convocation Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
>>> The contest is the second half of a doubleheader with the UL women who face the ASU women at 3:05 p.m.
>>> The Red Wolves hold an 11-9 series edge in games at the Convocation Center. UL is seeking to end a two-game losing streak in the facility.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Louisiana Battles Sun Belt West Leader in Little Rock Thursday

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