Division Leaders Collide at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro

Game Notes

GAME CENTER
Date: Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Opponent: Middle Tennessee (14-2, 3-0 Sun Belt)
Site: Murphy Center (11,520)
Game Time: 5:30 p.m.
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL), 107.9 FM (KHXT) – Jay Walker, play-by-play
Live Stats/Video: www.GoBlueRaiders.com

LOUISIANA
11-12 Record____________________     8-8
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________       2-0
Last Game______________________     Jan. 5, 2012
                                                                             at Western Kentucky W, 72-70 (OT)
Head Coach____________________        Bob Marlin
   UL Record____________________        22-23 (2^nd Season)
   Career Record_________________       370-189 (19^th Season)
   Marlin vs. MT__________________        0-1
Web Site_______________________     www.RaginCajuns.com

MIDDLE TENNESSEE
11-12 Record____________________     14-2
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________       3-0
Last Game______________________      Jan. 5, 2012
                                                                              at Troy W, 63-53
Head Coach____________________        Kermit Davis
   MT Record____________________       167-128 (10^th Season)
   Career Record_________________       304-203 (17^thSeason
   Davis vs. UL___________________        6-5
Web Site_______________________     www.GoBlueRaiders.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team is set for a showdown of the Sun Belt Conference's two division leaders on Saturday at Middle Tennessee. Game time at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is set for 5:30 p.m.
>>> Louisiana leads the Sun Belt West division with a 2-0 league record. Middle Tennessee tops the Sun Belt East division with a 3-0 league mark.
>>> Thursday's win at WKU extended the Cajuns current Sun Belt regular season win streak to 12 games – a streak that dates back to a Jan. 22 win over La.-Monroe last season which began a string of 10 straight league wins to end the 2010-11 season.
>>> The Cajuns are 13-4 in regular season contests under Bob Marlin after January 1.
>>> UL seeks to end a six-game losing streak to MT. The Cajuns last win over the Blue Raiders came on March 6, 2005 in the SBC Tournament in Denton, Texas.
>>> 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 14.3 points per game in an average of 22 minutes of action.
>>> UL is 6-4 this season with J.J. Thomas on the court and 2-4 in the games he missed.
>>> The Cajuns rank third in the Sun Belt in field goal percentage (45.4%) and second in field goal percentage defense (39.6%). On Saturday, UL will face the Sun Belt leader in both categories (MT 50.3% FG/39.1% FG defense).
>>> UL's defense has been solid through two Sun Belt contests. In SBC play, the Cajuns have held opponents 34.8% shooting including a paltry 19.4% from 3-point range.
>>> The Cajuns have shot the ball well this season, shooting 40 percent or higher in 12 of 16 contests. All eight 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 6-1. When scoring below 70 the squad is 2-7.

MORE ABOUT THE SUN BELT WIN STREAK
>>> Louisiana's active streak of 12 consecutive Sun Belt Conference regular season wins ranks fifth (5^th) all-time in league history.
>>> The SBC record for consecutive conference wins is 21 set by former league member New Orleans (March 1, 1992 through Jan. 8, 1994).
>>> The Cajuns streak is the longest string of consecutive SBC wins since Western Kentucky posted 13 straight from Jan. 2, 2002 through Jan. 4, 2003.

AN EASTERN FLAIR
>>> The FAU contest on New Year's Eve marked the first of five straight Sun Belt games against teams from the East Division.
>>> UL's first division contest won't occur until Jan. 19 at UALR.

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.
>>> On Thursday 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).

GETTING DEFENSIVE, PART TWO
>>> UL has held the opposition below 70 points in regulation five of the last six games.

THE MINUTE MAN
>>> With 95 games of SEC experience at Vanderbilt prior to joining the Cajuns this season, head coach Bob Marlin was leaning upon Darshawn McClellan to provide ample minutes.
>>> Through the first 16 games of play, McClellan leads the Cajuns averaging 26.6 minutes per game.
>>> McClellan had a stellar Sun Belt debut vs. FAU, scoring a game-high 15 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

ROAD WARRIORS
>>> Thursday's win at Western Kentucky marked the Ragin' Cajuns fifth straight road win in Sun Belt action, a streak which dates back to last season.

TWO HELPING HANDS
>>> Raymone Andrews and Elfrid Payton have combined to run the point guard slot for the Cajuns this season. The duo has combined for 88 assists (Payton 45/Andrews 43).

COLEBY IN CHARGE
>>> Kadeem Coleby leads the Cajuns having reached double figures scoring in eight games. Coleby leads the Sun Belt in field goal percentage (57.8%).

LAST SEASON VS. MT (Jan. 8, 2011 at Cajundome – MT won 93-91 in OT)
>>> The Cajuns trailed by as much as 21 points before a buzzer beater by Randell Daigle sent the game to overtime.
>>> Raymone Andrews scored a layup with 6.5 seconds left to cut the MT lead to 91-90. Two free throws by James Gallman put MT up by three points.
>>> Daigle was fouled on a desperation three-point attempt near half court. After missing the first one, he connected on the second. He intentionally missed the third attempt, but the Blue Raiders grabbed the rebound and held on for the victory.

LAST TIME VS. MT IN MURFREESBORO (Jan. 2, 2010 – MT won 68-58)
>>> UL would take a 33-29 lead into the break after closing out the half on a 7-0 run. The Cajuns' defense held MT scoreless the final four minutes of the half, forcing 10 turnovers.
>>> MT converted a three-point play to knot the score 47-47 at the 10:51 mark of the second half and took the lead, 55-49 at the 7:12 mark, capping off a 14-4 run.
>>> The Blue Raiders would stretch the lead to 13 points, 67-54, with 1:51 left.

A SPECIAL WEAPON
>>> The UL bench has outscored the opponents bench in all but four 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 28.5 to 23.9.

SERIES HISTORY (Middle Tennessee leads 9-7, overall; MT leads 5-1 in Murphy Center)
>>> Louisiana had won five straight against the Blue Raiders at one point and held a 7-3 series advantage, but MT has won the last six meetings to take a 9-7 series lead.
>>> The loss to MT in the '05-06 season (L, 59-73 on Jan. 28, 2006 in Murphy Center) ended the Cajuns' five-game winning streak in the series and began the Blue Raiders' current six-game win streak. UL's last series win came on March 6, 2005 in the SBC Tournament (W, 71-57).
>>> Louisiana appears at the Murphy Center for the fifth time in the past seven seasons.
>>> Tonight's game is the 7th meeting in the Murphy Center (UL is 1-5 vs. MT in the facility).
>>> UL enters the Murphy Center under the direction of head coach Bob Marlin for the first time.
>>> Series didn't become a mainstay on either team's schedule until MT joined the Sun Belt in 2000-01. Schools met three times from 1958-89 through 1960-61 season, but wouldn't play again until the first-ever SBC meeting on Feb. 17, 2001 at the Cajundome (UL won 85-57).

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> Louisiana returns home to the Cajundome for games against South Alabama (Thursday, Jan. 12) and FIU (Saturday, Jan. 14).
>>> The South Alabama contest is being broadcast on Cox4 as part of the Ragin' Cajuns Network television package.
>>> The Cajuns have won five straight games at the Cajundome and are 6-1 in the facility this season.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Division Leaders Collide at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro

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