Ragin' Cajuns Face First Conference Test Saturday

GAME CENTER

Game 5
Louisiana (2-2) vs Middle Tennessee (2-1)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: Earl K. Long Gym
Time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
Series History: 17th meeting (MT leads 16-0)

SETTING THE SCENE
Louisiana returns to Earl K. Long Gym and opens up conference play against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 24 beginning at 12:00 p.m. The Ragin' Cajuns are looking to rebound after suffering two road game defeats against Omaha (79-67) and Nicholls State (71-62). Under the direction of first-year head coach Garry Brodhead, the Cajuns are coming off a hard fought loss in Thibodeaux against a tough Nicholls State team. Freshman Keke Veal led the Cajuns with 19 points as three others turned in double digit efforts: Ashley Benjamin (14 points, 5 rebounds), Kia Wilridge (12 points, 3 steals), and Byronesha Santiago (10 points, 11 rebounds). UL returns just four players from a year ago, opening the season with seven newcomers (five freshmen and two junior college transfers). Four Cajuns average double digits in scoring and leading the way is freshman guard Sylvana Okde's 14.3 points per game. Ashley Benjamin is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge contribute 12.8 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Byronesha Santiago leads the team in rebounding, posting a 7.3 average to go along with 9.5 points. Last season, Middle Tennessee played in its 15th NCAA Tournament and third as an at-large bid from the Sun Belt Conference. The Blue Raiders won the league's regular-season title with a perfect 16-0 mark, becoming just the seventh unbeaten team by any program in the last twenty years in the conference and was just one of eight schools to accomplish the feat nationally. The team ended the season with an overall record of 26-7. This will be the 17th overall meeting between Louisiana and Middle Tennessee, the Blue Raiders own a 16-0 record.

Louisiana Overview
12-13 Record__________________2-2
12-13 Sun Belt Record__________0-0
Head Coach____________________Garry Brodhead (Lousiana, '80)
Record at UL___________________2-2 (first season)
Career Record_________________same
Last Game______________________ Nov. 19, 2012 at Nicholls State
L, 71-62
Website________________________RaginCajuns.com

Middle Tennessee Overview
12-13 Record___________________2-1
12-13 Southland Record__________0-0
Head Coach_____________________ Rick Insell (Middle Tennessee '77)
Record at MT____________________174-54 (8th season)
Career Record___________________same
Last Game________________________Nov. 14, 2012 vs Iowa
L, 69-63 (OT)
Website___________________________GoBlueRaiders.com

SERIES HISTORY
2/17/01 L, 77-52
3/1/01 L, 78-59
1/12/02 L, 75-63
2/28/02 L, 90-59
1/25/03 L, 61-41
1/31/04 L, 72-57
1/27/05 L, 53-45
3/8/05 L, 67-52
1/26/06 L, 69-68
3/4/06 L, 84-58
1/28/07 L, 84-57
3/6/07 L, 77-67
1/30/08 L, 85-66
1/28/09 L, 85-57
1/3/10 L, 83-54
1/7/11 L, 104-53

THE OPPOSITION
• Middle Tennessee (2-1) is coming off an overtime loss to Iowa (69-63).
• Ebony Rowe averages 22.0 PPG, while Kortni Jones and Icelyn Elie average 16.7 and 16.0 PPG, respectively.
• The squad opened the season with a pair of wins over Kennesaw State (87-45) and Memphis (82-68).
• The Blue Raiders average 77.3 points this season, holding the opposition to 60.7.
• The team also owns an advantage on the glass averaging 41.0 rebounds to opposing teams 32.7.
• MT returns all five starters from last season's squad.
• Last season, the Blue Raiders played in its 15th NCAA tournament and third as an at-large bid from the Sun Belt.
• The squad won the league's regular-season title with a perfect 16-0 mark.
• Head coach Rick Insell captured his third SBC Coach of the Year honor last season.
• Rowe averaged 16.3 points and 10.1 rebounds last season.
• Jones averaged 16.8 points and recorded 115 three pointers last year.

GAME DAY STORY LINES
• The Cajuns return home after a tough two-game road swing, losing to Omaha (79-67) and Nicholls State (71-62).
• The game against Middle Tennessee will be the first Sun Belt Conference action this season for both teams. Last year, the Blue Raiders beat the Cajuns, 104-53 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
• Four UL players average double digits in scoring with freshman guard Sylvana Okde leading the way, averaging 14.3 points.
• Ashley Benjamin is second on the team in scoring, averaging13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds
• Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge contribute 12.8 and 11.0 points, respectively. The duo also lead the team in steals with Wilridge snaring 18 and Veal 13.
• Byroneha Santiago averages 9.5 points and leads the team in rebounding, grabbing an average of 7.3 per game.
• UL has outscored opponents 283-261 while also outrebounding the opposition 156-148. The Cajuns average 70.8 PPG, holding the opposition to 65.3.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are shooting .323 from behind the arc (21-65) and .580 from the charity stripe (40-69).
• UL scored 108 points in their opening exhibition game against Centenary, surpassing the century mark for the first time since Nov. 29, 1989 when the Cajuns beat Texas Southern, 101-83.
• The Cajuns had an exciting season opener after Kia Wilridge scored a layup as time expired to beat Southern, 71-69 to start the season 1-0.
• UL had a convincing 83-42 win against LSU-Shreveport on Monday, Nov. 12 and earned their first 2-0 start since the 2004-05 season.
• After shooting 41.7% from the charity stripe in the game against Southern, UL improved signicantly against LSU-Shreveport, shooting 81.8% and 70.0% against Omaha.
• The Cajuns return just four letterwinners from last year.
• The squad welcomes seven newcomers, including five freshmen and two junior college transfers.
• Robbie Brown played in 30 games last season, averaging 3.4 points, 2.4 assists and 19.4 minutes played.
• Schambough is the lone senior on the squad. She saw action in 16 games last season, averaging 3.5 minutes per contest.

TURNING UP THE D
• Look for the Cajuns to be very solid on the defensive end of the court this season as coach Brodhead stresses defense more than anything.
• Thus far this season, the Cajuns swarming defense has forced the opposing teams to 20.8 turnovers per game while UL averages 16.0, giving the squad a -4.8 turnover margin.
• UL has already racked up 56 steals this season while only having the ball stolen from them 27 times.
• The Cajuns average a hefty 14.0 steals per game. Kia Wilridge's 18 steals in three games leads the team.
• The Cajuns average 39.0 rebounds per game, while the opposition averages 37.0.
• Louisiana forced 19.4 turnovers per game last season including a -1.9 turnover margin for a 0.5 assist/turnover ratio.
• UL had a total of 272 steals and averaged 9.1 per game last year.

HOMEGROWN TALENT
• Cajuns roster features eight players who hail from the state of Louisiana.
• To go a step further, five athletes prepped in the greater Lafayette area.

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD
• For the first time since the 2010-11 academic year, sophomores Brooklyn Arceneaux and Robbie Brown and freshmen Kia Wilridge and Keke Veal are teammates.
• The quartet powered local St. Thomas More High to a state championship in 2011.
• Last season, Wilridge and Veal carried on the championship caliber effort, winning another state title in 2012.
• Wilrdige and Veal have contributed a combined 95 of 283 points in the first four games of the season.

RETURNING HOME
• Three of the Cajuns four coaches are alums of the University of Louisiana – head coach Garry Brodhead (1980), Sallie Guillory (2005), Deacon Jones (1999).
• For Brodhead, it represents a return to the city where many of his coaching successes occurred namely his stint at Teurlings Catholic High School where he posted a 297-78 record from 1998-2007.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
• The Ragin' Cajuns face Southern-New Orleans at Earl K. Long Gym on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.

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Ragin' Cajuns Face First Conference Test Saturday

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