Men's Hoops Resumes Sun Belt Battles on Thursday in Jonesboro

Contact: Brian McCann

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Game 14
Louisiana (5-8, 1-1 SBC) at Arkansas State (6-5, 0-2 SBC)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012
Time: 7:05 p.m. CST
Site: Convocation Center (10,038), Jonesboro, Ark.
Radio: KPEL (1420 AM) & KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: None Live, Streaming available on the internet via AStateRedWolves.com.
Series: Louisiana Leads, 43-22
Last Meeting: Louisiana 68, Arkansas State 65 (OT) (2/11/12, Lafayette, La.)

THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 35-39 (3rd year)
4-Year Overall: 260-170 (15th year)
All Collegiate: 383-205 (20th year)
vs. Arkansas State: 3-3

ARKANSAS STATE
JOHN BRADY (Bellhaven '76)
At ASU: 67-71 (5th year)
Overall: 348-287 (22nd year)
vs. Louisiana: 6-5

SETTING THE SCENE: The Ragin' Cajuns return from the short holiday break to resume Sun Belt Conference action when Louisiana travels to Jonesboro, Ark. to face Arkansas State on Thursday, Dec. 27 beginning at 7:05 p.m. in ASU's Convocation Center. The Cajuns enter the game with a 5-8 overall record and in second place in the Sun Belt West division with a 1-1 mark. Louisiana is coming off a split of games last week against teams from the Pittsburgh area, dropping a 66-61 decision to Robert Morris on Dec. 18 and running away with a 91-79 win over Duquesne on Dec. 22. Arkansas State dropped games against Murray State (61-54) and Kent State (73-69) last week to slip to 6-5 on the year, a record which includes Sun Belt losses at FIU (80-61) and Florida Atlantic (72-65) last month. This will be the 66th meeting between the Cajuns and ASU with UL owning a 43-22 advantage in the series.

PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: With a lineup featuring six freshmen and four sophomores, third year head coach Bob Marlin is excited about the possibilities for the 2012-13 season, knowing that the team that took the court in November will grow and improve all season. As the new faces get acclimated to the collegiate game, the Cajuns have leaned heavily on junior Bryant Mbamalu (12.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and sophomore sensation Elfrid Payton (13.4, 6.2, 4.9). Guard Alan-Michael Thompson (4.5 ppg), the lone senior on the squad, should also play an increased role this year. Freshman forward Shawn Long (17.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg), a transfer from Mississippi State, and power forward Elridge Moore (5.5, 3.6), a JC transfer from Lamar State, will unite to form the nucleus of the inside game with freshman Cornell Barnett and walk-on Braylan Lazare providing the depth inside. Although Payton, Mbamalu and Thompson will provide the athleticism, quickness and leadership, the freshmen duo of Kasey Shepherd (2.7) and Steven Wronkoski (8.7, 3.1) and Josh Soto (2.3) will also contribute, giving Louisiana one of the deepest backcourts in the Sun Belt. Marlin wants to utilize the depth and quickness by forcing an up-tempo game at both ends of the court by applying more defensive pressure. Look for the Cajuns to use their quickness and outside shooting ability to create a balanced offense, forcing opponents to cover the entire court.

LONG TRIES TO EQUAL FRESHMAN SCORING FEAT: With a 17.2 scoring average through 13 games and a 3.9 points per game average ahead of second leading scorer Elfrid Payton (13.3 ppg), freshman Shawn Long is on pace to become just the fifth freshman to lead the team in scoring. He would join Tim Thompson (14.2 ppg in 1957-58), Jerry Flake (17.6, 1965-66), Andrew Toney (21.0, 1976-77) and Chris Gradnigo (9.6, 2007-08).

. . . AND A SCORING, REBOUNDS & BLOCKS ACCOMPLISHMENT: Shawn Long's impact is more than just being a scorer. Ranking third in the Sun Belt in scoring and rebounding (9.6) and fourth in blocks (1.8), Long is on a pace to become just the third player in school history to lead the team in all three stat categories in a single season. Tyren Johnson was the most recent, averaging 17.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 2009-10. Reginald Poole is the other to accomplish it, doing it in both 1996-97 (16.0, 10.3, 1.7) and 1998-99 (14.7, 7.1, 0.9).

SUPPORTING CAST DELIVERS: The Louisiana bench had a productive night vs. Lamar on Dec. 11, totalling 30 points with 21 coming in the first half. The performance ended a string of three straight single-digit showings by the bench which had been outscored 75-13 during the slump. The Lamar production was a season-best effort by the Cajuns bench and continued a season-long trend. In the five Cajun wins, the Louisiana bench is averaging 19.8 ppg. The bench has produced just 77 points in the eight losses (9.6 ppg).

HOME COOKING: With Louisiana in the middle of a stretch that has them playing three of four games at home, the Cajuns are looking forward to an extended stretch in the Cajundome. Louisiana is 4-2 at home this year, but had yet to play consecutive home games until last week. Saturday's win over Duquesne improved Bob Marlin's record at the Cajundome to 24-11 (.686). In 15 seasons as a Division I head coach, Marlin sports a home record of 159-38 (.807).

CHASING A TRIPLE-DOUBLE: Sophomore Elfrid Payton continues to inch closer and closer to recording the first triple-double by a Ragin' Cajuns player in almost a decade. Payton closed the 2011-12 season with a 13-point, eight-rebound and nine-assist game in the opening round of the Sun Belt Championship. He toyed with the stat in the season opener against Oakland (14 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists), SUNO (11,7 , 7) and on Dec. 1 at North Texas (14, 6, 9) and went a different route at Michigan State (Nov. 25), scoring 20 points with six rebounds and a career-high seven steals. He came the closest yet in the last two weeks. He scored 17 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists at McNeese State (Dec. 8) and came back with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five steals vs. Lamar (Dec. 11). For the record, the last triple-double by a Ragin' Cajuns player came on Jan. 5, 2006 when Michael Southall scored 19 points with 12 rebounds and 11 blocks at North Texas.

. . . BUT PAYTON MUST WALK BEFORE HE RUNS: Although Elfrid Payton has flirted with a triple-double, it took him until the McNeese State game on Dec. 8 to record his first career double-double. Payton scored 17 points with 10 rebounds in the contest. It only took him three days to get the second, scoring 17 points with 11 rebounds vs. Lamar on Dec. 11.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHARITY: Bob Marlin said during the preseason that one area in which Louisiana would definitely show improvement is at the foul line, where the Cajuns shot just .631 (483-766) last year. So far, that prediction has come true as Louisiana has shot 70-percent or better from the line in eight of the 13 games. A 13-for-16 effort vs. Duquesne on Saturday improved Louisiana to just under .700 mark for the year. The Cajuns enter the Arkansas State game having gone 171-for-245 (.698). The last time that the Cajuns shot above 70-percent for an entire season came 20 seasons ago (1993-94) when they went 463-for-647 (.716).

. . . AND THE FRESHMEN LEAD THE WAY: The simplest way to improve a team's free throw shooting is to simply get better shooters and Bob Marlin has apparently done that. The five freshman on the Louisiana roster have made 67 of their 88 free throws this year (.761). Steven Wronkoski (26-33, .788) and Shawn Long (33-44, .750) lead the way, ranking fifth and ninth in the Sun Belt, respectively.

CAJUNS BENEFIT FROM LATE FREE THROW SHOOTING: The free throw shooting by the Cajuns has been at its best late in the game as Louisiana has gone 57-for-73 (.781) from the line in the final 5:00 minutes and overtime. Shawn Long (8-8) and Steven Wronkoski (8-8) lead the team while Bryant Mbamalu, a career .769 shooter (30-39), is nine-for-10 this year (.900). That is a considerable improvement from the .617 (121-196) that the Cajuns shot during the 2011-12 season.

MISTER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?: Elfrid Payton has shown his continued development as the Cajuns' point guard by handing out 60 assists this year to rank second in the Sun Belt averaging 4.9 assists per game. He matched his career high with nine assists at North Texas on Dec. 1, a career high originally set against North Texas in the Sun Belt Championship last year.

. . . AND GRAND THEFT FOR PAYTON: With 33 steals this season, Elfrid Payton has taken over the Sun Belt lead, averaging 2.5 steals per game. Payton had a career high seven steals at Michigan State on Nov. 25, falling one steal short of the school record, and came back to make four steals vs. Middle Tennessee. Last year, Payton lead the Cajuns with 37 steals.

IT WAS A LONG TIME COMING: The exhibition win over Loyola-New Orleans marked the Cajuns debut for forward Shawn Long. Long transferred to Louisiana last December after spending the fall semester at Mississippi State. The 6-9 native of Morgan City, La. practiced with the Cajuns during the final three months of the year but was not eligible to play. During the summer, he was granted a waiver of transfer rule that would have made him ineligible until early December, allowing him to play immediately. Eager to make up for the lost season, Long scored 11 of UL's first 18 points against Loyola, finishing the night with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds, going seven-for-11 from the field with a pair of blocks.

. . . AND LONG HASN'T SLOWED: Shawn Long's steady play has allowed the freshman to lead the Cajuns in scoring (17.2), rebounding (9.6) and blocks (1.8), shooting .497 from the field (88-177) and .750 from the line (33-44). He ranks third in the league in scoring and rebounding, fourth in blocks, seventh in field goal percentage and ninth in free throw percentage. He has seven double-doubles and five 20-point games. He had a career-high 27 points in the win at North Texas (Dec. 1) and added 17 points anda c areer-high 17 rebounds at McNeese State (Dec. 8) the following week.

LONG IS DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: A 23-point, 14-rebound effort against Duquesne on Saturday (Dec. 22) gave redshirt freshman forward Shawn Long his seventh double-double in 13 games to lead the Sun Belt. South Alabama's Augustine Rubit is second with five double-doubles.

. . . AND LONG SCORES THE BASKETBALL: Although it is still very early in the season, Shawn Long's five 20-point games has put the redshirt freshman on pace to record the most 20-plus point performances by a Cajun since former Sun Belt Player of the Year Tyren Johnson accomplished it 12 times in 2009-10.

WRONKOSKI PROVES MARLIN RIGHT: Bob Marlin has said many times this fall that when he took over as head coach two years ago, one of the first recruits he looked at was Steven Wronkoski, deciding that the current UL freshman's spirited play would be perfect in a Cajun uniform. Wronkoski has yet to prove Marlin wrong, averaging 8.7 points and 3.1 rebounds this year. He posted back-to-back career highs of 12 points vs. SUNO on Nov. 21 and, in his first career start, 16 points at New Mexico State on Nov. 23. His Sun Belt debut was equally as strong as he scored all 13 of his points in the second half against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 29. Most recently, he raised his career high again, scoring 17 points at McNeese State on Dec. 8. For the year, Wronkoski is fifth in the Sun Belt in both three-point shooting (15-35, .429) and free throw percentage (26-33, .788).

MORE MOORE: Junior forward Elridge Moore has quickly earned a place for himself in the lineup, starting 12 of the 13 games and averaging 5.5 points. He is second on the team in both steals (15) and blocks (8) and is fourth in rebounding (3.6). He made his Cajuns debut a memorable one against Oakland on Nov. 11, sharing the team scoring lead with 15 points while adding five rebounds, five steals and a pair of blocks. Moore, who played one season at Nicholls State before transferring to Lamar State last season, missed just two shots in the game, going six-for-seven from the field and three-for-four from the line.

MASTERING THE SUN BELT: Ragin' Cajuns head coach Bob Marlin has produced back-to-back double digit win totals in Sun Belt play in his first two seasons on Louisiana's bench (11 in 2010-11 and 10 in 2011-12). His SBC winning percentage of .647 (22-12) is first amongst all active coaches.

TURNING UP THE TEMPERATURE: Bob Marlin said all pre-season that the Cajuns would take advantage of the quickness that the squad has this year by applying more pressure. The initial returns have been good as Louisiana is forcing an average of 17.0 turnovers per game, including five games of 20 or more miscues, using those turnovers to score 201 points this year (15.1 ppg). Louisiana is fifth in the Sun Belt in steals, averaging 8.2 per game, including a season-high 14 vs. Lamar on Dec. 11.

RAGIN' CAJUNS CELEBRATE 100TH SEASON: The Cajuns are celebrating the 100th season of basketball during the 2012-13 season. The first season was in 1911-12 when the Cajuns posted a 4-1 record. Louisiana has gone on to win 20 or more games 21 times since, entering the year with a 1,296-984 overall record. Louisiana did not have a team in either 1973-74 or 1974-75 because of NCAA sanctions. In the first 99 seasons, the Cajuns have advanced to postseason play 18 times, including 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, winning 16 conference titles. Eight UL players have earned All-America honors with 94 being named all-conference.

NEXT UP: Louisiana returns home on Saturday (Dec. 29) to face UALR at 7:15 p.m. in the final game of the 2012 calendar year. The Cajuns then head back out on the road, playing games at Florida Atlantic (Jan. 3) and FIU (Jan. 5) next week.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Men's Hoops Resumes Sun Belt Battles on Thursday in Jonesboro

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