Cajuns in Denton for Final Road Game of the Season

Game Notes

GAME CENTER
Date: Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012
Location: Denton, Texas.
Opponent: North Texas (15-11, 8-5 Sun Belt)
Site: The Super Pit (10,500)
Game Time: 3:30 p.m.
Radio: 107.9 FM (KHXT) – Jay Walker, play-by-play
Television: Sun Belt Network (CSS & CST) – Joe Davis (Play-by-Play), Dave Odom (Analysis)
Internet: ESPN3.com
Live Stats/Video: www.MeanGreenSports.com

LOUISIANA-NORTH TEXAS SERIES
The Series: Louisiana leads 18-15
In Denton: North Texas leads 10-5
In The Super Pit: North Texas leads 9-5
Series Streak: Louisiana – won 2
Last Meeting: Louisiana 64, North Texas 62 (Cajundome // Jan. 25, 2012)
Noteworthy: UL won this season's earlier meeting, posting a 64-62 win at the Cajundome, and goes for its first season sweep of NT since the 2004-05 season.

LOUISIANA
11-12 Record____________________     15-13
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________       9-5
Last Game______________________      Feb. 16, 2012
                                                                             at Denver L, 52-77
Head Coach____________________        Bob Marlin
   UL Record____________________        29-28 (2^nd Season)
   Career Record_________________       377-194 (19^th Season)
   Marlin vs. NT__________________        2-3
Web Site_______________________     www.RaginCajuns.com

NORTH TEXAS
11-12 Record____________________     15-11
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________        8-5
Last Game______________________      Feb. 16, 2012
                                                                             vs. La.-Monroe W, 86-51
Head Coach____________________       Johnny Jones
   NT Record____________________       187-143 (11^thSeason)
   Career Record_________________       202-159 (12^th Season)
   Jones vs. UL__________________        11-11
Web Site_______________________     www.MeanGreenSports.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team plays its final road game of the season on Saturday facing North Texas at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas. The game is being broadcast on the Sun Belt Network and is set to tip at 3:30 p.m.
>>> Louisiana seeks to rebound from a lopsided loss to Denver on Thursday (L, 52-77) and remain in the hunt for a day off from the first day of action in the SBC Tournament.
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns haven't lost back-to-back games since falling to Middle Tennessee and South Alabama (Jan. 7-12).
>>> UL and North Texas enter Saturday's game separated by a half game in the standings.
>>> If the regular season had ended on Thursday, the Cajuns and Mean Green would meet in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament. UL enters Saturday's action fourth in the overall league standings and North Texas is fifth.
>>> Prior to Thursday's game at Denver, six of the previous seven games were decided by five points or less. Additionally, three of the last four games went to overtime.
>>> Saturday's game marks the final outing before freshman Elfrid Payton turns 18-years old. Payton, who turns 18 on Wednesday, Feb. 22, will have played all but one regular season game at age 17.
>>> In Sun Belt play, Josh Brown is averaging a team-best 11.4 points and team-best 7.5 rebounds per game.
>>> UL leads the Sun Belt averaging 40.8 rebounds per game in conference play. The Cajuns collected 40-plus rebounds each of the five games prior to last Saturday's Arkansas State game, and have reached 40-plus in 10 of 14 SBC games this season.
>>> In SBC play, the Cajuns have held opponents to 39.7% shooting including a meager 29.2% from 3-point range. UL ranks third in the league behind Middle Tennessee and North Texas in field goal percentage defense in conference play.
>>> The Cajuns have shot 40 percent or higher in 20 of 28 contests.

HIGH WATER MARK
>>> The next victory will give UL 16 total wins this season which would mark the most since posting 20 wins in the 2004-05 season.

SIGN OF PROGRESS
>>> The next win also guarantees a winning season for the Cajuns in Bob Marlin's second season. It would break a string of six straight non-winning seasons.

FREE BASKETBALL, ANYONE?
>>> Louisiana has played five overtime games this season (Cajuns sport a 4-1 mark). It's the most overtime games since six were played during the 1985-86 season.

THE BUCK STOPS AT 70
>>> UL has held the opposition to 70 points or less in regulation 14 of the last 18 games.
>>> UL is 11-3 this season when holding the opposition below 70 points.

TAMING THE SUN BELT
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns are 20-10 in Sun Belt action under the direction of Bob Marlin.
>>> Marlin's current SBC win percentage of .667 ranks 10^th all-time in SBC history.

BACK TO THEIR ROOTS
>>> The state of Texas is all-too familiar ground for head coach Bob Marlin and assistant coach Neil Hardin. The pair spent 12 seasons at Sam Houston State (Huntsville, TX) and recorded a 225-131 overall from the 1998-99 through 2009-10 season.

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
>>> After starting the season 0-5 on Saturday, the Ragin' Cajuns have gone 5-2 on Saturday in Sun Belt play. UL has won its last three Saturday contests.

WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS
>>> Freshman Elfrid Payton leads the Cajuns in assists, averages 7.1 points and had dramatic last-second winning plays against Western Kentucky and Denver.
>>> He's done all of this as a 17-year old playing college basketball. Payton will turn 18-years old on Feb. 22 which is three days before the Cajuns regular season finale.

MR. CONSISTENT
>>> It's been a solid debut season for Kadeem Coleby. Since the Beryl Shipley Classic (Nov. 18-20) he's averaged right at 10.0 points per game or higher and leads the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage at 57.5 percent.
>>> He's picked up at least one blocked shot in all but five (5) games this season which has led to him becoming the first Cajun since 2005-06 with 60-plus blocks (61 actual).

BROWN CLIMBING THE CHARTS
>>> Josh Brown's strong rebounding effort in Sun Belt games (7.5 rpg) has vaulted him into the Top 10 in the Sun Belt in rebounds per game. Averaging 6.5 rebounds per game for the season, Brown is currently fifth (5^th) in the league.

LAST TIME VS. NORTH TEXAS (Jan. 25, 2012 – UL won 64-62 at Cajundome)
>>> Bryant Mbamalu scored a season-high 19 points and provided a key six-point swing for the Cajuns midway through the second half that helped hold off a late North Texas rally.
>>> Leading 48-45, Mbamalu registered three-point field goal makes on back-to-back Cajuns possessions at 9:08 and 8:12 to extend the lead to 54-45.
>>> One minute later, Kadeem Coleby capped off a critical 9-2 UL run with a fastbreak layup at 7:01 that put the Cajuns ahead 57-47.
>>> North Texas scored eight unanswered closing within two points, 62-60, with a Brandan Walton inside basket at 1:28. Raymone Andrews had a quick answer for the Cajuns as he scored a layup six seconds later to create a two-possession game and UL fended off two three-point attempts from the Mean Green in the final five seconds.

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
>>> Just how strong has the Cajuns defense been in Sun Belt play? One look at the statistics for conference-games only tells the story.
>>> In Sun Belt play, Louisiana ranks third in field goal percentage defense (39.7%) and second in defensive rebounds (28.1 drpg) and blocked shots (5.0 bpg). UL leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.2%) and total rebounds (40.8 rpg).

SERIES HISTORY (Louisiana leads 18-15, overall; North Texas leads 9-5 in The Super Pit)
>>> The Cajuns have come away empty the last seven trips to The Super Pit. UL's last win in Denton came on Feb. 3, 2005, a meeting that occurred in Robert Lee's inaugural season.
>>> UL leads the series 13-10 in Sun Belt regular season games since North Texas joined the league in 2000-01.
>>> Saturday's game is the 24th Sun Belt meeting between the two programs and 34^th overall.
>>> Similar to the Denver series which just saw the home team win for the 10^th straight meeting, the home team has won the past six meetings between Louisiana and North Texas.
>>> UL won this season's earlier meeting, posting a 64-62 win at the Cajundome, and goes for its first season sweep of NT since the 2004-05 season.
>>> North Texas won six of the seven meetings from 2006-07 through 2008-09, trimming UL's series lead to 15-13. The teams have split the season series the last two years. UL's win at the Cajundome last season prevented the Mean Green from tying the all-time series mark.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> The Cajuns get a week-long break from play before closing out the regular season at the Cajundome against La.-Monroe on Saturday, Feb. 25.
>>> Louisiana is a perfect 5-0 vs. the Warhawks at the Cajundome in Sun Belt contests and hasn't lost to La.-Monroe at home since 1957.
>>> UL will honor seniors Josh Brown, Scottie Farrington, Darshawn McClellan and David Perez in pre-game ceremonies. At halftime, All-American great Dean Church will have his jersey retired.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns in Denton for Final Road Game of the Season

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