Cajuns Hosting La.-Monroe on Senior Night

Game Notes

GAME CENTER
Date: Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012
Location: Lafayette, La.
Opponent: La.-Monroe (2-26, 1-14 Sun Belt)
Site: Cajundome (11,550)
Game Time: 7:15 p.m.
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL), 107.9 FM (KHXT) – Jay Walker, play-by-play
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com

LOUISIANA-LA.-MONROE SERIES
The Series: Louisiana leads 46-18
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 28-2
In Cajundome: Louisiana leads 6-0
Series Streak: Louisiana – won 3
Last Meeting: Louisiana 67, La.-Monroe 60 (Fant-Ewing Coliseum – Monroe, La. // Jan. 28, 2012)
Noteworthy: Louisiana is 28-2 at home vs. La.-Monroe and has not lost a home contest to the Warhawks since Jan. 29, 1957, when La.-Monroe edged the Cajuns 78-74 in overtime at Blackham Coliseum. The Cajuns have won 26 straight games vs. the Warhawks in Lafayette.

LOUISIANA
11-12 Record____________________     16-13
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________       10-5
Last Game______________________      Feb. 18, 2012
                                                                             at North Texas W, 57-53
Head Coach____________________        Bob Marlin
   UL Record____________________        30-28 (2^nd Season)
   Career Record_________________       378-194 (19^th Season)
   Marlin vs. La.-Monroe__________          14-3
Web Site_______________________    www.RaginCajuns.com

LA.-MONROE
11-12 Record____________________      2-26
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________        1-14
Last Game______________________       Feb. 23, 2012
                                                                              vs. Middle Tennessee L, 61-94
Head Coach____________________         Keith Richard
   La.-Monroe Record____________           9-51 (2^ndSeason)
   Career Record_________________       159-168 (11^th Season)
   Richard vs. UL_________________        5-9
Web Site_______________________     www.ULMWarhawks.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team wraps up the regular season on Saturday hosting La.-Monroe at the Cajundome.
>>> 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.
>>> Louisiana enjoyed a week's break from action following a critical road win at North Texas last Saturday. The NT victory locked up the first winning season since 2004-05.
>>> The Cajuns' 16 victories mark the most UL has picked up since the 2004-05 season.
>>> After starting the season 0-5 on Saturday, the Ragin' Cajuns have gone 6-2 on Saturday in Sun Belt play. UL has won its last four Saturday contests.
>>> Louisiana can pick up the season sweep of La.-Monroe for the third straight season with a victory on Saturday.
>>> J.J. Thomas is 12 points shy of reaching 500 career points. Only a sophomore, he would have two more seasons to reach the 1,000-point club.
>>> With UALR's loss to North Texas on Thursday, the Cajuns can still claim a share of the Sun Belt West Division title and possibly earn the No. 2 seed in the SBC Tournament. A Cajuns win combined with a UALR loss locks up a share of the SBC West. UL can claim the No. 2 seed ONLY if North Texas defeats Denver on Sunday.
>>> UL leads the Sun Belt averaging 41.2 rebounds per game in conference play. The Cajuns collected 40-plus rebounds each of the five games prior to the Feb. 11 Arkansas State game, and have reached 40-plus in 11 of 15 SBC games this season.
>>> In SBC play, the Cajuns have held opponents to 39.0% shooting including a meager 29.3% 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 29 contests.

NO PLACE LIKE THE 'DOME
>>> The Cajuns have already locked up 10 wins in the 14-game slate at the Cajundome this season assuring the 17^th consecutive season with a .500 mark or better in the building.
>>> Including this season, the Cajuns have recorded a winning record in 25 of the 27 years since the Cajundome opened its doors in the 1985-86 season.
>>> Louisiana has turned in a 30-11 record at the Cajundome since the 2009-10 season which includes an impressive 21-3 mark against Sun Belt opponents.

BROTHERLY LOVE
>>> Saturday's contest marks the second and final matchup of brothers from California both playing collegiate ball in the state of Louisiana this season.
>>> Darshawn McClellan is the Cajuns leader in three-point field goals made (31). Steven McClellan is the Warhawks' fourth-leading scorer (7.6 ppg).
>>> The McClellan brothers are products of Edison High School in Fresno, Calif.
>>> Darshawn, in his first season with the Cajuns after transferring from Vanderbilt, got the best of his brother scoring 13 points in 29 minutes of action in this season's earlier meeting on Jan. 28 in Monroe. Steven was in foul trouble the entire game and was held scoreless with only one rebound in 18 minutes.

STILL A CHANCE
>>> Bob Marlin-coached teams have won a division title each of the past three seasons. Louisiana enters Saturday's play a game behind SBC West leader UALR and with a win and Trojans loss can lock up another division title for Marlin.
>>> Should the Cajuns share the SBC West title, it would mark the school's first back-to-back SBC West titles for UL since claiming three straight from 2001-02 through 2003-04.

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 15 of the last 19 games.
>>> UL is 12-3 this season when holding the opposition below 70 points.

TAMING THE SUN BELT
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns are 21-10 in Sun Belt action under the direction of Bob Marlin.
>>> Marlin's current SBC win percentage of .677 ranks 10^th all-time in SBC history.

WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS
>>> Freshman Elfrid Payton has played the entire season, up until Saturday night, as a 17-year old. He leads the Cajuns in assists and averages 6.9 points to go along with dramatic last-second winning plays against Western Kentucky and Denver.
>>> Payton, who turned 18 on Wednesday, Feb. 22, will have played all but one regular season game at age 17.

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 57.6 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 (69 actual).

BROWN CLIMBING THE CHARTS
>>> Josh Brown's strong rebounding effort in Sun Belt games (7.4 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 tied for fourth (T-4^th) in the league.

LAST TIME VS. LA-MONROE (Jan. 28, 2012 – UL won 67-60 in Monroe)
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns used a 13-0 run in the second half, which opened a 49-35 lead, to shake off a pesky La.-Monroe squad at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe on the way to a 67-60 victory.
>>> The Warhawks cut their deficit to four points twice in the final four minutes and each time the Cajuns pushed the ball up the court for a quick layup that created breathing room.

SHORING UP THE DEFENSE IN CONFERENCE PLAY
>>> In Sun Belt play, Louisiana ranks third in field goal percentage defense (39.0%) and second in defensive rebounds (28.4 drpg). UL leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.3%), blocked shots (5.3 bpg) and total rebounds (41.2 rpg).

SERIES HISTORY (Louisiana leads 46-18, overall; Louisiana leads 6-0 in the Cajundome)
>>> The two in-state rivals meet as Sun Belt Conference opponents for the 12^th time in regular season action. Louisiana holds a 9-2 edge in Sun Belt regular season meetings.
>>> Louisiana is 28-2 at home vs. La.-Monroe and has not lost a home contest to the Warhawks since Jan. 29, 1957, when La.-Monroe edged the Cajuns 78-74 in overtime at Blackham Coliseum. The Cajuns have won 26 straight games vs. the Warhawks in Lafayette.
>>> The Cajuns have swept the season series the last two years and haven't loss to La.-Monroe in the regular season since Feb. 12, 2009 (L, 69-73 at Fant-Ewing).
>>> The home team has dominated in the series, winning 42 of the 61 games played on one of the school's home courts. UL has won 26 straight in Lafayette vs. La.-Monroe.
>>> Schools split the first 14 meetings (1953-60). Since then, UL has won 39of the last 50 meetings to take today's commanding 46-18 series lead.
>>> Prior to first meeting as SBC foes on Dec. 30, 2006, schools hadn't played since the 1990-91 season.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns will await to learn the seed for the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament which will be determined following Sunday's Denver-North Texas contest.
>>> The Cajuns do know that they will have a bye in the opening round of SBC Tournament and will not have to open tournament action until Sunday, March 4.
>>> Louisiana will be in search of its first Sun Belt Tournament victory since 2006.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Cajuns Hosting La.-Monroe on Senior Night

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