Cajuns and Mean Green Tangle in SBC Tournament Quarterfinals

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes   |   Sun Belt Tournament History

GAME CENTER
Date: Sunday, March 4, 2012
Location: Hot Springs, Ark.
Opponent: North Texas (16-13)
Site: Convention Center Court
Game Time: 6:15 p.m.
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL), 107.9 FM (KHXT) – Jay Walker, play-by-play
Internet Audio Feed: Click Here
Live Stats/Video: www.SunBeltSports.org

LOUISIANA-NORTH TEXAS SERIES
The Series: Louisiana leads 19-15
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 13-4
In Denton: North Texas leads 10-6
Neutral Site: North Texas leads 1-0
Series Streak: Louisiana – won 3
Last Meeting: Louisiana 57, North Texas 53 (Denton, Texas // Feb. 18, 2012)
Noteworthy: The two schools meet on a neutral court for only the second time in 35 meetings. The only prior neutral site contest took place on Dec. 27, 1949 in Enid, Okla. (Enid Invitational).

LOUISIANA
11-12 Record____________________    16-14
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________      10-6
Last Game______________________     Feb. 25, 2012
                                                                             vs. La.-Monroe L, 60-78
Head Coach____________________       Bob Marlin
   UL Record____________________       30-29 (2^nd Season)
   Career Record_________________     378-195 (19^th Season)
   Marlin vs. North Texas__________        3-3
Web Site_______________________     www.RaginCajuns.com

NORTH TEXAS
11-12 Record____________________     16-13
11-12 Sun Belt Record____________        9-7
Last Game______________________      Feb. 26, 2012
                                                                             at Denver L, 52-64
Head Coach____________________       Johnny Jones
   NT Record____________________       188-145 (11^thSeason)
   Career Record_________________      203-161 (12^th Season)
   Jones vs. UL__________________        11-12
Web Site_______________________     www.MeanGreenSports.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team opens play in the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Sunday, March 4 facing North Texas at the Convention Center Court in Hot Springs, Ark.
>>> Both the Ragin' Cajuns and Mean Green earned a bye from the tournament's opening round games which were held on Saturday, March 3.
>>> Louisiana and North Texas meet for the third time this season. The Cajuns swept the season series (W, 64-62 in Lafayette on Jan. 25 & W, 57-53 in Denton on Feb. 18).
>>> The winner will advance to a 6 p.m., semifinal meeting on Monday, March 5 in Summit Arena against the winner of No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 8-No.9 FAU-Arkansas State winner.
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns are seeking to end a six-game losing streak in Sun Belt Tournament action. The last SBC Tournament victory came on March 5, 2006 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., a 62-59 double-overtime win over Troy.
>>> The Cajuns were involved in 11 games decided by five points or less (7-4 record) this season. Both meetings with North Texas were decided by four points or less.
>>> Louisiana will be without the services of junior guard Raymone Andrews and sophomore forward J.J. Thomas (suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team).
>>> Coach Bob Marlin prepared his team for a three-day run by opening the season with three-day tournaments in San Francisco and the Cajundome. No one Cajuns player averaged more than 27 minutes per game over the course of the season.
>>> UL led the Sun Belt averaging 40.9 rebounds per game in conference play. The Cajuns reached 40-plus rebounds in 11 of 16 SBC games this season.
>>> In SBC play, the Cajuns held opponents to 39.8% shooting including a meager 30.3% from 3-point range. UL ranked third in the league behind Middle Tennessee and North Texas in field goal percentage defense in conference play.

BACK IN HOT SPRINGS
>>> Louisiana is making its third appearance in Hot Springs, Ark., for the Sun Belt Tournament and is in search of its first win in the event since it arrived in the city.
>>> In 2010, La.-Monroe used a three-pointer from Tony Hooper with 0.7 seconds remaining to top the Cajuns 76-75 in the opening round. In 2011, WKU took advantage of J.J. Thomas being in foul trouble to rally for an 81-76 win over UL in the quarterfinal round.

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns are making their 21^st appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament.
>>> Louisiana has three titles to its credit – 1992, 1994, 2000. The Cajuns won the event in 2004 and 2005, but those contests were later vacated by NCAA sanctions.
>>> UL's all-time SBC Tournament record is 18-15 factoring in wins vacated by NCAA sanctions (actual on-court mark is 24-15).
>>> The Cajuns are searching for their first SBC Tournament victory since 2006.

BROWN NAMED ALL-SUN BELT
>>> Josh Brown represented the Ragin' Cajuns on the 2012 All-Sun Belt Conference men's basketball team. Brown garnered Second Team All-SBC honors.
>>> Both overall and in conference play, Brown led the Ragin' Cajuns in points and rebounds from the guard position during the 2011-12 season. He ended the season averaging 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds.
>>> The Ruston, La., native ranked fifth in the Sun Belt in rebounds, both overall (6.5 rpg) and in conference play (7.3 rpg).

SEASON SERIES VS. NORTH TEXAS
>>> The Cajuns claimed a 64-62 victory at the Cajundome on Jan. 25 behind a 19-point outburst from Bryant Mbamalu and held on as North Texas missed two three-point chances in the final four seconds.
>>> In the rematch on Feb. 18 in Denton, the Cajuns used a strong defensive effort, which held NT to a season-low 29 percent shooting, to claim a 57-53 victory and lock up a winning season.

SIGNS OF PROGRESS
>>> Louisiana is assured of its first winning season since 2004-05 no matter the outcome in the SBC Tournament.
>>> The 16 victories are the most for the program since the 2004-05 season.

WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS
>>> Freshman Elfrid Payton played the entire season, up until last Saturday night, as a 17-year old. He leads the Cajuns in assists (84) and averages 7.0 points to go along with dramatic last-second winning plays against Western Kentucky and Denver.
>>> Payton, who turned 18 on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 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 led the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage virtually the entire season.
>>> 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 70-plus blocks (71 actual).

THE SAVVY VETERAN CAN RAIN 'EM IN
>>> Vanderbilt transfer Darshawn McClellan (90-plus game SEC experience) has provided valuable veteran leadership and carried the team from the three-point line ranking Top 10 in the Sun Belt in three-point field goal percentage.

SHORING UP THE DEFENSE IN CONFERENCE PLAY
>>> In Sun Belt play, Louisiana ranked third in field goal percentage defense (39.8%) and second in defensive rebounds (28.1 drpg). UL led the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (30.3%), blocked shots (5.3 bpg) and total rebounds (40.9 rpg).

FREE BASKETBALL, ANYONE?
>>> Louisiana 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 held the opposition to 70 points or less in regulation 15 of the last 20 games.
>>> UL is 12-3 this season when holding the opposition below 70 points.

TAMING THE SUN BELT
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns are 21-11 in Sun Belt action under the direction of Bob Marlin.
>>> Marlin's current SBC win percentage of .656 ranks 12^th all-time in SBC history and is tops amongst current active coaches.

SERIES HISTORY (Louisiana leads 19-15, overall; North Texas leads 1-0 at neutral site)
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns swept the 2011-12 season series with the Mean Green. UL picked up its first season sweep of NT since the 2004-05 season.
>>> It's the second meeting between Louisiana and North Texas in the SBC Tournament. In the only previous meeting, NT eliminated UL from the 2007 event with a 93-78 win in a first round game held in Denton.
>>> The two schools meet on a neutral court for only the second time in 35 meetings. The only prior neutral site contest took place on Dec. 27, 1949 in Enid, Okla. (Enid Invitational).
>>> Cajuns have won the last three meetings. It's the longest win streak over NT since winning three straight Jan. 30, 2003-Feb. 5, 2004 (swept '02-03 series & won first meeting of '03-04).
>>> North Texas won six of the seven meetings from 2006-07 through 2008-09, trimming UL's series lead to 15-13. UL's win at the Cajundome last season prevented the Mean Green from tying the all-time series mark and began the current three-game win streak.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> With a win, the Ragin' Cajuns would advance to Monday's semifinal round at the Summit Arena. Louisiana would face the winner of the Middle Tennessee-FAU/Arkansas State matchup at 6 p.m. The game would be broadcast on the Sun Belt Network (CST & CSS).
>>> A loss would eliminate the Ragin' Cajuns from the 2012 Sun Belt Tournament and would likely bring an end to the 2011-12 season.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns and Mean Green Tangle in SBC Tournament Quarterfinals

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