University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, November 15
Fayetteville, Ark.
7:05 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
Arkansas
Cajuns Take 2-0 Record To Arkansas For Friday Contest
11/13/2013 1:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Game 3
Louisiana (2-0) at Arkansas (1-0)
Date: Friday, Nov. 15, 2013
Time: 7:05 p.m. CST
Site: Bud Walton Arena (19,200), Fayetteville, Ark.
Radio: KHXT (107.9 FM) (Steve Peloquin)
TV: None live
Series: Series Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: Louisiana 94, Arkansas 85 (12/20/69, Lafayette, La.)
Tickets: Available at Site
Louisiana season tickets available at RaginCajuns.com and by calling the Cajundome (337) 265-2357.
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 45-51 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 270-182 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 393-217 (21st year)
vs. Arkansas: 0-1
ARKANSAS
MIKE ANDERSON (Tulsa '81)
At Arkansas: 38-27 (3rd year)
Overall: 237-125 (12th year)
vs. Louisiana: 0-0
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns take to the road for the first time in 2013-14, starting a stretch that will have them play six of their next seven games away from home when the Cajuns visit Fayetteville, Ark. to face Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 15 beginning at 7:05 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena. Louisiana is off to 2-0 start for the first time since the 2000-01 season after claiming wins over Louisiana College (101-67) on Saturday and McNeese State (92-66) on Tuesday in the Cajundome. The Cajuns will be trying to start the year at 3-0 for the first time since 1995-96. This will be the first game for the Cajuns against Arkansas in 44 years with the series standing tied at 1-1. Arkansas opened the season with a 99-65 win over SIU-Edwardsville on Friday (Nov. 8).
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: Louisiana is off to a 2-0 start in 2013-14, benefiting from the return of all five starters and a total of 10 lettermen from last year's squad that went 13-20, leading fourth-year head coach Bob Marlin to feel confident that the Cajuns are on a path to return to national prominence. The team is centered around the duo of point guard Elfrid Payton (21.5 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.5 spg) and forward Shawn Long (26.0 ppg, 14.5 rpg, 4.5 bpg), both of whom were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team this year. Long makes the move from center to power forward, his natural position, with newcomers J.J. Davenport (4.0, 4.0), a junior who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, and freshman Vieux Kande (1.0, 2.0), expected to see the majority of minutes at center. Elridge Moore (13.5, 4.5), who started as an undersized power forward last season, will move to small forward. Bryant Mbamalu (13.8, 3.7 in 2012-13), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, is out indefinitely with a foot injury in September. With Mbamalu out, junior Kevin Brown (6.5, 2.0), who is returning after missing most of last season with a broken foot, is expected to take over. Sophomore guards Steve Wronkoski (6.0, 5.0) and Kasey Shephard (3.5, 1.0) each see time off the bench this year with a trio of newcomers, junior Xavian Rimmer (3.5 apg), and freshmen Hayward Register (5.o ppg) and Luka Kamber (1.0 ppg) vying for time. Marlin will utilize the depth and quickness by forcing an up-tempo game at both ends of the court by applying more defensive pressure. The Cajuns use their quickness and outside shooting ability to create a balanced offense, forcing opponents to cover the entire court.
RAGIN' CAJUNS START THE NEXT 100 SEASONS: The Ragin' Cajuns have begun their 101st season of basketball. 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 weekend with a 1,311-1,004 overall record. Louisiana did not have a team in either 1973-74 or 1974-75 because of NCAA sanctions. In the first 100 seasons, the Cajuns have advanced to postseason play 18 times, including 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, winning 16 conference titles. Eight Louisiana players have earned All-America honors with 96 being named all-conference.
PAYTON NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON TOP 50: Cajuns junior point guard Elfrid Payton earned a big preseason honor on Nov. 12 when he was named to the 2013-14 John R. Wooden Award preseason top 50 list by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Named after the legendary UCLA head coach, the Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation.
. . . AND MORE HONORS FOR PAYTON: Being selected to the Wooden Award list is the latest in a long list of preseason awards for Elfrid Payton. Earlier in the fall, Payton was named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the nation's top point guard by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, Payton was named to the Mid-Major All-America first team by NBCSports.com and to the Lou Henson All-America team, which honors the nation's top mid-major players and is presented by CollegeInsider.com.
MAKING THE GRADE: One thing that head coach Bob Marlin has emphasized in his three seasons at Louisiana is the necessity that his players give 100-percent both on and off the court. This demand has led to positive results in the classroom. During the spring 2013 semester, the Ragin' Cajuns set a program record with a 2.904 grade point average for the team. It was the fifth time in six semesters that the team had a GPA of better than 2.50, which had never been done before. The last five semesters account for four of the top seven terms for the basketball team during that time.
2-0 AND A LITTLE DEJAVU: With wins over Louisiana College (101-67) and McNeese State (92-66) to open the season, the Cajuns find themselves with a 2-0 record for the first time since defeating the same two teams to open the 2000-01 season. In that year, Louisiana handed Louisiana College a 103-67 setback in the opener and came back three days later to topple McNeese State, 88-81.
. . . AND 3-0: The Ragin' Cajuns will attempt to open the season with three consecutive wins for the first time since 1995-96 when they take to the court at Arkansas on Friday night. In 1995-96, Louisiana defeated Louisiana Baptist (121-64), Missouri State (85-67) and UNC Wilmington, 67-51, before falling to Southern Miss in overtime, 80-70.
LONG STARTS YEAR ON A ROLL: Sophomore Shawn Long has picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in each of the first two games. He enters the weekend leading the Sun Belt in both scoring (26.0) and rebounding (14.5) and ranking second in blocks (4.5). He earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors after scoring 23 points with 14 rebounds in the season-opening win over Louisiana College and then came back on Tuesday night to score a career-high 29 points with 15 rebounds and a career-high tying five blocks against McNeese State.
LONG RECORDS A QUICK DOUBLE-DOUBLE: After ranking sixth nationally last year with 18 double-doubles, sophomore Shawn Long didn't wait too long to get his first double-double of 2013-14, scoring 23 points with 14 rebounds in the season-opening win over Louisiana College. Long only needed 18:07 to accomplish his 19th double-double, grabbing his 10th rebound of the night (to go with 14 points at the time) as part of an 18 point, 11-rebound effort in the first half. It marked the first time that Long had reached double-double totals by intermission.
. . . AND PAYTON ADDS HIS FOURTH: Elfrid Payton also registered a double-double in the season opener, scoring 21 points with a career-high matching 10 assists for his fourth career double-double (and second point-assists double-double). Payton had them in back-to-back games at McNeese State (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Lamar (17/11) last year and came back to miss a triple-double by one rebound at FIU, scoring 13 points with nine rebounds and 10 assists.
SIX GAMES TO BE TELEVISED: The Ragin' Cajuns will garner a little more attention nationally this year as six games will be televised during the regular season. Tuesday's (Nov. 12) McNeese State game was televised throughout Louisiana by the Ragin' Cajuns Network. The Sun Belt Network will pick up home games vs. Texas State (Jan. 13) and South Alabama (March 2) and the road meeting with Georgia State (Feb. 22). The Nov. 17 contest at Baylor will be featured on Fox Sports Southwest while the Dec. 7 game at defending national champion Louisville will be shown on ESPN3. In addition, the home games vs. WKU (Jan. 25) and Arkansas State (Feb. 15) could both be picked up by one of the ESPN channels.
MOORE LIKES OPENERS: Elridge Moore must love season openers. After all, the senior forward has scored in double figures just five times in his short Cajuns career, but two of those have come in season openers. Last November, Moore went six-for-seven from the floor en route to setting career highs for points (15) and steals (5) in the win over Oakland. On Saturday, Moore scored seven of his 11 points in the second half, going four-for-five from the field and making all three free throws. Moore went on to average 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game, finishing second on the team with 33 steals and 51 assists and third with 17 blocks.
MOORE SETS CAREER HIGHS: Elridge Moore's confidence on the court was evident in the win over McNeese State on Tuesday when the senior set career highs for points (16) and rebounds (9), going six-for-nine from the floor and making all four free throws. In two games, Moore is averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game, shooting .714 from the field (10-14) and a perfect seven-for-seven from the line.
A GOOD START FROM THE STRIPE: One painful streak that the Ragin' Cajuns hope to end this season is the program's streak of 21 straight season failing to shoot .700 or better from the line as a team. That effort got off to a good start in the opener when Louisiana made 17 of its 19 free throws to shoot .895 from the stripe. The performance was the second-highest effort by the Cajuns in the four seasons under Bob Marlin, being topped only by the 12-for-12 game at San Francisco (Nov. 13, 2011). the Cajuns came back on Tuesday to go 16-for-26, dropping to .733 for the season (33-45). Louisiana was on a pace to top the .700 mark for most of last season before going cold at the line in February.
HOW ELFRID SPENT HIS SUMMER: Elfrid Payton had quite a summer, traveling more than 40,000 miles to play 20 basketball games in three different countries as part of three different teams. The journey started with an eight-game, 18-day (May 11-28) tour of the Far East and China with Reach USA, during which he averaged 21.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.0 steals a game in helping Reach USA to a 4-2-1 record. After returning to the states, Payton headed to Colorado Springs, Colo. where he not only earned a spot on the USA Basketball U19 team for the FIBA World Championship (June 26-July 7) in Prague, Czech Republic, but a starting spot as well. Payton helped lead Team USA to a 9-0 record and the gold medal. One month later, Payton travelled with his Cajuns teammates to Spain, winning all four games during a goodwill tour.
. . . ALL BECAUSE OF A PASSPORT & DERON WILLIAMS SAYING NO: Elfrid Payton's emergence over the summer all happened because he was both denied admission to the Deron Williams Skills Academy and went on a goodwill tour to China. With Payton playing in China and the Cajuns coaching staff trying in vane to get him an invite to the Williams camp, the coaches changed the focus to Team USA, which was interested in Louisiana's rising junior. When Bob Marlin spoke with Team USA head coach Billy Donovan, Donovan noted that the Payton could only attend the tryout if he already had a passport, which he had obtained in the weeks before leaving for China. Payton and his passport traveled to Colorado Springs for the tryout camp and the rest is history.
WELCOME BACK KEVIN: The Louisiana College game marked the return to the court for Kevin Brown, who missed most of last season after suffering a foot injury in the eighth game of the year. Brown averaged 4.8 points and shot .421 from three-point (8-21) last year, scoring a career-high 14 points at Michigan State. In the first two games, Brown is averaging 6.5 points and 2.0 rebounds a game, scoring six points against Louisiana College and seven vs. McNeese State.
LONG & PAYTON NAMED TO ALL-SBC SQUAD: Junior guard Elfrid Payton and sophomore forward Shawn Long were rewarded for their hard work when the duo were two of five players named to the 2013-14 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference first team in a balloting conducted of the league's head coaches. South Alabama's Augustin Rubit, the only senior on the first team, earned preseason player of the year honors, while Georgia State's R.J. Hunter and WKU's T.J. Price were the other first team honorees. Payton averaged 15.9 points and 5.6 rebounds last year, leading the league in both assists (181) and steals (80). Long, the reigning SBC Freshman of the Year, averaged 15.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, leading all freshman nationally in rebounding.
LOUISIANA TABBED FOR 4TH IN SBC POLL: With all five starters and a total of 10 lettermen back this season, the Ragin' Cajuns earned some respect from the Sun Belt Coaches when they were picked to finish in a fourth place tie with league newcomer Georgia State when the Sun Belt announced its annual preseason coaches poll on Oct. 30. Just 18 votes separated the top five teams with two-time tournament champion WKU getting the top nod with 91 points, including half of the 10 first place votes. South Alabama was second with 78 points, including two first place votes. Arkansas State was tabbed third with 74 points, one point ahead of both Louisiana (1 first place vote) and Georgia State (2), who each garnered 73 votes.
JERRY FLAKE TO BE HONORED: Another number will be raised to the Cajundome rafters during the season when Jerry Flake (1965-69) has his number honored prior to the Houston game on Dec. 14. Over four decades after completing his career, Flake still ranks fifth in school history with 2,058 career points, averaging 19.2 points a game over the course of his career. Flake's number 20 will become the fifth retired jersey, joining Dwight "Bo" Lamar's No. 10, the No. 14 worn by Marvin Winkler, Andrew Toney's No. 24 and the No. 12 worn by Dean Church, which was retired in February, 2012.
CAJUNS TRIO SEEKS OUT 1,000 POINT MARK: The Cajuns enter the season with three players capable of reaching the 1,000 point mark for their career, a figure accomplished by 39 Louisiana players. Senior Bryant Mbamalu's quest for 1,000 will have to wait until he returns from a foot injury, but when he does, he will have just 206 points to go. He enters the year with 794 points. Junior Elfrid Payton enters the Arkansas game with 796 points. At his 15.9 pace from last year, he will need 15 games to reach 1,000. Sophomore Shawn Long (563 career points) scored 511 points last year and will need to equal his 15.5 points per game from last year to accomplish the fete.
LONG MAINTAINS FRESHMAN REBOUNDING LEAD: With 10 or more rebounds in 11 of his last 15 games, Shawn Long finished the 2012-13 season as the top freshman rebounder in the country. Long grabbed 337 rebounds in 33 games (10.2 rpg) to rank ahead of Binghamton's Jordan Reed (9.6). Long was 12th in rebounding overall.
LONG IS DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: With 18 double-doubles in 33 games last year, Shawn Long finished 2012-13 ranked sixth nationally in the category. Bucknell's Mike Muscala led the nation with 22 with UNC-Wilmington's Keith Rendleman and Towson's Jerrelle Benimon having 20 and Notre Dame's Jack Cooley and Tulane's Josh Davis ranked fourth with 19. Long had a double-double in 10 of the last 15 games in 2012-13, giving him 10 double-doubles in 20 league games last season.
CAJUNS BENEFIT FROM LATE FREE THROW SHOOTING: The free throw shooting by the Cajuns was at its best late in the game as Louisiana went 142-for-196 (.724) from the line in the final 5:00 minutes and overtime. Alan-Michael Thompson (15-16, .938), Shawn Long (21-28, .750) and Steven Wronkoski (14-19, .737) led the team while Bryant Mbamalu, a career .776 shooter (45-58), was 24-for-29 last year (.828). That is a considerable improvement from the .617 (121-196) that the Cajuns shot during the 2011-12 season.
. . . BUT ARE JUST 0-2 RIGHT NOW: With each of the first two games being decided well before the final five minutes, the Cajuns head to Arkansas having attempted just two free throws in the final 5:00 of their first two games.
GRIDER ENTERS HALL OF FAME: Cajun basketball alumnus Sydney Grider (1988-90) was one of four Louisiana athletic alumni to be inducted into the Louisiana Athletic Hall of Fame. Grider was joined by baseball standout Gene Bacque (1956-57), softball star Lynn Britton (1993-96) and football star Andy Martin (1979-82), bringing the number of Ragin' Cajuns alumni to 142. Grider, the most effective three-point shooter in school history, earned back-to-back first-team All-American South Conference honors as a junior and senior, averaging 23.5 points as a junior and leading the American South as a senior with a 25.5 average. In that senior year he hit 131-of-321 three-point tries, setting Cajun school records in both categories.
NEXT UP: After playing at Arkansas on Friday, the Cajuns head to Big 12 country on Sunday (Nov. 19), traveling to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor at 4:00 p.m. in a game televised regionally on Fox Sports Southwest. Louisiana does not return home until it hosts Northwestern State on Nov. 27.
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Game 3
Louisiana (2-0) at Arkansas (1-0)
Date: Friday, Nov. 15, 2013
Time: 7:05 p.m. CST
Site: Bud Walton Arena (19,200), Fayetteville, Ark.
Radio: KHXT (107.9 FM) (Steve Peloquin)
TV: None live
Series: Series Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: Louisiana 94, Arkansas 85 (12/20/69, Lafayette, La.)
Tickets: Available at Site
Louisiana season tickets available at RaginCajuns.com and by calling the Cajundome (337) 265-2357.
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 45-51 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 270-182 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 393-217 (21st year)
vs. Arkansas: 0-1
ARKANSAS
MIKE ANDERSON (Tulsa '81)
At Arkansas: 38-27 (3rd year)
Overall: 237-125 (12th year)
vs. Louisiana: 0-0
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns take to the road for the first time in 2013-14, starting a stretch that will have them play six of their next seven games away from home when the Cajuns visit Fayetteville, Ark. to face Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 15 beginning at 7:05 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena. Louisiana is off to 2-0 start for the first time since the 2000-01 season after claiming wins over Louisiana College (101-67) on Saturday and McNeese State (92-66) on Tuesday in the Cajundome. The Cajuns will be trying to start the year at 3-0 for the first time since 1995-96. This will be the first game for the Cajuns against Arkansas in 44 years with the series standing tied at 1-1. Arkansas opened the season with a 99-65 win over SIU-Edwardsville on Friday (Nov. 8).
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: Louisiana is off to a 2-0 start in 2013-14, benefiting from the return of all five starters and a total of 10 lettermen from last year's squad that went 13-20, leading fourth-year head coach Bob Marlin to feel confident that the Cajuns are on a path to return to national prominence. The team is centered around the duo of point guard Elfrid Payton (21.5 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.5 spg) and forward Shawn Long (26.0 ppg, 14.5 rpg, 4.5 bpg), both of whom were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team this year. Long makes the move from center to power forward, his natural position, with newcomers J.J. Davenport (4.0, 4.0), a junior who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, and freshman Vieux Kande (1.0, 2.0), expected to see the majority of minutes at center. Elridge Moore (13.5, 4.5), who started as an undersized power forward last season, will move to small forward. Bryant Mbamalu (13.8, 3.7 in 2012-13), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, is out indefinitely with a foot injury in September. With Mbamalu out, junior Kevin Brown (6.5, 2.0), who is returning after missing most of last season with a broken foot, is expected to take over. Sophomore guards Steve Wronkoski (6.0, 5.0) and Kasey Shephard (3.5, 1.0) each see time off the bench this year with a trio of newcomers, junior Xavian Rimmer (3.5 apg), and freshmen Hayward Register (5.o ppg) and Luka Kamber (1.0 ppg) vying for time. Marlin will utilize the depth and quickness by forcing an up-tempo game at both ends of the court by applying more defensive pressure. The Cajuns use their quickness and outside shooting ability to create a balanced offense, forcing opponents to cover the entire court.
RAGIN' CAJUNS START THE NEXT 100 SEASONS: The Ragin' Cajuns have begun their 101st season of basketball. 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 weekend with a 1,311-1,004 overall record. Louisiana did not have a team in either 1973-74 or 1974-75 because of NCAA sanctions. In the first 100 seasons, the Cajuns have advanced to postseason play 18 times, including 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, winning 16 conference titles. Eight Louisiana players have earned All-America honors with 96 being named all-conference.
PAYTON NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON TOP 50: Cajuns junior point guard Elfrid Payton earned a big preseason honor on Nov. 12 when he was named to the 2013-14 John R. Wooden Award preseason top 50 list by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Named after the legendary UCLA head coach, the Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation.
. . . AND MORE HONORS FOR PAYTON: Being selected to the Wooden Award list is the latest in a long list of preseason awards for Elfrid Payton. Earlier in the fall, Payton was named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the nation's top point guard by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, Payton was named to the Mid-Major All-America first team by NBCSports.com and to the Lou Henson All-America team, which honors the nation's top mid-major players and is presented by CollegeInsider.com.
MAKING THE GRADE: One thing that head coach Bob Marlin has emphasized in his three seasons at Louisiana is the necessity that his players give 100-percent both on and off the court. This demand has led to positive results in the classroom. During the spring 2013 semester, the Ragin' Cajuns set a program record with a 2.904 grade point average for the team. It was the fifth time in six semesters that the team had a GPA of better than 2.50, which had never been done before. The last five semesters account for four of the top seven terms for the basketball team during that time.
2-0 AND A LITTLE DEJAVU: With wins over Louisiana College (101-67) and McNeese State (92-66) to open the season, the Cajuns find themselves with a 2-0 record for the first time since defeating the same two teams to open the 2000-01 season. In that year, Louisiana handed Louisiana College a 103-67 setback in the opener and came back three days later to topple McNeese State, 88-81.
. . . AND 3-0: The Ragin' Cajuns will attempt to open the season with three consecutive wins for the first time since 1995-96 when they take to the court at Arkansas on Friday night. In 1995-96, Louisiana defeated Louisiana Baptist (121-64), Missouri State (85-67) and UNC Wilmington, 67-51, before falling to Southern Miss in overtime, 80-70.
LONG STARTS YEAR ON A ROLL: Sophomore Shawn Long has picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in each of the first two games. He enters the weekend leading the Sun Belt in both scoring (26.0) and rebounding (14.5) and ranking second in blocks (4.5). He earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors after scoring 23 points with 14 rebounds in the season-opening win over Louisiana College and then came back on Tuesday night to score a career-high 29 points with 15 rebounds and a career-high tying five blocks against McNeese State.
LONG RECORDS A QUICK DOUBLE-DOUBLE: After ranking sixth nationally last year with 18 double-doubles, sophomore Shawn Long didn't wait too long to get his first double-double of 2013-14, scoring 23 points with 14 rebounds in the season-opening win over Louisiana College. Long only needed 18:07 to accomplish his 19th double-double, grabbing his 10th rebound of the night (to go with 14 points at the time) as part of an 18 point, 11-rebound effort in the first half. It marked the first time that Long had reached double-double totals by intermission.
. . . AND PAYTON ADDS HIS FOURTH: Elfrid Payton also registered a double-double in the season opener, scoring 21 points with a career-high matching 10 assists for his fourth career double-double (and second point-assists double-double). Payton had them in back-to-back games at McNeese State (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Lamar (17/11) last year and came back to miss a triple-double by one rebound at FIU, scoring 13 points with nine rebounds and 10 assists.
SIX GAMES TO BE TELEVISED: The Ragin' Cajuns will garner a little more attention nationally this year as six games will be televised during the regular season. Tuesday's (Nov. 12) McNeese State game was televised throughout Louisiana by the Ragin' Cajuns Network. The Sun Belt Network will pick up home games vs. Texas State (Jan. 13) and South Alabama (March 2) and the road meeting with Georgia State (Feb. 22). The Nov. 17 contest at Baylor will be featured on Fox Sports Southwest while the Dec. 7 game at defending national champion Louisville will be shown on ESPN3. In addition, the home games vs. WKU (Jan. 25) and Arkansas State (Feb. 15) could both be picked up by one of the ESPN channels.
MOORE LIKES OPENERS: Elridge Moore must love season openers. After all, the senior forward has scored in double figures just five times in his short Cajuns career, but two of those have come in season openers. Last November, Moore went six-for-seven from the floor en route to setting career highs for points (15) and steals (5) in the win over Oakland. On Saturday, Moore scored seven of his 11 points in the second half, going four-for-five from the field and making all three free throws. Moore went on to average 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game, finishing second on the team with 33 steals and 51 assists and third with 17 blocks.
MOORE SETS CAREER HIGHS: Elridge Moore's confidence on the court was evident in the win over McNeese State on Tuesday when the senior set career highs for points (16) and rebounds (9), going six-for-nine from the floor and making all four free throws. In two games, Moore is averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game, shooting .714 from the field (10-14) and a perfect seven-for-seven from the line.
A GOOD START FROM THE STRIPE: One painful streak that the Ragin' Cajuns hope to end this season is the program's streak of 21 straight season failing to shoot .700 or better from the line as a team. That effort got off to a good start in the opener when Louisiana made 17 of its 19 free throws to shoot .895 from the stripe. The performance was the second-highest effort by the Cajuns in the four seasons under Bob Marlin, being topped only by the 12-for-12 game at San Francisco (Nov. 13, 2011). the Cajuns came back on Tuesday to go 16-for-26, dropping to .733 for the season (33-45). Louisiana was on a pace to top the .700 mark for most of last season before going cold at the line in February.
HOW ELFRID SPENT HIS SUMMER: Elfrid Payton had quite a summer, traveling more than 40,000 miles to play 20 basketball games in three different countries as part of three different teams. The journey started with an eight-game, 18-day (May 11-28) tour of the Far East and China with Reach USA, during which he averaged 21.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.0 steals a game in helping Reach USA to a 4-2-1 record. After returning to the states, Payton headed to Colorado Springs, Colo. where he not only earned a spot on the USA Basketball U19 team for the FIBA World Championship (June 26-July 7) in Prague, Czech Republic, but a starting spot as well. Payton helped lead Team USA to a 9-0 record and the gold medal. One month later, Payton travelled with his Cajuns teammates to Spain, winning all four games during a goodwill tour.
. . . ALL BECAUSE OF A PASSPORT & DERON WILLIAMS SAYING NO: Elfrid Payton's emergence over the summer all happened because he was both denied admission to the Deron Williams Skills Academy and went on a goodwill tour to China. With Payton playing in China and the Cajuns coaching staff trying in vane to get him an invite to the Williams camp, the coaches changed the focus to Team USA, which was interested in Louisiana's rising junior. When Bob Marlin spoke with Team USA head coach Billy Donovan, Donovan noted that the Payton could only attend the tryout if he already had a passport, which he had obtained in the weeks before leaving for China. Payton and his passport traveled to Colorado Springs for the tryout camp and the rest is history.
WELCOME BACK KEVIN: The Louisiana College game marked the return to the court for Kevin Brown, who missed most of last season after suffering a foot injury in the eighth game of the year. Brown averaged 4.8 points and shot .421 from three-point (8-21) last year, scoring a career-high 14 points at Michigan State. In the first two games, Brown is averaging 6.5 points and 2.0 rebounds a game, scoring six points against Louisiana College and seven vs. McNeese State.
LONG & PAYTON NAMED TO ALL-SBC SQUAD: Junior guard Elfrid Payton and sophomore forward Shawn Long were rewarded for their hard work when the duo were two of five players named to the 2013-14 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference first team in a balloting conducted of the league's head coaches. South Alabama's Augustin Rubit, the only senior on the first team, earned preseason player of the year honors, while Georgia State's R.J. Hunter and WKU's T.J. Price were the other first team honorees. Payton averaged 15.9 points and 5.6 rebounds last year, leading the league in both assists (181) and steals (80). Long, the reigning SBC Freshman of the Year, averaged 15.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, leading all freshman nationally in rebounding.
LOUISIANA TABBED FOR 4TH IN SBC POLL: With all five starters and a total of 10 lettermen back this season, the Ragin' Cajuns earned some respect from the Sun Belt Coaches when they were picked to finish in a fourth place tie with league newcomer Georgia State when the Sun Belt announced its annual preseason coaches poll on Oct. 30. Just 18 votes separated the top five teams with two-time tournament champion WKU getting the top nod with 91 points, including half of the 10 first place votes. South Alabama was second with 78 points, including two first place votes. Arkansas State was tabbed third with 74 points, one point ahead of both Louisiana (1 first place vote) and Georgia State (2), who each garnered 73 votes.
JERRY FLAKE TO BE HONORED: Another number will be raised to the Cajundome rafters during the season when Jerry Flake (1965-69) has his number honored prior to the Houston game on Dec. 14. Over four decades after completing his career, Flake still ranks fifth in school history with 2,058 career points, averaging 19.2 points a game over the course of his career. Flake's number 20 will become the fifth retired jersey, joining Dwight "Bo" Lamar's No. 10, the No. 14 worn by Marvin Winkler, Andrew Toney's No. 24 and the No. 12 worn by Dean Church, which was retired in February, 2012.
CAJUNS TRIO SEEKS OUT 1,000 POINT MARK: The Cajuns enter the season with three players capable of reaching the 1,000 point mark for their career, a figure accomplished by 39 Louisiana players. Senior Bryant Mbamalu's quest for 1,000 will have to wait until he returns from a foot injury, but when he does, he will have just 206 points to go. He enters the year with 794 points. Junior Elfrid Payton enters the Arkansas game with 796 points. At his 15.9 pace from last year, he will need 15 games to reach 1,000. Sophomore Shawn Long (563 career points) scored 511 points last year and will need to equal his 15.5 points per game from last year to accomplish the fete.
LONG MAINTAINS FRESHMAN REBOUNDING LEAD: With 10 or more rebounds in 11 of his last 15 games, Shawn Long finished the 2012-13 season as the top freshman rebounder in the country. Long grabbed 337 rebounds in 33 games (10.2 rpg) to rank ahead of Binghamton's Jordan Reed (9.6). Long was 12th in rebounding overall.
LONG IS DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: With 18 double-doubles in 33 games last year, Shawn Long finished 2012-13 ranked sixth nationally in the category. Bucknell's Mike Muscala led the nation with 22 with UNC-Wilmington's Keith Rendleman and Towson's Jerrelle Benimon having 20 and Notre Dame's Jack Cooley and Tulane's Josh Davis ranked fourth with 19. Long had a double-double in 10 of the last 15 games in 2012-13, giving him 10 double-doubles in 20 league games last season.
CAJUNS BENEFIT FROM LATE FREE THROW SHOOTING: The free throw shooting by the Cajuns was at its best late in the game as Louisiana went 142-for-196 (.724) from the line in the final 5:00 minutes and overtime. Alan-Michael Thompson (15-16, .938), Shawn Long (21-28, .750) and Steven Wronkoski (14-19, .737) led the team while Bryant Mbamalu, a career .776 shooter (45-58), was 24-for-29 last year (.828). That is a considerable improvement from the .617 (121-196) that the Cajuns shot during the 2011-12 season.
. . . BUT ARE JUST 0-2 RIGHT NOW: With each of the first two games being decided well before the final five minutes, the Cajuns head to Arkansas having attempted just two free throws in the final 5:00 of their first two games.
GRIDER ENTERS HALL OF FAME: Cajun basketball alumnus Sydney Grider (1988-90) was one of four Louisiana athletic alumni to be inducted into the Louisiana Athletic Hall of Fame. Grider was joined by baseball standout Gene Bacque (1956-57), softball star Lynn Britton (1993-96) and football star Andy Martin (1979-82), bringing the number of Ragin' Cajuns alumni to 142. Grider, the most effective three-point shooter in school history, earned back-to-back first-team All-American South Conference honors as a junior and senior, averaging 23.5 points as a junior and leading the American South as a senior with a 25.5 average. In that senior year he hit 131-of-321 three-point tries, setting Cajun school records in both categories.
NEXT UP: After playing at Arkansas on Friday, the Cajuns head to Big 12 country on Sunday (Nov. 19), traveling to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor at 4:00 p.m. in a game televised regionally on Fox Sports Southwest. Louisiana does not return home until it hosts Northwestern State on Nov. 27.
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Saturday, November 29
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Wednesday, November 12
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