Cajuns, Cowboys renew I-10 basketball rivalry

LAFAYETTE — The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team returns to action today when it battles in-state rival McNeese State in a non-conference game at the Cajundome, according to a University of Louisiana at Lafayette news release.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the Internet at RaginCajuns.com.
Louisiana (2-3) and McNeese State (1-5) will meet for the 91st time on the hardwood as each team has defended its home court during the last seven meetings. The McNeese State series is the second-longest in Ragin’ Cajuns basketball history.
The Ragin’ Cajuns have been averaging 107.0 points per game in two games this season at the Cajundome.
ULL leads the Sun Belt Conference in scoring, field goal percentage (.488) and rebounding margin (+11.4), while ranking fourth in the league in assists (13.4).
The Ragin’ Cajuns lead the all-time series against the I-10 rivals, 55-35, and have won the last three meetings in Lafayette. Each team has protected its home court during the last seven meetings in the series with McNeese State winning four times since the 2008-09 season.
Shawn Long, a Morgan City High School graduate, is the NCAA Division I active leader in both double-doubles (55) and rebounds (1,092). He ranks second among active NCAA Division I players in field goals (676) and rebound average (10.3), fourth in points (1,785) and seventh in blocked shots (221). Long is one of two players in the Sun Belt Conference (Kevin Hervey, UTA) currently averaging a double-double on the season.
He enters today’s game tied with former UNO letter-winner Michael McDonald for sixth-place in Sun Belt history with 221 blocks. The senior is 15th in SBC history in scoring with 1,795 points and can move past former South Alabama standout Ed Rains (1,801) and Old Dominion’s Chris Gatling (1,811) into 13th place with 17 points.
McNeese State opened the season with an 11-point loss at nationally-ranked LSU to start the season before falling to Louisiana College and Oklahoma. After a win over Dillard, the Cowboys dropped the last two games against Texas State and Central Michigan by a combined four points.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will open a three-game road trip over a six-day period beginning Saturday when they travel to Ruston to face Louisiana Tech in a noon contest at the Thomas Assembly Center. Louisiana will then head to the West Coast for games at UCLA (Dec. 15) and Pepperdine (Dec. 18).
The Louisiana Tech game will be broadcast nationally on the American Sports Network and regionally on Cox Sports Television.
For more information visit online at www.RaginCajuns.com.