The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (5-6) and the Sun Belt’s top-ranked offense travel to Little Rock to play the Trojans (12-1) and the top-ranked defense in the conference. The game gets underway at 8:15 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 7.
The Trojans were victorious over Troy 67-61 in their last game. Marcus Johnson Jr. led all scorers on the team with 22 points on 5-for-9 shooting. The Ragin’ Cajuns, meanwhile, are coming off a 79-58 win over Appalachian State in their last game. Shawn Long claimed his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
It will be a tale of two tempos, as the fast-paced Ragin’ Cajuns (ranked 12th in the nation in possessions per game) take on the methodical Trojans (344th).
Notes
Louisiana-Lafayette won its last game by a 21-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Little Rock is 5-0. Louisiana-Lafayette is 4-1 in blowouts this season.
With 64.1 possessions and 1.076 points per possession, the Little Rock Trojans perform worse on both metrics than the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. Louisiana-Lafayette averages 75.8 possessions and 1.112 points per possession.
The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns average an effective field goal percentage of 50.1% this season. The Little Rock Trojans are a perfect 1-0 in games where opponents have an eFG% of 50.1% or greater.
On average, the Little Rock Trojans attempt 19.0 three point field goals per game and the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns attempt 22.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 three pointers, Little Rock has a formidable record of 6-1, while Louisiana-Lafayette has a poor record of 3-5.
The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns average 42.9 rebounds per game and are ranked 12th. The Little Rock Trojans average 34.2 rebounds per game, ranked 289th.
When it comes to offensive rebounds, Louisiana-Lafayette ranks ninth. Little Rock ranks 249th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Louisiana-Lafayette forces a turnover rate of 18.5%. When Little Rock turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 3-1 record.
