We were the Cajuns' first conference game, and we will be their next-to-last one. They are 17-12 overall, and 11-7 in Belt play.The bad news (for us) is that they are on a four-game winning streak that included Georgia Southern. So, they seem to be rounding into the shape we had expected before the season began.
They likely will start 6-9, 6-6, 6-4 across the front line. That may force Shields to adjust his lineup a little. Shawn Long is their horse again, averaging a 17/10 double/double and shooting 55% from the field. Brian Williams is their only other double-figure scorer, but they also have two over 9 ppg. They shoot well (46% and 35%) and defend well on the arc (31.8%). With Long in the mix they dominate the boards by 6. And they have a whole stable of good 3-point shooters.
The question for us will be if we have anyone who can even slow down Long. Who are we going to put on him? Gus Leeper is as big as he is, but is he quick enough? Is Mareik Isom strong enough to handle him? Like as not we will have a 6-5 guy trying to guard him at times. It could get ugly if we are not careful.
Sagarin has Louisiana by 9. RealtimeRPI has them by 15. They may both be conservative.
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