UALR (8-6, 2-1 Sun Belt) is not only the most inexperienced in the Sun
Belt but the most inexperienced in all of NCAA Division I basketball, according
to StatSheet. Louisiana-Lafayette (5-9, 1-2) ranks second in the Sun Belt and
12th in all of Division I.
It’s probably fair to say the team that makes the fewest freshman
mistakes will have a major advantage when they tip off at 7:15 p.m. tonight at
the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.
UALR comes in with an experience factor rating of 1.28, which keeps
them ahead of Texas (1.41) and Northern Illinois (1.56). Louisiana-Lafayette’s
rating is 1.84, which ties them for 12th with Hartford.
BURN BABY BURN
Elfrid Payton took 24 of Louisiana-Lafayette’s 66 field goal attempts
on Thursday. Add the 21 combined by Shawn Long and Alan-Michael Thompson and
they took 45 of the 66 shots. It’s pretty clear to see where
Louisiana-Lafayette’s offense comes from.
BURN UNIT
Louisiana-Lafayette prefers to go by “Louisiana” or “UL." In fact, they’re a little psycho about it. ULL
play-by-play man Jay Walker Got this blast off against Arkansas State this week
when they promoted a game against “Lafayette” on Twitter:
“@RedWolvesHoops when did you join the Patriot League? Playing the Leopards Thursday?”
“@RedWolvesHoops when did you join the Patriot League? Playing the Leopards Thursday?”
We don't want any trouble. We’ll just try to go with Louisiana-Lafayette when possible.
BTH KEYS
Slow Shawn: Louisiana-Lafayette freshman forward Shawn Long has been
impressive, averaging 16.7 points and 9.5 rebounds. And it’s not as simple as
just letting Leroy Isler or Taggart Lockhart track him all over the court. Long
is 6-9 and more than 240 pounds. That means it’s going to take the likes of
Michael Javes and Gus Leeper to slow him down.
Turning point: Turnovers continue to be an issue for UALR’s young
guards. Louisiana-Lafayette is winless this season when opponents commit 13
turnovers or fewer. That has to be the goal for UALR today.
Survive and thrive: UALR hasn’t survived the first half in any of its
road games this season. A halftime lead would go a long way toward getting the
first road victory of the season.
VEGAS, BABY
Louisiana-Lafayette is a five-point favorite in Las Vegas. With the home-court advantage applied, the teams are considered very similar.
PREDICTIONS
Four of the five go with Louisiana-Lafayette tonight. CBS once again goes with the Trojans:
Omni Rankings (4-1): ULL 76, UALR 62
Omni Rankings (4-1): ULL 76, UALR 62
Real Time RPI (11-2): ULL 71, UALR 68
Jeff Sagarin (11-2): ULL 75, UALR 68
The Sports Network (9-3): ULL 71, UALR 66
CBS Sportsline (9-4): UALR 73, ULL 70
BTH Average (10-3): ULL 72.6, UALR 67.4