Cajuns to face 10th-seeded Little Rock in SBC tournament opener

Sports – The Vermilion Bryce Washington (32) fights for a rebound against Nicholls on Dec. 1. Photo by Karley Nugent/The Vermilion
The 2016-17 Sun Belt Conference regular season came to an end on Saturday, solidifying each team’s seed in the conference tournament and the bracket.
The SBC men’s basketball tournament will begin on March 8 with Louisiana as the seventh seed. The Cajuns finished the regular season with an overall record of 20-11, 10-8 SBC.
The tournament could not come at a better time for the Cajuns, who have won six straight after a concerning four-game losing streak. Louisiana rolled off eight straight victories in the beginning of the season, but any coach will tell you that a team should be playing with momentum entering the the tournament.
After questions of their defense began to grow, the men’s basketball team has responded by holding opposing teams to 74.8 points per game during their winning streak. This is an improvement after allowing a stretch of 100-point games to their opponents. The Cajuns have kept their offense on track with an average of 84.1 points per game.
The Cajuns have shown they can win in dominant fashion with nine wins on the season by at least a 15-point margin of victory. More importantly, Louisiana is able to execute down the stretch to win close games. They have won five games by six points or less, in addition to an overtime victory against Texas State in their penultimate game of the regular season. Their final game of the season ended in a 83-81 win over the defending SBC men’s champions and this year’s number-one seeded UT-Arlington Mavericks .
The Cajuns are scheduled to play the tenth-seeded Little Rock Trojans in their first game of the tournament. These two teams have met twice this season and Louisiana was able to win both games. The Cajuns won 69-52 on ...


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