The No.1-seeded Little Rock Trojans play the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns in the third round of the SBC tournament at Lakefront Arena. Action begins at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 12 and can be seen on ES3.
The Trojans are expecting a better outcome after their 69-63 loss to Appalachian State in their last matchup. Josh Hagins was the team’s leading scorer with 15 points. The Ragin’ Cajuns, meanwhile, are coming off a 90-68 win against South Alabama in the 2. Shawn Long led the game in scoring by accounting for 34 points on 13-for-20 shooting.
Ball control could weigh heavily in this showdown. Louisiana-Lafayette commits the 32nd-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 17.7%), while Little Rock’s disruptive defense forces the seventh-most (opponents’ TO% of 21.6%).
The Trojans have emerged victorious in both games against the Ragin’ Cajuns this year, but lost their most recent matchup, a 68-64 blowout. Long was the game’s top overall scorer with 34 points.
Notes
In its last game, Louisiana-Lafayette won by a margin of 22 points. Little Rock is 9-0 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Louisiana-Lafayette has an 8-2 record in blowouts.
The Little Rock Trojans have the best defense in the country, giving up just 93.3 points per 100 possessions. The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns rank 64th in offense, scoring 111.2 points in the same number of possessions.
Louisiana-Lafayette has an average field goal percentage of 44.4%. Little Rock is an even 2-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Little Rock Trojans rank lower for their field goal percentage (106th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (84th), but the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns have a better FG% ranking (163rd) than eFG% ranking (206th).
Little Rock ranks 76th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.23. Louisiana-Lafayette is ranked lower at 210th with an A/TO of .99.
Little Rock ranks 282nd in offensive rebounds, while Louisiana-Lafayette ranks 41st in defensive rebounds.
Louisiana-Lafayette makes an average of 6.5 steals per game. Little Rock has a solid 6-3 record when it allows at least 6 steals.
