Oh, did I mention that the Apps are 4 point favorites! We haven't seen that very often in recent seasons.Nonetheless, we need to keep it realistic. UL-L just beat Troy 91-64 in the CajunDome Saturday night. They exploded for 62 points on 68% shooting in the second half. They've been a second-half team throughout the early season. They'll be looking to go 3-0 in the SunBelt with a win.
The Cajuns are led by 6-9 245 C/F Shawn Long, a candidate for SunBelt player of the year; and sharp-shooting soph G Jay Wright, who lead all scorers Saturday night with a 28 point performance against Troy.
At the very least, the Apps are going to get tested early and often. Be there if you possibly can! The dorms aren't open yet; campus food services are still closed. We can't expect a huge student turnout.
*Flashback* The last time the Ragin' Cajuns were in The HIgh Country was for a basketball game in the '90-'91 season. The Apps were off to a HOT start under coach Tom Apke and were on a five game December win streak including wins over UNC-W, Montana State, UNCC and ECU. Hopes were sky-high for a break-out Mountaineer season.
The team then known as Southwest Louisiana rolled into VG with a 6-9, 6-9, 6-8, 6-6, 6-3 starting lineup and played the entire game over the heads of the much shorter Apps. They put on a slam-dunk show on the court; and their coach, former VMI mentor Marty Fletcher (dressed like a Brooks Brothers model), put on a show on the sideline. The Cajuns left town with an 89-84 win--but it seemed much worse than that. They left the Apps embarrassed and App fans with a bad taste in their mouths. I, for one, have never forgotten. I've waited a long time for this game tonight.
Anyway, the Apps really never recovered from that experience and finished the season just over .500--a huge disappointment at the time. TA never recovered. It was all downhill for the Apps until TA's contract was non-renewed and a guy named Buzz was hired. You know the rest of that story!
