Cajuns Head North to Take On ULM

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns wrap up three straight games away from the Cajundome when they take on the ULM Warhawks Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm and can be heard on HOT 107.9 (KHXT-FM).

This will be the 78th meeting in a series that dates back to 1951. The Cajuns lead the all time series 54-23 and are 20-17 against the Warhawks in Monroe. Since the teams have been Sun Belt Conference members (2006-07) the Cajuns hold a 17-8 advantage, including the last five games in a row.

The Cajuns (11-6, 2-2 Sun Belt) are coming off a split in their Georgia swing, losing to Georgia State 89-76 before taking an 87-85 win at Georgia Southern on Saturday.

ULM (9-7, 2-2) dropped both of their games in heartbreaking fashion in the Peach State, falling on buzzer beaters to both Georgia Southern (79-78) and Georgia State (74-73).

Louisiana Coach Bob Marlin is 21-7 in his career against the Warhawks, 11-5 since becoming the head coach at Louisiana. ULM Coach Keith Richard is 10-17 against the Cajuns, including a 5-6 record while at Louisiana Tech (1998-2007).

The Cajuns will face a ULM squad that has not lost this season at Fant-Ewing Coliseum (7-0). They are led by senior transfer Daishon Smith who leads the league in three point percentage (.460) and three pointers per game (3.5). He is second in the league in scoring (20.8) and free throw percentage (.865) and is also in the top ten in field goal percentage (.494), assists (3.3) and steals (2.0). Michael Ertel, the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year a year ago, adds 15.0 points per contest, while senior Travis Munnings (13.1) and newcomer J. D. Williams (12.1) also score in double figures for ULM.

ULM has been an excellent shooting team, leading the league in three point percentage (.398), three pointers per game (9.8) and free throw percentage (.780).

The Cajuns will look for JaKeenan Gant to continue his dominant play in the league. The senior from Springfield, GA has upped his game since the season ending injury to Malik Marquetti. In the four conference games, Gant leads the league in scoring (30.5) and rebounding (10.0), while ranking second in field goal percentage (.634) and blocked shots (2.3) and fourth in free throw percentage (.885).

The Cajuns will return home next week, facing South Alabama on Thursday and Troy on Saturday.