LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Men's Basketball will begin its 108th season against West Florida at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Cajundome. The game will be available to be streamed live on ESPN+.
Louisiana brings a reloaded roster into the 2021-22 campaign following a 17-9 record and a trip to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals a year ago.
Following a busy offseason, the Ragin' Cajuns begin head coach Bob Marlin's 12th year at the helm returning 10 players along with six newcombers.
With the departures of Cedric Russell, Mylik Wilson, Devin Butts and Chris Spenkuch, Louisiana lost 53.1 percent of their offensive production from last year, but made several notable additions through the transfer portal along with the arrival of the 2021 signing class.
The biggest splash of summer came on May 28 when Jordan Brown, the reigning Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year and the No. 19 recruit in the 2018 class announced his commitment to the program following one year stints at Nevada and Arizona.
Additional newcomers include junior Greg Williams, Jr., a former three-star recruit who played three seasons at St. John's, sophomore Antwann Jones the 21st ranked shooting guard in the 2018 class who played his first two years at Memphis and Creighton, respectively, and junior Jalen Dalcourt a graduate of Lafayette High School who competed last season at San Jose State.
Fans can also listen to the game on ragincajuns.com.
SEASON OPENERS
Louisiana is 41-33 in season openers dating back to the 1945-46 season, including a 7-4 record in the Marlin era. The Ragin' Cajuns also hold 30-6 record in home-opening contests since the opening of the Cajundome in 1985.
Last season, Louisiana lost 112-82 to the eventual national champions Baylor in the Vegas Bubble tournament.
SERIES NOTES
Tuesday night will mark the second meeting between the two programs with Louisiana winning 96-79 on Nov. 30, 1968. On Nov. 3, 2016, the teams squared off in a preseason exhibition with Louisiana winning 94-72.
The Ragin' Cajuns are 9-1 all-time against Gulf South Conference opponents.
PRESEAON TUNE-UP
In Louisiana's only preseason competition, the Ragin' Cajuns were narrowly defeated by No. 14 Alabama 73-68 in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 24. Proceeds from the game benefited the United Way of West Alabama. The Ragin' Cajuns got out to a hot start and held a one-point lead at the break before the eventual loss. Junior Kobe Julien led the way with 17 points and five steals. Dalcourt contributed 12 points in 25 minutes off the bench. In his first action in a Louisiana uniform, Brown posted seven points and grabbed nine boards.
LOUISIANA LEGACY
Louisiana's 2021-22 roster features two second-generation talents in Julien and Brown. Julien's father Wayne was with the program from 1976-81 and was a member of 1977 Southland Conference championship team.
Dion Brown lettered for the Ragin' Cajuns from 1980-84 and finished his career as one of the top scorers and rebounders in school history. Brown, a 1984 graduate of UL, earned All-Southland Conference honors in 1982 and was a two-time All-Louisiana selection.
He finished his career with 1,412 points and 926 rebounds (then second in school history) and helped then-USL to the championship of the 1982 Great Alaskan Shootout where he was named to the All-Tournament team.
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