Louisiana Men's Basketball has never shied away from the high expectations placed on them in 2023.
The Cajuns were the preseason favorites to win the Sun Belt, they went 10-2 in non conference, and even though they started SBC play with back to back losses, their confidence never wavered.
Louisiana is now the hottest team in the sun belt. The Cajuns are currently on a 4 game win streak And are tied for 1st in the SBC.
It's because UL's offense has been on fire. The Cajuns currently rank 25th in the nation in scoring with 81.2 points per game. They rank 11th in 3 point percentage at 39.5%. And in field goal percentage, they're 10th at 49.6%.
Head coach Bob Marlin says it's a testament to the team chemistry.
"Just playing together. If you go back and look, last year we won 6 of 8 to close (the season). Went 3-0 on the Puerto Rico trip, 14-4 now. We're used to winning," Marlin said. "The more we've played together, the more we've got accustomed. We've been fortunate to avoid injury. We've been able to start the same lineup every game and everybody understands their roles."
Meanwhile, UL Women's hoops split their 2 games this past week with South Alabama and Troy. But even in the loss to the Trojans, there were several positives to take away.
Troy was pegged as the preseason favorites to win the Sun Belt, yet UL pushed them to overtime on the road.
The Cajuns also scored 78 in the game, which is a season high against d1 opponents.
UL has the 2nd worst offense in the SBC, but in their last 3 contests, they are averaging close to 72 points per game. That shows their offense is trending in the right direction.
"I think we're getting better at picking our shots," Cajuns assistant coach Deacon Jones said. "I think the ones who are taking the shots are not settling. In the past, we were settling for shots. Now, we're shooting our shots. Shooting is all about confidence. Now, we are shooting instead of settling."
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