Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (16-8) vs South Alabama Jaguars (17-10)
Game Info: Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 6:00 pm (Hartsell Arena)
Betting Odds: Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns -1.5 -- Over/Under: 145.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The South Alabama Jaguars and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will square off at Hartsell Arena in the Quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championship this Saturday night.
The South Alabama Jaguars finished their regular season with an overall record of 16-10 and earned the 3-seed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference Championship after finishing conference play with a 10-7 record. South Alabama was able to advance to the Quarterfinals after defeating the UL Monroe Warhawks, 80-72, this past Friday. South Alabama was solid defensively against UL Monroe and was able to pull away later after taking a 76-67 lead with 4:01 left in regulation. South Alabama shot 47.8% from the field and 45.8% from beyond the arc while UL Monroe shot 37.0% from the field and 24.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Jaguars was Michael Flowers who had 34 points, 5 rebounds, & 4 assists.
On the season, South Alabama is averaging 74.3 ppg on 44.4% shooting from the field. The Jaguars are averaging 9.1 three-pointers per game on 36.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, South Alabama has been led by Michael Flowers (21.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.6 spg), Tyreke Locure (13.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg), John Pettway (10.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.4 spg), & Kayo Goncalves (9.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg).
Defensively, South Alabama is allowing their opponents to average 70.6 ppg on 40.8% shooting from the field. The Jaguars have a rebound margin of -1.6 and a turnover margin of 1.9.
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns finished their regular season with an overall record of 16-8 and earned the 2-seed in the Sun Belt West Division after finishing conference play with a 10-7 record. Louisiana was solid on the offensive side of the ball this season as they rank 105th in scoring offense and although their defense has given up some points, the Ragin’ Cajuns do rank 49th in rebound margin & 26th in blocks per game. Louisiana stood no chance against Baylor in their season opener, however, they did pick up a nice non-conference win against Louisiana Tech and had some solid success in Sun Belt play including winning 3 of their 4 games against Texas State.
On the season, Louisiana is averaging 74.2 ppg on 44.3% shooting from the field. The Ragin’ Cajuns are averaging 7.1 three-pointers per game on 35.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Louisiana has been led by Cedric Russell (17.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.2 apg), Mylik Wilson (12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg, 1.0 bpg, Theo Akwuba (11.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 2.6 bpg), & Dou Gueye (9.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.6 apg).
Defensively, Louisiana is allowing their opponents to average 72.5 ppg on 42.5% shooting from the field. The Ragin’ Cajuns have a rebound margin of 4.7 and a turnover margin of -2.7.
The Jaguars are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss.
Louisiana is a solid team, however, the Ragin’ Cajuns weren’t overly impressive down the stretch as they come into this game losing 4 of their last 7 games. South Alabama has won 8 of their last 10 games and have been led by their offense that ranks t-101st in scoring offense, 33rd in three-pointers made per game, & 51st in 3P-FG%. The Ragin’ Cajuns can struggle defensively and as I think the Michael Flowers and the Jaguars offense will have success in this one, I think the play here is to take South Alabama and the points. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick South Alabama Jaguars +1.5
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05