2020–21 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ragin' Cajuns, led by eleventh-year head coach Bob Marlin, played their home games at the Cajundome as members of the Sun Belt Conference. With the creation of divisions to cut down on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they played in the West Division.

2020–21 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record17–9 (10–7 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Neil Hardin
  • Brock Morris
  • Josten Crow
Home arenaCajundome
Seasons
2020–21 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Georgia State 8 4   .667 16 6   .727
Coastal Carolina 9 5   .643 18 8   .692
South Alabama 10 7   .588 17 11   .607
Appalachian State 7 8   .467 17 12   .586
Georgia Southern 7 9   .438 13 13   .500
Troy 4 12   .250 11 17   .393
West
Texas State 12 3   .800 18 7   .720
Louisiana 10 7   .588 17 9   .654
UT Arlington 9 8   .529 13 13   .500
Arkansas State 7 8   .467 11 13   .458
Little Rock 7 11   .389 11 15   .423
Louisiana–Monroe 5 13   .278 7 19   .269
2021 Sun Belt Tournament winner

Previous season

edit

The Ragin' Cajuns finished the 2019–20 season 14–19,[1] 8–12 in Sun Belt play to finish eighth in the conference.[2] The Cajuns proceeded to the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. They ultimately lost to the Georgia Southern Eagles in heartbreaking fashion by the score of 81–82 in the second round. Shortly after their elimination, all sporting events as well as the finale of the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Offseason

edit

Departures

edit
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jalen Johnson 1 F 6'7" 205 Junior Baton Rouge, Louisiana Transfer to
Mississippi State
Javonne Lowery 5 G 6'3" 175 Freshman Pearland, Texas Released/Quit
Tirus Smith 11 F 6'8" 230 Junior Richton, Mississippi Released/Quit
P. J. Hardy 15 G 6'1" 170 Senior Lake Charles, Louisiana Graduated
Calvin Temple 22 G 6'0" 170 Freshman Memphis, Tennessee Released/Quit
Mason Aucoin 31 G 6'4" 205 Senior Luling, Louisiana Graduated
Kristian Lafayette 35 F 6'10" 200 Sophomore Detroit, Michigan Released/Quit
Jaylon Williams 55 G 6'2" 185 Freshman Franklin, Louisiana Released/Quit

Transfers

edit
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Old School
Devin Butts 1 G 6'6" 180 Sophomore Macon, Georgia Mississippi State
Jacobi Gordon 5 F 6'7" 220 Junior Houston, Texas California
Brayan Au 41 G 6'4" 190 Junior Nuevo Casas Grande, Mexico Ranger College
Theo Akwuba - F 6'11" 225 Junior Montgomery, Alabama Portland

Recruiting

edit
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Michael Thomas
Guard
Lake Charles, LA Hamilton Christian 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Nov 18, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Kentrell Garnett
Forward
Donaldsonville, LA Catholic HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Isaiah Richards
Forward
Brooklyn, NY South Shore HS
Commonwealth Academy
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) May 15, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Louisiana 2020-21 Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  • "2020-21 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.

Roster

edit
2020–21 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 0 Cedric Russell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Alexandria, Louisiana
G 1 Devin Butts 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Macon, Georgia
G 2 Michael Thomas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Lake Charles, Louisiana
G 3 Trajan Wesley 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Navasota, Texas
F 4 Kobe Julien 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Baton Rouge, Louisiana
F 5 Jacobi Gordon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Houston, Texas
F 10 Theo Akwuba 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Montgomery, Alabama
G 11 Durey Cadwell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Houston, Texas
G 13 Mylik Wilson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Rayville, Louisiana
G 22 Kentrell Garnett 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Donaldsonville, Louisiana
F 23 Dou Gueye 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Dakar, Senegal
F 25 Chris Spenkuch 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Pembroke Pines, Florida
F 35 Isaiah Richards 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Brooklyn, New York
G 41 Brayan Au 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico
G 55 Ty Harper 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Norcross, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: March 27, 2021

Schedule and results

edit
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference Regular season
11/28/2020*
7:00 p.m., FloHoops
No. 2 Baylor
Men's Vegas Bubble
L 82–112  0–1
 26  Russell   8  Akwuba   3  Gueye  T-Mobile Arena 
Paradise, NV
12/02/2020*
7:00 p.m.
at New Orleans W 66–63  1–1
 21  Wilson   15  Akwuba   6  Au  Lakefront Arena (500)
New Orleans, LA
12/05/2020*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
LSU–Shreveport W 84–73  2–1
 17  Tied   11  Tied   7  Wilson  Cajundome (272)
Lafayette, LA
12/08/2020*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
LSU–Alexandria W 90–75  3–1
 19  Russell   17  Gueye   6  Wilson  Cajundome (349)
Lafayette, LA
12/12/2020*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Louisiana Tech W 61–56  4–1
 25  Russell   10  Akwuba   2  Butts  Cajundome (1,459)
Lafayette, LA
12/15/2020*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
New Orleans W 73–63  5–1
 20  Russell   14  Akwuba   7  Au  Cajundome (366)
Lafayette, LA
12/18/2020*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at VCU Cancelled due to NCAA scheduling limitations.[4] Siegel Center 
Richmond, VA
12/19/2020*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
McNeese State W 75–65  6–1
 23  Russell   13  Gueye   7  Au  Cajundome (314)
Lafayette, LA
Conference Regular season
01/01/2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Texas State W 83–77 OT 7–1
(1–0)
 22  Butts   11  Wilson   4  Au  Cajundome (1,312)
Lafayette, LA
01/02/2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Texas State L 59–71  7–2
(1–1)
 14  Wilson   9  Akwuba   3  Wilson  Cajundome (416)
Lafayette, LA
01/08/2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Little Rock W 66–64  8–2
(2–1)
 12  Tied   13  Akwuba   4  Au  Cajundome (457)
Lafayette, LA
01/09/2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Little Rock L 76–78 OT 8–3
(2–2)
 17  Tied   10  Akwuba   3  3 tied  Cajundome (405)
Lafayette, LA
01/15/2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at UT Arlington L 86–91  8–4
(2–3)
 17  Russell   10  Akwuba   6  Au  College Park Center (624)
Arlington, TX
01/16/2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
at UT Arlington W 68–51  9–4
(3–3)
 25  Wilson   16  Wilson   3  3 tied  College Park Center (624)
Arlington, TX
01/22/2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Arkansas State W 81–68  10–4
(4–3)
 26  Russell   10  Akwuba   4  Au  Cajundome (669)
Lafayette, LA
01/23/2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Arkansas State W 77–74  11–4
(5–3)
 14  Tied   9  Akwuba   6  Au  Cajundome (464)
Lafayette, LA
01/29/2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Texas State W 62–60  12–4
(6–3)
 21  Russell   10  Gueye   2  3 tied  Strahan Arena (853)
San Marcos, TX
01/30/2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Texas State W 74–73  13–4
(7–3)
 24  Russell   5  Au   6  Au  Strahan Arena (935)
San Marcos, TX
02/05/2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Arkansas State L 87–95  13–5
(7–4)
 23  Gueye   14  Gueye   4  Au  First National Bank Arena (605)
Jonesboro, AR
02/06/2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Arkansas State L 77–83  13–6
(7–5)
 30  Russell   8  Gueye   2  Butts  First National Bank Arena (734)
Jonesboro, AR
02/11/2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Louisiana–Monroe L 66–72  13–7
(7–6)
 13  Russell   12  Akwuba   3  Wilson  Cajundome (452)
Lafayette, LA
02/13/2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Louisiana–Monroe W 88–72  14–7
(8–6)
 20  Wilson   7  Akwuba   7  Wilson  Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,750)
Monroe, LA
02/19/2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
UT Arlington Cancelled due to weather concerns.[5] Cajundome 
Lafayette, LA
02/22/2021
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
UT Arlington W 76–74  15–7
(9–6)
 26  Russell   8  Wilson   5  Wilson  Cajundome (389)
Lafayette, LA
02/26/2021
6:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Little Rock W 66–61  16–7
(10–6)
 13  Akwuba   9  Gueye   4  Gueye  Jack Stephens Center (410)
Little Rock, AR
02/27/2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Little Rock L 59–69  16–8
(10–7)
 13  Russell   16  Akwuba   4  Wilson  Jack Stephens Center 
Little Rock, AR
Sun Belt tournament
03/06/2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
(W2) vs. (E3) South Alabama
Quarterfinals
W 79–68  17–8
 19  Akwuba   14  Akwuba   6  Wilson  Hartsell Arena 
Pensacola, FL
03/07/2021
5:30 pm, ESPN+
(W2) vs. (E1) Georgia State
Semifinals
L 73–84  17–9
 20  Russell   9  Gueye   6  Wilson  Pensacola Bay Center 
Pensacola, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

[6]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "2019-20 Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "2018-19 Men's Basketball Standings". sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  3. ^ "Sun Belt Conference Basketball 2020: Men's tournament canceled". msn.com. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  4. ^ Epps, Wayne (December 11, 2020). "VCU cancels Dec. 18 game vs. Louisiana". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  5. ^ "Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's, women's basketball games impacted by winter weather". www.msn.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  6. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ragin' Cajuns Athletics. Retrieved November 16, 2020.