It was a tough weekend on campus as the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns football team fell to Georgia State 20-17 on Homecoming. However, there’s a bright spot around Louisiana Athletics: Men’s and Women’s basketball begin their seasons in the next two weeks. Here’s an update from the weekly media availability:
FOOTBALL
Louisiana fell behind the Panthers 20-0 at one point in the contest and climbed back to a 20-17 game, but in the closing seconds, the potential game-winning touchdown pass was intercepted by Gavin Pringle to seal the victory for Georgia State.
According to Desormeaux and the Cajuns, however, everything is still in front of them.
“We talked about this as a playoff type of mindset,” Desormeaux said Monday. “The last five that we got here are all Western Division games, so there is no room for error. We know that and I think we play best when our backs are against the wall a little bit, so that’s kind of where we’re at.”
Desormeaux and the Cajuns will look to respond with a big matchup in Mobile against South Alabama this Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
For the Ragin Cajuns men’s basketball team, there are plenty of expectations in 2023. Fresh off their second Sun Belt Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Cajuns will be looking to continue that success and build off of the 2022-2023 season. However, they will be without Jordan Brown (transferred to Memphis) and Terrence Lewis Jr (graduation).
One key component to the 2023 season is that the roster doesn’t have a single senior and Marlin believes that even though the team is younger, they are still very experienced.
“Yeah, it’s a really nice thing to have guys back that have played a lot and have done a good job,” Marlin said. “I think if we will step our game up a little bit more we have the experience but just having that doesn’t do it. So we need to use that experience to our advantage because we know what to expect, we’ve been in these situations before and hopefully, it’ll help.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Gary Brodhead’s group had an up-and-down season in 2022 but has plenty of experience from a year ago returning. Players like Destiny Rice, Lanay Wheaton, and Tamera Johnson will be key contributors, while they also return Brandi Williams, a talented guard who only played in three games in 2021 before missing the entire 2022 season with injury.
The Cajuns face a tough schedule this fall with matchups against Auburn, North Texas, and the defending national champions with Kim Mulkey and LSU. That experience will pay dividends in matchups like those as well as the Sun Belt Conference grind for the Cajuns.
As the calendar turns from October to November, football and basketball will be both in full swing with the gridiron schedule reaching its final month. For Desormeaux’s team, the final five games will present challenges, but the margin of error is so small. On the hardwood, what do these new-look teams present, and can they compete for a conference title this spring?