North Texas travels to Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana-Lafayette for a Wednesday battle between the two conference members. UL-L, (10-11, 4-3) lost five seniors from last years team but they do have three starters and three contributors returning. Coach Bob Marlin is returning for his second season. Last year the Cajuns went 14-15 but were plagued with injuries. In spite of the injuries, at the end of the season they won eleven in a row to claim part of the West Division Title.

Things revolve around J.J. Thomas who leads the team in scoring with 11 points a game. He has played only 15 games this season with seven starts due to a continuing problem with his knee. He leads the team in free throws and second in three points. He also leads the team in turnovers with 3.1 per game. Last year he was named Louisiana Freshman of the Year and named third team All-Louisiana.

Josh Brown is second in scoring with with 10.3 points a game and is the leading scorer for the Cajuns in three games. The final player in double digits is Kadeem Coleby putting in 10.2 points a game but has been the leading scorer in six games the most of any Cajun player. Just outside double digit scoring is Darshawn McClellan with 9.4 points a game and is the leading scorer in four games. 

They use a lot of players throughout the game. The Cajuns have seven players averaging 20 or more minutes per game. So they have a lot of fresh players at the end of the game.

While they are known as a defensive team they are just as effective on the offensive side of the ball.

They average 70 points a game while holding opponents to 67. From three point range they put in 5.7 shots per game averaging .354% from beyond the arc. They are +2.5 in rebounds per game getting 37.6 rebounds to 35.1. Opponents get 16.4 turnovers per game while the Cajuns only get 14.6 turnovers. 

The key to UL-L is their bench play. It is what wins games for them. In all but six games the Cajun bench has outscored opponents. When they don't it is generally a loss.

What is unique to UL-L is the scoring, they have several players to count on. When one player is in a slump another player is there to pick up the slack. So when an opponent is able to shut down one shooter there are three more capable of putting the ball in.

UL-L likes to score inside the paint using the three point shot to loosen up the defense. If forced to go outside they have the shooters that are able to hit from downtown.

North Texas can expect a team that will be in their faces every time they shoot. UL-L will be all over Roger Franklin and Tony Mitchell forcing other players to win the game. North Texas' bench has to answer the UL-L bench point for point to have a chance to win. When UL-L gets out-rebounded and shoots below 30% they lose. So, look for North Texas to be aggressive under the basket on both ends of the court, they can't give UL-L anything.

UL-L got a lot of national exposure this year when they beat Western Kentucky 72-70 in overtime with six players on the court which led to the firing the next day of the WKU's head coach.

North Texas, 5-2, is in a three way tie for first with Denver and Arkansas-Little Rock. UL-L is one game behind at 4-3.