Winners of nine straight, Texas State men’s basketball (21-6 overall, 12-3 Sun Belt) starts tournament season on one of the longest win streaks in program history.
The Bobcats will look to continue their win streak in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (14-14 Overall, 8-9 Sun Belt) on Saturday in Pensacola, Florida.
No matter the result, the team will be in action in a post-season tournament. But the team surely has its sights set on March Madness. However, failure to win the conference tournament, which they enter as the number one seed, would still mean an automatic bid to play in the NIT in New York City since the Bobcats have secured the conference’s regular season title.
Along with the regular season throne, three members of the team received Sun Belt accolades: Coach of the Year for Head Coach Terrence Johnson, All-Sun Belt first team for senior guard Caleb Asberry and All-Sun Belt second team for senior guard Mason Harrell.
While individual awards look good in a personal trophy case, the team has added hardware to the team’s display, doing so on both ends of the floor, leading the Sun Belt in the three main shooting categories, shooting an efficient 46.9% from field goal range, 38.1% from three-point range and 76.4% from the free-throw line. While also limiting opponents to Sun Belt’s second-best scoring defense at just 62.5 points per game.
To reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997, the team must start by winning its quarterfinal matinee with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The previous two matchups against the Ragin’ Cajuns went well for the Bobcats. Texas State won the first matchup between the two teams at home on Jan. 15, 72-68, and defeated Louisiana again on Feb. 10, 82-73.
The Cajuns could not slow down the Bobcats leading scorer, Asberry, down in either matchup as he comes in averaging 19 points in both contests. In the second game between the two, the ‘Cats made 10 three-pointers matching the most they made in a game this season, having done it two other times.
In the final regular season game between the two, Texas State held Louisiana’s leading scorer, sophomore forward Jordan Brown to just six points. The Cajun’ that had the most scoring success against the Bobcats was redshirt freshman forward Kobe Julien, who averaged 20 points per in two games.
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Scorching hot Bobcats seek to tame the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
Dillon Strine, Sports Contributor
March 5, 2022
Texas State senior guard Caleb Asberry (5) attempts to get past a Ragin’ Cajun defender during a game against the University of Louisiana, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, at Strahan Arena. The Bobcats won 72-68.
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