Cajuns Open Season With Loss to Top-Ranked Baylor
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns began their 2020-2021 men's regular-season college basketball schedule on a sour note on Saturday night.
Louisiana fell to the top-ranked Baylor Bears, 112-82, in the Vegas Bubble in Las Vegas, Nevada, representing the season opener for both teams.
Louisiana, playing without the likes of Trajan Wesley, Kobe Julien, Jacobi Gordon, and Durey Caldwell, who are all nursing injuries, kept things close early before Baylor showed why they are the nation's top-ranked team.
A Theo Akwuba field goal at the 9:14 mark got UL to within 23-22 before the Bears went on a 15-0 run over the next 4:52, which extended their lead to 38-22 with 4:22 remaining in the half.
From there, Louisiana outscored Baylor, 18-15, the remainder of the half, but it was the Bears holding a 53-40 lead at the halftime break.
Baylor outshot Louisiana in the first half, 56%-47%, including a 60%-20% advantage from beyond the three-point arc, while also outrebounding the Cajuns, 20-15.
Davion Mitchell led the Bears in the first half, scoring 13 points, while MaCio Teague added 13.
For Louisiana over the first 20 minutes, Brayan Au scored 12 points and Akwuba 11, while Dou Gueye pulled down six rebounds.
The Beas kept the pressure on the Cajuns in the second half, extending their lead to 20 points, 67-47, at the 15:26 mark of the second half, before moving out to a 100-67 advantage, their biggest lead of the contest, at the 4:24 mark of the second half.
That was more than enough for Baylor, as they went on to the 112-82 triumph
Baylor finished up outshooting Louisiana from the field, 56%-52%, including a 56%-32% advantage from beyond the three-point arc, while also outrebounding UL, 41-29.
Teague led the way for the Bears, finishing with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Mitchell added 18 and six assists.
In a losing cause for the Cajuns, Cedric Russell scored 26 points, including 19 in the second half, while Akwuba added 22 points and eight rebounds in his UL debut.
With the victory, Baylor improved to 1-0 on the young season, while Louisiana dropped to 0-1.
The Cajuns are scheduled to return to action on Wednesday evening when they hit the road to take on New Orleans, but there is a slight chance they will play one more game in Las Vegas..