Cajuns, Aces To Tangle in CIT Quarterfinals at Blackham Coliseum

Like old times?

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns haven't played regularly at Blackham Coliseum since the 1984-85 season.

Louisiana hasn't played Evansville since way back in 1971, when both were in the "College Division" of the NCAA.

The two teams will meet at the storied old venue Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the College Insider Tournament when the Purple Aces (21-12) and the Ragin' Cajuns (22-13) meet for an opportunity to continue their respective seasons.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30pm.

Evansville, out of the Missouri Valley Conference, finished league play at 9-9 but among those nine wins was an upset of Northern Iowa, a team that was a #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  The Aces also have wins over OVC Tournament Champion Belmont along with Miami (FL) and Fresno State as well as two point losses to Green Bay and Murray State.

Evansville is led by a pair of MVC all-conference selections.  Junior guard D. J. Balentine averages 19.2 ppg and led the Missouri Valley in scoring.  He shoots 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from beyond the arc and 74% from the free throw line.  6-10 Egidiju Mockevicius averages 12.5 and 10.0 rebounds per game and is an 83 percent free throw shooter.

Evansville doesn't shoot the three point basket often, as they average only 4.2 triples made per game.  They've shot 389 times from beyond the arc in comparison to Louisiana's 651 attempts on the season.  6-6 Villanova transfer Mislav Brzoja comes off the bench to add eight points and four rebounds per contest.

The winner moves on to the semifinals against an opponent to be determined next Tuesday night.