Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (19-13) vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves (16-15)
March 9, 2024 3:00 pm EDT
The Line: Arkansas State Red Wolves -1.5; Over/Under: +153.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns and the Arkansas State Red Wolves meet in college basketball action from the Pensacola Bay Center on Saturday afternoon. Who advances in Saturday’s Sun Belt tournament quarterfinal? Let’s dive in and find out with our Louisiana vs. Arkansas State Prediction.
Louisiana Team Preview
The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns come into the quarters after taking out Coastal Carolina 80-66 in the second round last time out. Kobe Julien led the Cajuns in scoring with 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting with 6 rebounds and 3 assists while Hosana Kitenge added 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Kentrell Garnett added 11 points on 4 of 8 shooting with 3 threes and a team-high 4 assists to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for Louisiana in the win. Michael Thomas added 7 points with 4 assists of his own and Joe Charles grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in the win.
More College Basketball Picks: Binghamton vs New Hampshire Prediction!
Arkansas State Team Preview
The Arkansas State Red Wolves come into the conference tournament as the 4-seed, finishing the year at 16-15 overall including an 11-7 mark in Sun Belt conference play. Taryn Todd leads the Red Wolves in scoring with 12.7 PPG along with 3.3 RPG and 2.4 APG while Caleb Fields has 12.1 PPG with a team-high 5.8 APG to lead A-State in assists. Dyondre Dominguez has 11.2 PPG with 6.5 RPG while Derrian Ford has 10.4 PPG with 4.6 RPG to round out the scoring in double figures for Arkansas State so far this season. Freddy Hicks has 9.8 PPG with 4.9 RPG and Izaiyah Nelson also has 9.1 PPG and a team-high 6.9 RPG to lead the Red Wolves on the glass up to this point in the year. As a team, Arkansas State is averaging 79 PPG on 44.2% shooting from the field, 34.9% from three and 69.6% from the foul line this season.
Louisiana vs. Arkansas State Prediction
I’m on Louisiana here. The Red Wolves have the slightly better offense, but Arkansas State shoots a ton of shots from behind the arc and despite their short-comings, the Cajuns have the best 3-point defense in the country. Louisiana also swept A-State in the regular season and spots would’ve likely been flipped had Louisiana not gone cold to end the year. I’ll side with the Cajuns to advance in this one.
