2023–24 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ragin' Cajuns, led by 14th-year head coach Bob Marlin, played their home games at the Cajundome as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 19–14, 10–8 in Sun Belt play to finish in fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, they defeated Coastal Carolina in the second round, before losing to Arkansas State in the quarterfinals.

2023–24 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Record19–14 (10–8 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCajundome
2023–24 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Appalachian State162 .889277  .794
James Madison153 .833324  .889
Troy135 .7222012  .625
Arkansas State117 .6112017  .541
Louisiana108 .5561914  .576
Southern Miss99 .5001616  .500
Georgia State810 .4441417  .452
South Alabama810 .4441616  .500
Georgia Southern810 .444924  .273
Marshall711 .3891320  .394
Texas State711 .3891718  .486
Louisiana–Monroe612 .3331119  .367
Coastal Carolina513 .278922  .290
Old Dominion315 .167725  .219
2024 Sun Belt tournament winner

Previous season

The Ragin' Cajuns finished the 2021–22 season 26–8, 13–5 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, they defeated Georgia Southern, Texas State, and South Alabama to win the tournament championship.[1] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the East region.[2] Then they lost to Tennessee in the first round.[3]

Preseason

Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Ragin' Cajuns were picked to finish in fifth place in the conference's preseason poll.[4] Redshirt junior Themus Fulks was named to the preseason All-SBC First Team.[4]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team (1st place Votes)
1James Madison - 176 (7)
2App State - 159 (2)
3Old Dominion - 154 (1)
4Southern Miss - 148
5Louisiana - 136 (2)
6South Alabama - 129 (2)
7Marshall - 119
8Troy - 91
9Arkansas State - 84
10Texas State - 72
11Georgia State - 69
12Coastal Carolina - 59
13Georgia Southern - 42
14ULM - 32

Roster

2023–24 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Themus Fulks 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS JrNorth Davidson HS
Dodge CC
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
F 1 Joe Charles 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrCarencro HS Carencro, Louisiana
G 2 Michael Thomas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)160 lb (73 kg) JrHamilton Christian Lake Charles, Louisiana
G 3 Chancellor White 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoFoster HS Richmond, Texas
F 4 Kobe Julien 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrMadison Preparatory Baton Rouge, Louisiana
G 5 London Fields 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrTupelo HS Tupelo, Mississippi
G 10 Blake Butler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrJeffersontown HS
East Mississippi CC
Louisville, Kentucky
G 11 Isaiah Crawford (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS FrArchbishop Shaw HS New Orleans, Louisiana
G 12 Giovanni Nannucci 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrSouth Guilford HS Greensboro, North Carolina
G 13 Brandon Hardy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrZachary HS Zachary, Louisiana
G 20 Christian Landry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrSt. Thomas More HS Lafayette, Louisiana
G 22 Kentrell Garnett 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)165 lb (75 kg) JrCatholic HS Donaldsonville, Louisiana
F 23 Kyran Ratliff 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS FrBooker T. Washington HS
Shaun Dumas Academy
New Orleans, Louisiana
G 30 Vinny Sigona 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)165 lb (75 kg) SoPrestonwood Christian Academy Plano, Texas
F 34 Hosana Kitenge 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)270 lb (122 kg) JrCharnwood College
Three Rivers CC
Crawley, England
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 17 November 2023

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2023*
7:00 p.m.
UT Tyler W 80–57 
                Cajundome 
Lafayette, LA
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
Youngstown State W 72–62  1–0
 20  Fulks  10  Charles  7  Fulks  Cajundome (2,078)
Lafayette, LA
November 11, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Toledo
MAC-SBC Challenge
L 78–87  1–1
 25  Fulks  10  Charles  5  Fulks  Savage Arena (4,290)
Toledo, OH
November 15, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Louisiana Christian W 107–56  2–1
 20  Garnett  11  Ratliff  7  Fulks  Cajundome (1,849)
Lafayette, LA
November 20, 2023*
4:00 p.m., FloHoops
vs. Wright State
Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals
L 85–91  2–2
 23  Charles  9  Charles  3  Fulks  Hertz Arena (213)
Estero, FL
November 21, 2023*
12:30 p.m., FloHoops
vs. Buffalo
Gulf Coast Showcase Consolation 2nd round
W 68–60  3–2
 30  Julien  10  Charles  3  Thomas  Hertz Arena (231)
Estero, FL
November 22, 2023*
12:30 p.m., FloHoops
vs. Long Beach State
Gulf Coast Showcase 5th place game
W 92–82  4–2
 20  Butler  10  Charles  5  Thomas  Hertz Arena (176)
Estero, FL
November 27, 2023*
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
Loyola New Orleans W 78–54  5–2
 19  Julien  7  Kitenge  3  Ratliff  Cajundome (1,565)
Lafayette, LA
November 30, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Samford L 65–88  5–3
 29  Julien  6  Julien  4  Fulks  Pete Hanna Center (1,471)
Homewood, AL
December 9, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Louisiana Tech L 67–72  5–4
 26  Julien  9  Julien  6  Fulks  Thomas Assembly Center (2,474)
Ruston, LA
December 13, 2023*
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
Eastern Kentucky W 73–62  6–4
 21  Fulks  10  Charles  4  Fulks  Cajundome (1,417)
Lafayette, LA
December 17, 2023*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at McNeese L 72–74  6–5
 19  Garnett  8  Charles  4  Fulks  The Legacy Center (4,300)
Lake Charles, LA
December 22, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Rice W 84–67  7–5
 19  Julien  16  Charles  5  Fulks  Tudor Fieldhouse (2,232)
Houston, TX
Sun Belt Conference regular season
December 30, 2023
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Marshall L 61–75  7–6
(0–1)
 11  Tied  13  Charles  2  Fulks  Cam Henderson Center (4,248)
Huntington, WV
January 4, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 19 James Madison L 61–68  7–7
(0–2)
 17  Garnett  15  Charles  3  Fulks  Cajundome (2,349)
Lafayette, LA
January 6, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Coastal Carolina W 85–77  8–7
(1–2)
 22  Charles  14  Charles  6  Fulks  Cajundome (2,383)
Lafayette, LA
January 10, 2024
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Troy L 73–79  8–8
(1–3)
 20  Julien  9  Kitenge  4  Fulks  Trojan Arena (2,798)
Troy, AL
January 13, 2024
2:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Arkansas State W 84–77  9–8
(2–3)
 25  Kitenge  7  Kitenge  7  Fulks  First National Bank Arena (2,681)
Jonesboro, AR
January 17, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Texas State W 86–68  10–8
(3–3)
 18  Julien  10  Charles  10  Fulks  Strahan Arena (2,858)
San Marcos, TX
January 20, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at South Alabama W 88–79  11–8
(4–3)
 24  Julien  11  Kitenge  4  Fulks  Mitchell Center (2,991)
Mobile, AL
January 26, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Arkansas State
Rescheduled from January 25th
W 81–75  12–8
(5–3)
 21  Julien  10  Charles  5  Fulks  Cajundome (1,874)
Lafayette, LA
January 28, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN+
Texas State W 66–46  13–8
(6–3)
 23  Fulks  13  Charles  3  Garnett  Cajundome (1,392)
Lafayette, LA
January 31, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Louisiana–Monroe W 80–72  14–8
(7–3)
 19  Tied  11  Charles  4  Fulks  Cajundome (1,668)
Lafayette, LA
February 3, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
South Alabama W 80–60  15–8
(8–3)
 18  Kitenge  15  Charles  3  Tied  Cajundome (1,873)
Lafayette, LA
February 7, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Georgia State L 69–78  15–9
(8–4)
 28  Julien  11  Charles  4  Fulks  Cajundome (1,613)
Lafayette, LA
February 11, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Bowling Green
MAC-SBC Challenge
W 86–60  16–9
 17  Fulks  10  Kitenge  3  Tied  Cajundome (914)
Lafayette, LA
February 15, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Old Dominion W 68–60  17–9
(9–4)
 14  Julien  17  Kitenge  6  Fulks  Chartway Arena (5,265)
Norfolk, VA
February 17, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Appalachian State L 73–85  17–10
(9–5)
 23  Kitenge  13  Kitenge  4  Fulks  Holmes Center (6,587)
Boone, NC
February 22, 2024
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Louisiana–Monroe L 59–66  17–11
(9–6)
 16  Kitenge  16  Charles  4  Fulks  Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,467)
Monroe, LA
February 24, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Southern Miss L 71–82  17–12
(9–7)
 26  Charles  7  Charles  6  Fulks  Reed Green Coliseum (4,845)
Hattiesburg, MS
February 28, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Troy L 73–87  17–13
(9–8)
 21  Julien  8  Charles  2  Kitenge  Cajundome (1,418)
Lafayette, LA
March 1, 2024
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
Southern Miss W 77–61  18–13
(10–8)
 16  Charles  14  Charles  3  Tied  Cajundome (5,011)
Lafayette, LA
Sun Belt tournament
March 7, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
(5) vs. (13) Coastal Carolina
Second round
W 80–66  19–13
 25  Julien  10  Charles  4  Tied  Pensacola Bay Center (882)
Pensacola, FL
March 9, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
(5) vs. (4) Arkansas State
Quarterfinals
L 62–89  19–14
 15  Tied  6  Charles  2  Thomas  Pensacola Bay Center (2,059)
Pensacola, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[5][6]

References

  1. "Sun Belt Men's Championship: Louisiana-Lafayette come up clutch late to take down South Alabama". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  2. "Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, a 13-seed in NCAA Tournament, will face Tennessee in March Madness". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  3. "Louisiana 55-58 Tennessee (Mar 16, 2023) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  4. "James Madison Tops Sun Belt Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". sunbeltsports.org. October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  5. "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Ragin' Cajuns Athletics. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  6. "2023-24 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Men 's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
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