30 Opponents in 30(ish) Days - Day 3: Louisiana-Lafayette

Normally I won't be posting these on Fridays, however, with the bye week and a couple of days that I'll have to make up to get the 30 in 30(ish) days to be a true headline I present to you the third installment of primers on the Men's Basketball opponents this season.

Team: Louisiana-Lafayette
Date/Time: 11-17/4:00 pm
Where: Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas
Coach: Bob Marlin
Number of returning starters: 4
Key losses: Alan-Michael Thompson (Europe)
Key returnees: Elfrid Payton, Shawn Long

Bob Marlin enters his 4th year as head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns, returning 4 starters from a team that went 8-12 in Sun Belt Conference play and 13-20 overall. They lose arguably their most athletic player in Alan-Michael Thompson, yet return the bulk of their scoring with both Elfrid Payton and Shawn Long averaging nearly 16 points each.

Marlin might be a familiar face to a select few of you as he coached Sam Houston State from 1998 until 2010, making an impressive two NCAA tournament appearances with the Bearkats including a 25-8 record and first place in the Southland conference in 2010 before making the jump to Louisiana-Lafayette. Easily their most valuable asset, I don't think any amount of coaching skill should be able to overcome our Baylor Bears with Marlin's current roster.

Last year, Louisiana-Lafayette averaged almost 71 points but shot an abysmal 42% from the field. They weren't that great at rebounding either, and well ... there's a reason this team ended the season 13-20.

We'll most likely see a quick start from the Ragin' Cajuns, as well as a handful of mini-runs in the first half, but this game, as most, will be overcome by our bigs. Expect a monster game from Cory Jefferson and a stat stuffed game from Ishmail Wainwright as well as extended time for the younger players on our roster.

Prediction: Baylor 84 Lousiana-Lafayette 63

TL;DR version: You're going to hear the names "Payton" and "Long" but ... it's Baylor vs. Lousiana-Lafayette. Come on now. Bears big.

As always be sure to write your predictions below for a chance to win a prize, like so:

Subject: Baylor 84 Lousiana-Lafayette 63
Body: My commentary about your commentary is absolutely commentary.