LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
Overall record (pre-tournament): 21-11
Sun Belt record (pre-tournament): 11-7
How they reached the championship game: The No. 3-seeded Cajuns defeated Texas-Arlington 91-85 on Friday and Western Kentucky 73-72 on Saturday.
Leading scorer: Shawn Long, 19.2 per game during the regular season. He averaged 19.5 in two games against Georgia State.
Leading rebounder: Long, 10.6 per game during the regular season. He averaged 11.5 in two games against Georgia State.
Scoring offense: 81.7 points per game. They averaged 73.5 in two games against Georgia State.
Scoring defense: 75.1 points per game. They gave up an average of 78.5 in two games against Georgia State.
Other key stat: Behind Elfrid Payton's 5.9 assists per game, the Ragin' Cajuns led the league with 13.6 per game.
Against Georgia State this season: The Panthers won 77-70 in Lafayette and 80-77 at the GSU Sports Arena.
How did those games go? In the first, the Panthers rallied from a 10-point deficit in the first half behind R.J. Hunter's 33 points. He scored 29 in the second half, including a stretch of 12 consecutive points. Manny Atkins added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Panthers seemed like they had the second game locked up until Payton scored six consecutive points in the final minute to tie the score with 30 seconds left. Atkins won the game with a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining.
Key stats in those games? Georgia State made eight of 14 3-pointers in the first game and eight of 17 in the second game. Hunter made nine of those.
How do they match up with Georgia State? Very well. The outside-inside combination of Payton and Long are a handful for any team. However, they will be playing their third game in three days.
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