The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will travel to Toledo, Ohio to face the Toledo Rockets at the Savage Arena on Saturday night with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 PM ET, and the game will air on ESPN+.

Louisiana finished last season with a record of 26-8 and a Sun Belt Conference record of 13-5 while also winning the Asheville Tournament during the regular season which led to a 2^nd place finish in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin’ Cajuns would end up winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament by defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles in the Quarterfinals by a score of 67-49, the Texas State Bobcats in the Semifinals by a score of 64-58, and the South Alabama Jaguars in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship game by a score of 71-66 which earned the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, however, they were eliminated early in the tournament as they lost to the Tennessee Volunteers in the 1^st round by a score of 55-58. Based on the Sun Belt Coaches Poll the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns are projected to be the 5^th best team in the Conference and are projected to finish behind the James Madison Dukes, Appalachian State Mountaineers, Old Dominion Monarchs, and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. 

The Toledo Rockets finished last season with a record of 27-8 and a MAC record of 16-2 which led to a regular season MAC Championship. The Rockets ended the regular season on a 15-game winning streak and won their first two games of the MAC Conference Tournament by defeating the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks by a score of 91-75 in the Quarterfinals and the Ohio Bobcats in the Semifinals by a score of 82-75 which extended their winning streak to 17 games heading into the MAC Conference Championship game against the Kent State Golden Flashes, however, they would fail to win their 18^th game in a row as they lost to the Golden Flashes in the Championship game by a score of 78-93 and they would not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament despite finishing with 27 wins and being the Sun Belt Champion during the regular season, however, they would receive an invite to the NIT but were eliminated in the 1^st round against the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 80-90.

BookMaker has the Toledo Rockets listed as 6.5-point favorites at home against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun on Saturday night. These teams have only played each other once before this meeting which resulted in a 77-64 win for the Toledo Rockets at home as well as a 3-point cover as a home underdog. The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns are 1-0 ATS overall this season following a 72-62 win at home against the Youngstown State Penguins while the Toledo Rockets are 1-0 ATS overall, 1-0 ATS as a favorite, and 1-0 ATS at home on the year following a 94-60 win at home against the Detroit Titans.

Both teams are projected to finish in the top half of their respective conferences, however, Toledo is the more talented and more experienced team in this matchup while also playing at home. The Rockets covered the spread the last time these teams played each other and I look for that to be the case in this matchup which is why I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the Toledo Rockets when they host the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns on Saturday night.