2017 – 18 Louisiana Ragin ' Cajuns men 's basketball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during the 2017 – 18 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The Ragin ' Cajuns were led by eighth-year head coach Bob Marlin and played their home games at the Cajundome as members in the Sun Belt Conference . They finished the season 27 – 7 , 16 – 2 in Sun Belt play to win the Sun Belt regular season championship . The conference championship was the school 's first since first regular-season title since sharing the 2000 title and its first outright title since joining the conference in 1991 . They defeated Texas State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament before losing in the semifinals to Texas – Arlington . As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament , they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the First Round to LSU . Head coach Bob Marlin sparked controversy after it was announced that the Cajuns would play in-state rival LSU in the NIT , believing the Cajuns were the better team and should have been given home-court advantage . He also said of LSU , " Sometimes , a team that tied for ninth in their league is n’t interested in playing . But they have n’t been very good for a couple of years , so the NIT is a big step for them . " Late in the game , which LSU won , Marlin and LSU head coach Will Wade had to be restrained while yelling at each other . The Ragin ' Cajuns finished the 2016 – 17 season 21 – 12 , 10 – 8 in Sun Belt play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place . They defeated Little Rock in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament before losing to Georgia State in the quarterfinals . They did not participate in a postseason tournament
Sun Belt Tournament
2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
2017–18 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team