GAME NOTES: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns will hit the road to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in a non-conference tilt at the Reynolds Center as part of the MGM Grand Main Event.

Louisiana, last season's Sun Belt Conference champion, started its season Friday night right where the team left off at the end of the 2013-14 campaign by defeating Louisiana College, 85-57. The Cajuns are coming off a season in which they finished 23-12 overall with an 11-7 mark in conference play.

Tulsa was also in action over the weekend, but played on Saturday night against Oral Roberts. The Golden Hurricane fell in the contest on the road, 77-68. Tulsa is coming off a 2013-14 campaign in which the team won the Conference USA tournament and went on to the NCAA Tournament.

The Golden Hurricane lead the all-time series with the Ragin' Cajuns, 2-1. On the road, the Cajuns have lost both times at Tulsa in their program history.

It was a fantastic 2013-14 season for Louisiana, which saw its point guard, Elfrid Payton, selected in the top 10 picks of the NBA Draft over the summer. Payton was an absolute force with the ball in his hands, as the lanky point guard has a keen eye and a knack for scoring in the lane. Since he's no longer on the roster, the go-to player for Louisiana this season will almost certainly be Shawn Long, a 6-foot-9 forward who dominated in the post.

Long didn't start his season out on a perfect note, scoring eight points with six rebounds against Louisiana College, but the big man only played in half of the contest. Devonta Walker led the team in scoring in the game with 20 points, adding seven boards to his stat line. Brian Williams and Johnathan Stove each chipped in with 11 points in the win, while guard Jay Wright dished out a team-high six assists for the Cajuns. The team shot an impressive 56.4 percent from the floor in the win, including just shy of 60 percent in the second half of the contest. As a viable replacement for Payton, guard Xavian Rimmer should take off this season.

It's always a bonus to get a healthy number of returning starters back to a lineup, but for Tulsa, this is the perfect time to have a handful of contributors returning. The Golden Hurricane are one of the teams that moved over from Conference USA to join the American Athletic Conference in the offseason, so last season's C-USA champs should feel at ease with four returning starters. James Woodard (15.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Rashad Smith (12.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Shaquille Harrison (9.6 ppg) should help Tulsa out very much in the program's inaugural season in the AAC.

Four players notched a scoring total in the double digits in the team's loss to Oral Roberts, led by D'Andre Wright's contribution of 17 with seven rebounds. Woodard netted 16 points, Smith chipped in 13 and Marquel Curtis scored 12 with eight rebounds before fouling out. The Golden Hurricane need to improve their shooting moving forward, as a 32 percent touch from the floor won't be able to cut it in the AAC.

Friday night's game for Louisiana was a nice warm-up, and the team will face its first challenge of the season with a trip to Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane need to get better on the offensive end, which will come with more game experience. One thing Louisiana has that Tulsa does not is size, so expect Long to play many minutes and to be fed the ball in the post.