Do You Remember What Happened The Last Time Will Wade Faced Louisiana-Lafayette?

The McNeese Cowboys are gearing up for a BIG matchup on Sunday inside The Legacy Center as the Cowboys host the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns. Of course,  the Head Coach for the Cowboys is Former LSU Head Coach Will Wade. This will be the first matchup between Will Wade and Louisiana-Lafayette since the unforgettable N.I.T. game back in 2018. Do you remember what happened?

Let's take a journey...

Rewind to 2017 when LSU tabbed Will Wade as its Head Basketball Coach. The Tigers were 10-21 in the season before hiring Will Wade. First-year under Wade and the Tigers were 18-14 and had an opportunity to play and host a game in the NIT.

The N.I.T. is the NCAA's second-tier tourney, plus lesser brackets like the CBI and CIT. Division II and Division III also have their tournaments. Basically, the NIT is the battle to be the 69th-best college basketball team in all of the United States.

After finishing 18-14 on the season, the NIT selected the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as the host site for the 1st Round matchup between LSU and Louisiana-Lafayette. Ragin' Cajun Head Coach Bob Marlin was NOT happy with the decision...

Marlin was miffed that his Ragin’ Cajuns had been assigned a six seed in the NIT and were going to have to play their first game of the tournament at LSU. Marlin pointed out during his pregame press conference that his team had not only a better record (27-6) than the Tigers but a better RPI.

“A lot of times you get into the NIT, and the SEC teams that finished tied for ninth – whatever they did – are not very interested in playing at this stage of the year. But they’ll be interested because it’s a big step for them. They’ve not been very good. We’ve had a better RPI and team than them the last couple of years in the state.” - Bob Marlin

Marlin also insinuated that LSU was "afraid" to schedule a home-and-home series with the Ragin' Cajuns.

Will Wade kept quiet and did not buy into the noise, that was until Gameday came...

LSU led Louisiana for nearly the entirety of the 40-minute game on its way to an 84-76 victory. With 12 seconds remaining and the win well in hand, Wade opted to take a timeout because, in his own words: “They don’t get to play us very often, so I thought they should enjoy it.” That of course did not go over very well with Bob Marlin.

After the game, Marlin decided to not shake Wade's hand. That immediately sent the LSU coach into a fit of rage.

Then came the Press Conference, and Will Wade was PREPARED to say the least. Check it out here.

That was the last time Will Wade faced off against Bob Marlin and Louisiana-Lafayette.

Fast forward and Now Wade is at McNeese. Needless to say, things could be fun on Sunday inside of the Legacy Center. Cowboys and the Cajuns are set to tip off around 3:00 and you can watch the game on ESPN+.