LaDamien Bradford G 6-5 205 So. 3rd Year Jonesboro, La. (Texas A&M

NEWS AND NOTES

20-GAME LEAGUE SCHEDULE

With the departure of Southern Miss, Marshall, and Old Dominion to the Sun Belt, Conference USA went from a 14-team league to an 11team league.

As a result, the Bulldogs will take part in a 20game conference schedule for the first time in program history (had been an 18-game league schedule since 2014-15).

HOMETOWN KID

North Louisiana has seen its fair share of great basketball players. However, it is been rare to have a Bulldog from Louisiana Tech’s hometown of Ruston.

And for the first time since 2008, a Bulldog calls Ruston home in Jordan Crawford. The guard was a four-time state champion at nearbly Simsboro High School.

north carolina duo

The majority of Bulldogs have always hailed from the home state of Louisiana and the neighboring state of Texas. Of course, Florida has been a popular state to pick players from as well over the last decade or so.

This season though, the Bulldogs have the addition of Dravon Mangum and Quandre Bullock, both of whom are from North Carolina.

Prior to this season, there had been only two Bulldogs to have ever called North Carolina home. That has doubled this season.

conference series history

With the Bulldogs success in C-USA, its no surprise that they lead in every conference series history since joining the league.

LA Tech leads UAB, 9-8 LA Tech leads Charlotte, 9-2 LA Tech leads Florida Atlantic, 8-3 LA Tech leads FIU, 6-4 LA Tech leads Middle Tennessee, 6-3 LA Tech leads North Texas, 10-9 LA Tech leads Rice, 14-2 LA Tech leads UTEP, 10-6 LA Tech leads UTSA, 12-4 LA Tech leads WKU, 8-5

dominant in c-usa

LA Tech currently has the most overall wins and the most conference wins since joining Conference USA in 2013-14 (records do not include this season).

The Bulldogs victory over USM on Jan. 13, 2022 turned out to be their 100th C-USA victory. It took them only 145 games to get there, the second fastest of any team in league history.

Team Lousiana Tech

Overall Record 209-92

UAB 189-108 WKU (joined in 2014-15) 180-113 Middle Tennessee 172-121 North Texas 154-131

Team Louisiana Tech

C-USA Record 107-51

UAB 100-60 Middle Tennessee 96-62 WKU (joined in 2014-15) 89-51 UTEP 83-75

OUR STATE

Over the last decade (2012-22), the Bulldogs have the most wins of any Division I team in the state of Louisiana BY FAR.

Team Louisiana Tech

LSU UL-Lafayette Nicholls State Southern Southeastern New Orleans

Total Wins 236

197 191 153 151 136 132 ULM 131 Northwestern State 130 Tulane 124 McNeese State 112 Grambling State 105

PRO DOGS

Kenneth Lofton, Jr. is the latest Bulldog to play in the NBA. There are still plenty of other former Bulldogs still playing professionally.

Player

Trevor Gaskins Andrew Gordon Alex Hamilton

Country

Brazil Kosovo Lithuania

Derric Jean Cyprus

Jaron Johnson

Italy Michale Kyser Spain Kalob Ledoux United States (G-League) Kenneth Lofton, Jr. Memphis Grizzlies Speedy Smith Israel

TOP 10 LISTS

POTENTIAL TOP 10 MEMBERS

There are some Bulldogs that may end up cracking some single season Top 10 lists in Bulldog Basketball history.

No. Name Years Played Steals

1. Speedy Smith 2013-14 90 2. Speedy Smith 2014-15 69 Willie Bland 1984-85 69 4. Jacobi Boykins 2017-18 65 Alex Hamilton 2015-16 65 6. Alex Hamilton 2014-15 62 Paul Millsap 2005-06 62 8. Wayne Smith 1985-86 60 9. Speedy Smith 2012-13 57 LaMont King 1993-94 57

Isaiah Crawford 2022-23 40 Cobe Williams 2022-23 39

No. Name Years Played Assists 1. Speedy Smith 2013-14 278 2. Speedy Smith 2014-15 267 3. Wayne Smith 1985-86 218 4. Alex Hamilton 2015-16 205 5. Kelvin Lewis 1987-88 198 6. Wayne Smith 1983-84 195 7. DaQuan Bracey 2016-17 193 8. Kelvin Lewis 1986-87 186 9. Wayne Smith 1984-85 173 10. Brett Guillory 1988-89 172 Jordan Crawford 2022-23 78 Cobe Williams 2022-23 74

No. Name Years Played3s Made

1. Jacobi Boykins 2017-18 98 2. Keaston Willis 2021-22 93 3. Jacobi Boykins 2016-17 89 4. Kenyon McNeail 2013-14 88 5. Eric Brown 1991-92 77 6. Kyle Gibson 2008-09 76 7. Raheem Appleby 2014-15 71 8. Jamel Guyton 2009-10 70 Reggie Gibbs 1989-90 70 10. Gerrod Henderson 1999-00 68

Keaston Willis 2022-23 51

FRESHMAN RECORDS

Freshman Jordan Crawford is taking a charge at a pair of LA Tech freshman records.

No. Name Years Played Assists

1. DaQuan Bracey 2016-17 193 2. Speedy Smith 2011-12 142 3. Wayne Smith 1982-83 126 4. Amorie Archibald 2017-18 117 Emerson Wafer 1978-79 117

Jordan Crawford 2022-23 78

No. Name Years Played Steals 1. Karl Malone 1982-83 53 2. Speedy Smith 2011-12 42 3. Gerrod Henderson 1998-99 40 4. Emerson Wafer 1978-79 39 5. Kenyon McNeail 2010-11 38 Jordan Crawford 2022-23 25

1,000 CLUB

COBE GOT NEXT

Since 2014, there have been 10 Bulldogs to join the 1,000-point club, bringing the grand total to 44 for LA Tech. Cobe Williams recently became the 44th, reaching the milestone in the overtime win at Rice on Jan. 5.

No. Name Years Played Points

1. Mike Green 1969-73 2,340 2. Mike McConathy 1973-77 2,033 3. Alex Hamilton 2012-16 1,986 4. Randy White 1985-89 1,947 5. Anthony Dade 1988-92 1,867 6. Gerrod Henderson 1998-02 1,829 7. Raheem Appleby 2011-15 1,770 8. Karl Malone 1982-85 1,716 9. Paul Millsap 2003-06 1,708 10. Kyle Gibson 2006-10 1,677 11. Amorie Archibald 2017-22 1,632 12. L.V. Norris 1951-55 1,619 13. Lanky Wells 1973-77 1,608 14. Billy Wiggins 1952-56 1,566 15. Dave Simmons 1977-81 1,563 16. Antonio Meeking 1999-03 1,541 17. George Corley 1967-71 1,517 18. Jackie Moreland 1957-60 1,491 19. Erik McCree 2014-17 1,480 20. DaQuan Bracey 2016-20 1,477 21. Lonnie Cooper 1995-99 1,451 22. Victor King 1975-79 1,420 23. Jerry Hood 1961-65 1,403 24. Charlie Bishop 1966-70 1,398 25. Jacobi Boykins 2014-18 1,393 Ray Germany 1956-60 1,393 27. Robert Goldbolt 1983-87 1,386 28. Chester Coker 1951-55 1,334 29. Joe Abendroth 1960-64 1,298 30. Derek Smith 1977-00 1,241 31. P.J. Brown 1989-92 1,228 32. Willie Simmons 1981-85 1,202 33. Derric Jean 2015-20 1,188 34. Leon Barmore 1964-67 1,168 35. Wayne Smith 1982-86 1,149 36. Kenyon McNeail 2010-14 1,147

37. Cobe Williams 2019-pres. 1,092

38. Jerry Lovett 1948-52 1,086 39. George Latham 1946-50 1,080 40. Cory Dean 2001-05 1,022 41. Ryan Bond 1993-96 1,014 42 Olu Ashaolu 2008-11 1,006 43. Alan Davis 1981-85 1,004 44. Cordarius Johnson 2010-14 1,003

THE THE OPPONENTOPPONENT About the blue raiders

After dropping three of its first four conference games, Middle Tennessee has reeled off three straight wins over Rice, UAB, and Charlotte. The three victories have been by a combined seven points.

The Blue Raiders are coming off a 62-58 home win over the 49ers. The game featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. The 11th tie came with 1:28 to go as the two teams were knotted up at 53-53. Tyler Millin broke the tie with a three-pointer for Middle Tennessee. Then the home team made half a dozen free throws down the stretch to seal it.

Middle Tennessee hangs its hat on defense, ranking fourth in the league in scoring defense at 65.8 points per game. They have held four of their eight league opponents to 60 points or less. As part of their defense, the Blue Raiders rank 19th in the country in blocks per game (5.3) and 61st in steals per game (7.9).

It is a fairly balanced scoring team with Deandre Dishman and Eli Lawrence leading the charge at 12.3 and 12.2 points per game, respetively. Lawrence has upped his scoring during league action, averaging 14.0 points per contest.

Another threat for MTSU is Teafale Lenard, Jr. who was a preseason All-Conference USA selection. The guard was a C-USA All-Freshman Team member last season and is currently averaging 8.8 points while also leading the team in total steals and blocks.

Strangely, Saturday will be the first time in almost exactly three years (Jan. 23, 2020) that conference foes LA Tech and Middle Tennessee face off against one another. In last season’s league format, you played everybody in your division twice and all but one opponent in the other division once (for the Bulldogs and Blue Raiders that was each other). LA Tech was supposed to play two games at Middle Tennessee during the COVID season of 2020-21, but that series actually got wiped out due to the ‘Dogs inability to travel to Murfreesboro as a result of the big snow/ice storm that hit Ruston.

Series record LA Tech leads, 13,5-

In Ruston LA Tech, 9-1

In Murfreesboro Tied, 4-4 Most LA Tech points 98 (Dec. 9, 1989) Most MTSU points 91 (Dec. 20, 1988) Biggest LA Tech win 98-77 (Dec. 9, 1989) Biggest MTSU win 87-70 (Feb. 17, 2018) Streak LA Tech, 2

SERIES HISTORY

hISTORY VERSUS mtsu

LA Tech and Middle Tennessee will meet for the 19th time. The two teams will face off again this season in Murfreesboro, Tenn. on Feb. 25.

1959-60 H LA Tech won, 81-63 1987-88 A LA Tech won, 64-63 H LA Tech won, 72-67 1988-89 A MTSU won, 91-87 H LA Tech won, 72-71 1989-90 H LA Tech won, 98-77 A MTSU won, 84-75 2000-01 H LA Tech won, 75-55 A LA Tech won, 68-53 2013-14 H LA Tech won, 55-39 2014-15 H LA Tech won, 75-68 A LA Tech won, 73-62 2015-16 H LA Tech won, 73-63 2016-17 A MTSU won, 71-61 2017-18 A MTSU won, 72-57 H MTSU won, 87-70 2018-19 H LA Tech won, 73-56 2019-20 A LA Tech won, 80-73

The first ever meeting between LA Tech and Middle Tennessee came on Dec. 12, 1959 with the Bulldogs winning it, 81-63, in Ruston inside Memoial Gymnasium.

The two squads played a home-and-home series for three consecutive seasons (1987-90) before becoming conference opponents for only one season in the Sun Belt in 2000-01. The two squads became league foes in 2013 when both programs joined Conference USA. Since then, LA Tech owns a 6-3 series lead.

Cobe Williams is the only Bulldog on the roster to have played Middle Tennessee. He played 16 minutes in the 80-73 win back in 2020.

STATS COMPARISON

Category LA Tech MTSU Points Per Game 76.8 69.8 Opp. Points Per Game 69.3 65.8 Scoring Margin +7.5 +4.0 Field Goal Pct. 46% 46% Opp. Field Goal Pct. 43% 44% 3-Point Pct. 36% 32% Opp. 3-Point Pct. 37% 35% Free Throw Pct. 72% 67% FTs Made Per Game 13.1 11.7 Rebounds Per Game 34.8 33.7 Rebounding Margin +2.5 +3.0 Assists Per Game 14.3 11.2 Turnovers Per Game 14.1 13.8 Turnover Margin +2.8 +2.0 A/TO Ratio 1.0 0.8 Blocks Per Game 2.5 5.3 Steals Per Game 8.7 7.9

ACTIVE LEADERS

POINTs

Cobe Williams Junior 1,092 Isaiah Crawford Junior 774 Keaston Willis Junior 653 Kenny Hunter Sophomore 250 Dravon Mangum R-Senior 141 LaDamien Bradford Sophomore 123 Terran Williams Sophomore 121 Kaleb Stewart Sophomore 111 Jordan Crawford Freshman 104 Quandre Bullock Junior 94 Will Allen R-Freshman 55 Pierre Geneste, Jr. Freshman 17 Ben Ponder Sophomore 17

REBOUNDs

Cobe Williams Junior

333 Isaiah Crawford Junior 331 Kenny Hunter Sophomore 194 Keaston Willis Junior 179 LaDamien Bradford Sophomore 104 Quandre Bullock Junior 62 Dravon Mangum R-Senior 61 Terran Williams Sophomore 54 Jordan Crawford Freshman 49 Will Allen R-Freshman 48 Kaleb Stewart Sophomore 18 Pierre Geneste, Jr. Freshman 12 Ben Ponder Sophomore 4

ASSISts

Cobe Williams Junior

293 Isaiah Crawford Junior 128 Jordan Crawford Freshman 78 Keaston Willis Junior 70 LaDamien Bradford Sophomore 62 Kaleb Stewart Sophomore 25 Quandre Bullock Junior 12 Terran Williams Sophomore 10 Kenny Hunter Sophomore 10 Dravon Mangum R-Senior 10 Will Allen R-Freshman 1

BLOCKs

Isaiah Crawford Junior 38 Kenny Hunter Sophomore 31 Cobe Williams Junior 18 Keaston Willis Junior 9 Quandre Bullock Junior 7 LaDamien Bradford Sophomore 3 Pierre Geneste, Jr. Freshman 2 Dravon Mangum R-Senior 2 Will Allen R-Freshman 1 Terran Williams Sophomore 1

STEALs

Cobe Williams Junior Isaiah Crawford Junior

132 96 Keaston Willis Junior 44 LaDamien Bradford Sophomore 30 Jordan Crawford Freshman 25 Kenny Hunter Sophomore 13 Quandre Bullock Junior 12 Kaleb Stewart Sophomore 10 Dravon Mangum R-Senior 10 Will Allen R-Freshman 7 Terran Williams Sophomore 3

2022-23 TRENDS

RECORD BREAKDOWn

At Home On The Road Neutral Site White Uniforms Blue Uniforms Red Uniforms Columbia Blue Uniforms 7-2 3-6 1-0 7-0 3-5 1-2 0-1

HALFTIME/LEADS/ot

Leading at the half Tied at the half 9-3 0-0

Trailing at the half Decided by 5 points or fewer Decided by 6-10 points Decided by 10+ points Leading/Tied with 10:00 left Trailing with 10:00 left Leading/Tied with 5:00 left Trailing with 5:00 left Overtime games

2-5 3-4 1-3 7-1 10-1 1-7 10-3 1-5 2-1

OFFENSe

Scoring less than 70 points Scoring 70-79 points 1-5 4-2

Scoring 80-89 points 3-1

Scoring 90+ points Shooting 50% or higher 3-0 5-1

Shooting 40-49%

6-5 Shooting less than 40% 0-2 Shooting 40% or higher threes 4-3 Shooting 30-39% threes 7-2 Shooting less than 30% threes 0-3 Opp. shooting 50% or higher 0-6 Opp. shooting 40-49% 7-1 Opp. shooting less than 40% 4-1 Opp. shooting 40%+ threes 4-4 Opp. shooting 30-39% threes 4-4 Opp. shooting less than 30% threes 3-0 Attempts 30 or more threes 4-0 Attempts 20-29 threes 6-6 Attempts less than 20 threes 1-2 Shooting 80% or higher FTs 2-3 Shooting 70-79% FTs 2-1 Shooting less than 70% FTs 7-4

BOARDS/TURNOVERs

Outrebounding opponent Outrebounded 8-1 3-7

Rebounds are even 0-0

Forcing 15+ turnovers Forcing less than 15 turnovers

8-4 3-4 Committing 15+ turnovers 5-3 Committing less than 15 turnovers 6-5

ASSISTS/STEALS/BLOCKs

More assists than opponent 8-0 Same/Fewer assists as opponent 3-8 More steals than opponent 8-5 Same/Fewer steals as opponent 3-3 More blocks than opponent 4-2 Same/Fewer blocks as opponent 7-6

STANDOUT GAMES

GAMES AS LEADING SCOREr

2022-23 Career

Cobe Williams 10 19 Isaiah Crawford 3 11 Keaston Willis 3 10 Dravon Mangum 2 2 Kenny Hunter 1 1 Terran Williams 1 1

DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORINg

2022-23 Career

Cobe Williams 15 46 Keaston Willis 13 35 Isaiah Crawford 11 38 Dravon Mangum 7 7 Kenny Hunter 4 6 Quandre Bullock 4 4 Terran Williams 3 5 Jordan Crawford 3 3

20-POINT SCORINg

2022-23 Career

Cobe Williams 7 9 Isaiah Crawford 4 7 Keaston Willis 2 6 Dravon Mangum 1 1 Terran Williams 1 1

4+ THREE-POINTERs

2022-23 Career

Keaston Willis 5 15 Dravon Mangum 2 2 Cobe Williams 1 4 Terran Williams 1 1

GAMES AS LEADING REBOUNDer

2022-23 Career

Isaiah Crawford 5 13 Keaston Willis 4 7 Kenny Hunter 3 6 Dravon Mangum 2 2 Quandre Bullock 2 2 Cobe Williams 1 3 Will Allen 1 1 Jordan Crawford 1 1

5+ ASSISTs

2022-23 Career

Jordan Crawford 8 8 Cobe Williams 7 17 Isaiah Crawford 1 3 LaDamien Bradford 1 2 Keaston Willis 1 1

3+ STEALs

2022-23 Career

Cobe Williams 7 20 Isaiah Crawford 6 11 Jordan Crawford 3 3 Will Allen 1 1

3+ BLOCks

2022-23 Career

Quandre Bullock 1 1

DOUBLE-DOUBLEs

2022-23 Career

Cobe Williams 1 1 Jordan Crawford 1 1