NEWS AND NOTES BULLDOGS IN THE RANKINGS

The Bulldogs rank high in several statistical categories in the league and in the country (as of Jan. 23).

Team Stat C-USA NCAA

Bench pts. per game 25.75 2 41 Effective FG % 53.6 4 67 Field goal % 46.0 5 100 Scoring offense 75.6 4 97 Steals per game 8.4 3 50 3-pt. att. per game 25.0 2 49 3-Pointers per game 8.8 3 44 Turnover margin 2.6 1 47 TOs forced per game 16.70 2 24

Player Stat C-USA NCAA Isaiah Crawford Steals 40 3 40 Steals per game 2.11 4 38

Cobe Williams

Points per game 18.7 4 50 Steals 39 4 49 Steals per game 2.17 2 28

Keaston Willis

Three-point att. 139 2 66 3-Pointers per game 2.60 3 77 3-Pointers made 52 3 75

COBE’S TIME

2019-20 (Year 1) 4.3 points per game 2020-21 (Year 2) 8.6 points per game 2021-22 (Year 3) 11.3 points per game 2022-23 (Year 4) 18.7 points per game

Cobe Williams has improved offensively every season he has been a Bulldog.

The preseason All-Conference USA selection ranks fourth in the league in scoring. He has scored in double figures in 16 of the 18 games this season, including eight 20-point games (career-high 27 vs. UAB), which is the fourth most in C-USA.

He also ranks second on the team in total assists with 74, meaning he has scored or assisted on 35 percent of LA Tech’s field goals.

And oh yeah, he is also one of the best defenders in the country having totaled 39 steals. He is currently one of only four players in the country averaging at least 18.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.

Cobe Williams -- Louisiana Tech Kendric Davis -- Memphis, Cameraon Shelton -- Loyola Marymount Andrew Taylor -- Marshall.

another 1,000-point scorer

Cobe Williams became the 44th member to join the 1,000-point club at Louisiana Tech, recording the milestone on Jan. 5 at Rice.

He became the 10th Bulldog in the last decade alone to accomplish this feat.

Overtime Shutout

The Bulldogs outscored the Hilltoppers, 11-0, during the extra five minutes in route to an 8574 victory on Jan. 19. LA Tech scored on all five of its offensive possessions while WKU went scoreless, going 0-of-7 from the field.

It was the largest margin of victory in an OT game for the ‘Dogs since defeating North Texas, 73-62, in 2016. It was also the first time in program history (on record) that LA Tech shutout an opponent in overtime.

cobe & isaiah TAKE YOUR BALL

Two-time C-USA All-Defensive Team member Cobe Williams and Isaiah Crawford are making strong cases for being on the All-Defensive Team this season.

Both players have recorded at least four steals in six games, becoming just the 6th and 7th Bulldog in program history to have at least four steals six times in a single season.

Speedy Smith (2013-14) 8 times Speedy Smith (2014-15) 7 times Cobe Williams (2022-23) 6 times Isaiah Crawford (2022-23) 6 times Jacobi Boykins (2016-17) 6 times Alex Hamilton (2015-16) 6 times Doug Annison (1994-95) 6 times Willie Bland (1984-85) 6 times

They rank No. 3 and No. 4 in C-USA in total steals and are two of only nine players in the nation with at least six games of 4+ steals. LA Tech is one of only five teams in the country to have two players that have 39+ steals (Memphis, Coppin State, UNLV and Kansas).

steals and turnovers oh my!

Turnovers and steals tend to go hand-andhand for Talvin Hester’s defense.

The 334 forced TOs ranks as the 26th most in the country while the 167 steals ranks tied for the 54th most in the nation.

LA Tech has forced 15+ turnovers in 11 games this season (seven of those times the ‘Dogs forced 20+ turnovers). Meanwhile, they have registered double-digit steals in nine games this season (including eight of their last 14 games).

ISAIAH GETTIN’ BACK TO OLD SELF

Jan. 11, 2020. El Paso, Texas. Nov. 15, 2021. Ruston, Louisiana.

Two days that Isaiah Crawford will never forget. Because on both of those days, he tore the ACL in his left knee (one of two known active players in the country to still be playing after two season-ending knee injuries).

After recovering from the first season-ending knee injury, he bounced back to have an All-Conference USA season (Third Team). He looks to have the same bounce back this season and so far he is.

Through 19 games, Crawford is averaging 12.4 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, 41 percent from three, and 75 percent from the foul line. And defensively, he ranks in the top 40 in the country in total steals and steals per game.

He has scored in double figures 11 times, including a season-high 25 points at North Texas on Jan. 14, the most since scoring a career-high 27 at North Texas on Feb. 5, 2021.

“threeston” willis

Keaston ... aka “Threeston” ... Willis made his presence known from beyond the three-point line in his first year with the Bulldogs last season.

He ended up ranking in the top 50 in the country in three-point field goal percentage (39.2%) and three-pointers made (93). His 93 threes was the second most in program history in a single season.

He is already off to a good pace this season, having knocked down a team-high 52 three-pointers through 20 games, recently eclipsing 250 made threes in the game at Rice on Jan. 5.

The man has been a weapon from deep his entire collegiate career at UIW/LA Tech.

267 total made three-pointers (105 games)

1+ made threes 93 times

2+ made threes 71 times

3+ made threes 50 times

4+ made threes 29 times

5+ made threes 14 times

6+ made threes 6 times

7+ made threes 3 times