LOUISIANA TECH 2023-24 BULLDOG BASKETBALL GAME 24 MATCHUP
GAMEDAY INFO DATE/TIME: Saturday, Feb. 10 | 7 p.m. CT LOCATION: Liberty Arena (Lynchburg, Va.) SERIES HISTORY: LA Tech leads, 1-0 STREAK: LA Tech, 1 LAST MEETING: Jan. 14, 2024 | Ruston, La. LA Tech 80, Liberty 76OT MEDIA: ESPNU | WatchESPN TALENT: Dave Leno (pxp), Sean Harrington (analyst) RADIO: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app TALENT: Malcolm Butler (pxp) STATS: LATechSports.com/Stats
2023-24 SCHEDULE MEDIA MWN ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+ MWN
Head Coach: Talvin Hester Record at LA Tech: 31-25 (2nd year) Career Record: Same Record vs. Liberty: 1-0
AT LIBERTY FLAMES (15-9, 4-5 cusa) Head Coach: Ritchie McKay Record at Liberty: 241-122 (11th year) Career Record: 406-280 (22nd year) Record vs. LA Tech: 0-1
AP Poll: NR USA Today Poll: NR NET Ranking: 75
AP Poll: NR USA Today Poll: NR NET Ranking: 110
BULLDOG STORYLINES
Overall: 16-7 | CUSA: 6-2 | H: 11-1 | A: 5-6 | N: 0-0 NOVEMBER 6 at Colorado State 13 LYON COLLEGE 16 at ULM 21 SOUTHERN UTAH^ 22 MCNEESE STATE^ 25 DILLARD 29 at New Mexico
LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGs (16-7, 6-2 cusa)
W/L L W W W W W L
SCORE 73-81 100-43 73-63 67-53 71-62 105-65 65-74
DECEMBER 2 NICHOLLS ESPN+ W 68-55 5 at Stephen F. Austin ESPN+ W 56-49 9 UL-LAFAYETTE ESPN+ W 72-67 12 SOUTHEASTERN ESPN+ W 89-60 16 at Saint Louis ESPN+ L 74-75 20 at Seattle U ESPN+ L 73-79OT 30 at Grand Canyon ESPN+ L 70-73
• League-leading Louisiana Tech looks to bounce back on Saturday night when they take on the Liberty Flames in Lynchburg at Liberty Arena. The Bulldogs will be going for their fourth straight road win. • LA Tech had its six-game winning streak and 11-game home winning streak snapped on Thursday, falling to WKU by a final score of 81-76. Playing without regular starters Tahlik Chavez and Tyler Henry, the Bulldogs’ top two scorers -- Isaiah Crawford and Daniel Batcho -- combined for only 19 points and 14 rebounds. Both forwards also combined for 10 fouls as the duo dealt with foul trouble all night before fouling out late in the game. • It was an off night on the defensive end for LA Tech, allowing 81 points which tied for the most this season. Despite that, the Bulldogs still rank seventh in the country in field goal percentage defense (38.6) and 13th in scoring defense (63.5). The Bulldogs did amass seven blocks against WKU, marking the 11th time this season with at least five rejections in a single game. They rank first in CUSA and 24th in the nation in blocks per game (5.0), having the top two shot blockers in the league in Daniel Batcho (2.38 bpg) and Isaiah Crawford (1.57 bpg).
• Jordan Crawford and Dravon Mangum provided the bulk of the scoring versus the Hilltoppers. Each tallied a career high in points as Crawford scored 25 (11-of-15 shooting) and Mangum added 23 (5-of-10 from three-point range). It marked the second straight game LA Tech had multiple players score 20+ points in the same game (Tahlik Chavez and Daniel JANUARY Batcho did so at FIU). Seven different Bulldogs have now scored at least 20 points in a single 3 DALLAS CHRISTIAN ESPN+ W 96-55 game this season. 6 at Sam Houston* 11 at Middle Tennessee* 14 LIBERTY* 20 at Jacksonville State* 25 UTEP* 27 NEW MEXICO STATE*
ESPN+ CBS SN ESPN2 ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+
L W W W W W
77-81 60-52 80-76OT 74-57 68-54 73-53
• Daniel Batcho pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds against WKU, the 13th time this season with 10+ boards in a single game (next most by a CUSA player is four). He is averaging 14.5 points and 10.5 boards per game, one of just 12 players in the country averaging a double-double.
1 at FIU* 7 WKU* 10 at Liberty* 15 JACKSONVILLE STATE* 17 FIU* 22 at UTEP* 24 at New Mexico State* 28 at WKU*
ESPN+ W ESPN+ L ESPNU ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+
93-53 76-81 7 p.m. 6 p.m. 2 p.m. 8 p.m. 8 p.m. 7 p.m.
• Isaiah Crawford continues to pace the Bulldogs offensively, averaging 15.7 points per game. During league play, he ranks third in CUSA in scoring (17.0 points) and fourth in field goal percentage (50.5). Defensively, he is top five in both steals per game (2.13) and blocks per game (2.00) in conference action. The forward is currently the only player in the country with at least 45 steals and 35 blocks this season.
7 SAM HOUSTON* 9 MIDDLE TENNESSEE* 12 CUSA Championship$
CBS SN ESPN+ -----
8 p.m. 2 p.m. TBA
• Sean Newman Jr. dished out five assists in the game versus WKU. The point guard has registered at least five assists in a single game 13 times this season (has 25 assists over the FEBRUARY last four games. He currently leads CUSA in assists per game at 5.2 a contest.
• LA Tech has now played all eight CUSA opponents, sitting in first place in the standings with a 6-2 record. The Bulldogs now start a stretch of playing four of their next six opponents MARCH on the road starting with Liberty who they defeated, 80-76, in overtime almost a month ago.
All home games CAPS | All times CST and subject to change * Conference USA game ^ LA Tech MTE $ Huntsville, Ala.
A LA TECH WIN... • Would give the Bulldogs their fourth straight CUSA road win, which would be the longest winning streak in a single season in program history. • Would give the Bulldogs their third ever win in the state of Virginia. LA Tech has previously defeated Old Dominion in Norfolk on two occasions. • Would give the Bulldogs their 17th win of the season. LA Tech is close to reaching 20 victories, something the program has done nine times in the last 11 seasons.
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