RUSTON – Louisiana Tech makes its second road trip to the state of Florida on Sunday to battle FIU with tipoff set for 11 a.m. CT inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
The matchup will be streamed live on CUSA.tv (subscription required).  Fans can also listen to the Voice of the Bulldogs Dave Nitz call the game through the LA Tech Sports Network on KPCH 99.3 FM (Ruston), KJVC 92.7 FM (Mansfield) and KRMD 100.7 FM/1340 AM (Shreveport) as well as on the Louisiana Tech X mobile app.
 
It had been over 30 years since LA Tech (18-11, 8-8 C-USA) faced the same team twice at home in the same season when the Bulldogs took on Marshall this past Thursday. 
 
Going on the road to face a team twice in the same season has happened a little more recently as the 'Dogs did it during the 2014-15 season when they took on Temple twice in Philadelphia, once in the regular season and again in the National Invitation Tournament. 
 
The Bulldogs were not able to sweep the Herd, falling 90-79 in their home finale.  The first loss of the year in the TAC happened in large part due to Marshall's hot shooting as they hit 16 three-pointers after making just eight in the first meeting.
 
Junior guard DaQuan Bracey was impressive yet again on offense, scoring a team-high 26 points which included a career-high six three-pointers.  He has now posted eight 20+ scoring performances and has led the team in scoring in each of the last four games, averaging 23.3 points per game during that span.
 
LA Tech will need to regroup defensively though after giving up the second most points in a single game this season, this after allowing just 59 points per game at home during league play.  The Bulldogs have two more league games in bonus play, both coming on the road where they have not been able to pick up a victory this season. 
 
Six of the seven losses have come down to the wire, but execution down the stretch has been the struggle.  That includes the last time LA Tech took on FIU (17-11, 8-7 C-USA) when the Bulldogs were up two with 3:21 to go, but the Panthers ended the game on an 11-3 run. 
 
FIU, who had a bye this past Thursday, is currently riding a three-game winning streak after defeating rival Florida Atlantic, 79-76, in Boca Raton.  The Panthers have amassed 17 wins, securing their first winning season since the 2012-13 season.
 
They still rank No. 1 in the country in adjusted tempo, making them the fastest playing team in the country.  As a result, they rank first in C-USA and ninth in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 84.0 points per game. 
 
Defensively, the Panthers turn teams over at an insane rate.  They rank first in the country in steals per game (10.8), turnover margin (+6.1) and turnovers forced per game (20.4).  Brian Beard spearheads these stats as he has 88 total steals this season and also averages a team-high 17.5 points per contest.
 
In the previous meeting a month ago, LA Tech was not fazed by any of these.  The Bulldogs had just 12 turnovers and held the Panthers to below their scoring average, but ended up dropping its third straight game to FIU in Miami.  
 
Twitter users can follow @LATechHoops for live in-game updates.