RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team returns to the Lone Star State to face North Texas on Wednesday.  It marks the fourth trip to the state of Texas for the Bulldogs this season.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 11 | 7 p.m. CT
Location: The Super Pit (Denton, Texas)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Kyle Youmans (pxp), DJ Draper (analyst)
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats | LA Tech Athletics app
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (10-6, 3-2 C-USA)
LA Tech hung on for a 60-58 victory over UTEP this past Saturday in Ruston. The Bull­dogs had the lead for almost 35 minutes, building as much as a 10-point lead on three different occasions, but needed one final defensive stop at the end to split the season series with the Miners.
 
The win came despite the Bulldogs putting up their second fewest points of the season. Defensively, they forced 18 turnovers while generating 12 steals and eight blocks (both tying season highs). Nine different players recorded at least one steal (first time that has happened since Nov. 15, 2021 versus Jarvis Christian) while Kenny Hunter tallied a career-high four blocks.
 
Cobe Williams anchored the team in scoring for the eighth time this season, record­ing a game-high 17 points versus the Owls. The conference's fourth leading scorer has registered at least 16 points in 12 of his 14 games played this season, including in all five league games.
 
Williams has been one of the best stat stuffers in Conference USA play. During league action, he is averaging 18.0 points, 4.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game. Also averaging double-figure scoring during conference play has been Keaston Willis (13.0), Isaiah Crawford (12.8) and Dravon Mangum (11.0).
 
The Bulldogs are growing accustomed to playing close games. The last three have been decided by one possession or in overtime (first time that has happened since 2020). Eight of LA Tech's 16 games so far this season have been decided by six points or less with LA Tech going 4-4 in those contests.
 
ABOUT NORTH TEXAS (13-3, 4-1 C-USA)
North Texas is riding a three-game winning streak and have won eight of its last nine games. The Mean Green are currently second in the conference standings with a 4-1 mark, their only loss coming against league leader Florida Atlantic.
 
The Mean Green are coming off a 56-51 road victory against Middle Tennessee, a game in which they overcame a 19-point deficit to win. They held the Blue Raiders to just 16 points over the final 26 minutes of the contest.
 
Per usual, North Texas features one of the best defenses in the country. The Mean Green rank third in the nation in scoring defense, allow­ing just 52.9 points per game. Only twice this season has an opponent scored over 60 points against them. In four of the last five seasons, UNT has ranked in the top 20 in the country in scoring defense.
 
Part of North Texas' success on defense is how it plays on offense. The Mean Green rank dead last (363rd) in the country in tempo, averag­ing the longest possession length of anyone which means fewer offensive possessions for the opponent. They are also one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, averaging 12.69 per contest.
 
Three UNT players are averaging double-dig­it points, led by Tylor Perry who is averaging 17.4 per game. Perry was named First Team All-Conference USA and C-USA Sixth Man of the Year last season after helping the Mean Green win the conference regular season title.
 
Another dangerous player is big man Abou Ousmane who is averaging 11.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He was named C-USA Player of the Week in late December in large part for his 37-point effort at UTSA.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series with North Texas, 28-15.  The 43 meetings is the most of any C-USA opponent for the Bulldogs who snapped their four-game losing stream to the Mean Green in the C-USA Tournament semifinals last season, winning 42-36 to advance to the championship.  It was the lowest combined scoring game in C-USA Tournament history.
 
If history repeats itself, LA Tech and North Texas are destined for a close game Wednesday.  Over the last five seasons, 11 of the 12 games between the two have been decided by seven points or less (and five of the 12 have been decided by two points or less).  Each team has won six games during this span.
 
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