RUSTON – Louisiana Tech starts a three-game home stand on Saturday when they play host to preseason favorite UAB.  The Bulldogs and Blazers are in a three-way tie for third in the C-USA standings.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 14 | 3 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court (Ruston, La.)
Game Sponsor: Karl Malone Toyota of Ruston
TV/Stream: Stadium (HERE)
Talent: Josh Appel (pxp), Tim Scarborough (analyst)
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats | LA Tech Athletics app
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
 
GAME PROMOTION
Saturday is the official Karl Malone Toyota Throwback Game as the Bulldogs will wear their alternate throwback uniforms. The design replicated is the Columbia blue road jersey worn from 1982-94 by LA Tech legends like Karl Malone.
 
The Mailman will be in attendance.  Fans in attendance will have a chance to win a FREE car courtesy of Karl Malone Toyota of Ruston.
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (10-7, 3-3 C-USA)
Despite erasing an 18-point deficit against one of the top defenses in the country, LA Tech fell just short on the road this past Wednesday in a 67-65 loss to North Texas. The Bulldogs trailed 36-18 at halftime, but clawed its way back to eventually tie it up with 18 seconds to go after Isaiah Crawford hit two clutch free throws. However, the Mean Green made a midrange jumper with four ticks remaining to grab the victory.
 
LA Tech cashed in on its free throws at North Texas, going 25-of-29 from the foul line. Isaiah Crawford went 13-of-15 from the charity stripe, the most made and attempted free throws by a Bulldog since Erik McCree went 16-of-18 against Jackson State in 2015.
 
Crawford had his best game of the season versus the Mean Green, scoring a season-high 25 points (second most of his career). It was his fourth 20-point scoring performance of the season. He also had a team-high five rebounds and five steals as well as three assists.
 
Cobe Williams continued his consistency on offense by netting 17 points at North Texas. The conference's fourth leading scorer has registered at least 16 points in 13 of his 15 games played this season, including in all six league games. He also ranks top four in the league in assists per game (4.4) and steals per game (2.5).
 
LA Tech has found itself in close games a lot lately. The last four matchups have been decided by either two points or in overtime. The only other time in program history that the Bulldogs have had four straight games decided by one possessions and/or overtime was back in 1988. Nine of the 'Dogs 17 games so far this season have been decided by six points or less.
 
ABOUT UAB (12-5, 3-3 C-USA)
UAB got off to a hot start, winning 12 of its first 14 games in­cluding victories over South Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina during the non-confer­ence. But the Blazers come into Ruston having lost three straight, all in conference to Florida Atlantic, FIU and WKU. The three losses were by a combined seven points.
 
Most recently, UAB suffered an 80-78 loss to WKU this past Wednesday in Birmingham, which was the Blazers first home loss of the season. It snapped their 11-game home win­ning streak.
 
UAB averages 86.1 points per game, the sec­ond most of any team in the country. The Blazers have eclipsed 80 points in 13 of their 17 games this season. They can score it at all three levels, but are exceptional at getting points from the free throw line (rank sixth in the country in free throws made per game with 18.2) as well as scoring in transition (rank 23rd with an average of 15.4 fastbreak points per game).
 
Defensively, UAB ranks fourth in the nation with 41.2 rebounds per game and are one of the top teams at forcing turnovers with an av­erage of 15.9 takeaways per contest.
 
Reigning C-USA Player of the Year Jordan Walker is the leader for the Blazers. The guard, who was recently named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 watch list, is the na­tion's third best scorer currently at 23.8 points per game. He has posted 12 20-point scoring performances this season and also ranks third in the country in most made three-pointers with 70.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday will mark the 21st meeting between LA Tech and UAB with the Blazers holding a slim edge in the series, 11-9. 
 
LA Tech had gotten the better of UAB in recent years, winning five straight in the series. How­ever, the Blazers swept all three meetings last season, including an 82-73 win in the C-USA Tournament Championship.
 
The Bulldogs do own a 6-1 mark versus the Blazers at home, but it was UAB who came out on top in the last meeting in Ruston. UAB jumped out to a 15-2 advantage and held the lead almost the whole game.
 
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