RUSTON – Louisiana Tech plays its 20th game of the season on Saturday when they face Middle Tennessee inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court. It will mark the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Blue Raiders in almost three years.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 21 | 4 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court (Ruston, La.)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Lyn Rollins (pxp), Chris Mycoskie (analyst)
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats | LA Tech Athletics app
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
Game Sponsor: Northern Louisiana Medical Center
 
GAME PROMOTION
Saturday is the annual #Fight4Literacy game, which LA Tech has been a part of for the last eight years.  In partnership with Coaching for Literacy, fans are encouraged to donate books at the game or make a donation in support of local programs at CoachingForLiteracy.org/latech. 
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (11-8, 5-4 C-USA)
LA Tech overcame its largest deficit of the season on Thursday, coming back from down 12 in the second half to win it over WKU, 85-74, in overtime. It was the third OT game of the season for the Bulldogs, the most since the 2018-19 season.
 
They im­proved to 2-1 in OT games and are now 18-6 in OT games played in the TAC. Eight of their last nine games against Division I opponents have been decided by seven points or less (including seven of their eight league games).
 
The Bulldogs outscored the Hilltoppers, 11-0, during the extra five minutes. 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.
 
Five players scored in double figures for the third time this season against the Hilltop­pers, led by Cobe Williams who poured in a game-high 20 points. It was his seventh 20-point performance this season and the first time in his career he has had back-to-back games of 20+ points. The conference's fourth leading scorer has registered at least 16 points in all eight league games. He also ranks top four in the league in assists per game (4.4) and steals per game (2.3).
 
ABOUT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (12-7, 5-3 C-USA)
After dropping three of its first four conference games, Middle Tennessee has reeled off three straight wins over Rice, UAB, and Charlotte. The three victories have been by a combined seven points.
The Blue Raiders are coming off a 62-58 home win over the 49ers. The game featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. The 11th tie came with 1:28 to go as the two teams were knotted up at 53-53. Tyler Millin broke the tie with a three-pointer for Middle Tennessee. Then the home team made half a dozen free throws down the stretch to seal it.
 
Middle Tennessee hangs its hat on defense, ranking fourth in the league in scoring de­fense at 65.8 points per game. They have held four of their eight league opponents to 60 points or less. As part of their defense, the Blue Raiders rank 19th in the country in blocks per game (5.3) and 61st in steals per game (7.9).
 
It is a fairly balanced scoring team with De­andre Dishman and Eli Lawrence leading the charge at 12.3 and 12.2 points per game, re­spectively. Lawrence has upped his scoring during league action, averaging 14.0 points per contest.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series over Middle Tennessee, 13-5.  The first ever meeting between LA Tech and Middle Tennessee came on Dec. 12, 1959 with the Bulldogs winning it, 81-63, in Ruston in­side Memoial Gymnasium.
 
The two squads played a home-and-home series for three consecutive seasons (1987-90) before becoming conference opponents for only one season in the Sun Belt in 2000-01. The two squads became league foes in 2013 when both programs joined Conference USA. Since then, LA Tech owns a 6-3 series lead.
 
Cobe Williams is the only Bulldog on the roster to have played Middle Tennessee. He played 16 minutes in the 80-73 win back in 2020.  MTSU was the only team not on LA Tech's conference schedule last season.  The Bulldogs were supposed to play two games in Murfreesboro during the 2020-21 season, but that series got canceled due to travel issues as a result of the snow/ice storm that hit Ruston.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in Bulldog Basketball, follow them on Twitter (@LATechHoops), Instagram (@LATechHoops), and Facebook (LATechMBB).