RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech Men's Basketball team is back in the friendly confines of the Thomas Assembly Center to face UTEP for a second time.  The Bulldogs have four of their next five games at home.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 7 | 2 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court (Ruston, La.)
TV/Stream: CUSA.tv
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats | LA Tech Athletics app
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (9-6, 2-2 C-USA)
LA Tech snapped Rice's nine-game home winning streak by pulling out an 88-82 thrill­er in overtime on Thursday in Houston. In a game that had 11 ties and 14 lead changes, the Bulldogs prevailed in the extra frame by outscoring the Owls, 19-13. In doing so, LA Tech also snapped its four-game losing streak in OT games.
 
The Bulldogs went toe-to-toe with one of the most potent offenses in the country in Rice on their home floor. LA Tech shot 51.5 percent from the field (third time in the last four games shooting over 50 percent) with almost perfect execution in the extra frame where they six of their eight shot attempts, draining both three-pointers, and getting five clutch free throws.
 
Cobe Williams stuffed the stat sheet yet again, recording 18 points, eight assists, four rebounds, four steals, and two blocks in the win. He is one of only two players in the country this season to put together that stat line in a single game.  With the 18-point effort at Rice, Williams became the 44th member of the 1,000-point club at LA Tech.
 
Kenny Hunter had the game of his career, coming off the bench to record a ca­reer-high 18 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. He went 9-of-10 from the field, becoming the first Bulldog since Mubarak Muhammed in 2020 to shoot at least 90 percent with a minimum of 10 field goal attempts.
 
Keaston Willis also reached a personal milestone, eclipsing 250 career three-point­ers made in the win over Rice. The fourth-year guard who is in his second season at LA Tech needed just one triple and made four of them in what was his 100th career collegiate game.
 
ABOUT UTEP (8-6, 1-2 C-USA)
Since getting the better of LA Tech at home in the C-USA opener on Dec. 17, UTEP has fol­lowed that up with a victory over North Caroli­na A&T and three straight losses to Kent State, UAB, and Rice. The three defeats came by a total of 12 points with the two league losses coming in overtime.
 
While the Miners have stacked up a lot of home wins this season going 8-2 in the Don Haskins Center, they are still searching for their first road win of the year (are 0-4).
Despite only shooting 60 percent from the foul line, UTEP gets a good bulk of its points from free throws. The Miners average 25.6 free throw attempts per game, the sixth most in the country. Their average of 15.4 made free throws per game ranks in the top 50.
 
UTEP has one of the top defenses in C-USA and in the country, and a big reason is their ability to defend the three. The Miners allow teams to shoot just 28.4 percent from three. Over their last five games, they have allowed only 28 combined three-pointers (22.4 three-point percentage defense during this stretch).
 
And just like the Bulldogs, the Miners force a lot of turnovers. In fact, the two teams are av­eraging the same amount of forced turnovers in 18.0 per game (tied for 11th in the nation).
 
Tae Hardy has been the leader offensively for the Miners, averaging 12.8 points per game. The Southern Miss transfer has had three 20-point games, including 22 points at UAB.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech and UTEP will matchup for the 32nd time on the hardwood with the Bulldogs holding a 17-14 edge in the series.  UTEP got the better of LA Tech in the first meeting this season, recording a 60-55 victory in El Paso in the league opener. The Bulldogs could not do much offensively, scoring a sea­son-low in points while committing 20 turn­overs and going just 4-of-25 from downtown.
 
The Bulldogs were down by nine with 1:30 to go and made a furious comeback to make it a one-possession game on two occasions, but the Miners made just enough free throws to seal it (went 15-of-37 from the foul line).
 
LA Tech is 10-2 all-time against UTEP in Ruston.  The last meeting in the TAC went the way of the Miners in a 63-60 victory.
 
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