RUSTON – The rivalry continues on Saturday as Louisiana Tech hosts UL-Lafayette at 2 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.  It will be the 169th meeting on record between the Bulldogs and Ragin' Cajuns.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 9 | 2 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics App
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
Sponsor: Karl Malone Toyota of Ruston
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (7-2)
LA Tech put together one of the best defensive performances in program history this past Tuesday in its 56-49 victory over Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas.  The Bulldogs held the Lumberjacks to just 21.9 percent shoot from the field as well as just one made three-pointer (SFA came into the ranked top 50 in the country in both field goal and three-point field goal percentage).
 
Isaiah Crawford was the key contributor offensively for the 'Dogs, scoring a game-high 19 points.  He has led LA Tech in scoring four times this season while averaging a team-best 15.4 points per game.
 
Daniel Batcho posted his fourth double-double of the season at SFA with 11 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four blocks.  He is currently averaging 12.9 points and 10.9 boards per game, which ranks eight in the country.
 
Tahlik Chavez was another scorer for the Bulldogs versus the 'Jacks, tallying nine points including two triples.  The shooting guard has started to find his rhythm, having made 10 of his last 24 three-point attempts in the last four games (41.6 percent).  He is third on the team in scoring at 9.7 points per game.
 
The defensive effort vaulted LA Tech into the top 10 in the country in both scoring defense (60.6 points per game) and field goal percentage defense (35.9 percent).  The Bulldogs have now held seven of their last eight opponents to less than 38 percent shooting from the field.
 
ABOUT UL-LAFAYETTE (5-3)
It will be nine days since UL-Lafayette last played a basketball game.  That came on Nov. 30, which resulted in an 88-65 loss at Samford.  The loss ended the Ragin' Cajuns three-game winning streak that included back-to-back victories over Buffalo and Long Beach State in the Gulf Coast Showcase plus a home win over Loyola (N.O.).
 
Kobe Julien had 29 points in that loss to the Bulldogs, which was one shy of tying his career high that he set against Buffalo.  He is averaging a team-best 19.9 points per game, having scored in double figures in all eight games this season.
 
Themus Fulks and Joe Charles have been key players for ULL as well.  Fulks, a First Team Preseason All-SBC selection, is averaging 11.3 points and 4.7 assists per game while Charles is averaging 11.9 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per contest.
 
ULL comes into Saturday's contest averaging 80.6 points per game.  They specialize in making threes and defending the three.  They average 9.9 made threes per game, which ranks 20th in the country, while shooting 38.5 percent from deep.  Meanwhile, the Cajuns are allowing teams to shoot just 25.2 percent from beyond the arc, a stat that ranks sixth in the nation.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series with ULL, 91-77.  The in-state rivalry began almost a century ago in 1926 when the two programs joined the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA).  They would be conference foes in six different leagues, all the way up until 2001.
 
The Bulldogs and Cajuns have since faced off as non-conference foes 16 times, including every season since 2013 when they began a constant home-and-home series.  Since then, it has been an evenly matched series with ULL owning a slim 6-4 advantage.
 
ULL won last season's meeting, 94-88, in Lafayette.  LA Tech led for the majority of the game, but the Cajuns stormed back in the second half to take it in the Cajundome.  Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have won the last two meetings in Ruston (2019 and 2021).
 
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