RUSTON – Louisiana Tech closes out its Florida road swing on Saturday when they take on league-leader Florida Atlantic. The Owls are the lone conference team the Bulldogs have yet to face this season.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 11 | 1 p.m. CT
Location: Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (Boca Raton, Fla.)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Stats: LA Tech Athletics app
Radio: LA Tech Radio Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (13-11, 6-7 C-USA)
LA Tech is in a tie for sixth place (just one a half games back of third) in the conference standings after suffering a 66-62 loss to FIU on Thursday.  The Bulldogs committed a season-tying 23 turnovers and put the Panthers at the free throw line 28 times.
 
The 'Dogs were up 30-19, but then suffered a streak of 19 straight missed field goals. Despite the cold shooting, they retook the lead with less than four minutes to go, but the Panthers man­aged to put the game away at the charity stripe.  It was yet another close game played in C-USA play for LA Tech.  Ten of the team's 13 conference games have been decided by single digits or have gone into overtime.
 
Kaleb Stewart continued his resurgence for the Bulldogs, playing a career-high 31 minutes on Thursday while scoring 13 points off the bench. After seeing very limited action through the first 21 games, he is averaging 29.0 minutes over the last three games while also averaging 13.0 points, knocking down 10 combined three-pointers in the process.
 
Meanwhile, Cobe Williams anchored the team in scoring for the 14th time this season, recording 16 points to continue his streak of at least 16 points to 14 straight games.
 
The offensive side of the ball has been a little bit of a struggle for the Bulldogs as of late. They have only cracked 70 points once in their last five games, a stretch where they shot below 40 percent from the field three times (had only done that twice in the first 19 games).
 
ABOUT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (23-2, 13-1 C-USA)
Florida Atlantic is the cream of the crop right now in Conference USA, having gone 13-1 in league action to be atop the conference standings with a two-game lead. The Owls picked up their 13th conference victory on Thursday with a 90-81 win at home over Rice.
 
The Owls have already set a new program re­cord for most wins in a single season with 23. The 23 victories is currently tied for the most of any team in the country. At one point, FAU owned the nation's longest winning at 20 straight, which catapulted them to as high as No. 19 in the AP Top 25 poll. The Owls barely fell out of the national rankings after dropping its first league game at UAB on Feb. 2.
 
One streak still intact for FAU is its home win­ning streak. The Owls have won 15 straight in Boca Raton, owning a perfect 14-0 record this season.
 
It is scoring by committee for the Owls as they have the best scoring bench in the entire country, averaging 37.6 points per game. They have five guys who average between 9-13 points per game, led by Johnell Davis who is averaging 13.2 points per contest. They also have an array of three-point shooters, five of which have made at least 30 triples on the season. As a team, they rank first in C-USA in three-pointers made per game with 9.6.
 
On the defensive end, FAU leads the league in field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot just 40.4 percent from the field. They are also one of the best rebounding teams in the country, ranking in the top 25 in rebound­ing margin (6.3) and defensive rebounds per game (28.2).
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series over Florida Atlantic, 8-3.  All 11 meetings have occurred while the two teams have been league opponents in Conference USA. 
 
The Bulldogs had their four-game winning streak over the Owls snapped last season in Boca Raton, falling 83-73. After falling behind by as much as 20, LA Tech sliced the deficit down to six but could not complete the come­back. Kenneth Lofton, Jr. had a team-best 16 points and 14 rebounds, but FAU shot 52 per­cent from the field.
 
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