RUSTON – Louisiana Tech heads to Miami on Thursday to face FIU. The Panthers are one of only two C-USA teams the Bulldogs have yet to face this season.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 9 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Ocean Bank Convocation Center (Miami, Fla.)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Talent: AJ Ricketts (pxp), Patrick Murray (analyst)
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats | LA Tech Athletics app
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (13-10, 6-6 C-USA)
With eight conference games remaining, LA Tech is in a tie with Rice for fifth place while FIU is half a game behind in seventh.
 
LA Tech picked up its sixth league victory a week ago, getting the season sweep over Rice with an 80-72 victory. The Bulldogs had as much as a 24-point lead, but ended up making winning plays down the stretch to win. With the game tied up at 72-72 with 1:12 left, LA Tech closed the game out on an 8-0 run. It was one of their best offensive performances of the season, knock­ing down 12 three-pointers while also going 14-of-16 from the foul line.
 
Four Bulldogs scored in double figures versus the Owls -- Cobe Williams (20), Kaleb Stewart (17), Dravon Mangum (15), and Isaiah Crawford (14). Stewart's 17 points was a career high, knocking down a career-high five three-pointers. After totaling 13 points in seven games played, Stewart has totaled 26 points over the last two games (averag­ing 27.5 minutes and 13.0 points).
 
Cobe Williams has scored 20+ points in five of his last six games (the non-20 point game was an 18-point effort at UTSA). He continued his streak of games with at least 16 points, extending that to 13 games which is the longest streak of anyone in C-USA this season and the third longest streak of any Bulldog in the last 20 years.
 
ABOUT FIU (12-12, 6-7 C-USA)
FIU is one of the hottest teams in C-USA. Af­ter dropping four straight league games, the Panthers reeled off four straight victories over UTSA, WKU, Middle Tennessee, and Charlotte. That streak came to an end this past Saturday, falling 76-72 at UAB.
 
The Panthers are 10-4 at home this season and 4-2 inside Ocean Bank Convocation Center during league action.
 
As usual, FIU is one of the top teams in the country in forcing turnovers and collecting steals. The Panthers rank in the top 25 in the nation in both categories -- force 16.3 turn­overs per game and register 9.0 steals per game.
 
Denver Jones is the man that makes FIU go. The sophomore guard is averaging 19.6 points per game, second most in Conference USA, while shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 85.8 percent from the foul line. He leads the league in most 20-point scoring games with 13. In C-USA play, he is averaging a league-best 20.4 points per game.
 
FIU's second best player is freshman Arturo Dean. He is averaging 11.8 points while also anchoring the Panthers in assists (81) and steals (59). He ranks top 10 in the country in total steals and steals per game.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech and FIU will meet for the 17th time with the Bulldogs holding a slim 9-7 advantage in the series.  LA Tech have been league foes in two different conferences -- Sun Belt Conference (1998-01) and Conference USA (2013-present).
 
Since the two became C-USA opponents, the Bulldogs own a 6-4 advantage in the series. The two teams have matched three-game winning streaks over the last five seasons.
 
The Bulldogs needed 56 second-half points to come away with their first victory versus the Panthers in Miami since 2000. Kenneth Lof­ton, Jr. and Amorie Archibald netted 21 points while Keaston Willis provided 19. The victory snapped their four-game losing skid inside Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
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