RUSTON – Louisiana Tech has its last home stand of the regular season, starting with a Thursday night contest versus FIU.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, March 2 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court (Ruston, La.)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Lyn Rollins (pxp), Teddy Allen (analyst)
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (13-16, 6-12 C-USA)
LA Tech scored a season low in points this past Saturday, falling 63-49 at Middle Tennessee. It was the second time this season the Bulldogs struggled against the Blue Raiders.
The Bulldogs were held to under 70 points for a fourth straight game, something that has not happened since 2018. For the season, the Bulldogs are averaging 72.7 points per game, but they are only averaging 61.0 points over the last four contests.
Isaiah Crawford scored a game-high 17 points to go along with nine rebounds at Middle Tennessee, leading the 'Dogs in scoring for a seventh time this season (third time in last five games). In the past month (nine games), he is averaging 15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.
Kenny Hunter had a standout game versus the Blue Raiders, recording his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds (only the second Bulldog in the last three seasons to have at least 15 boards in a single game). The 15 rebounds was the third most by a player in C-USA play this season. He ended up averaging 10.0 points and 12.0 rebounds during the two-game road swing at WKU and Middle Tennessee.
ABOUT FIU (13-16, 7-11 C-USA)
After having a stretch of winning five of its six games, FIU has suffered four straight losses at the hands of Rice, Middle Tennessee, UTEP, and UTSA. Three of those losses came by seven points or less, including a 95-91 defeat this past Saturday at home against UTSA.
In their last outing, the Panthers had as much as a 16-point lead at 58-42 before the Roadrunners put together a 31-11 run to go on top with 11 minutes to go. Tied at 91-91 with 39 seconds to go, UTSA knocked down four free throws to claim just its third league victory and its second road win of the season.
FIU ranks third in C-USA and 55th in the country in field goal percentage at 46.8 percent. The Panthers are led offensively by guard Denver Jones who is averaging 19.6 points per game. He has had 15 games of 20+ points, second most in the league, and is averaging 20.3 points during conference play.
Defensively, the Panthers apply a ton of pressure. They rank top 20 in the country in both steals per game (9.0) and turnovers forced per game (16.45). They have forced at least 20 turnovers in three of their last six games. One of their havoc creators is freshman Arturo Dean who averages 2.45 steals per game (has a total of 71). Both of those marks rank top 10 in the nation.
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series with FIU, 9-8. The Bulldogs had their three-game winning streak over the Panthers snapped in early February as FIU pulled out a 66-62 win in Miami.
Turnovers and fouling were the difference for LA Tech in that first meeting. Despite making more field goals (23 to 22) and more three-point field goals (nine to four), LA Tech matched its season high in TOs with 23 and sent FIU to the free throw line 28 times.
The Bulldogs own a slim 6-5 advantage in the series since the two teams became league opponents in C-USA. The last seven meetings have been decided by seven points or less (and the last four meetings have been decided by four points or less).
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