RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech Men's Basketball team is back home for a pair of conference matchups this week, starting on Thursday night against UTEP inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, Jan. 25 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (13-6, 3-1 CUSA)
LA Tech won its third straight CUSA game this past Saturday, defeating Jacksonville State on the road by a final score of 74-57.  With the game tied at 43-43 with 12 minutes to go, the Bulldogs outscored the Gamecocks 31-14 the rest of the way (made 12 of their last 14 field goal attempts).
 
With the victory, the 'Dogs moved into a three-way tie for first place in the league standings.  A big reason for that was Isaiah Crawford who was unstoppable against Jax State, scoring a career-high 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting.  He was also a menace on the defensive end, tallying a season-high five steals.
 
LA Tech also got quality minutes off the bench against the Gamecocks from Dravon Mangum, Devin Ree, and Terri Miller Jr.  The trio combined for 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists.
 
Meanwhile, Crawford has upped his scoring average to 15.9 points per game (second in the league) and 19.5 points per game during league play.  The forward has scored in double figures in 12 of his last 13 games.  Defensively, he is the only player in the country currently with at least 40 steals and 30 blocks.
 
While LA Tech ranks in the top 25 in the country in scoring defense (64.2) and field goal percentage defense (39.4), it has been the offensive end that has helped the 'Dogs get off to a good start in CUSA.  In league play, they rank No. 1 in offensive efficiency, averaging 72.8 points while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three.
 
The Bulldogs will try to remain perfect at home on Thursday.  They are 9-0 in the TAC this season, one of only two teams in CUSA still undefeated at home.
 
ABOUT UTEP (11-8, 2-2 CUSA)
The Miners enter Thursday having split its four conference games so far. This past week, they swept their two league contests at home, de­feating Middle Tennessee (73-59) and WKU (93-87).  UTEP is still searching for its first true road win of the season.  The Miners have dropped all five road games, including league matchups at New Mexico State and FIU.
 
Offensively, the Miners play with a lot of pace as they rank second in the country in fastbreak points (18.95 per game).  They also get to the free throw line a ton, ranking in the top 10 in the nation in both free throws made (18.4 per game) and attempted (26.5 per game).  They have attempted 20+ free throws in eight of their last nine games (made 45 combined FTs in their wins over the Blue Raiders and Hilltop­pers.
 
Defensively, UTEP is the No. 1 team in the country at generating steals and forcing turnovers.  The Miners average 11.9 steals per game and force 19.26 turnovers per game.  In their four league games, they have already totaled 57 steals (average of 14.25) as well as having forced 67 turnovers (average of 21.00).
 
Preseason All-Conference USA selection Tae Hardy makes UTEP go offensively.  He is aver­aging a team-best 15.6 points per game and is coming off a season-high 27 in the win over WKU this past Saturday.  He has made 40 of UTEP's 105 three-pointers on the season, shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Other key scorers include Zid Powell and Otis Frazier III who are averaging 11.4 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.  Frazier III was voted CUSA Player of the Week this past Mon­day after averaging 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 6.0 steals in their two victories.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series versus UTEP, 18-14.  Since becoming league opponents in CUSA, the Bulldogs hold an 11-6 advantage.  The last three meetings have been super competitive with all three being decided by five points or less.  LA Tech has had the upper hand at home in the series, winning 11 of the 13 meetings in Ruston including last season's 60-58 victory.
 
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