RUSTON – Louisiana Tech goes for its fifth straight win on Saturday when they host New Mexico State inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 27 | 2 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (14-6, 4-1 CUSA)
LA Tech protected home court again on Thursday, pulling away from UTEP to win, 68-54, to remain in a tie for first place in the league standings. With the game close at 48-46 with 8:35 remaining, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to im­prove to 10-0 at home this season. The Bulldogs defense was elite, holding the Miners to 29.5 percent shooting from the field.
 
Daniel Batcho flirted with a triple-double versus the Miners, recording 19 points, 12 re­bounds, and a career-high seven blocks. It was his CUSA-leading eight double-double while the seven rejections tied for the seventh most in a single game in program history (matched Isaiah Crawford's seven blocks earlier this year against Liberty).
 
Tahlik Chavez also played a key role in the win over UTEP, registering 18 points (15 coming in the second half). In doing so, he eclipsed 1,000 career points for his Division I collegiate career. Nine of his points came from behind the arc, marking the 12th time this season he has made at least three triples in a single game (has done so in six of the last seven).
 
LA Tech continues to flex its muscle defensively, ranking No. 1 in conference play in defensive efficiency while ranking in the top 15 in the country in both field goal percentage defense (38.9) and scoring defense (63.7). The Bulldogs also rank No. 1 in league action in offensive efficiency, shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 40.0 perfect from three.
 
The trio of Isaiah Crawford, Batcho, and Chavez have been stellar in CUSA play. All three rank in the top 10 in scoring, averaging a combined 47.6 points per game. All three also rank in the top four in field goal percentage with each shooting over 50 percent.
 
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE (9-11, 3-2 CUSA)
New Mexico State sits in third place in the league standings, having defeated UTEP, WKU, and Middle Tennessee while dropping road contests to FIU and Sam Houston. The Aggies are coming off a 79-67 loss to the Bearkats this past Thursday. It was a one-possession game with eight minutes to go, but the Bearkats closed out the contests by outscoring NM State, 17-8.
 
The Aggies are still searching for their first road win of the season. While they have been nearly perfect at home going 9-1, New Mex­ico State has lost all eight road games. Their most impressive league victory came against the Hilltoppers where they orchestrated a 23-point comeback in the second half.
 
NM State ranks high in a few statistical cat­egories, in particular their defense and free throw shooting. The Aggies rank second in the league and 56th in the country in field goal percentage at 40.8 percent and second in CUSA in free throw percentage at 71.3. During league play, they are shooting 76.0 percent from the foul line.
 
NM State has seven players averaging at least eight points per game, led by Femi Odukale and Robert Carpenter who are averaging 11.6 and 10.3 points per contest, respectively. Odu­kale has scored in double figures in four of the five conference games so far.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday will mark the second time LA Tech and NM State will square off as league foes. While this is the first season the Aggies are in Conference USA, the two programs spent eight seasons (2005-13) together in the West­ern Athletic Conference. The Aggies have dominated the series, winning 16 of the 20 matchups all-time including eight of the last nine.
 
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