RUSTON – Louisiana Tech begins a three-game home stand on Thursday night with a nationally televised matchup versus WKU inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, Jan. 23 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics App
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (13-6, 2-4 CUSA)
LA Tech was unable to get a road win this past week, narrowly falling to Kennesaw State by a score of 78-76. Down seven with 2:22 to go, the Bulldogs pulled to within one and had a couple of chances to tie the game but ended up dropping their fourth consecutive conference game on the road.
 
The matchup versus KSU marked the 200th Conference USA game for LA Tech who joined the league during the 2013-14 season. The Bulldogs own a 128-72 record (64.0) in league con­tests, which is the fourth-best winning percentage in conference history behind only Cincinnati, Memphis, and Old Dominion.
 
Having played four of their first six league games on the road (those opponents are a combined 32-2 at home this season), the Bulldogs look to protect home court where they are 7-1 this season and 82-18 all-time in CUSA games.
 
Daniel Batcho is currently the only player in college basketball to be averaging at least 18 points, six rebounds, and two blocks per game. He led the Bulldogs in scoring for the eighth time this season, recording 23 points versus the Owls. It marked his sev­enth 20-point scoring performance of the season. The nation's leader in field goal percentage at 73.6 percent was 7-for-13 while also going 9-of-11 from the foul line. He ranks first in CUSA and top 20 in the country in both free throws attempted (128) and free throws made (99). The nearly unstoppable power forward is averaging 5.8 fouls drawn per game and has drawn 10+ fouls in two of the last three games.
 
Sean Newman Jr. is nearly averaging a double-double at 9.9 points and 9.3 assists per game, which ranks second in the country along with his total of 177 assists behind only Ryan Nembhard of Gonzaga. Just 19 games into the season, he has already cracked the top 10 for most assists in program history ranking ninth. He dished out seven assists against KSU, marking the 16th time this season with at least seven dimes in a game.
 
Amaree Abram reached double-digit points for the 15th time this season at KSU, scoring 11 points. He made two three-point­ers, giving him 15 games this season with multiple triples. He currently has a team-high 42 made threes. The shooting guard has also been stellar on defense as of late. Having to guard three of the top scorers in CUSA the last three games (Kaden Metheny -- Liberty, Jaron Pierre Jr. -- Jax State, and Adrian Wooley -- Ken­nesaw State), the three have averaged just 10.0 points per game while shooting a combined 27.3 percent from the field.
 
ABOUT WKU (11-7, 2-3 CUSA)
WKU had a great close to the non-conference season, winning six of its last seven with the lone loss coming at Michigan. That momentum continued into Conference USA play as the Hilltoppers took down Liberty in Lynchburg, overcoming a 14-point second half deficit to win, 71-70, and hand the Flames their first home loss of the year. WKU has struggled a bit since then though, dropping three of its last four league games with losses to FUI, Jacksonville State, and a 71-57 loss this past Saturday to rival Middle Tennessee.
 
WKU, who had the highest scoring offense in CUSA last season, continued that trend this year. During non-conference, the Hilltoppers averaged 80.6 points per game. However, in their five league games so far, WKU is averaging just 69.2 points per game while shooting 38.1 percent from the field and 28.4 percent from beyond the arc. Some of that has had to do with the loss of forward Babacar Faye who has missed their last eight games due to injury. Prior to injury, he was second on the team in scoring (15.2 points per game) and first in rebounding (7.8 boards per contest). Even so, the Hilltoppers continue to rank top five in the country in tempo.
 
While WKU's offense is usually what stands out, its defense has been solid this season as well. The Hilltoppers rank third in CUSA and 32nd in the country in steals per game at 9.1 (record­ed a season-high 20 at FIU). They also rank top 60 in the nation in both field goal percentage defense (40.8) and three-point field goal per­centage defense (30.6).
 
Don McHenry returns for WKU after being named First Team All-Conference USA a sea­son ago. The guard is averaging a team-high 16.8 points per game, leading the team in made field goals, three-pointers, and free throws. He has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech and WKU are tied, 22-22, in the all-time series that began back in 1928. After spending 10 seasons as league foes in the Sun Belt Conference (1991-01), the Bull­dogs and Hilltoppers are entering their 11th season together as league foes in CUSA.
 
Since becoming league foes again, it has been a highly competitive series with LA Tech own­ing a slim 9-7 edge (11 of the last 15 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less or in overtime -- three OT games). The two teams split last season's series with both victories coming on the road.
 
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