RUSTON – Louisiana Tech looks to bounce back on Saturday as the Bulldogs battle New Mexico State inside the Pan American Center.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 4 | 3 p.m. CT
Location: Pan American Center (Las Cruces, N.M.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (11-3, 0-1 CUSA)
LA Tech suffered its third straight loss in a CUSA opener, falling 70-60 to UTEP in El Paso. The Bulldogs tied their season high with 20 turnovers that led to 24 points for the Miners who came into the contest ranking No. 1 in the country in forcing turn­overs.
 
In the 'Dogs 11 victories this season, they are averaging only 11.9 turnovers with teams averaging 11.5 points off turn­overs. Meanwhile in their three losses, LA Tech is averaging 19.0 turnovers with opponents averaging 23.7 points off turnovers.
 
Despite only forcing three turnovers and recording zero steals, the Bulldogs still held the Miners to just 37.9 percent shooting. LA Tech currently ranks 40th in the country in field goal percentage defense (39.7), having held three of its last four opponents to un­der 40 percent shooting. They are currently one of only 10 teams in the nation ranked in the top 40 in both field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense.
 
Kaden Cooper scored a team-high 14 points against UTEP. After missing his first three three-pointers, the sophomore made four of his last six attempts for a new career high. He has scored in double figures in five of his last six games, averaging 14.2 points while shooting 56.7 percent during that stretch.
 
Sean Newman Jr. was named CUSA Player of the Week for week seven after averaging 16.0 points and 14.5 assists in LA Tech's two victories over WAC preseason favorite Grand Canyon and Rust College. The point guard scored a career-high 25 points to go along with nine assists versus the Lopes then broke the LA Tech and CUSA single-game assist record with 20 dimes against the Bearcats. Despite fouling out for just the second time in his collegiate career, he still dished out seven assists against UTEP. He currently ranks first in the country in assists per game (9.6) and second in total assists (135), having posted six games with double-digit assists.
 
Daniel Batcho was limited to just four field goal attempts against UTEP, which tied his season low. The CUSA Preseason Player of the Year still notched 10 points, extending his streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures to 21). He is currently averaging a team-best 19.3 points per game while shooting 74.6 percent from the field, which leads the country. Defensively, his 36 total blocks rank fifth in the nation (has recorded at least one block in 18 consecutive games).
 
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE (8-6, 1-0 CUSA)
After a stretch of losing five straight games, New Mexico State has won four in a row and five of its last six. Their non-conference season turned after tak­ing down in-state rival New Mexico, 89-83, on the road in overtime. Meanwhile, the Aggies have reeled off four straight victories, all at home, against Southern Utah, Northern New Mexico, University of the Southwest, and most recently a 75-71 win against Sam Houston in their Conference USA opener.
 
The game versus the Bearkats at five ties and five lead changes. Christian Cook managed to put the game away for the Aggies, making four free throws in the final 10 seconds.
 
New Mexico State leans on a defense that is al­lowing teams to shoot just 39.5 percent from the field, a stat that ranks 36th in the country. The Aggies have forced eight of their 14 op­ponents this season to shoot less than 40 per­cent. A big reason for that is limiting teams to just one shot as NM State is an excellent rebounding team, averaging 39.2 boards per game.
 
Christian Cook is the top scorer for the Aggies, averaging 14.9 points per game. The guard, who is coming off a 25-point performance in the win over Sam Houston, has scored in dou­ble figures in seven straight games which in­cludes three 20+ scoring performances.
 
Cook scores at all three levels, shooting 43.0 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from be­hind the arc, and 76.7 percent from the foul line. He has made 38 three-pointers this sea­son, the fourth most of any player in CUSA.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech and New Mexico State first met on the hardwood in 1977 in the Roadrunner Classic in Las Cruces. It was not until 2001 that the Bulldogs and Ag­gies met again, this time as league foes in the Sun Belt Conference. The following season, LA Tech left to join the Western Athletic Con­ference, a league that NM State would join in 2005. The two programs proceeded to play at least twice for eight seasons before the 'Dogs then left for Conference USA. The two teams became league foes for a third time last sea­son when NM State joined CUSA.
 
The Aggies have dominated the series, win­ning 15 of the first 18 matchups. However, the Bulldogs have won three of the last four including sweeping last season's series.
 
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