RUSTON – Louisiana Tech will go for its first road win of the season as the Bulldogs travel to the Big Easy to take on Tulane Wednesday night.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Wednesday, Dec. 17 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Location: Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse (New Orleans, La.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (6-3)
LA Tech remained undefeated at home, delivering a dominant defensive performance in a 65-44 victory over rival UL-Lafayette. The win marked the 94th all-time victory for LA Tech over ULL (171st meeting) and carried added historical significance as win No. 1,500 in program history.
 
The Bulldogs limited the Ragin' Cajuns to just 44 points, having now held six of their nine opponents this season to 60 points or less. LA Tech currently ranks No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 56.9 points per game. The 'Dogs are one of only two teams in the country that rank top 10 in both field goal percentage defense (35.9) and three-point field goal percentage defense (26.5).
 
LA Tech continues to own the glass after outrebounding ULL, 37-29. The Bulldogs have outrebounded seven of their nine opponents this season and are currently averaging 41.56 boards per game, which ranks 31st in the country.
 
AJ Bates scored a game-high 23 points versus ULL. The soph­omore, who leads the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game, has led the Bulldogs in points a team-high four times this season. Over the last five games, he is averaging 17.2 points while shoot­ing 60.1 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from three-point range. The point guard also anchors the squad in assists with an average of 6.1 dimes per game, which ranks 21st in the nation. He has dished out at least eight assists in each of the last three contests, including eight versus the Ragin' Cajuns.
 
Kaden Cooper registered his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. It marked the first time a Bulldog has had 20+ boards in a single game since 2009. He is one of only nine players in Division I to have tallied 20+ rebounds this season. The junior guard is averaging a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game, which ranks 57th in the country. He also anchors the squad in total blocks (11) and steals (11).
 
DJ Dudley reached double-digit points for a fifth straight game, scoring 19 against the Ragin' Cajuns. He made all five of LA Tech's three-pointers, a new career high for the junior (most made threes by any Bulldog in a single game this season). He is current­ly second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per contest. Over the last five games, he is averaging 16.8 points while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc.
 
ABOUT TULANE (7-4)
Tulane won its first four games of the season but have since gone 3-4 including a 93-67 loss to UC San Diego this past Saturday in the Jack Jones Classic played in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Green Wave, led by 7th-year head coach Ron Hunter, are 5-2 at home in the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse this season.
 
Tulane was picked to finish third in the Amer­ican Conference preseason poll behind only Memphis and South Florida. The Green Wave returned seven players from last year's squad that finished fourth in the AAC.
 
They strive on getting to the foul line as much as possible. The Green Wave rank top 50 in the country in free throw percentage (76.6) and free throws made per game (19.0). They have made 20+ free throws four times this season, including a 30-for-30 effort against Texas State.
 
Rowan Brumbaugh was selected as the Presea­son Player of the Year and a unanimous choice to the Preseason All-Conference First Team in the American Conference. He returned as the highest scoring returner after averaging 15.5 points and 4.8 assists per game.
 
This season, the junior guard is averaging 19.1 points while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from beyond the arc. He also gets to the foul line a ton, ranking top 20 in the country in both free throws made (72) and attempted (86). He has scored in double figures in 10 of the 11 games including a sea­son-high 33 against Texas State (went 19-of- 19 from the charity stripe).
 
THE SERIES
Despite being in-state, LA Tech and Tulane will meet for just the fifth time ever on the hard­wood with the series tied at 2-2. Of the four matchups, two have come in New Orleans while the other two have been in Monroe and Baton Rouge as part of neu­tral-site tournaments.
 
The last meeting in 2014 was a league match­up as LA Tech faced Tulane in its first season in Conference USA. The Green Wave would leave for the American Conference the following year.
They will make their first ever trip to Ruston next season as part of a home-and-home.
 
SUPPORT LA TECH ATHLETICS
Championships require championship resources.  Fans can make a direct impact on the success of LA Tech Athletics through LTAC, Aillet Society, T-Club, and Young Alumni program as well as the CHAMP fund, a revenue-sharing initiative designed to directly support LA Tech Athletics through NIL and marketing opportunities for Bulldog and Lady Techster student-athletes.  Visit BuildTheLegacy.com today.   
 
BARK LOUDER
Our mission is to engage, develop, and advance the Louisiana Tech Athletics brand.  You can do that by spending time consuming our content and by investing your talents.  By barking louder with your time and talent, you can affect progress and brand advancement in a meaningful way.  Visit LATechSports.com/BarkLouder today.  You bark.  We bark.  Louder together.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in Bulldog Basketball, follow us on X (@LATechHoops), Instagram (@LATechHoops), and Facebook (LATechMBB).