RUSTON – Louisiana Tech begins a three-game road swing starting on Thursday night versus Middle Tennessee at the Murphy Center. The Bulldogs will be looking to sweep the Blue Raiders this season as they have already defeated MTSU in Ruston.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 20 | 8 p.m. CT
Location: Murphy Center (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (17-9, 6-7 CUSA)
LA Tech and league-leader Jacksonville State went down to the wire for the second time this season, and again the Bulldogs suffered a two-point loss to the Gamecocks, falling 70-68. The 'Dogs were down by nine with 2:44 to go and got it to within one point on three separate occasions but could not pull off the comeback, dropping their second straight home game (just the fourth time in the last 13 seasons LA Tech has lost back-to-back games in the Thomas Assembly Center).
 
While LA Tech made more field goals and more three-pointers than Jax State, it was free throws that proved to be the differ­ence. The Bulldogs went 13-of-18 from the foul line while the Gamecocks made 26 of their 30 free throw attempts (their last 15 points of the game came from the charity stripe). It was only the second time in the last 12 years that an opponent attempted 30+ free throws in a home game for LA Tech.
 
Kaden Cooper returned to the starting lineup and ended up playing a team-high 37 minutes while recording eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds (also tied a career high) versus the Gamecocks. It marked the 14th time this season that the guard has led LA Tech in rebounding. He continues to pace the Bulldogs with an average of 7.3 rebounds per game and current­ly ranks first in CUSA in defensive rebounds per game (5.92).
 
Sean Newman Jr. ranks top three in the country in both total assists (217) and assists per game (8.3). His three assists against Jax State brought his season assists total to 217, which ranks as the fourth most in program history.
 
Daniel Batcho, who is averaging a team-high 17.9 points per game, scored a team-high 19 points against Jax State, marking the 13th time this season the power forward has scored 19+ points in a game. He is now shooting 69.0 percent from the field, which ranks second in the country. Batcho also now has 57 blocks on the season, 12th most in the country. The one block against the Gamecocks brought his Bulldog career total to 124, tied for the fifth most in program history.
 
Batcho has been at his best against Middle Tennessee. In his four games played versus the Blue Raiders, he is averaging 21.0 points and 10.8 rebounds (had 25 points and 12 boards in their first meeting this season) while recording three double-doubles.
 
Amaree Abram, who is second on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game, tallied 16 points versus Jax State, his 18th game in double figures this season (has scored 16+ in three of his last five games). He made two three-pointers, bringing his team-high total to 54 triples. It marked the 18th time this season he has hit multiple threes in a game.
 
ABOUT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (17-8, 8-4 CUSA)
Middle Tennessee is currently alone in third in the conference standings with three weeks remaining. The Blue Raiders have won three of their last four, including back-to-back road victories at Kennesaw State and WKU. They managed to edge the Owls, 76-75, while putting up 87 points in a 10-point win (closed the game on a 16-7 run in the final six minutes) over the rival Hilltoppers in Bowling Green this past Satur­day.
 
MTSU is now at home for four of its last six league games. The Blue Raiders are 9-2 at home this season and 4-1 in the Murphy Cen­ter in CUSA play.
 
Middle Tennessee has had one of the better offenses during conference play, ranking top three in both scoring offense (72.7) and field goal percentage (44.9). In all eight of the Blue Raiders league wins, they have scored 70+ points. The 87 points scored at WKU was the most in a conference matchup this season for MTSU.
 
Middle Tennessee has a number of scoring threats. The biggest one is that of Jestin Por­ter who is averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game (averaging 17.3 during conference play). He has scored in double figures in 10 straight games, four of which were 20+ points. Another key threat is Essam Mostafa who is averaging 13.8 points along with 8.9 rebounds per game. He ranks first in CUSA and 11th in the country in double-doubles and is coming off one of his best games of the season with 21 points and 16 boards at WKU.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series against Middle Tennessee, 16-8. The two programs first played way back in 1959 and later played twice every season from 1987-90 before becoming league foes in the Sun Belt for one year (2000- 01) prior to the Bulldogs leaving to join the WAC.
 
The Bulldogs and Blue Raiders became league foes again in CUSA in 2013. Since then, LA Tech owns a 9-6 advantage in the series including a 75-69 earlier this season in Ruston. LA Tech has had moderate success against MTSU in the Murphy Center, winning five of the 10 matchups. The series is 3-3 in Murfrees­boro since joining CUSA.
 
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