RUSTON – Louisiana Tech will have another shot to crack the road code on Saturday as the Bulldogs face the FIU Panthers in Miami at the FIU Convocation Center.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 8 | 1 p.m. CT
Location: FIU Convocation Center (Miami, Fla.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (16-7, 5-5 CUSA)
For the first time in 58 games (since Feb. 23, 2023), LA Tech did not lead at any point as the Bulldog fell, 77-53, to the Liberty Flames on Thursday. It was the second fewest points scored for the 'Dogs this season. Turnovers were an issue again, committing 16 of them which was turned into 24 points for the Flames.
The Bulldogs have not been able to find their offense on the road in CUSA, averaging just 59.6 points while shooting 38.9 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from three-point range. The opposite is true for the home CUSA games with LA Tech averaging 75.6 points while shooting 46.1 percent.
Another stark contrast is getting to the foul line where the Bulldogs are shooting 74.8 percent, second best in the league. In the road league games, they are averaging 11.2 free throw attempts per game while at home they are getting to the charity stripe on average 26.0 times.
The bench was the lone bright spot offensively for LA Tech at Liberty.
Al Green stepped in to score a game-high 18 points, going 7-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from three (made four of the Bulldogs six triples). It marked the fifth time this season with 18+ points in a game. Meanwhile,
Sean Elkinton netted 11 points as the forward is averaging 8.3 points during conference action. The duo is combining to shoot 43.1 percent from deep in CUSA play.
Sean Newman Jr. continues to rank second in the country in both total assists (204) and assists per game (8.9). With the six assists at Liberty, the point guard became just the fourth Bulldog in program history to reach 200 assists in a single season. He did so in 23 games, the fastest ever. He has dished out at least five assists in all but one contest this season.
Daniel Batcho was held in check against the Flames, registering just eight points and five rebounds. It was only the second time this season the power forward did not reach double-digit points. Even so, he continues to be the nation's leader in field goal percentage at 70.2 percent. He also tallied one block, bringing his season total to 51 which ranks 13th in the country.
He is currently one of only three players in the country (along with Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton and Johni Broome of Auburn) to be averaging at least 18 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks per game.
ABOUT FIU (8-15, 2-8 CUSA)
FIU snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 85-82 overtime victory against Sam Houston at home on Thursday. The Panthers withstood 11 three-pointers by the Bearkats while overcoming a 10-point deficit to force the extra frame where they maintained the lead the entire five minutes. The Panthers had struggled in close games in conference play this season. Six of their eight league losses have been by eight points or less.
Despite being in ninth in the league standings, FIU has had the third-best shooting percentage in league play at 44.6 percent. And while they have not been a heavy three-point shooting team this season, the Panthers did make eight triples against Sam Houston which was one shy of tying their season high.
Defense is where FIU likes to create chaos. The Panthers rank top 35 in the country in both steals per game (9.3) and blocks per game (4.8). They have recorded 27 steals over their last two games while forcing 43 turnovers. In league play, they rank first in the conference in rebounding defense (30.00) and own a +4.89 rebounding margin.
Jayden Brewer has emerged as the top scorer for the Panthers, averaging 14.9 points per game. He has been very good over the last four games, averaging 19.8 points while shooting 53.7 percent from the field.
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series against FIU 14-8, having won the last five meetings including an 81-64 victory in Ruston earlier this season. LA Tech and FIU were league foes in the Sun Belt Conference for three seasons (1998-01) before becoming league opponents again in 2013 when the two programs joined Conference USA.
Since becoming CUSA foes, LA Tech holds an 11-5 advantage. Winning in Miami though has been a challenge for the Bulldogs during this time where they have a 2-5 record. The last one was the biggest of them all, winning 93- 53 last season.
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