RUSTON – Louisiana Tech will go for its second straight road win as the Bulldogs face Sam Houston on Saturday night inside Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in a nationally televised contest.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 31 | 9 p.m. CT
Location: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (Huntsville, Texas)
TV: ESPN2
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (12-8, 5-4 CUSA)
LA Tech picked up its first road victory of the season this past Wednesday, knocking off UTEP 69-59 in El Paso to complete a season sweep of the Miners. The Bulldogs led by as much as 14 in the second half, but UTEP used the free throw line to cut the deficit down to three at 61-58 with 4:28 still to play.
The Bulldogs, who are in a two-way tie for fifth in the league standings, have now won four of their last five games, staging comebacks of 9+ points in all four (12 -- Delaware, 20 -- Middle Tennessee, 12 -- Kennesaw State, and nine -- UTEP).
The Bulldogs seem to be turning a corner when it comes to offense. They have put together two their best offensive performances in back-to-back games, averaging 75.5 points while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from deep in the combined two wins over the Owls and Miners. LA Tech is playing a bit faster as well, as evident by its 22 fastbreak points against UTEP.
LA Tech held UTEP to a season-low 31.5 percent shooting. The Bulldogs continue to hang their hat on D, owning the No. 2 scoring defense in the country allowing just 61.2 points per game. They have now held 17 of their 20 opponents under their season scoring average (11 of those have been held 10+ points under their scoring average).
DJ Dudley has emerged as one of the top scorers in CUSA. Over the last six games, the junior is averaging 19.7 points while shooting 46.6 percent from the field (41-of-88), 51.6 percent from three-point range (16-of-31), and he has a current active streak of 14 made free throws at the foul line. He has scored 17+ points in all six games and has three consecutive games of 20+ points (first Bulldog since Cobe Williams (2023) to accomplish that feat).
Avery Thomas II notched his second double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds versus UTEP. The sophomore has now led LA Tech in rebounding a team-high eight times this season, including seven of the last 10. He is averaging 7.9 boards per game during league play, which ranks fifth.
Scooter Williams has become the sixth man for the Bulldogs, averaging 10.0 points during league (five games of double-digit points). His scoring has been pivotal in the last two contests, putting up a season-high 28 versus Kennesaw State and 14 at UTEP.
ABOUT SAM HOUSTON (14-7, 6-4 CUSA)
Sam Houston enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in CUSA, having won five in a row. After dropping four of their first five games in league play, the Bearkats have defeated Jacksonville State, FIU, Kennesaw State, WKU, and most recently an 80-71 victory at Missouri State. They are doing so in convincing fashion as well with a scoring margin of +11.6 during this streak.
The Bearkats, who were picked ninth in the CUSA preseason poll, are in a two-way tie for third at the midway point of conference action with a 6-4 mark. Meanwhile, Sam Houston has been tough to beat at home, producing a 7-1 record at the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum with the lone loss coming at the hands of league-leader Liberty.
The Bearkats like to play fast, a tempo that have served them well offensively. Sam Houston ranks second in the league and 49th in the country in scoring offense with an average of 83.8 points per contest. They have not fallen off that much in league play either, averaging 78.1 points while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from beyond the arc. The speedy offense has also produced an average of 15.38 fastbreak points per game, a mark that is first in the league and 29th in the nation.
Defensively, Sam Houston is elite on the glass. For the season, they rank top 25 in the country in every rebounding category. Those stats have held up in league play as well as the Bearkats rank first with a +4.10 rebounding margin and top three in both rebounding offense and rebounding defense.
Lamar Wilkerson was a scoring machine for three seasons with Sam Houston, producing 1,321 career points while being a two-time First Team All-CUSA selection. He transferred to Indiana, paving the way for a new scorer in Po'boigh King. The transfer from North Carolina Central is averaging a team-best 13.2 points per game, having made a team-high 46 three-pointers. He was recently voted CUSA Player of the Week after averaging 25.0 points in their sweep of Kennesaw State and WKU.
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series versus Sam Houston, 7-4. The Bulldogs have won two straight over the Bearkats, which was a series sweep last season with a 66-61 overtime victory at home followed by a 90-66 win in Huntsville.
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